Legendary writer Harlan Ellison passed away in his sleep on June 27, 2018 at the age of 84. Known as one of the most diverse science fiction writers of his time, Ellison worked in a variety of mediums during his career. Be it short stories, novellas, scripts, or comics, he was able to create some extraordinarily memorable works.

His attitude was probably what made him most famous within the literary world. He even referred to himself as “possibly the most contentious person on Earth.” Nonetheless his achievements were myriad and his fan base immense.

Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, And Horror
Softcover | Kindle Edition
Edited by Laurie Lamson
Tarcher/Penguin
Release Date: February 20, 2014

If you’re like me and you read ridiculous amounts of literature, surely at some point you have wondered if you could possibly pen your own novel and leave your nine to five job to be a professional writer. I mean, other people have done it and now they get to travel the world and write about whatever makes them happy…right? Wrong.

Being an author is more than just hauling a laptop around and writing whenever the mood strikes you. It’s about dedication, perseverance, and tenacity. But not to worry, some of today’s greatest writers and teachers have come together to lend you a hand (or a book, at least). Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, And Horror is the latest in a series of helpful books that are geared towards the budding author in all of us.

Harlan Ellison’s 7 Against Chaos
Hardcover
Story by Harlan Ellison
Art and Cover by Paul Chadwick
Colors by Ken Steacy
DC Comics
Release Date: July 10, 2013
Cover Price: $24.99

Some time far off in the future, mankind has conquered the stars and utilized technology to ensure their unchallenged and unchecked dominance over everything they survey. Many planets in our solar system capable of sustaining life house decadent civilizations where the wealthy elite force those they consider genetic mistakes – known as “the reordered” – to work as slave labor and battle each other to the death for the amusement of their masters until they die.

A mysterious stranger wearing a hooded robe travels to several of these distant planets and moons to recruit six of these exploited beings for an enigmatic mission: Mourna, a beautiful, seven-foot-tall Amazon with metallic claws for hands; Hoorn, a cunning and dexterous thief who wears a cold grey mask where his face never existed; Lady Ayleen Valiante, a noblewoman from Venus and furthermore a Phoenix, a dying race of beings whose ability to control fire and deploy it as a weapon can also do greater damage to themselves and others with just a touch of their hand; Tantalus, an individual who resembles a praying mantis and possesses great physical agility and speed; Urr, a robot designed to be subservient to humans but who has rebelled against its programming and come to understand for itself that not all members of the human race are worthy of his protection; and Kenrus, a brilliant but obsessed scientist who has lived in seclusion for years at the center of a moon after being ostracized by humanity for his ideas, ideas which those who sent him into exile were more than happy to take full advantage of to suit their own materialistic ends.

Titan Books has reprinted Web of the City, Harlan Ellison‘s first novel, in paperback and Kindle.

Thanks to Titan Books, we have an exclusive excerpt from Web of the City, which you can read right here below. Take a read from the book and let us know what you think!

The release of the upcoming sci-fi thriller In Time has just come across an obstacle that no one in their right mind ever wants to encounter, and his name is Harlan Ellison.

The prolific, award-winning writer who has been working his literary majesty in print, film, and on television over the course of nearly six decades has filed a lawsuit in California federal alleging that the 20th Century Fox film, which stars Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried and is written and directed by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, Lord of War), is an uncredited adaptation of his classic 1965 short story “Repent Harlequin! Said The Ticktockman”.