Booknote: Night and the Enemy

Harlan Ellison and Ken Stacey (artist), Night and the Enemy. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2015.  ISBN: 9780486799612.

Genre: graphic novels
Subgenre: science fiction
Format: e-book galley
Source: NetGalley

Harlan Ellison's Earth-Kyba War stories are collected in this volume. This is a reissue/reprint collection of these stories that first appeared in the 1980s. In addition to the stories, the volume includes an art and sketch gallery and the statements from Ellison and Ken Stacey, the artist, that they included with the stories in 1987. In addition, Ellison and Stacey wrote new introductions for this edition, and the volume also features a new short story by Ellison that was previously available only as a limited edition. Overall, this is a good package.

The stories are examples of Harlan Ellison's writing in great form. The stories combine emotion, suspense, and the realities of interstellar war where things are not always straightforward. The art is strong, making great use of colors, especially dark blues and black. The book combines text and visual elements in a great way to tell the stories. Parts of it reminded me of Ray Bradbury's work, so I think fans of Bradbury may enjoy this one as well. The volume does have some adult content, but overall this is one I really liked and recommend.

4 out of 5 stars.

This book qualifies for the following 2016 Reading Challenges: