I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

Harlan Ellison

1967

January, 2024

2.5/10

The book has excellent ideas. However, Ellison isn't quite there as a writer. It comes across in the style, tone, and execution of those ideas. The writing is crass and crude at times, but — worst of all — it is irreverent.

Ellison has a lot to say. I can see that he's trying to express the thoughts and feelings that plague his soul. I can respect and appreciate that. But the stories fall short. I can see him reaching into his depths. He's truly trying. But his attempted poetics and depth are merely that: attempted.

It feels like reading something that's trying so hard to be deep that rather than actually being deep, the only thing that comes across is the attempt itself. His irreverent style only makes it worse, thus making the stories, sadly, bad.

Every story also includes toxicity around women. He does, at the very least, mention that he has had problems with women. But surely not every story needed to include objectification, sexism, or abuse. It doesn't help his case.

If I were reading simply for the fun of it, I would not have kept reading after the second or third story. It's just bad writing. Good ideas. Bad writing.