Getting in the Wind

I would best describe writer Harlan Ellison as a man who can be tough as a rhino with the heart of a poet. I know this guy and the publication of this book (and the companion collection PULLING A TRAIN) is a most startling event. A lot of the material in these two books were first published way back in 1957 as one book entitled SEX GANG; a infamous paperback put out by Nighstand Books (soft core porno by today's standards). He did it for the bread man. The book was written by one 'Paul Merchant". So, why is a startling event? Copies of SEX GANG which was printed three times ( the third back in 1973 by Reed Niightstand) go for around$300.00 to $700.00 a copy depending on it's condition. For book collectors, it is one of the Holy Grails. Very rare indeed (I have all three in my humble Little Ellison Wonderland collection) and the '73 edition (the rarest according to Harlan) is most desired and the one I have is inscribed and signed by 'Paul Merchant"(one of the writer's early pseudonyms for published works is less than kosher magazines let us say) and having it signed and inscribed is about as scarce as having a winged monkey from Oz coming to your house for breakfast. Are the stories good? Compaired to his later writings many of which won awards and accolades, I would say not so great, but just to have a version of SEX GANG in your hands and mind, is indeed startling. For many years, the book would never even appear in the lists of his published works and he swore it would never never be reprinted. So, why did it happen? Buy the book (or books) and read the forward by editor Miriam Linna and Harlan's introduction. The book was published by Kicks Books in New York, a small very independent and wonderous operation, whose warehouse was flooded by the dread hurricane Sandy, but have flat out refused to stay down (that story would make a great book if I say so...and I damn well do). What more can I say? Get it.

Reading/collecting Ellisonia since 1982, the speculative fiction genre made up 2/3rds of my library, but with very few exceptions (1961's "The Juvies" more than the rest), the '50s JD stories remained out of reach. Now with this and its companion volume "Pulling A Train" ( which I have yet to read; am trying to make them last), the search is over! Any serious fan of Ellison will ignore the hefty price, and the unique size of the "hip pocket" tome is an added bonus for it to stand out from the crowd! Or put simply: BUY THIS BOOK!

If you own a copy of CHILDREN OF THE STREETS, another compilation of Harlan Ellison's early fiction published in 1961 in the US and in 2004 in Great Britain, you should know only one of the nine short stories in that volume, GANG GIRL, is reprinted here. It's not sufficient enough a reason to deny yourself the pleasure of the other rare works collected in GETTING IN THE WIND. Considering the circumstances under which they were written, they're actually quite brilliant.

Ellison's best work, I feel, is his crime fiction. It's usually overlooked for his sf/fantasy work, but I believe that's a mistake. If you liked WEB OF THE CITY / RUMBLE or DEADLY STREETS, you may like these earlier stories. I did.