Spider Kiss

Having read most of the works of Harlan Ellison, I was a little scared by all the low-star reviews about this book before I started reading it. I am also from a different generation from the one portrayed in this novel and don't particularly care for "Rockabilly"-type music. I kept my expectations low going into this novel. In spite of this, Harlan Ellison's "hold nothing back" way with words grabbed my attention like a tractor-beam and sucked me in all the way to the end of the novel. The story is your basic, "country bumpkin gets a taste of the fame-drug and rides that roller coaster as far as it will go" sort. What adds a nice extra dimension to the work are the perspectives of the "puppet masters", the guys who hold the contract of their budding young talent. Add in to the mix a series of unfortunate events and some unique observations about the human condition and you have yourself another superb story by Harlan Ellison. But what really makes this book worth reading comes only after one has finished reading it. When you read about the fate of this 50s and 60s-era protagonist you can't help but realize that so many of the things that happened to him are just as pertinent and relative when one looks at the tabloids and Hollywood scandals of today, 2010. Some things haven't changed in 50 years.

I can't believe the bevy of 2-star reviews regarding this work! by people who claim to be H.E. fans, no less!! should i mention this is routinely cited as one of the best rock & roll stories EVER?! people, this novel was published in 1961, it's one of Harlan's early works & like many such pieces it has a very gritty & urban quality about it. the story may seem trite in this day & age, but remember that 1961 was far before the whole "debauched rock star" persona was etched into the collective American unconscious. and even though the story might be familiar, don't forget that the protagonist of the tale ISN'T the rock star! and his story makes the book that much better (btw, it wasn't Elvis that the rockstar character was based on, it was Jerry Lee Lewis.) i believe there are a cabal of "Harlan purists" who chafe at the idea of a young H.E. cranking out such hardboiled non-fantasy-oriented material, and as such seem to roll their eyes at anything this isn't I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, or Beast That Shouted Love At The Heart Of The World. possibly because Spider Kiss is one novel that you don't have to be a rabid H.E. fan to enjoy. pick this one up and judge for yourself. not to mention, it's always worthwhile picking up an Ellison book before it goes out of print, as they all-too-often do.