The work is particularly hard-hitting due to the fact that similar white supremacist groups exist today. “Knox” (1974) 5/5 (Very Good): The collection starts off with a mordant and literary story of a dystopic future plagued by racism - a future (perhaps) where the Patriotism Party holds great allure.
And he can’t resist taking a swipe at the reader (and the American public in general), “if you hear me sobbing once in a while, it’s only because you’ve killed me, too, you fuckers” (16).įor fans of New Wave SF and vitriolic social SF. Ellison proclaims at the end of his introduction: “This is what tomorrow looks like, dummy” (16). Warning: I suspect some readers will find the nihilistic and caustic tone of the volume tedious. Many are infused with (pseudo) autobiographical content and lament the societal ills that Ellison sees as most pervasive and dangerous and most of the time he believes it’s futile to do anything about it. Above all, they are well-written and intelligent. They are terrifying and vicious, immersive and gut-wrenching, and span from baroque far future speculations to near future warnings.
Approaching Oblivion (1974) is filled with transfixing tales about violent future racism (“Knox”), humanity’s last moments (“Kiss of Fire”), the desperate desire to change one’s own past (“One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty”), a last rebel against the militarizing system (“Silent in Gehanna”), and familial rivalry within a vast arcology (“Catman”), etc… (Leo and Diane Dillon’s cover for the 1974 edition)Įllison’s stories punch where it hurts.
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