Stalking the Nightmare

An Ellison potpourri: rewrites of tales 1st appearing in 50s pulp magazines (one a Joe L. Hensley collaboration), recent tales & four excellent nonfiction items. The nonfiction: some witty autobiographical sketches: an in-person account of events at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as data from Voyager I's Saturn fly-by arrives; the full story behind his acrimonious battle with Hollywood over the short-lived TV series The Starlost; & the story of how he ran away from home at age 13 to join a carnival, learning "more about the darker side of human nature than any kid should ever know." The fiction, alas, pales by comparison. There are several dressed-up variations on the Quest for the Grail. The sf tales offer so-so variations on familiar notions (Earthlings discovering their roots on an alien planet; robot megalomania; Adam & Eve; teeny weeny alien invaders). An Ellisonian satire is aimed at a TV show devoted to humiliating its guests--plus two other, more effectively humorous pieces on Aladdin's lamp & the Nativity. Less vivid than Ellison's best, with too many tired old variations & flabby retreads--but sparkling in spots.--Kirkus (edited)