Spider Kiss

This was a pretty good book and evidence again that Ellison is simply not constrained by genre. I had never read this assuming it was a bit of hack work from relatively early in Harlan's career, but like all the better pulpish writers he inserts his own voice and ideas into what is basically writing by the word.

True to most of Ellison's work, the primary strength here is character. Most of Ellison's work is really about well drawn characters thrust into paradoxical or odd situations. Shelly Morgenstern is so well executed that we feel he is a real person. We can relate to him on a personal level.

The first half of the novel particularly has a noirish feel with Morgenstern sitting in for the usual private dick with a conscience. There are show more even the typical hard boiled metaphors.

In the end I almost wanted Shelly to take another chance with Luther, the monster he discovered, but Ellison shows us that to dance with the demon ultimately requires selling your soul and all that brings with it. show less

[a:Harlan Ellison|7415|Harlan Ellison|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1377708311p2/7415.jpg], I have the deepest of writing crushes upon you.

Now and then one comes across a writer whose every word titillates and entices. Reading their stories, regardless of what they are, is a pleasure: even their 'just ok' writing makes you think, makes you wonder, makes you hungry for more. I've a handful of authors I can think of that do that for me.
Unquestionably, Mr. [a:Harlan Ellison|7415|Harlan Ellison|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1377708311p2/7415.jpg] is one of them.

[b:Spider Kiss|13148|Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross, #2)|James Patterson|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344270201s/13148.jpg|881425] is a rock show more and roll fable, effortlessly splicing together the various stories of a down and out kid and his meteoric rise to fame. Where [b:Spider Kiss|13148|Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross, #2)|James Patterson|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344270201s/13148.jpg|881425] differs from other stories of this nature is not only the fact that it predates the now cliche trope becoming trope... it also is nowhere near the heartwarming story one is used to hearing. Real life often isn't that way, and Ellison certainly doesn't shy away from depicting real life.

Character flaws are abundant, and for that the character's come off as rather more human. The fable is a fable, and as such the stereotypes do exist within the text. All the same, the stereotypes reinforce what audiences have been sold for ages now. It's incredible to think that this book was written in 1960, and it's more incredible that this book isn't better known.

Music fans? You gotta read this, if only for how well it mirrors the stories we all know so well. show less

With his spectacular signing voice and magnetic stage presence, a poor and naive country boy named Luther Sellers becomes the sensational Stag Preston under the guidance of his managers Colonel Jack Freeport and Shelly Morgenstern. However, it becomes immediately apparent to Freeport and Morgenstern that Stag is not as innocent or pleasant as he first appeared. As he rockets to stardom, Stag’s arrogance grows along with his appetites until he pushes his luck too far, jeopardizing his life and career.

Originally released under the title Rockabilly in 1961, Spider Kiss is an engaging, sometimes alarming, tale of the perils of fame, fortune, and megalomania told from the point of view of Stag’s beleaguered handler, Shelly Morgenstern show more who questions his own morals and life choices after repeatedly covering for Stag’s misdeeds. show less

Harlan Ellison has an amazing gift of pulling a reader into his stories, even when one isn't particularly interested in the subject of the story. I had only read his science fiction before this. I picked up this book on vacation knowing nothing about it, and could hardly put it down. Love or hate the man (I'll go with love but he is rather polarizing), you have to love his writing.

When I first picked this book up, I had read a bit of Ellison's work here and there. Short stories mostly, as that is typically what he writes. I didn't know at all what to expect from this book, but I was very pleasantly surprised. If you're a fan of the behind-the-scenes of the lives of notorious celebrities, the idea that fame given to the wrong person can become catastrophic, then this book will appeal to you. It takes that concept and blows it up into something really menacing and fascinating. This book cemented that I would seek out more of Ellison's work, and I'm definitely not sorry.

"Rockabilly" is a picture of the contemporary music world, with Stag Preston as a growling, hungry newcomer who captures the imaginations of millions before his own hubris and arrogant selfishness bring him down. Ellison seems to know this world intimately; the story of Stag Preston and his manager, the Colonel, is a straight knockoff of Elvis Presley, perhaps a warning for the King that could have saved his life had he read and heeded it. A fine early work by Ellison.

Early Ellison, a sort of take on Jerry Lee Lewis. An interesting read and compelling as usual, if a bit dated.