Harlan Ellison has spent much of his life evading labels. It is difficult to make a general statement about him, or about his work, that must not be followed immediately by a qualifying negation: Ellison both is and is not a science-fiction writer; Ellison both is and is not the godfather/prime practitioner of the New Wave; Ellison both is and is not a radical critic of contemporary sociopolitical trends; Ellison both is and is not a conservative humanistic moralist. He has built a major reputation by writing short stories and editing anthologies. He has written no trilogies or tetralogies, created no galactic empires or foundations. On the other hand, he has created a body of fiction which contributes to the characteristic twentieth-century redefinition of literary genres. He has built a mode of consciousness in his works that challenges the boundary lines between truth and fiction, between history...