Product Description
Harlan Ellison's masterwork of myth and terror as he seduces all innocence on a mind-freezing odyssey into the darkest reaches of mortal terror and the most dazzling heights of Olympian hell in his finest collection.Deathbird Stories is a collection of 19 of Harlan Ellison's best stories, including Edgar and Hugo winners, originally published between 1960 and 1974. The collection contains some of Ellison's best stories from earlier collections and is judged by some to be his most consistently high quality collection of short fiction. The theme of the collection can be loosely defined as God, or Gods. Sometimes they're dead or dying, some of them are as brand-new as today's technology. Unlike some of Ellison's collections, the introductory notes to each story can be as short as a phrase and rarely run more than a sentence or two. One story took a Locus Poll Award, the two final ones both garnered Hugo Awards and Locus Poll awards, and the final one also received a Jupiter Award from the Instructors of Science Fiction in Higher Education (discontinued in 1979). When the collection was published in Britain, it won the 1979 British Science Fiction Award for Short Fiction.His stories will rivet you to the floor and change your heartbeat...as unforgettable a chamber of horror, fantasy and reality as you'll ever experience.-Gallery "Brutally and flamboyantly shocking, frequently brilliant, and always irresistibly mesmerizing."-Richmond Times-Dispatch ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Huge Ellison fan, great book
I am a huge Ellison fan and this is one of favorite books. Collection of short stories, great quick read. Never a dull moment with Ellison.

Ellison is a God of Fiction
If you appreciate excellent writing, weird tales, thought-provoking scenarios, and an acute eye for the entertaining idea, READ HARLAN ELLISON.His voice is recognizable immediately.A sign of pure skill and immense talent.His words tumble out with edge and intelligence.His writing is powerful because he writes with unapologetic authority and an odd wit.Harlan is truly a pleasure to read.I wish I had discovered him MUCH earlier!If you enjoy Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice--fine writers--then Ellison will delight you.He is, at times, miles above these great writers.Check him out.You will enjoy his stories!

Terrifying myths and metaphors for the modern age
The philosopher of horror and sci-fi, Harlan Ellison offers terrifying myths and metaphors for the modern age in the guise of horror stories. These stories are emotionally and intellectually provocative, sometimes leaving the reader in a troubled state of mind, as the author warns in the book's forward. Definitely not "kid stuff," Ellison's stories express the spiritual terror of modern man, tottering like Nietzsche's tightrope walker over the abyss.

Ellison is a Must Read for any lover of the Fantasy Genre.
If you have never read Harlan and you are a fantasy reader - you haven't read anything. Ellison is Fantasy With Teeth. Deathbird is as good a collection of his stories as any. Buy, Read, Enjoy.

Some of the best writing by Harlan Ellison
I suspect that most of these stories are already in The Essential Ellison: A 50 Year Retrospective (Revised and Expanded) and that renders this collection obsolete. Could be why it's out of print. I had a copy and I read it so many times. Then I gave it to a friend that I never talk to anymore. Be that a lesson for you. It was signed too.

But from the first story, a meditation on Kitty Genovese and the urban habit of just watching violence without doing anything, to the last one "Deathbird" which works the same theme as His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) (His Dark Materials) but more effectively, there's not a story in this collection that I felt wasted my time. This is rare as many Harlan Ellison collections mix the brilliant with the clunkers.

If you can buy a copy, buy a copy. It's well worth the price. ... Read more

Product Description
Harlan Ellison's Deathbird Stories was selected by the American Library Association as one of the Best Books for Young Adults, 1975. School Library Journal said the same thing. This modern master of the macabre invites lovers of Poe, Kafka and Borges to a gourmet's sampling of the headiest wine since Montressor's Amontiillado. Strange Wine: the quaffing of deep drafts of imagination...unsettling visions by the man whom Pete Hamill called "the Dark Prince of American letters."Fifteen previously uncollected tales in which the Pied Piper of Hamelin is come again, this time to pipe the Apocalypse for humanity; the spirits of executed Nazi war criminals walk Manhattan streets; the damned soul of a Lizzie Borden-like murderess escapes from Hell; a horny young man is haunted by the ghost of his Yiddishe Momma; an amoral womanizer seeks his awful destiny among the derelicts and alligators living in the sewers beneath the city; gremlins write the fantasies of a gone-dry writer; the nephew of The Shadow wreaks terrible vengeance on the New York Literary Establishment; and the exquisite Dr. D'ArqueAngel injects her patients with immunizing doses of the distillate of death. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Lesser Known Ellison - But NOT Lesser Quality
This was the first Ellison collection I ever read from cover to cover, and it remains a sentimental favorite. Finding it available for Kindle was a treat! I described "Croatoan" to one of my classes as "inspired variously by the Lost Colony of Roanoke, the myth of baby alligators flushed down toilets growing to full size in the New York sewer system, and the author's own deep contempt for waste (as in wasted lives, wasted time, wasted potential)." Needless to say, they were intrigued. Other favorites in this volume include "Hitler Painted Roses" (a frequent theme of Ellison's work is 'God as poseur'; here he uses the Lizzie Borden legend to fine effect), "Mom" (funny and charming), "The Diagnosis of Doctor D'Arqueangel" (be careful what you wish for!) and the title story (beautifully written, with a kicker of an ending that will have you thinking not only about the story itself, but about your own attitudes towards life). But even some of the stories I didn't 'get' the first time have aged well and revealed their strengths to me with rereading ("The New York Review of Bird")

This collection was the beginning of my decades-longone-sided love affair with the writing of Harlan Ellison. I recommend it to anyone with an open mind and heart.

Sad how the internet has dated the Intro. He and most else missed it coming.
He's like old SNL Video's
If you lived then it you can get it.
If not I have to tell you how the clock worked, but you still don't know the time.

Still excellent but not current.

My favorite Ellison
Non-anthologies of Harlan Ellison's work are hard to come by these days.I was fortunate enough to have a friend who owned this book (which I then unabashedly stole).While the anthology volumes may give you more sheer material - Strange Wine is in my mind a perfect compilation of stories due to the more manageable size (some of the anthologies are so huge), high quality of the stories, and the variety of themes and style.I think of this book like my favorite albums - each track is different and beautifully constructed - yet each still reveals the wondrous, dark, and demented imagination of Ellison.If you enjoy Ellison and have never read this particular book, I can guarantee you will love it.If you have never read Ellison before - start here and enjoy the ride.

An Irrelevant, Intriguing Short Story Collection from Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison may be the only contemporary American writer I know of whose work contains the well-crafted irrelevance of Mark Twain's best, the brooding, foreboding tones of Edgar Poe's best, and the lyrical, often youthful optimism of Ray Bradbury's finest. He may be, along with Bradbury, our best writer of short fiction in any genre, but especially, in the realm of science fiction and fantasy. "Strange Wine" is the long overdue reprinting of a short story collection comprised of terse, and quite peculiar, tales published originally back in 1978, but reprinted finally only a few years ago. It remains memorable because of Ellison's hilarious, extensive introduction that's nearly twice as long as many of the short stories included in this collection, and, of course, for the stories too. These often intriguing tales range from very good to great, and do demonstrate Ellison's extensive range from horror to tragedy and comedy (and sometimes all three). My personal favorites include "Mom" (His science fictional Mother's Day "valentine"), "Killing Bernstein" (An odd, hilarious take on cloning and psychotic behavior which only Ellison could write,) and "The Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (On a congested Manhattan street, the protagonist witnesses the ghosts of Nazis he had executed, years after the end of World War II.). Anyone interested in Ellison's work will certainly wish to add "Strange Wine" to his or hers own private library; without question, it will be a most welcomed addition too.

Good Strange...
I.ve heard many people look down on Harlan Ellison's work because of how he is as a person. In my opinion that is an unfit way to judge an author's book. It may be true, in fact, I know it is. A friend of mine saw him at a book signing and yes, it's true, he did get infuriated when someone didn't know who he was, but still, it doesn't mean I'm going to look down upon the way he writes. There is no denying, no matter how big of a donkey's rear he may be, that he is an intelligent and unique writer that can not be imitated.

Give Strange Wine, along with any of his other books, a try. ... Read more

Product Description
Everybody's entitled to his own opinion, right?WRONG!!He or she is entitled to an informed opinion-so if you don't like being argued with, if you don't like a tital stranger telling you that your opinion is stupid, and you're fulla crap, DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK! Because this guy never learned how to lie, and he is either adored or printed on hate posters in Cheney's office, Ku Klux Klan dens, schlock poroducers' bathrooms, and those idiot sites on the internet that truckle to ultra-maroons. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A different kind of movie review book
Harlan Ellison is a paradox for me. I like his writing... when he's not writing science fiction. I don't really care for his style in fiction. But I loved his TV review books, "The Glass Teat" and "The Other Glass Teat". (These titles are unfortunately long out of print, but used copies are out there.) I also had the pleasure of seeing Ellison at a book signing, and he is absolutely hilarious in person. He's one of the best monologists I've ever seen, and his razor sharp wit is deadly to all, including the audience. (I refer to him as "The Don Rickles of science fiction".)

So, about *this* book. Ellison always has an opinion, and he's always ready to share it with anyone. And he's an incredibly intelligent man. As other reviewers have noted, have a dictionary at hand when reading this book! I didn't agree with a lot of Ellison's opinions. But they were always informative, and very entertaining.

This book covers movies back to the '60s, so it really brought back some memories. Many of the films reviewed were ones I had seen when they came out (yeah, I'm an old fart). Others I had missed. But Ellison's reviews made me want to see the ones I had missed, and re-watch many of the ones I had.

I've even thought of getting some friends together for a regular "Review A Movie Along With Harlan Ellison" night. But some of the more interesting movies aren't available in any format. "Mickey One", for example, which Ellison described as "the finest American film of the year, and possibly of many years!" His review really made me want to see the film. But it's out of print, not available, as far as I can tell never came out on DVD.

If you want a review book that will just give you ideas about what to rent for the weekend, skip this book. But if you want something that will make you think, that will stretch your mind a bit, that will make you want to search out obscure movies, The "Harlan Ellison's Watching" is just the ticket.

If you've got the hardcover, don't bother.
My rating is for the original hardcover. I bought the paperback based on the publisher's website indicating this version had a new introduction by Leonard Maltin and "additional material". Unfortunately, the "additional material" IS the introduction by Maltin. The rest of the contents are identical to the hardcover.

Explain for a bit....
My first edition of this book has over 500 pages. The "new" edition has half this? Is this an edited down version? Or does it have tiny type? What? My rating is for the hardcover edition. Maybe someone can explain it. I might have bought it, but information is scant.

Movie reviews from an insider, fan and master storyteller
You'll learn more from one Harlan Ellison movie review than you did in a week of any college history or media class.

He's done the screenplays for various movies to varying degrees of quality, and he's honest about that, which gives him MAD credibility points with me (self-effacing is the path to free, open blasting of others). He blasts movies on the premise that, if they're bad, they've lied to you and sucked the very life out of your existence and should be punished. He's got lots of backstage insight and, even though a great deal of the films in this book are dated by the nature of the films discussed (ever seen a 10 page essay about how bad "Gremlins" was?) which slows the book down in spots, it's over 400 pages of the most erudite, informed, intellectually stimulating slamming you've ever read. He makes you want to go to the video store and stock up on everything in the 80s to see if its as bad as he says it is. I don't agree with every review (and some reviews aren't even reviews, but diatribes about how jacked up society and art is, and these are often chilling), but I am thoroughly engaged with every review, and what more could you ask for?

A must for movie fans or anyone looking for intelligent writing that dares you to not own a dictionary. The book literally makes you smarter.

This is how it's done
The written reviews have much more to give in terms of sheer entertainment value then the moves themselves. If you run across this in a library check it out, it shows how movies reviews should be done ... Read more

Product Description
Robert Heinlein says, "This book is raw corn liquor--you should serve a whiskbroom with each shot so the customer can brush the sawdust off after he gets up from the floor." Perhaps a mooring cable might also be added as necessary equipment for reading these eight wonderful stories: They not only knock you down...they raise you to the stars. Passion is the keynote as you encounter the Harlequin and his nemesis, the dreaded Tictockman, in one of the most reprinted and widely taught stories in the English language; a pyretic who creates fire merely by willing it; the last surgeon in a world of robot physicians; a spaceship filled with hideous mutants rejected by the world that gave them birth. Touching and gentle and shocking stories from an incomparable master of impossible dreams and troubling truths."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 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Not as advertised
Let me get this out there right from the start - I LOVE Ellison!I have from the 70's and still do.

BUT - The description of this "book" tells me that it contains 172 pages and the other reviews speak of the other stories in it other than Paingod.WELL . . . all I got in my Kindle "delivery" was the title short story - no book to speak of, certainly not 172 pages worth, no other stories at all.

Perhaps I shouldn't gripe since I only spent 69 cents on it, but it simply wasn't what I ordered and wanted.I wanted the whole collection of stories but only got the one short story "Paingod".

Against Robots, Suits and Ticktockmen
Harlan Ellison loves to write introductions to stories. You can see it in anthologies like _Dangerous Visions_ (1967); and you can see it in many of his collections, including this one. Ellison says that his "habit of going naked into the world" comes from "a seamy desire on my part... to Be Adored" (11). In short, a Harlan Ellison introduction is a performance. You may want to take it with a grain of salt at times, but it is hard to avoid being entertained. Some readers, in fact, may be more entertained by the introductory material than by the stories themselves.

There are seven stories in all: "Paingod" (_Fantastic_,1964), "'Repent Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman!'" (_Galaxy_, 1965), "The Crackpots" (_If_, 1956), "Bright Eyes" (_Fantastic_, 1965), "The Discarded" (_Fantastic_, 1959), "Wanted in Surgery" (_If_,1957), and "Deeper than the Darkness" (_Infinity_,1957).

Let us start with "Repent Harlequin!..." It won the Hugo and the Nebula for best short story, and it is arguably the most famous story in this collection. I hope that legions of wild-eyed fans will not lash me with a neuronic whip for saying that I believe that it is a somewhat overrated story. Still, it is a nicely done blend of humor and dystopian fiction. Perhaps it was this comical element that struck a chord with readers.

I was a bit more impressed with "Bright Eyes" and "Deeper than the Darkness." Both stories involve quests. In the first tale, the questor is a tiny mutant astride a rat in a post-holocaust world. In the second, the hero is a firestarting minstrel traveling the spaceways. Ellison tells us that "Bright Eyes" was inspired by a piece of scratchboard art, while "Deeper than the Darkness" was inspired by a piece of music.

"Paingod" loaned itself to a great magazine cover by Robert Adragna depicting a purplish, three-fingered god lifting a crystal block with the Earth and Moon encased inside. It is a story that wrestles with the old problem of evil theme: If there is a God, and He is good, why do good people suffer? The story deserves some points for seriousness and a smooth style. But it is ultimately a bit heavy-handed in its treatment.

Many of Ellison's stories deal with the conflict between the conformist Suits and the individualist Crazies, with Ellison (surprise!) firmly on the side of the Crazies. The last three stories deal with this conflict. In "The Crackpots," a Suit comes to realize the error of his ways and goes native. In "The Discarded," the ugliesare screwed by the beautiful people. And in "Wanted in Surgery," there is a partial victory over the robots. Sometimes a partial victory is the best that we can get and the most that we deserve, though I am not sure that Ellison would agree with that.

In his previous collection, _Ellison Wonderland_ (1962), we see an original voice breaking through rough material. With _Paingod and Other Delusions_ (1965), we see Ellison more in control of his material. The voice is still there, but the artist is more clearly in sight.

A book with a pulse!
Ellison writes with humanity that you can feel in your gut and an imagination that makes Star Wars look like C-SPAN.On top of all of that there is often a lot of humor and cutting wit weaved into his stories as well. It's science fiction as poetry. Ellison never insults the intellect of his readers (in fact he challenges it) but he also isn't afraid of dealing with science fiction pulp standards like mutants, aliens and spaceships. I'll give you one quick sample line:

"The dead were everywhere, sighing soundlessly with milk-white eyes at a tomorrow that had never come."

(that line is from a story where the main character is an alien riding a giant rat named Thomas carrying a bag of skulls. Yeah...)

Also the short story "Repent Harlequin!", Said the Ticktockman is included in this book, which is one of my personal favorites! The introductions before each story are also great and give you an insight into Ellison's personality, as do the stories themselves. If youre unfamiliar with Ellison this is a good starter or check out The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World.

A strange book
I read sci-fi occasionally and I picked up an old copy of this book. To be honest I found the stream-of-conciousness introductions more interesting than the stories they preceded. For the most part I felt the stories were rather one note and gave an air of being made up as they go along without any kind of arc or structure apparent from one end to the other. Perhaps this is common when you're on a deadline and have to pump these things out to order, but I wasn't very satisfied with the outcome.

For example the widely mooted "Bright Eyes" story was apparently conceived to go with apainting and indeed the first few pages are almost a verbatim description of that painting - an alien riding a giant rat with a castle backdrop. It's feels like a school essay where the pupil has to write a story about a picture. Then the story turns right angles as alien and rat complete a mini odyssey and dump a bag of skulls in memory of his dead race after humans have wiped themselves out. Perhaps it was meant to be moving but to be honest it's just weird.

Most of the stories are like this. I did find some of them enjoyable but for the most part, I was more bemused than anything else.

entertaining
i thought "paingod and other delusions" was interesting to say the least, Ellison has a way of writing that makes it hard to put the book down, i enjoyed it very much and would recomend this book to anyone who likes science fiction, or just reading for that matter. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Sci Fi's Angry Young Man
He's been raging for years. Star trek and outer limits episodes, the short story he claims (with much vigor.) was the basis for the terminator.
He is a man from a bygone age who writes with a passion that is not found today. Some of the best short stories to be found (I have no mouth and I must scream)flow from his pen. A man worthy of a retrospective.
think of that!Gideon's Fall: When You Dont Have a Prayer, Only a Miracle Will Do

Never Far Away
I've had this book for going on ten years, and rarely is there a month that goes by without me picking it up. Ellison's full range is well represented, from the earliest days up through the classics like 'the Deathbird'. Some of the best Ellison non-fiction and opinion pieces are well represented also.If you've never read Ellison, be prepared to shift your outlook on pretty much everything.
This book and the "Angry Candy" collection would tide me over on a desert island pretty well.

Fantastic
My first introduction to Harlan Ellison was in a college course called "Alternative Political Futures" where the professor used science fiction to illustrate the concepts that underlie political science.As part of that course, we read many of the great works of science ficition, including Dune, The Left Hand of Darkness, A Canticle for Leibowitz, Ender's Game, and Childhood's End.

By far, however, the most fascinating writer in the course was Harlan Ellison, and we read two of his stories, A Boy and His Dog and Repent Harlenquin Said the Ticktockman.In just a few pages of each of his stories, Ellison creates a believeable world through the use of nimble wordplay and intriguing characters.

Essential Ellison demonstrates Ellison's development over the course of his career and provides a wealth of entertaining stories.Even more than the fiction, however, I enjoyed the autobiographical essays that are interspersed throughout the book.Ellison opens the window to his own personality, and he is character as vivid as any of his fictional creations.

The only reason that I gave four stars instead of the unabashed five star rating is because there are several stories in this 1000+ page tome that did not catch my fancy.That's to be expected, but I struggled through about 200 pages of the overall book.Don't let that deter you - find the stories that resonate with you.

Truly Dangerous Visions
When Harlan Ellison published Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions way back in the mists of the previous century, the speculative fiction community was turned on its ear, not just once but several times. Awards and accolades were heaped upon the participants -- none more so than Harlan himself, who brought the whole thing together. When the promised final volume, The Last Dangerous Visions, failed to materialize for thirty years, accolades turned to puzzlement, accusation, invective, and anger -- almost all of it directed at Harlan, who may or may not be the proper target. I won't enter into that debate (much of it is pointless and silly, not to mention frequently absurd and childish). The only reason I bring up the whole DV mess at all is because, in rereading Essential Ellison, I find that while other writers may have produced stories worthy of inclusion in those volumes, it is Harlan himself who, for all these years, had had the truly dangerous visions. Consider the following stories, all included in this eye-opening retrospective:

* "Lonelyache" -- a dark, mysterious tale of a man at the end of his emotional rope, which wallops you like a chunk of slate;

* Punky and the Yale Men" -- wherein a man tries to relive the violent days of his youth; one of Harlan's most underrated stories;

* "A Prayer For No One's Enemy" -- one of Harlan's most controversial tales, which puts not just anti-Semitism but all racism in its proper perspective;

* "Neither Your Jenny Nor Mine" -- a harrowing story of the days of illegal abortions, absolutely riveting;

* "The Resurgence of Miss Ankle-Strap Wedgie" -- Harlan's best-ever parable about the cannibalistic world of Hollywood;

* "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" -- Harlan's delightful, delicious ode to nonconformity;

* "Jeffty Is Five" -- wistful, haunting, and scary all at once, this story (like Bradbury's "The Playground") shows that eternal youth is not all it's cracked up to be;

* "Mom" --Harlan could've talked Oedipus into leaving home;

* "Alive and Well On a Friendless Voyage" -- existential despair as only Harlan can render it;

* "A Boy and His Dog" -- I usually hate the post-apocalypse genre, but Harlan gets it right on this one;

* "The Deathbird" -- my all-time favorite Ellison story, bar none, a beautifully-constructed parable about God, the Devil, and Man's true place in the universe...

...and this list just barely scratches the surface! I haven't touched upon half of the great work in this retrospective -- such as Harlan's heartfelt, sometimes touching, oftimes scathing nonfiction and essays, or the samples of his wicked sense of humor, his brilliant screenwriting, and his absolute fearlessness and honesty in the face of every sort of mendacity and double-dealing one could imagine.

That said, there are some things missing from this book as well; my short list would include such gems as the brilliant "The Beast Who Shouted Love At the Heart of the World," the chilling "Croatoan," the hysterical "From A to Z, In the Chocolate Alphabet" and "How's the Night Life On Cissalda?" (my nominee for Harlan's funniest-ever story), the thought-provoking "Hitler Painted Roses" and "Lonely Women Are the Vessels of Time", and one of my favorites, the haunting "Demon With a Glass Hand". I understand an updated version of Essential Ellison s coming out soon (soon being relative when talking about Harlan and anthologies, natch), and that it will include some new things, like the stunning "Mefisto In Onyx". I can only hope some of the above stories are included as well -- and while they're at it, here's hoping Harlan and Terry Dowling decide to drop "The Man Who Was Heavily Into Revenge," which is my least-favorite of Harlan's works. It's full of the purple overwriting (some of it bordering on self-parody) which has marred so much of Ray Bradbury's latter-day stories. (Sorry, fellow Harlan fans, but I call 'em like I see 'em!) Harlan has said of Stephen King that King needs a good editor; reading "Revenge" makes me wonder if Unca Harlan shouldn't attend the mote in his own eye first.

That, however, is another subject for another time. (And it's a good thing Harlan eschews computers and the Internet, or I'd be getting one hell of an e-mail from him right about now!) The Essential Ellison is what I'm talking about here, and not only is it a great introduction to Harlan's immense body of classic work, it is also one of the finest collections of writing that any American author, living or dead, has ever produced. Only Mark Twain has written as well, as volubly, and on as many topics as Harlan, and only Twain was better...and I have a feeling that only Harlan will be missed as much, and celebrated as much, over the course of the next century as Twain was over the last. Enjoy him while you can, folks -- because writers like Harlan Ellison come along about once every hundred years, and their dangerous visions are not to be taken lightly.

The Most Bang for your Buck
Buy this book. Buy it now.Harlan Ellisn is the difference between writing and storytelling.....like some medieval wanderer with a heart full of magic, Harlan will leave your imagination reeling. These stories are theresult of a person with a keen eye for the human soul and a style that farexceeds "expectations"....They may or may not change your life,but they are guaranteed to make your day. Buy it now, while there is stilltime. Your local bookstore will seem like a third-world newspaper rack whenyou realize that they probably don't have it, and you will be sorry. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (7)

Classic Ellison
A collection to enjoy over and over from a writer who observes life and twists it with ease.

My first time reading Ellison.
After seeing videos of how angry, passionate, occasionally inconsistent, witty, and entertaining Harlan Ellison could be, I had to check him out. Shatterday seemed like a decent place to start and I was not disappointed for the most part.

The only two stories that really didn't do it for me were "Would You Do It For a Penny?" and "All the Lies That Are My Life". The former just felt sleazy and misogynistic--now I have no problem with sexist or racial humor under one condition: It better be pretty damn funny. WYDIFAP was not, but it was cowritten with some other guy so I guess I can't place all the blame on Ellison. The way the protagonist was oh-so-slick and the girl was this independent but easily-seduced chick lacked verisimilitude; it felt like a stupid adolescent fantasy--which is probably why it was published in Playboy originally.

The latter story just didn't do it for me. It seemed like Ellison was trying to depart from the magical-realism that worked so well in all of the other stories and write drama instead. It didn't do much for me and the dialogue was embarrassing. It's like he tried to insert his own wit into every conversation and it ended up feeling awkward and contrived.

Besides those two stories, everything else was pretty much gold. I don't want to go into detail and spoil the stories for anyone but "Jeffty Is Five" had a great theme about nostalgia that anyone can relate to, "Shoppe Keeper" had a wonderful twist-ending and view on a familiar fantasy theme, "How's The Night Life on Cissalda?" was hilarious (what ISN'T funny about alien-human sexual relations?) and Shatterday felt like a fun, updated version of Conrad's Jungian themes from "The Secret Sharer."

The opening introduction was fantastic, honest and just as good as his best stories. The introductions to each story were hit and miss though. At times I felt like he was being too open about the inspiration for the stories and how they were inspired from personal memories. This openness sometimes made the stories feel like wish-fulfillment and made me view the characters as clumsy, self-inserted versions of the author.

In the end, this was an entertaining collection and it showcases Ellison's imagination wonderfully. The man's mind is an amalgamation of a passionate child like Calvin from Bill Watterson's comic and an insightful writer whose eloquence oozes off the page.

If you enjoy dark humor, grim honesty, and The Twilight Zone, this anthology is for you.

One of the Best Writers... EVER
It's about time Harlan was universally recognized as one of the great writers in the English language. It seems like Ellison has explored every plot, concept, idea, or scenario that exists -- and every screenwriter, SS writer, and novelist in science/speculative/avant garde fiction who came after Harlan owes him -- whether they know it or not. If it's a great idea that's profound, funny, sardonic, exciting, and/or innovative, Harlan has already thought of it -- and thank gawd -- written it. You're in for a treat, but you'd better bring along your brain: you're gonna need it.

shatterday
harlan ellison at his best, if you like twilight zone, you'll love shatterday and ellison's other short stories.

Not his best but still better than anything else out there
This is later period Ellison.The classic is Deathbird Stories.The greats are I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, and The Beast Who Shouted Love At the Heart of The World.Love Ain'y Nothing B ut Sex Misspelled and Strange Wine are essential.But Shatterday is worth every second you give to it...after you read the other ones listed above.Did I mention that there really isn't an Ellison book you shouldn't read. ... Read more

Product Description
"There has never been a collection like this before...it will entertain, infuriate, and reward you for years."--James Blish writing as "William Atheling, Jr." in Amazing Stories"...a gigantic, shapeless, exuberant, and startling collection...These are vital, meaningful stories which probably could not have been published in the SF magazines-not because of their daring ideas, but because of their literary quality."--Damon Knight, Saturday Review"You should buy this book immediately...You should do this because this book knows perfectly well that you are seething inside."--Algis Budrys, Galaxy MagazineIncluded in this memorable collection of 33 original stories are 7 winners and 13 nominees for the prestigious Hugo and Nebula Awards.Lester Del Rey / Robert Silverberg / Frederik Pohl / Philip Jose Farmer / Miriam Allen deFord / Robert Bloch / Harlan Ellison / Brian W. Aldiss / Howard Rodman / Philip K. Dick / Larry Niven / Fritz Leiber / Joe L. Hensley / Poul Anderson / David R. Bunch / James Cross m/ Carol Emshwiller / Damon Knight / Theodore Sturgeon / Larry Eisenberg / Henry Slesar / Sonya Dorman / John T. Sladek / Jonathan Brand / Kris Neville / R. A. Lafferty / J. G. Ballard / John Brunner / Keith Laumer / Norman Spinrad / Roger Zelazny / Samuel R. Delany ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Dated Visions
I read this as a teenager in the 1970s and wanted to reread it; sadly, it's aged pretty poorly.

It's hard to get past the repeated "shocks" involving male homosexuality - including a story in which a character is so horrified by a sexual advance that he runs out into a nuclear wasteland to die, because hey, that's better than saying, "Thanks, but no thanks!" Layer in some typical 1960s sexism, and you have something... well, something surprisingly lacking in vision. SF writers could imagine strange worlds with different values and alien beings, but not woman who weren't just secretaries or gay people. It's a bit sad, really. And given that it's punctuated by Ellison's intros - every third or fourth one reminding us that he's not gay! not! but he'll tell you about his 147 bad marriages to women! - it just becomes more cringe-inducing. (I'm not saying he is gay, by the way, just that his obsession with the topic is a bit tragic.)

All those attitudes, which were part of the culture in which these writers were living, were just a fact of life; I guess the reason they make many of these dangerous visions seem amazingly limited, whereas in non-SF fiction or films they just feel like part of the period.

There are, however, some gems scattered throughout the book, and the quality of the writing is generally high; I would suggest just skipping all the intro material about how mind-blowing and challenging it all is, and enjoy them as relics.

Great but not perfect
The best part of this book is Harlan Ellison's introductions. He's got two for the book and one for each story. That makes 33 total. The man likes to write and it shows. Another thing that comes through is the respect that he holds for his writers. He truly loves them and their stories. It's hard for the reader to not get caught up when the editor himself is such an adamant cheerleader.

I have to admit I didn't find much of it dangerous, but I could see that that wouldn't have been true back when it was first published. We're different now and what we've seen in our entertainment has changed much in the last 40 years. We've matured. Most of the stories are well written, though, and it doesn't matter if they are no longer dangerous. Carol Emshwiller's writing style is as fresh now as it was back in the 60s. Same with PKD. Great discoveries for me include the Hollywood writer: Howard Rodman; the weird writer: David R. Bunch; the beautiful writer: Roger Zelazny; the tried and true writer: Lester Del Rey.

The most dangerous story here was Theodore Sturgeon's. It was a tale of accepted incest. Still controversial and weird in my opinion. I am a fan of Sturgeon's work, but I must say, this story felt overwritten to me. A disappointment almost. He's a great writer and I enjoyed the ride, but it did go on a bit.

Good book to have in your collection because there are so many references to it. And when it comes to science fiction, anything new is old after a decade, so you can't expect it to remain astounding, amazing, dangerous forever.

The main thing is the literary quality. It's tops. That more than anything else has kept this book on the required reading pile. You could have worse homework.

The Future Was So Bright
Good Lord, it's been forty years or more since "Dangerous Visions" hit the stores.Hardly seems possible, especially for a book that was specifically designed to bring science fiction current with the modern world.

According to Harlan Ellison, who edited this volume and its companion piece, "Again, Dangerous Visions", speculative fiction in 1968 had a problem with synchronization.Many authors had by then spent some little time dealing with the same issues that the world faced, such as civil rights, the retreat of colonialism and sexual freedom.Unfortunately, a lot of magazine editors, having come of age when such things were still taboo, couldn't bring themselves to publish stories on those subjects.What's more, because most of the audience at that time was getting its sf from anthologies rather than magazines, people were continuing to read good but older stories rather than the current stuff.The market for stories that confronted the contemporary world was artificially suppressed.An anthology of brand-new material, designed specifically to tackle previously taboo subjects, would bring things up to date as quickly as might be.

In short, "Dangerous Visions" was too ambitious for its own good, and produced a number of unforeseen results that didn't necessarily do the sf field any favors.In particular, over the years following the book's publication, a fair number of authors and publishers came to assume, not that the sf genre was free to do as it pleased, but that a new system of rules had emerged.All too many stories in the following period took on bizarre, occasionally nauseating settings, extremely unpleasant characters, inevitable sexual oddities and downbeat conclusions.It takes a highly disciplined fan to immerse himself or herself in such material regularly, and a certain portion of the sf audience fell away.

Now, it has to be said that a fair proportion of the stories in "Dangerous Visions" bear some responsibility for this state of affairs.Several of them, let's face it, are rather nauseating in their settings, characters and conclusions.However, if the genre as a whole decided that this sort of thing was worth imitating to the point of driving the audience away, that's not the fault of the collection or of Harlan Ellison.Indeed, Ellison did his level best to remind people that "Dangerous Visions" was not a prescription for authors to follow.There was no "new wave" in sf, he stated - rather, each author in the "Dangerous Visions" series was to be considered an individual "new wave", giving permission to future writers of sf to deal with whatever issues and styles they cared to.Some did.

So, getting back to the original collection, did it accomplish what it intended to?Did it bring sf up to date with its world?On the whole, yes, although not every author succeeded in this way.

In 1968, for instance, the United States found itself confronting the violence inherent in its own racism, something that sf had seemed to ignore.On the other hand, a form of prose that includes alien life on a regular basis has an easy way of facing the Other if it cares to take advantage of it, an opportunity that Frederik Pohl and a few others jumped on here.In other forms of oppression, the gay-rights movement had only just begun to make itself felt, but Samuel R. Delany, Poul Anderson and Carol Emshwiller dealt with it, if only metaphorically.

It's surely not a coincidence that four authors - Philip K. Dick, Lester del Rey, Damon Knight and John Brunner - dealt in similar ways with the weakening influence of religion in those years.Others faced down the growing threat of sexual violence, including Robert Bloch, Robert Silverberg and Ellison himself.And, of course, not all violence was sexual either in the world or in this collection, as we might see in the work of Joe Hensley, Miriam Allen deFord, David R. Bunch, Keith Laumer and Larry Niven.

Indeed, although there was plenty of unpleasantness for the world and these authors to face, some of them made it their business to do so with humor and a certain kind of poetry, such as Harry Slesar, Larry Eisenberg, and Philip Jose Farmer.And, inevitably, some authors didn't quite rise to the occasion.Opinion will differ on who these latter were, but even if you like the Roger Zelazny tale you have to admit that it's nothing more than a curious fantasy.He was considered at the time to be a leading sf stylist, so that's rather disappointing.Less surprising is the fact that many of the weaker stories come from unknown or little-known names like Kris Neville and James Cross, but it's a bit of a shock that some true master, like Brian Aldiss and R.A. Lafferty, dealt well with this opportunity to confront big issues.

But no one can come up with a gem every time, however wide-open the field of play.At least almost all of the stories in "Dangerous Visions" are entertaining, if nothing else.And in any case, it shows that you don't have to turn the reader off when you deal with unpleasant facts.

To a certain extent, the sf world has only just started to recover from the nuclear bomb that was "Dangerous Visions".You'll have to forgive me for saying so, but when an innocent little sf fairy tale like "Avatar" gets taken so seriously that some conservatives think of it as a threat to the American way of life, you can thank Ellison and these 30 men and women for the attention that such stories receive these days.At the very least, "Dangerous Visions" started some interesting conversations.

Benshlomo says, They call it a risk because sometimes you fail big, and because sometimes you succeed big.

Not Free SF Reader
Making a long, 33 page original anthology all good is going to be very difficult, and it is the later middle of this book that lets it down. Divided into three as another way of publishing it, Dangerous Visions 1, for example, averages 3.63. The rest of this, 3.32.

The book does finish strongly, with several good stories. Given it is 40 odd years later you can see how many stories have been used again in other anthologies, etc., or at least those of have seen. In the main it is from the first part of the book, and the very end. Fritz Leiber's excellent Gonna Roll the Bones notwithstanding, if you want to call that a middle story.

There are extensive story introductions by the editor, and as he points out when writing about Slesar and Ersatz, his intro to that story is considerably longer than the story itself.

There are also authorial afterwords of varying lengths, as well as an extensive introduction on what a pain in the arse this book was to put together with dropouts, costs, lengths, stupid publishers putting it out of print because they did that to all booksbon general principle (and that was really silly given I think there are new editions now.)

Certainly worth reading for historical reasons, if nothing else.

Dangerous Visions : Evensong - Lester del Rey
Dangerous Visions : Flies - Robert Silverberg
Dangerous Visions : The Day After the Day the Martians Came - Frederik Pohl
Dangerous Visions : Riders of the Purple Wage - Philip José Farmer
Dangerous Visions : The Malley System - Miriam Allen deFord
Dangerous Visions : A Toy for Juliette - Robert Bloch
Dangerous Visions : The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World - Harlan Ellison
Dangerous Visions : The Night That All Time Broke Out - Brian W. Aldiss
Dangerous Visions : The Man Who Went to the MoonTwice - Howard Rodman
Dangerous Visions : Faith of Our Fathers - Philip K. Dick
Dangerous Visions : The Jigsaw Man - Larry Niven
Dangerous Visions : Gonna Roll the Bones - Fritz Leiber
Dangerous Visions : Lord Randy My Son - Joe L. Hensley
Dangerous Visions : Eutopia - Poul Anderson
Dangerous Visions : Incident in Moderan - David R. Bunch
Dangerous Visions : The Escaping - David R. Bunch
Dangerous Visions : The Doll-House - James Cross
Dangerous Visions : Sex and/or Mr. Morrison - Carol Emshwiller
Dangerous Visions : Shall the Dust Praise Thee? - Damon Knight
Dangerous Visions : If All Men Were Brothers Would You Let One Marry Your Sister? - Theodore Sturgeon
Dangerous Visions : What Happened to Auguste Clarot? - Larry Eisenberg
Dangerous Visions : Ersatz - Henry Slesar
Dangerous Visions : Go Go Go Said the Bird - Sonya Dorman
Dangerous Visions : The Happy Breed - John Sladek
Dangerous Visions : Encounter with a Hick - Jonathan Brand
Dangerous Visions : From the Government Printing Office - Kris Neville
Dangerous Visions : Land of the Great Horses - R. A. Lafferty
Dangerous Visions : The Recognition - J. G. Ballard
Dangerous Visions : Judas - John Brunner
Dangerous Visions : Test to Destruction - Keith Laumer
Dangerous Visions : Carcinoma Angels - Norman Spinrad
Dangerous Visions : Auto-da-Fe - Roger Zelazny
Dangerous Visions : Aye and Gomorrah... - Samuel R. Delany


Usurpers hard to fool.

4 out of 5


Draining the exes.

3.5 out of 5


The old jokes again.

3 out of 5


Winnegan's World, Winnegan's Universe.

3.5 out of 5


Murderous replay punishment.

3 out of 5


Iron Maiden granddaughter future Ripper one-upped.

4 out of 5


Future Ripper release work.

4 out of 5


Elemental lifestream visits.

3.5 out of 5


Mars is cooler.

3 out of 5


"Don't you see, Mr. Chien? You've learned something. The Leader is not the Leader; he is something else, but we can't tell what. Not yet. Mr. Chien, when all due respect, have you ever had your drinking water analyzed? I know it sounds paranoiac, but have you?"

3.5 out of 5


Organlegging escape.

4 out of 5


Dicing with Death.

4.5 out of 5


Good boy, bad boy.

3 out of 5


Not my kinda place, boyfriend.

4 out of 5


Boring between wars.

3 out of 5


Mooning the sky egg.

2.5 out of 5


Mini oracle moggie mangle.

4 out of 5


Where'd he get the big undies?

2.5 out of 5


Deity gotta turn up to Armageddon, you know.

3.5 out of 5


Taboo, us.

3.5 out of 5


Gone to the dogs.

3.5 out of 5


Real woman, please.

3 out of 5


Mum, you're for dinner.

3 out of 5


Therapeutic Machines.

3 out of 5


Real-estate, dodgy.

2.5 out of 5


Fear learning.

3 out of 5


Terran slice nice.

3 out of 5


Zoo filling.

3.5 out of 5


Machine man deity overthrown defeat repair.

3 out of 5


Interrogation space assist overlord.

4 out of 5


Entrepreneur cancer fighter catatonia.

4 out of 5


Careodor.

4 out of 5


Gender altered space workers provide exotic rough trade on shore leave.

3 out of 5




3.5 out of 5

Science fiction early heroes
Well, it's harlan ellison. what more can be said? Either you know him and love him or hate him. I happen to think he is a genius and so does he. He rather lost his way there for a few years but he is considered up there with the top oringinal writers. Painful, up in your face writing but extremely good. I'm glad not to have missed him. ... Read more

Product Description
Harlan Ellison is probably best known as a script writer for sci-fi and fantasy movies and TV series such as the original Outer Limits, The Hunger, Logan's Run, and Babylon Five. But his range is much broader than that, encompassing stories, novels, essays, reviews, reminiscences, plays, even fake autobiographies. The Essential Ellison, a special limited edition personally signed and numbered by Ellison, contains 74 unabridged works, including such classics as "A Boy and His Dog," "Xenogenesis," and "Mefisto in Onyx." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

A treat !!
This is a real treat for not only Ellison fans, but any SF fan worth his salt. Features some of the best and worst pieces of fiction by Ellison. It could have been alternatively titled "How I became a writer - Harlan Ellison", for through the pages, we (literally) travel through time and realize how Ellison's writings matured and shaped over the years, from his early teens to the present.

I am not rating or dissecting the actual stories cos that takes half the suspense out of the plots .. Just a line of recommendation: GO BUY IT!

it's ellison and it's the size of a brick! :)
i ordered this book because i just recently discovered the awesomeness of mr. ellison's work, and i wanted more of it. more is what i got! nobody told me how huge a tome this thing is... it weighs at least 5 pounds and it's as thick as one of those dictionaries you get at the public library! portable it's not, but if you want absolutely as much of ellison you can get for the money, look no further.

Life without Ellison would be dull
Here it is: 50 years of the splenetic imaginings of Harlan Ellison, who writes like an angel on speed, and doesn't care, God bless him,
if he offends you or not.Read "REPENT HARLEQUIN! Said the Ticktockman,"
and "A Boy and His Dog." Ladies, don't let Ellison's misogynism spook you:you'll be better for having enjoyed the stories of this prolific, disciplined madman.

Xenogenesis and so much more
I bought this book initially so I'd have a copy of the essay 'Xenogenesis', which scared seven shades of pea soup out of me when I first read it in IASFM. Further perusal gave me a thorough glimpse of the work of an author I'd been skipping, as I considered him a product of the 'second wave' of science fiction/science fiction-influenced authors (first wave involving Heinlein, E. E. 'Doc' Smith, and so on). Good to have been proven so wrong, and now it's a book I'll recommend to those of my friends who see 'Harlan Ellison' and only think 'that guy from Babylon 5'.

Superlative Spinner of Dreams
Taken from the introduction, "Sublime Rebel," by Terry Dowling:

"In Egyptian mythology, Iai is a fascinating character. He is the rebel, the tester, the stubborn resisting force of intellect and insight which donkey-like stands its ground, refusing to budge, and challanges what is accepted and valued and thought to be sensible and true. The same sort of honest irrepressible rebel, in fact, which surfaced in the child who pointed out that the Emperor wore no clothes and in the Fool who told King Lear that he was wrong. Those dear precious rebels(for there are, and have been, many)not only dare to question but for their pains alienate themselves from those who haven't questioned, who didn't think to question, who are now made to look stupid because they didn't."

Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, author and social critic, Harlan Ellison, was a seminal influence within speculative fiction, fantasy and science fiction. As though from some bygone era, his writing in the field of science fiction is thematically grounded in human dilemma. The emotionally qualitative properties of his stories are vivid and palpable.

Think stubbornly, cantankerously steadfast in personal conviction, artistic craft and vision. A true sort of sui generis, refusing to dillydally or sugarcoat the bitter truth. Appropriately overwrought, humorous, devilish. Dead on and justified, Harlan Ellison was watching.

Time after time, Harlan's words serve as a breaker bar to wrest truth's free from convenient, apathetic confinement. I can think of no other author whose work, be it fiction or otherwise, so diligently rummages the depths of the human condition; all of those secretive, quiescent corners of the collective unconscious, hidden in the shadow of the soul.
From our shameful indifference and distraction to the overwhelming din and pall of homogeneous, race lunacy, no other author was or is more aptly suited to chronicle our perceived time...the approaching the end of a millennium, or, perhaps more likely(and to borrow a title from Ellison) approaching oblivion.

I have some twenty-five books of his, collected over many years. Some purchased new, many found in little hole-in-the-wall used book shops. But those twenty-five or so are merely a drop in the bucket when considering the totality of his work. Most of his books are long out of print, making this comprehensive tome, "The Essential Ellison", a true necessity for those seeking Harlan's work. I've had the old Morpheus addition for fifteen years, however, I'm glad to see this vital compilation of Harlan's writing hasn't disappeared as mankind slowly circles the drain. The revised and expanded retrospective assembles several pieces not found in former additions.
Also noteworthy is the recently re-issued and long sought after "Strange Wine". Next to "Deathbird Stories", it's one of my favorites. However, "The Essential Ellison" is a fine place to start. Harlan's words leave a lasting impression. ... Read more

Product Description
At the beginning of the 1980's Harlan Ellison agreed to do a regular column for the LA WEEKLY on the condition that they publish whatever he wrote, without revising it or suggesting rewrites. This collection collects what he wrote under those conditions. He writes in a conversational voice, but he is impassioned, persuasive, abusive and hilarious by turns. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A great buy at any pric
A collect series of columns running the gamet of movie criticisms to automobiles, from friends to foes. This is Ellison at his very best. An absolute must for fans of the written word.

Ellison the columnist
Harlan Ellison has a tremendous gift as an essayist and columnist.At the beginning of the 1980's he agreed to do a regular column for the LA WEEKLY on the condition that they publish whatever he wrote, without revising it or suggesting rewrites.He demanded, and got, the freedom to choose any target, no matter how sensitive to the paper's interests or its readership.A wise editor agreed.The results are collected in this volume.

His columns are not formally structured, but don't be misled into thinking these columns were easy.He writes in a conversational voice, but it is that of a brilliant, nimble conversationalist.Ellison cajoles, caresses, eulogizes, and excoriates.The columns are witty and passionate, and evoke the tensions, the hopes and the lies, of the Reagan Era; of Hollywood, advertising, and journalism in that time; of Ellison's advocacy of the Equal Rights Amendment and gun control.By turns, he is riotously funny, righteously indignant, and capable of issuing a devastating, fatwa-like call to outrage and democratic retribution.

Ellison contends that we should dispense with the notion that every common person is entitled to an opinion; but that every person should be entitled to an informed opinion and the means to express it, as befits a citizen of this nation.In this, it is call not only to outrage but to excellence.

Great Ellison non-fiction
For those of you who only know Harlan Ellison from his fiction, you'll enjoy this collection of essays written for the LA "Weekly" newspaper.A very eclectic collection of subjects, from critiques of local restaurants, to an emotional account of his early life, to a hilarious recounting of pranks he's pulled.

Seldom have I been as engaged by a writer's views as I was with Ellsion.I found myself engaged in a mental debate with Ellison on many issues.Don't miss out on this book!

An Ellison non-fiction treat
For those of you who only know Harlan Ellison from his fiction, you'll enjoy this collection of essays written for the LA "Weekly" newspaper.A very eclectic collection of subjects, from critiques of local restaurants, to an emotional account of his early life, to a hilarious recounting of pranks he's pulled.

Seldom have I been as engaged by a writer's views as I was with Ellsion.I found myself engaged in a mental debate with Ellison on many issues.Don't miss out on this book! ... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1967 and re-issued in 1983, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream contains seven stories with copyrights ranging from 1958 through 1967. This edition contains the original introduction by Theodore Sturgeon and the original foreword by Harlan Ellison, along with a brief update comment by Ellison that was added in the 1983 edition. Among Ellison's more famous stories, two consistently noted as among his very best ever are the title story and the volume's concluding one, "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes". Since Ellison himself strongly resists categorization of his work, we won't call them science fiction, or SF, or speculative fiction or horror or anything else except compelling reading experiences that are sui generis. They could only have been written by Harlan Ellison and they are incomparably original. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

It Goes On and On...
I got this collection of stories mainly for the title story "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream." The title story is probably the only good one in this entire collection. Every story just goes on and on and on and it eventually catches itself and goes back to the original point. There's one story Harlan wrote based on a series of dreams and that's how it reads, like a series of dreams. It's continuous fractured train of thought that's more confusing than any David Lynch movie I've ever seen. The title story was very interesting and didn't read like his others. It has no dialogue and creates no setting, which may be a bad thing, but in this situation it's actually really effective. The villain AM is way scarier than HAL 9000 as far as AI villains go. If you want to read the title story, just see if you can find it online, I've heard that you can find the whole story somewhere on the internet and that's the only thing worth reading. Each story has a little foreword that does not help the stories in any way. The story that was a series of dreams, it says that in the foreword and I was not impressed. So if you read Harlan Ellison and you like his stuff then by all means go ahead and get this, but if you are interested in something new, just read the title story on the internet and save yourself the trouble of spending your hard earned money on it and waiting for it to arrive in the mail only to find that this book is a total bomb.

One of the-- if not THE-- greatest short story ever
Buy everything that Harlan Ellison has ever wrote.He is the greatest short story writer of the 20th Century and the 21st century, a true American treasure, and "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" is utterly amazing, shocking, hopeful, and makes a reader feel absolutely, fully human.The world is a better place for this book, and people are better for having read Ellison.

Now i'm not a Science Fiction fan, but this was dreadful
I must be honest, i don't generally read fiction. After about 20 pages i generally start to wonder why i'm reading the title, because it's not real. Sometimes i can stick to it because it is fun. This is not one of those titles.

I bought this title, because of the title story and given that 1) it had been made into a game, 2) it was an acclaimed game, and 3) an acclaimed title (it won the Hugo Award, whatever that means), so i figured i couldn't go wrong. Also, some research in Harlan Ellison made me respect him and curious of what he's written.

Here is why i didn't like it - Short stories, means that i shouldn't be reaching my 20 page limit, because it's ... well short, by the second story, filled with generalities about life as a traveling circus freak, and i couldn't take it anymore. The setting wasn't being made out to be anything, but a form of generalities. The element of SciFi is used to explain that things are different, but really they are not. And last, though certainly not least, you just don't care about the characters.

Now I've talked this over with one person that does like SciFi and (reading) fiction and we concluded that nothing was here that made this intriguing, or in anyway rewarding. It's not even scifi, so much as horror with time ambiguous setting which by definition results in the interpretation "future" although this does not of itself add anything to the story.

Now, that was the second story that made me so ... angry, the first story (the one the volume is named after, and won the award) was quite good, though did not warrant the expense. Personally, i feel it could have been fleshed out more, because there was a great setting there, but it felt wasted. I hear that Mr Ellison sues people and i can't help but wonder if that is why there are no other reviews on this item :S (but then that was something about his character that intrigued me, so maybe i have to take this risk).

I'm sure others will like the stories, like i said, the tinge of the waste of money was not sufficient for me to continue because the escalating commitment issue that is the waste of time. If you have however read the review this far, you may enjoy the title ... because Mr Ellison definitely writes better than i can criticize his work. Oh yes, i also failed to find much humor, dark or otherwise in this title, which means i may simply lack the frame of mind.

I'm hoping this review encourages others to contradict me so i can learn what i missed. ... Read more

Product Description
A multiple-award winning author's relentless classic adventure of deceit, flight, terror and destruction.

The Kyben demolished Deald’s World and their armada was heading for Earth. All that stood in their way was a man on Deald’s World named Benno Tallant, about as lousy a candidate for hero as one could imagine: junkie, looter, coward, betrayer. The retreating Earth forces decide to make him the last man on Deald’s World. They surgically implant a cataclysmic bomb in his body, turn him loose, and let the Kyben hunt him down.

See Benno Run. Run, Benno, Run Like Hell.

Harlan Ellison has written or edited more than seventy-five books, over 1,700 stories, essays and articles, and dozens of screenplays and teleplays. He has won numerous awards including the Edgar, Hugo, Nebula, Bradbury, and Stoker - as well as two "Listen Up" Awards and an Audie for Best Solo Narration. He lives in California. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

See Harlan Run...
Harlan Ellison fiction is a treat for those who enjoy imaginative and speculative. Here, Ellison dusts off an old manuscript and gives it the audio treatment. It's quite well done. Harlan admits that as he was performing the narrative that he improvised and made certain edits, though I could not tell where these instances occurred. RUN is one of Harlan's classic science-fiction stories, and even though Harlan will protest that he is NOT a science-fiction writer (just listen to any of his recorded lectures), it is clearly science-fiction. But it is good science fiction and smartly done. The price is amazing. I purchased a used copy through Amazon sellers for under $10 bucks and have already listened to the disks several times. We need more recorded Ellison stories and they should be recorded by Harlan himself. He may not be a "professional" actor per se, but no one reads his work in the same style as Harlan. It really makes the experience complete in my humble opinion. ... Read more

Product Description
"It crouches near the center of creation. There is no night where it waits. Only the riddle of which terrible dream will set it loose. It beheaded mercy to take possession of that place. It feasts on darkness from the minds of men. No one has ever seen its eyeless face. When it sleeps we know a few moments of peace. But when it breathes again we go down in fire and mate with jackals. It knows our fear. It has our number. It waited for our coming and it will abide long after we have become congealed smoke. It has never heard music, and shows its fangs when we panic. It is the beast of our savage past, hungering today, and waiting patiently for the mortal meal of all our golden tomorrows. It lies waiting."--Harlan Ellison 15 stories by Harlan Ellison ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A boy loves his dog.
It started out kind of slow. The first couple of stosies I didn't like to much. The one that the book was named after, I didn't like at all. But, the last few, funny funny, I'll say it again, F-U-N-N-Y. In a skewed kinda way

Eleven stories and a lousy introduction.
A lot of people skip introductions to books which is just as well in the case of this one but the contents really do not need an introduction.

The eleven stories here, first published between 1957 and 1969, can stand up and speak for themselves very well indeed. From the opening shot of the title story to the close with "A boy and his dog" the author delivers a fine selection of his work.

There are no weak stories in this book, every one is a good read. The title story, "Try a Dull Knife", "Santa Claus VS. S.P.I.D.E.R." and "A boy and his dog" are my favourites and they show the range of Ellison's talents from horror to science fiction and also display his characteristic cynical humour.

"A boy and his dog" is the best known story here largely because it has been made into a very controversial film. It also happens to be one of Ellison's finest stories and that is praise indeed. It tells the story of fifteen year old Vic and his telepathic dog Blood in a post apocalypse America. Even though it is a brutish story, Ellison's wit and lucid writing style make it a compelling read.

The stories here will appeal to almost any SF fan though, if you are new to Ellison, the book "The Essential Ellison" is a better first buy. If you like this author and wonder what else you might like to read, I'd suggest short story collections by Bruce Sterling and Eric brown.

Although this book is out of print, it is available together with the anthology "Love ain't nothing but sex misspelled" as volume four of the Edgeworks series. I note though that the contents of the Edgeworks version are not the same as the contents of my copy of this book.

Mostly 60's-era Ellison, and very good
This is one of the stronger Ellison collections I've come across.The keepers include the late 50's science-fiction adventure nasty "Run For the Stars" and the classic "A Boy and His Dog." ... Read more

Product Description
Mind Fields was originally conceived as a collection of Jacek Yerka's paintings, but when Harlan Ellison was approached to write the introduction, he was so overcome that instead he penned a short story for each piece. The result of this synergistic melding of talents, Mind Fields shows two masters at their best. Each of the nearly three dozen stories in this volume is completely unlike any of the others, and together they contain a rich panoply of pathos, humor, and wonder. Produced in a beautiful cloth edition worthy of the art within, Mind Fields is a unique item and a must for any Ellison fan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Creative and weird--my favorite!
It is not easy to find these gems in modern times. I love the intense and free creativity of both the art and fantasy writings in this book. Both Yerka and Ellison are brilliant minds. The images are incredible pieces of art that make us believe in magic again.The stories come from a brilliant, educated, aware and astonishingly gifted mind that can produce new and fantastic ideas in ways that few in our history have accomplished. Each piece of writing has a commentary by the author on the process and meaning of the story. It is a wonderful addition to my art and literature collections.

Fantastic Surreal Art and Intelligent Prose.
Jacek Yerka and Harlan Ellison have contributed to create a surreal art anthology
based on the paintings of Yerka, and the short stories of Ellison.

This book will appeal to art collectors, futurists, appreciators of the Surrealist
school as seen by Giger, Magritte, Dali, and Whelan, and anyone who is curious
about Ellison's work as a novelist should begin with this purchase.

"Mind Fields" is also politicalized, and will upset some people, but, it is designed to.

Harlan Ellison has never shyed away from using his literary prowess to anger
his intended audience.

Fans of Neil Gaiman, Matt Wagner, William Gibson, William Sleator, and Garth Ennis will definitely enjoy the work presented here, and this work is truly original. ... Read more

Product Description
With this, his best-selling and most critically acclaimed collection ever, Ellison celebrates four decades of brilliant, outrageous writing. The award-winning novella "Mefisto in Onyx" is the centerpiece of an irreverent and wildly imaginative book that the San Diego Union-Tribune called "electrifying...Ellison is back, as unsettling as ever."Amazon.com Review
Harlan Ellison is undoubtedly one of the most audacious, infuriating,brazen characters on the planet. Which may help explain why he is also oneof the most brilliant, innovative, and eloquent writers on earth.Slippage simply presents recent, typical Ellison. In a word,masterful. The 21 stories in this 1997 collection, which is encased in blackboxes, show Ellison atthe height of his powers, with several of the stories (no surprise here)major award-winners. Highlights include a black mind reader who pays a visit to a white serial killer, a husband who falls prey to a vampiric personalcomputer, and a love affair between a young man and a woman who may be moreundead than alive. Perhaps even more fascinating are the painfully candidsnapshots of autobiography running throughout the volume. Even if Ellison's unsettling fictions are not enough to dazzle you,his often bizarre life experiences as an author will still keep youcompulsively turning the page like a polite voyeur. --Stanley Wiater ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

One of the Best Writers... EVER
It's about time Harlan was universally recognized as one of the great writers in the English language. It seems like Ellison has explored every plot, concept, idea, or scenario that exists -- and every screenwriter, SS writer, and novelist in science/speculative/avant garde fiction who came after Harlan owes him -- whether they know it or not. If it's a great idea that's profound, funny, sardonic, exciting, and/or innovative, Harlan has already thought of it -- and thank gawd -- written it. You're in for a treat, but you'd better bring along your brain: you're gonna need it.

If the Carl Sandberg anecdote isn't true, it should be
Ellison has an interesting life to read about, but I sure as heck don't want to live any of it.Often the highlights of any of his collections are the introductions, where he generally comes at the reader without any armor at all, except for the sheer power of his words raging across the page with enough force that you expect to see the paper marked with still bleeding scars, charred at the edges.His downspiralling litany of the deaths of those close to him in the intro to "Angry Candy" gave that collection a certain vicious edge and cast those stories in a desperate light, the sound of someone railing against a force he couldn't hope to stop or delay but still felt compelled to fight.

The intro of this one takes a similar tone, with Ellison screaming out against his own (and by extension, our) inevitable morality with his typical unflinching gaze.But unlike "Angry Candy" where the harrowing events surrounding his life during the writing of those stories seemed to leak their way into the prose of the collection, that doesn't seem to be the case here.Maybe its because the collection is, as the cover states, "previously uncollected, precariously posed stories" suggesting the theme was sort of thought up after the fact and those are odds and ends that just didn't fit anywhere else.It hardly matters, the intro is still prime Ellison and if the stories are good, who cares whether there's a common skein holding them together or not?If I want thematic collections, I'll go read Sherwood Anderson.

So, then, are the stories any good?For the most part, a qualified yes.The big standout is "Mefisto in Onyx", the story of a black psychic's confrontation with a white serial killer that towers over everything else here in terms of style and presence . . . right from the first page Ellison nails the voice of his protagonist, achieving that searing quality his best prose often exhibits even as the story twists and turns over its emotional heart, refusing to stop digging until it pierces right to the center.Its a well known story for him and justifiably so.

The rest, while decent, don't make much impression beyond an initial one.Its hard to shake the clearinghouse feel of the collection, with some stories existing in more than one version or seeming to be merely sketches for stories that would come later.Seeing his process is sometimes fascinating, such as his tracking ideas in "Where Shall I Dwell in the Next World" or it shows how easily he adapts from one medium to another (the "Nackles" set of stories, although I'm not sure if the filmed teleplay would have been as cutting or shocking as Ellison seems to think it would be . . . they still should have broadcast it though) but more often than not you find yourself wishing he would expand on the blurbs in between chapters, which details his disintegrating relationship with one of his wives with both humor and desperation.

Others seem more like Ellison on a kind of autopilot, going for a standard twist ending or being clever without really hitting hard.Ellison has been at this for so long and he's good enough that its probably nearly impossible for him to write a flat-out bad story.But a lot of them say what they have to say and get out without really sinking their claws into you, although I wish he had expanded more on the ongoing theme of old gods trying to find a place in the new world.The soaring anger that suffuses his best work isn't really here except in spurts and when its not there what you're left with are a bunch of pretty good stories from a guy who is capable of doing great stories.Certainly worth it for "Mefisto in Onyx" and even the intro, the rest is proof that Ellison-by-numbers can be entertaining, although not quite revelatory.

Dark Voyages
I bought a copy of this when I heard Mr. Ellison speak in April, 1998 - it took me this long to get around to reading it.When I began, my husband said to me "Uh, oh, you'll be having wierd dreams for awhile".The stories do haunt you like that, in those quiet, creepy moments in the night.These are brilliant, violent, dark stories - you never forget them.While many reviews concentrate on the stories receiving wide acclaim, the one that hit me hardest was "Pulling Hard Time", a nightmarish vision of "capital punishment".It is a wonderful example of Mr. Ellison's ability to knock you between the eyes in relatively few words and the kind of work that is best appreciated by reading it out loud.He defies definition - honored in many fields of writing & superior in all of them.He is out-spoken & defiant in person, but I must say that the hour & a half I heard him speak was some of the best time I've ever spent, agree with him or not.

In the undying words of Keanu Reeves, "Whoa."
This collection will kick your posterier.It will grab you by your lappels and slam you against the wall and shake the @#$% out of you until you've had your complacent, comfortable litte existance irreperably shattered.Like its creater, its not to be taken lightly.

Do not hesitate.Buy it. Read it. If you dare.You will not view the world or your place in it quite the same again.

A masterpiece
I've been a fan of Harlan ever since first learning of him back in the early 90s.I picked up one of his story collections....and then another, and another, until now I've read just about all of them.I truly believe that when it's all said and done, Ellison will be remembered as being one of the absolute best writers of speculative fiction that have ever lived.

Note those key words:"speculative fiction".Harlan himself has mentioned before that he doesn't want to be pigeonholed into one genre (i.e. stuck with the constraining label of "science fiction writer", although much of his work would fall into the sci-fi field).And he doesn't limit himself to one genre.So I would tell you, whomever you are reading this review, to take some of the opinions of my fellow reviewers ("This book isn't sci-fi enough!!!") with a grain of salt.

"Slippage" is another masterpiece by Harlan.It's one of my favorites, and I feel that some of the work here rivals some of his best.It's a beautiful work, one that touches the soul in places, particularly in "The Man Who Rowed Columbus Ashore", as well as the award-winning "Mefisto in Onyx".

I strongly urge any fan of speculative fiction to pick up this book, and be welcomed into the wonderland of Ellison. ... Read more

Product Description
Harlan Ellison has won more awards for imaginative literature than any other living author, but only aficionados of Ellison's singular work have been aware of another of his passions ... he is a great oral interpreter of his stories. His recordings have been difficult to obtain ... by his choice. In 1999, for the first time, he was lured into the studio to record this stunning retrospective. Contents include: an original introduction; I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream; Laugh Track Grail; "Repent, Harlequin!" said the Ticktockman; The Very Last Day of a Good Woman; The Time of the Eye; Paladin of the Lost Hour; The Lingering Scent of Woodsmoke; and A Boy and His Dog (source of the cult motion picture). This recording is the winner of the International Horror Writers Bram Stoker Award for outstanding non-print media. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

No beginning
Great stories...too bad you start at 5% in, no title page, no table of contents...and missing the beginning of "I Have No Mouth."Will be looking for another version to download and glad that this one only cost me a buck.

kindle version is just title story
This is a great story and I owned the eponymous collection many years ago, so I was was really pleased to see it in the Kindle store and I bought it right away.Unfortunately, the Kindle version is just the story, not the entire collection.Huge disappointment.Amazon needs to correct this.Five stars because the story deserves it and I don't want to drag down ratings for Ellison's work, but I am not happy.

Not Free SF Reader
A Science Fiction Story

AM modelled slave.


4 out of 5

Well Written, Exciting, Unexpected
Like many other people, my impression of Harlan Ellison is colored poorly from a personal encounter.But this is a review of the material, and irrespective his personal conduct, the man can flat-out write a story.He's good - no doubt about it.

This collection has his most famous stories and they ought to be familiar because they've been retold and homaged and performed often enough to be mainstays of fiction.I have no complaints about the stories, no complaints at all.The only reason I gave this less than five stars is that I wanted more background from the collection - more insight into how the story's materialized and what makes the fiction writer tick.Other collections of suberb work do better in the 'fluff' or background material.

I recommend it to all.

CV Rick

ALWAYS AN INTERESTING TAKE AND INTERESTING READ
I first read this paperback back in the late 60s, I was pretty impressed at that time.After giving it a reread recently, I was still impressed but not quite so captivated as when I was much younger.This is a very, very good group of short stories.My favorite was the title story, of people trapped in a computer.This was quite forward looking of the author when you consider when the story was first published.I do have to agree with a couple of the other reviewers in that I am not at all sure if the author had full control of his narrative at all times.On the other hand, this is sort of a part of the charm of the book.I can well see how this book recieved the Hugo and Nebula Awards during those times.If you are a student of the SiFi genre, then this is one you will probably want to read and own.Recommend it highly. ... Read more

Product Description
A special new collection of Ellison's short stories, selected especially for this volume by the author, including the newly revised and expanded 6,500 word tale "Never Send to Know for Whom the Lettuce Wilts."In a career spanning more than 50 years, Harlan Ellison has written or edited 75 books, more than 1700 stories, essays, articles and newspaper columns, two dozen teleplays, and a dozen movies.Now, for the first time anywhere, Troublemakers presents a collection of Ellison's classic stories-chosen by the author-that will introduce new readers to a writer described by the New York Times as having "the spellbinding quality of a great nonstop talker, with a cultural warehouse for a mind."Includes the award-winning stories "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" and "Deeper Than the Darkness" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Love the Essays!
Yes, this is a collection of Ellison's stories that have been published many times over. However, the short essays that precede each story are worth the price alone, in my opinion (My personal favorite is the "Soldier" preamble, andI feel this story is very relevant to what's going on today).
I admit a certain prejudice to Harlan Ellison's work: My mother introduced me to his books early on, and at difficult times in my life it was good to hear another articulate the anger I felt. Got me through many a sleepless night!Plus, in one of his storiesthere is a character that has our family name (not a common one). So...Take my review with a grain of (rock)salt if you will, but read at least one of his stories if you haven't already.
I would say that this book is a good intro to Harlan Ellison's work.

A feast of Ellison!
Having spent the last 30 years voraciously comsuming everything Harlan has written I believe I am well qualified to review this lastest book. My only complaint with the book is that Harlan left out so many great stories that I would have included. However including so many other stories would have made this collection extremely unwieldy to say the least. Suffice it to say that every story is a gem and I hope that this volume becomes a starting point for many new fans of Ellison's remarkable fiction.
I also wish to inform you that contray to another review Gene Roddenberry did not re-write Ellison's Star Trek script, he had others do the vandalism for him. Let it also be noted that Harlan's original script (not the broadcast episode itself) for that same Star Trek episode won the writer's Guild of America award for "Best Episodic Drama" in 1968.
Everyone is entitled to their informed opinion.

The Very Best of Harlan...
Troublemakers is the best introduction to the stories of Harlan Ellison in print.Out of the roughly 2,000 stories he has written, some of his greatest are here, including Soldier, Jeffty is Five, and "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman.Each story comes with a little preface by the author, wherein he loosely ties them all together with the theme of "troublemaking."(In actuality, this is a "greatest hits" collection.)However, this by no means contains ALL of his greatest hits.For instance, The Whimper of Whipped Dogs is absent, as is Demon with a Glass Hand.For something along those lines you'd need to purchase The Essential Ellison - and only Harlan could get away with calling a book the size of the Norton Anthology "essential."However, to begin a study of his work, this is the place to start.

The thrill is gone.
Several years ago, Harlan Ellison was vital, Harlan Ellison was angry, Harlan Ellison was a force of chaos that upset the applecart any chance he got. Time hasn't been kind either to him or to the stories collected herein. He's become the unapologetic, misanthropic crank who stands in the middle of the square railing at all the fools around him and ultimately is tiresome to read or listen to. If you're in your late teens or early twenties, this and his other collections will shake you up...but probably only for one read-through. Harlan, get a life. Given an extra star for nostalgia's sake.

A Very Angry Man Makes Trouble
I find it somewhat difficult to sum up an entire book of short stories in a single review.Many of the stories in TROUBLEMAKERS are magical, thought-provoking and wonderful.But on the other hand, others in the collection simply bored me, and left me impatient for the next story to begin.The book as a whole I found to be mostly hit and miss, with some real standouts that do manage to make the collection a welcome one.

Like a belligerent Rod Serling with a chip on his shoulder, Harlan Ellison angrily provides an introduction to each of his stories (sometimes being more entertaining in his factual summary than in the work of fiction itself) and describes some of the themes that he was attempting to inject into the particular story.The overall hook of this collection is, as you may have guessed from the title, troublemakers and the, er, trouble that they make.Included are stories ranging from 1956 up through the year of publication (2001), many of which are products of their era, yet still manage to have a timeless feel to them.For example, the utterly sixties "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said The Ticktockman" is dripping with the feeling and sensibilities of that decade, but can be read today in the 21st century without losing any of its original passion.The stories here make a good suite of tales, though you'll have to squint your eyes a bit to squeeze some of them under the troublemaking heading.

As I mentioned, some of the stories here are absolutely amazing.When Ellison's talents are clicking he can create stories that boggle the imagination and rank up with the best of Ray Bradbury, another master of the fantastical short story.Yet there are several selections here that I found to be a bit dreary and inconsequential.I wondered briefly if I had missed something, but after skimming what I had just read I came to the conclusion that I had, indeed, "got" the story, I just hadn't cared for it.The worst of this collection tend to be uninteresting and contain foreseeable conclusions, sharply clashing with the imaginative heights of the best.It's a pity that the collection is a bit haphazard because the really good stories definitely make this collection worth a purchase.

This was the first collection of Ellison's short stories that I've read and I certainly plan on reading more in the future.Although I didn't care for several of the stories in this particular anthology, I recognized a quality that I liked.TROUBLEMAKERS features stories that can be raw in places, have a sense of faint futility and aren't assured of a happy ending.Many of them were genuinely unpredictable (and by unpredictable, I mean that I honestly didn't see the ending coming rather than guessing it but assuming that the author wouldn't go there) and occasionally unsettling.The best stories in TROUBLEMAKERS did what any good anthology should do -- make me want to read more by this author. ... Read more

Product Description
The Seattle Times said of Angry Candy: "Ellison's stories rattle the bars of complacency that people put around their souls . . . Razor sharp . . . piercingly profound." Once again, Ellison's writing defies all labels. These seventeen stories by a modern master are an "assembled artifact" of anger and faith - as bittersweet as a"jalapeno-laced cinnamon bear." The sixteen stories collected here are spread over the farthest stretches of time and space, buteven the bleakest of them is warmed by a passionate faith in the endurance of life and its ultimate possibilities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Good but forgettable
As I am trying to catch up with my reviewing, I came to the unpleasant realization that while I had finished this book less than a month ago I couldn't remember ANYTHING about it off the top of my head.Thankfully the description from Amazon jogged my memory about the stories presented, but it also pointed out something about the book to me which I wouldn't have otherwise realized.

I like Ellison's writings quite a bit, and I have been trying very hard to catch up on reading all the short stories that he has written over the years.It is thus somewhat of a disappointment to say that - once I could remember the stories from the collection - they didn't make any lasting impressions on me one way or another.This isn't to say that they were badly written; there was just nothing about the stories that really grabbed hold of my imagination or thoughts that would keep me remembering them.

I would strongly recommend it to just about anyone as the stories were good, but I wouldn't expect this collection to be remembered anywhere near as well as some of Ellison's previous.

Good but...
I like the book and some of the stories are good but there is just too much about 'Harlan' and it gets in the way. While he is a good writer he needs to be a little more modest about his achievements. I got the feeling reading these introductions that I was being spoken to by some 'Higher Intelligence'.

As someone else said, he has to introduce each of the stories before you read them. I don't care how they were written and I find it annoying that he presumes everyone would be interested. Stephen King also does this but he always sticks this stuff at the end of the collection-- he knows that not everyone is always interested in this. King also shows a lot more modesty when taking the reader through this stuff. Ellison is a good writer (no-one is arguing that) but he is perhaps not as good as he thinks he is.

Mr Ellison, How about just letting the work speak for itself?

As a footnote, these comments equally describe my feelings regarding an earlier collection 'Shatterday'. Again, a good collection but the author's personality intrudes too much.

An uneven, but worthwhile, collection of stories themed around death
This collection is, according to Ellison in his introduction, "the twenty-second or -third or -fifth book of stories I've done." With no disrespect to his fiction, the introduction is the best part of this collection. It opens with death of his friend, Emily (whose death also appears in a couple of the stories) and Ellison's "insensitive" but honest eulogy. Listed next to the text on two pages are 44 deaths which touched him in a two-year period. In some cases they were close friends and in other cases acquaintances, but the overwhelming amount of death clearly shook the hardened writer. He is angry about the deaths and the pain the losses create and this book is his attempt to come to grips with what he has experienced.

Which brings us to the last story, "The Function of Dream Sleep," in which the main character momentarily sees a mouth with teeth open near his stomach. When he goes to get help he eventually ends up with a group of people who take on the pain of others, but the character's pain is so great he actually kills several of them. Where does his pain come from? The loss of friends (including an Emily) which he has not been able to deal with in a positive way. He eventually seeks out a guru type figure who informs him the pain is from the dead whom he will not let go. He is told to "Let the mouth open...let the wind of the soul pass through, and take emptiness as a release." We end the book with "when he cried for them, he was, at last, able to say goodbye." The process is complete and Ellison seems to have worked through his anger and let his friends go.

The stories in between the introduction and final story hit a range of topics, times, and creatures, but they all deal with death. The problem with prolific writers is usually that the quality ranges as well, and Ellison is no exception. Some of these are forgettable ("Escapegoat") and Ellison is prone to the last sentence surprise ending, like the ending of some bad jokes. But when he hits a story well it is well worth the effort. "Laugh Track" is a creatively written story in which a man follows his deceased Aunt through the years as her laugh shows up on laugh tracks over the decades. The twist is that the laugh track keeps her alive and he is able to connect with her, setting her off in a new direction. The story not only has a interesting premise, but shows a sense of humor as well -- a welcome diversion in this heavy book.

The best story is the opening "Paladin of the Lost Hour," in which human temptation is all that holds us back from chaos as one person holds the key to a lost hour in time. Should the hour be used for personal reasons the time will disappear and the world will disappear. Ellison manages to make the holder of time both human and other worldly as he finds a new person to protect time.

One of the more disturbing, yet most powerful, stories is "Broken Glass" in which a woman combats a rapist who enters her mind. Trapped on a bus she knows one of the men on the bus has entered her mind and raped her, but she does not know which person it is and he continues to taunt her. In the end she realizes she must use her mind to combat him. "On the Slab" is another standout in which a creature on display shows it is not yet dead, but there are those who want him that way. The "owner" goes from seeing this as a money-making venture to true compassion for the creature, and the relationship is touching.

Of the seventeen short stories here a good editor could have dropped eight of them to make this a stronger book, but I get the impression that at this stage in his career Ellison calls his own shots.There are a couple of Ellison "essential" collections on his 35th and 50th writing anniversaries, which may be a better place start. But Ellison is definitely a writer who should drop into most people's reading lists at some point.

Perhaps I'm too old for Harlan Ellison
Funny how you can buy a book and put it on your book shelf and not read it for years. Then once you read it, you realize you should have read it when you first bought it. If I had read this book 20 years ago, it would have been further proof that Harlan Ellison is the single greatest writing alive. And I still like his stories. Sadly, it's impossible to separate Harlan Ellison the person from his stories. I can love Cat Stevens' music despite his anti-semitic blather. Orson Scott Card is a Mormon homophobe but Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1) was an excellent story. With Harlan, everything is about Harlan. He has to introduce every story and give interviews that are longer than his stories. And a lot of the key to liking Harlan Ellison's stories is liking Harlan Ellison.

And I'm no longer a surly teenager. As Nathan Rabin wrote in The Big Rewind: A Memoir Brought to You by Pop Culture, one shouldn't trust someone who never went through a Holden Caulfield phase, but one should fear anyone who never got out of that phase. Almost everything Harlan Ellison writes makes him sound like a whiny teenage smartass.

Now this still wouldn't be a deal breaker except for the fact that the stories are so average. They are good stories, but I expect more out of Ellison. His take on racial politics is stuck in the 60s. His characters aren't as fully realized as they can be. There are some good solid stories in this one but there are also a lot of stinkers - mostly stories that copy "The Deathbird" where there's a tale in the thing but you have to get through Harlan talking about his dead dog and a couple of paragraphs expounding on the Ellison "philosophy" which is mostly "everyone is a whackjob".

It's an ok anthology and definitely buy if you are a hardcore fan; but if you've outgrown your Harlan Ellison (or Holden Caulfield) phase, best go with another Harlan Ellison collection (Death Bird Stories is pretty good)

Perhaps his best work...
This is Ellison at his finest. There's nothing much to add beyond the other positive reviews, but I did purchase this as a gift for a friend of mine with a literary bent who had always skipped Harlan because he "doesn't like Science Fiction". Needless to say, he's catching up on the rest of Harlan's works now... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Harlan At His Best!!!
Harlan's personal voice is loud and clear in this one!!! Don't miss it (ifyou can find it!)!!!

If you like HE essays, you'll love this
Have you ever read some Harlan Ellison and said to yourself, I really liked the intros to the stories better than some of the stories ?If so, this is the book for you. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Free SF Reader
Ellison's Dangerous Visions anthology has been broken up different ways - two volumes in the UK, and in three volumes, in this sphere edition.

Only 8 stories in the first part, as the longish Farmer novella takes up a fair chunk of it.

The introduction and story of the book is included, as are a couple of pieces of introductory work by Asimov, who apparently declined to write a story for this volume being 'way too square'.

On the whole, quite good, at 3.56, the cleverest part being the double sequel of sorts to Robert Bloch's fine 'Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper'. He takes the first part, 'A Toy For Juliette' and Ellison follows on from what happens there.

Dangerous Visions 1 : Evensong - Lester del Rey
Dangerous Visions 1 : Flies - Robert Silverberg
Dangerous Visions 1 : The Day After the Day the Martians Came - Frederik Pohl
Dangerous Visions 1 : Riders of the Purple Wage - Philip José Farmer
Dangerous Visions 1 : The Malley System - Miriam Allen deFord
Dangerous Visions 1 : A Toy for Juliette - Robert Bloch
Dangerous Visions 1 : The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World - Harlan Ellison
Dangerous Visions 1 : The Night That All Time Broke Out - Brian W. Aldiss


Usurpers hard to fool.

4 out of 5


Draining the exes.

3.5 out of 5


The old jokes again.

3 out of 5


Winnegan's World, Winnegan's Universe.

3.5 out of 5


Murderous replay punishment.

3 out of 5


Iron Maiden granddaughter future Ripper one-upped.

4 out of 5


Future Ripper release work.

4 out of 5


Elemental lifestream visits.

3.5 out of 5 ... Read more