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Spider Kiss (Paperback)

by Harlan Ellison (Author) "First there was only the empty golden circle of the hot spot, blazing against the silk curtains..." (more)
Key Phrases: little redhead, publicity man, Stag Preston, Shelly Morgenstern, New York (more...)
2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Review
Harlan Ellison is the dark prince of American letters, cutting through our corrupted midnight fog with a switchblade prose. He simply must be read. -Pete Hamill "Ellison writes with sensitivity as well as guts---a rare combination." -Leslie Charteris, creator of The Saint --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Description
He claims he's not a fan of rock-and-roll, but somehow Harlan Ellison's seminal novel based on the career of Jerry Lee Lewis ended up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. One of the first - and still one of the best - dissections of the wildly destructive rock-and-roll lifestyle, Spider Kiss isn't about giant cockroaches that attack Detroit or space invaders that smell like chicken soup. Instead, it's the story of Luther Sellers, a poor kid from Louisville with a voice like an angel who's renamed Stag Preston by a ruthless promoter. Preston's meteoric rise on the music scene is matched only by the rise in his enormous appetites - and not just for home cooking - and soon the invisible monkey named Success is riding him straight to hell. This raucous early novel reinforces Ellison's reputation as one of America's most dynamic writers.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 200 pages
  • Publisher: M Press (December 27, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1595820582
  • ISBN-13: 978-1595820587
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #807,553 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #44 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( E ) > Ellison, Harlan

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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
First there was only the empty golden circle of the hot spot, blazing against the silk curtains. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
little redhead, publicity man
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Stag Preston, Shelly Morgenstern, New York, Colonel Jack Freeport, Porter Hackett, Ruth Kemp, Asa Kemp, Sheldon Morgenstern, Trudy Quillan, Joe Costanza, Luther Sellers, Jungle York, Sid Feller, Times Square, Colonel Freeport, Jeanie Friedel, Leslie Parrish, New Jersey, Pimm's Cup, The Ginchy Set, Bob Mandle, Car Hop Angel, Dashiell Hammett, Don't Know You Anymore, George Wharton
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2.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Harlan does Elvis., April 6, 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Spider Kiss (Paperback)
Well, maybe not Elvis, but Elvis could play him perfectly in a movie version (if there were a movie version, and if Elvis would take such an unflattering role, and if he weren't old and, not to mince words, dead). Where was I. Yes, it's a full-length Ellison novel, one of his earliest, about a country boy who becomes a huge rock star. The interesting stuff is Ellison's creation of a character who is able to come across as a charming kid and a glamorous star, while gradually being revealed to us as a real scum of a human being. Ellison does it beautifully, from his vantage point as someone who has clearly spent too much time hanging around people in the showbiz industry
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment, July 17, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Spider Kiss (Paperback)
Ellison's novel of a 50's-era rockabilly star (the book was originally titled "Rockabilly") is energetically written and a page-turner, but it's marred by Ellison's own outlook. Ellison's contempt not only for the character but also for rock`n'roll in general drips off every page. It spoiled the book for me, one that I genuinely tried to enjoy.
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5.0 out of 5 stars THE book on Rock & Roll, February 7, 2007
By punkviper (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
  
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.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Before your time, kids
I suspect that some of the reviewers here were not born yet when this book was written (1961). It is very much a piece of its time and era, back when Ellison really *was* an Angry... Read more
Published on October 28, 2001 by JCPancakes

2.0 out of 5 stars Sci Fi writer tries to Rock and Roll.
Pre Fab Four novel of the ups and downs of being an up and coming "Rock" star. Not for the Sci Fi fan, more of a Stephen King novel in some ways.
Published on January 1, 1999

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