Mefisto in Onyx [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

Harlan Ellison (Author), Frank Miller (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ellison's in-your-face story about telepathy and a serial killer is his most substantial piece in years--though in length it barely qualifies as a novella. Rudy Pairis is a well-educated black man with telepathic abilities and one true friend in the world, a deputy district attorney named Allison Roche. Allison, who once had a brief sexual liaison with Rudy, presumes on that relationship to ask him to do the unthinkable. She wants him to slip into the mind of the most heinous serial killer she has ever tried to send to the chair, a prospect Rudy looks forward to as much as having "a skunk spray my pants leg." The twisty turnings of the road that eventually lead psychic and psychopath to a confrontation at the electric chair, as well as Ellison's award-winning (World Fantasy, Nebula, Hugo) prose may be too much for some, but it should burn like slow whiskey down the throats of his many hard-bitten fans. Though the ending is predictable--and the language about racial stereotypes brutally candid--the story holds an intense and morbid fascination. The introduction by Frank Miller discussing convicts' "dead eyes and dead voices" is also a winner.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The venerable Ellison gives Stephen King and Dean Koontz a run for their money in this unusual love story, his best work in years. The plot concerns narrator Rudy Pairis, who posseses the uncanny ability to "jaunt in people's landscapes," that is, read their minds. "In a moment of human weakness," Pairis reluctantly agrees to jaunt in the landscape of serial killer Henry Lake "Spanky" Spanning, a combination of Jack the Ripper, Charlie Manson, and every other wacko ever known rolled into one, as a favor to his best friend, Ally Roche, who after successfully prosecuting Spanning for 29 murders, has fallen in love with him. Before Spanning fries in the chair, she wants to be sure of his actual guilt or innocence. Once Pairis and Spanning meet, the story kicks into high gear, taking the reader on roller coaster maneuvers to arrive safely with the happy yet ironic ending of which Ellison is a master. While this is well worth purchasing, note that a slightly shorter version of the story appeared in the October 1993 issue of Omni magazine. --Michael Rogers, "Li brary Journal"
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Mark V. Ziesing Books; 1st edition (December 1993)
• ISBN-10: 0929480325
• ISBN-13: 978-0929480329
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,692,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I expect more from Ellison, September 28, 2002

By 

Glen Engel Cox (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mefisto in Onyx (Hardcover)

Harlan Ellison, "Mefisto in Onyx"
[OMNI, sometime 1993]

It's nice to see Ellison returning to stories with plot and character, after the indefinable "Eidolon" and "The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore." Ellison states that this story took ten years to write, and it shows an affinity with that Ellison of ten years ago--passionate, filled with rightous anger, and burning up the pages with his rage. "Mefisto" is the story of a serial killer, who may or may not be the person we think he is, and of the District Attorney who prosecuted him, then fell in love with him and believes him to be innocent now, and, most importantly, with Rudy, who can jaunt (shades of Alfie Bester) into people's minds (i.e., read them). A love triangle made in hell, made even more unholy by the amount of killing gone before, and the possible miscarriage of justice. Hey, let's face it, this story has everything--so why aren't I wild about it? Can it be that Ellison's jocular, biting, ironic style has staled? Maybe it's just dated, more a product of the radical sixties than the disturbed '90s. Ellison has updated his references, but the manner is still the same as can be found in "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs." And he's damned clever, but unsurprising, since we expect something of a twist from him. With Ellison, I have so many expectations, and am easily critical. Under the by-line of any other author, I might be raving; from Ellison, I expect so much more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars He may not read your mind, but he can sure warp it., January 31, 2006

By 

Shawn Smith "Zaklog the Critical" (Lake Charles, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mefisto in Onyx (Hardcover)

This story is as punchy and disturbing as Harlan Ellison gets without becoming (as he sometimes is) completely incoherent. (Would anyone care to explain to me "The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World"?)

For those of you not familiar with Ellison's writing, think Chuck Pahluniak, with slightly better manners.

Ellison creates a compelling voice with Rudy Pairis, a black man blessed with the ability to read minds. Well, in a slightly saner world he would be blessed. As it is, he has yet to find one person whose mindscape doesn't make him want to vomit.

When Rudy's truest friend asks him to take a look inside the mind of a convicted mass murderer, the worst he fears is not half as bad as what he actually gets.

It kept me up till two AM the second time I read it. Most definitely worth your time.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential-And Indispensable, March 19, 2002

By 

Robin Gipson (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mefisto in Onyx (Hardcover)

This book, like no other, comes closest to capturing the master throughout his growth from would-be writer from Cleveland to the most honest voice in the history of American fiction. These pieces will break the heart of the most cold-hearted. Ellison is all about truth, and when he comes to that truth you will be changed.