thegooddoctor
8/4/2023
One of my favourite stories.
Favourite in that "I almost wish I hadn't read that." / "I can't get those images out of my brain." / "What is wrong with Harlan Ellison that he can create these nightmare visions" sort of a way.
NOT for the faint of heart!
Caveat legit!
If you would like to try a Harlan story that doesn't damage your soul, but is still excellent, you might try "Jeffty is Five".
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My rating system for this website (I have done reviews for ~80 "books" (including short stories, novelettes and novellas, as well as novels).
Their system is out of 5 stars, and allows you to use half-stars, so highest rating is 5 full stars, next-highest 4 ½ stars, etc. -- and lowest is ½ star. I did NOT want to space these ratings equally, giving just as much precedence to low-quality mush as to really good works. For that reason, I laid out my system as follows:
I begin with one star being equivalent to a rating of "C -". Progressing upwards, I add ½ star for each step, up to the maximum 5 stars, which is equivalent to a rating of "A"+. I reserve ½ star for BOMBS, there being no option of zero or negative stars.