It's probably been too long since I've read science fiction. I took an exit off that highway when I reached Kurt Vonnegut and never really returned to that road. Bethatasitmay, I quite enjoyed Harlan Ellison who has consistently and persistently complains that he doesn't write science fiction but then again, it turns out he complains about a lot of things and that's the topic of a very nice pro
file about Harlan Ellison in the blog, Nextbook and you can read it here. Here's an excerpt:
He writes shtick. “I’m Looking for Kadak” (a story in Wandering Stars)
follows Evsise, a blue, eleven-armed Jew, as he travels around the
planet of Zsouchmuhn searching for Kadak, who hasn’t been seen since he
got fed up and renounced his faith, seventeen years before, during
Purim services. The nine remaining (blue, eleven-armed) Jews on
Zsouchmuhn need Kadak to complete their minyan so that they can sit
shivah for the planet, which is soon being hauled to another solar
system.
And here's a bonus: This is an interview conducted by Kurt Andersen of Harlan Ellison. Kurt Andersen is another of my favorites and always puts a very nice finish on all his work. 
