Harlan Ellison is undoubtedly one of the most audacious,
infuriating, brazen characters on the planet. Which may help
explain why he is also one of the most brilliant,
innovative, and eloquent writers on earth.
Slippage simply presents recent, typical
Ellison. In a word, masterful. The 21 stories in this 1997
collection, which is encased in black boxes, show Ellison at
the height of his powers, with several of the stories (no
surprise here) major award-winners. Highlights include a
black mind reader who pays a visit to a white serial killer,
a husband who falls prey to a vampiric personal computer,
and a love affair between a young man and a woman who may be
more undead than alive. Perhaps even more fascinating are
the painfully candid snapshots of autobiography running
throughout the volume. Even if Ellison’s unsettling fictions
are not enough to dazzle you, his often bizarre life
experiences as an author will still keep you compulsively
turning the page like a polite voyeur. —Stanley Wiater