Edgeworks, Vol. 1: Over the Edge / An Edge in My Voice

The Edgeworks are a 20-volume projected series containing classic works of the world's most honored fantasist. Under the author's direct supervision, each book now contains the revised, sometimes expanded versions of the previously published work, as well as lengthy new introductions. The series begins with Over the Edge (1970), a collection of short stories, and An Edge in My Voice (1985), a collection of essays. Both the stories and the essays are standard Ellison. In a word: brilliant. Ellison is one of the few writers on the planet whose own life is often more amazing than most of his fiction. Even though several of the stories are from the very beginning of the author's career, they are still quite effective. The essays (which first appeared in such diverse publications as Future Life, the L.A. Weekly and the Comics Journal in the early 1980s) speak of truths and lies as relevant today as they were then. --Stanley Wiater