Mefisto in Onyx

Rating:
Summary: Harlan Ellison does his own twist on the innocent prisoner
Review: At one point in "Mefisto in Onyx" Harlan Ellison relates an old Japanese saying: "Do not fall into the error of the artisan who boasts of twenty years experience in his craft while in fact he has had only one year of experience--twenty times." The thought seems quite apropos of Ellison as a writer, once you completely reverse the thought and change the point entirely. This jumbled thought applies to "Mefisto in Onyx" because he will have Harlan Ellison taking his turn at that old chestnut about the man on Death Row about to be executed who really may be innocent. Chief Deputy D.A. Allison Roche believes condemned murderer Henry Lake Spanning is really innocent, so she asks her friend Rudy Paris to check out Spanning. Rudy can do this because he is a rather special person who can go "jaunting" through a person's mind and read all their thoughts. Rudy will do it because Allison thinks she is in love with Spanning.

That is the basic premise for this short story (I do not think it is long enough to be called a novella), but knowing that "Mefisto in Onyx" was written by Ellison (come on; who else could get away with a title like that?) should be the main reason for checking it out if you have yet to do so by this point in the history of the universe. Ellison was an executive producer on that first revitalized edition of the "The Twilight Zone" they did many years aback and certainly this story is that grand tradition of playing with your mind. The cover art by Frank Miller, who also pens the introduction, is a simple but effective black and white drawing that helps set the mood for the telling of the tale. This is not one of those classic Ellison stories that will work its way into the pantheon of speculative fiction, but it is worth reading as is pretty much everything written by one of America's greatest living gadflies.

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding achievement.
Review: Exceptionally well-written by one of our generation's best science-fiction authors, this book is both disturbing and thought-provoking. Though it is short, I cannot remember being so affected by a science-fiction story for years.

The premise is simple. A black man named Rudy has the ability to read minds. A dear female friend of his, a lawyer, asks him to read the mind of a murderer she has recently sent to Death Row, to find out if he's really guilty. Rudy goes to see this murderer, and is astonished by some information he learns. There are many twists and turns to this tale.

The actual tale isn't what makes this story, however. As barebone plots go, this one isn't the most original I've ever seen. It has to be the actual storytelling. Ellison has a way of writing that reads almost like the breathless banter of a conman. It is engaging, engrossing, and, dangit, fun to read. Every page has some new gem to discover on it. Ellison is right: This is one of his finest works, perhaps even the best he CAN write. Don't miss it. (Don't miss his acknowledgments page, either. It's one of the funniest ones I've ever seen.)

Rating:
Summary: I expect more from Ellison
Review: Harlan Ellison, "Mefisto in Onyx"
[OMNI, sometime 1993]

It's nice to see Ellison returning to stories with plot and character, after the indefinable "Eidolon" and "The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore." Ellison states that this story took ten years to write, and it shows an affinity with that Ellison of ten years ago--passionate, filled with rightous anger, and burning up the pages with his rage. "Mefisto" is the story of a serial killer, who may or may not be the person we think he is, and of the District Attorney who prosecuted him, then fell in love with him and believes him to be innocent now, and, most importantly, with Rudy, who can jaunt (shades of Alfie Bester) into people's minds (i.e., read them). A love triangle made in hell, made even more unholy by the amount of killing gone before, and the possible miscarriage of justice. Hey, let's face it, this story has everything--so why aren't I wild about it? Can it be that Ellison's jocular, biting, ironic style has staled? Maybe it's just dated, more a product of the radical sixties than the disturbed '90s. Ellison has updated his references, but the manner is still the same as can be found in "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs." And he's damned clever, but unsurprising, since we expect something of a twist from him. With Ellison, I have so many expectations, and am easily critical. Under the by-line of any other author, I might be raving; from Ellison, I expect so much more.

Rating:
Summary: I expect more from Ellison
Review: Harlan Ellison, "Mefisto in Onyx"
[OMNI, sometime 1993]

It's nice to see Ellison returning to stories with plot and character, after the indefinable "Eidolon" and "The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore." Ellison states that this story took ten years to write, and it shows an affinity with that Ellison of ten years ago--passionate, filled with rightous anger, and burning up the pages with his rage. "Mefisto" is the story of a serial killer, who may or may not be the person we think he is, and of the District Attorney who prosecuted him, then fell in love with him and believes him to be innocent now, and, most importantly, with Rudy, who can jaunt (shades of Alfie Bester) into people's minds (i.e., read them). A love triangle made in hell, made even more unholy by the amount of killing gone before, and the possible miscarriage of justice. Hey, let's face it, this story has everything--so why aren't I wild about it? Can it be that Ellison's jocular, biting, ironic style has staled? Maybe it's just dated, more a product of the radical sixties than the disturbed '90s. Ellison has updated his references, but the manner is still the same as can be found in "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs." And he's damned clever, but unsurprising, since we expect something of a twist from him. With Ellison, I have so many expectations, and am easily critical. Under the by-line of any other author, I might be raving; from Ellison, I expect so much more.

Rating:
Summary: A Dark Story
Review: I picked up Mefisto in Onyx out of curiousity, because I've only recently been introduced to Harlan Ellison, and had previously only read short stories. I was sitting in the fiction section of my local library, browsing the first few pages, and I got so swept up in the story I ended up reading half the novella right there between the H and I aisles.

To talk too much about the story itself would reveal too much as much happens in its short 90 odd pages, and there is little room for dallying. It has strong character development, strong inner dialogue, and surprising, shocking plot twists. I read it entirely in an hour total, and immediately recommended it to my roommate. (He, incidentally, has yet to be wise enough to take my recommendation.)

Rating:
Summary: Read. Read or crawl back into the cave you live in...
Review: Listen, I can't reveiew this book any better than the author's opening synopsis on the dustjacket... Go ahead read a page... can't stop can you? It's like eating a bag of potato chips.. you can't stop at just one..... Seriously, this is a must read.. a hidden classic. Find it at all costs... Covet it.. Treasure it.. Revere it.....

Rating:
Summary: indescribable
Review: Ok, so that's a hackneyed review title. I read this novella several years ago when it was published in Omni. Actually, a friend of mine, who I had been trying to convince to read Ellison, thrust the magazine into my hands, and with a frenzied look in his eyes stated, "You must read this, and give me everything you have of his!"

Very simply put, this is the only story I have ever read that I was physically exhausted at the end. It's that good. It's that powerful. It has that many twists and turns. Our main character can get into other people's minds. What happens when he runs into a doppleganger who can enter his mind?

Take care.

Rating:
Summary: indescribable
Review: Ok, so that's a hackneyed review title. I read this novella several years ago when it was published in Omni. Actually, a friend of mine, who I had been trying to convince to read Ellison, thrust the magazine into my hands, and with a frenzied look in his eyes stated, "You must read this, and give me everything you have of his!"

Very simply put, this is the only story I have ever read that I was physically exhausted at the end. It's that good. It's that powerful. It has that many twists and turns. Our main character can get into other people's minds. What happens when he runs into a doppleganger who can enter his mind?

Take care.

Rating:
Summary: Essential-And Indispensable
Review: This book, like no other, comes closest to capturing the master throughout his growth from would-be writer from Cleveland to the most honest voice in the history of American fiction. These pieces will break the heart of the most cold-hearted. Ellison is all about truth, and when he comes to that truth you will be changed.

Rating:
Summary: Shocking, tight and Ellison at his peak
Review: What happens when you're able to leap into people's minds, reading their thoughts or smoothing out their iritations, and your best friend - who just happens to be an attorney - asks you to leap into the mind of a serial killer that she believes she may have wrongfully convicted? You get one heck of a dizzying ride written by a master storyteller. A novella that oozes cool, menace and mystery - all told by an incredibly engaging narrator, the psychic in question - "Mefisto" is one of the best pieces of suspense literature in the last 30 years, and easily one of the usually-dense Ellison's best ever. Get it YESTERDAY.

I don't give out 5 stars often, but when I do, you know it earned it.