Harlan Ellison Books

I think lots of people know this anthology, split here into two pieces isn't as good as the first. Still better than The Last Dangerous Visions though. Lots of not too good stories here. Bernard Wolfe supplies good booze, or something perhaps, to get two stories. Only a bit over a 3 average here, and 50-50 if the stories are any good, which overall spells a big steenkin' average.

Funny to hear Piers Anthony rant about editors not taking chances and later on go and write more fluffy kids fantasies in a series than you can probably count on your digits.

The intros and afterwords are pretty much done in the same style and spirit as the earlier volume.

Again Dangerous Visions 1 : Ching Witch! - Ross Rocklynne
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : The Word for World Is Forest [short story] - Ursula K. Le Guin
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : For Value Received - Andrew J. Offutt
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : Robot's Story - Gene Wolfe
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : Against the Lafayette Escadrille - Gene Wolfe
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : Loco Parentis - Gene Wolfe
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : Time Travel for Pedestrians - Ray Faraday Nelson
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : King of the Hill - Chad Oliver
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : The 10:00 Report Is Brought to You By... - Edward Bryant
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : The Funeral - Kate Wilhelm
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : Harry the Hare - James B. Hemesath
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : When It Changed - Joanna Russ
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : The Big Space Fcuk - Kurt Vonnegut
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : Bounty - T. L. Sherred
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : Still-Life - K. M. O'Donnell
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : Stoned Counsel - H. H. Hollis
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : The Bisquit Position - Bernard Wolfe
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : The Girl with Rapid Eye Movements - Bernard Wolfe
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : With a Finger in My I - David Gerrold
Again Dangerous Visions 1 : In the Barn - Piers Anthony

Wapoo ips SF.

3 out of 5


Apart from the fabulous title, a pretty interesting book.

A planet of aliens that are similar but different to humans is a target of exploitation.

The forests hold the whole ecology together in a more important way than on Earth. The natives know nothing of violent conflict, but when brutality and violence is used by the invaders to try and get what they want, the locals learn quickly.

4 out of 5


Resident patient intern cost.

4 out of 5


Real, maybe, dope.

2.5 out of 5


Balloon chick, maybe.

3 out of 5


Substitute boy.

2.5 out of 5


W@nker trip.

3 out of 5


Humans history, give the furry Titans a go.

4 out of 5


Literal newsmakers.

4 out of 5


Getting hairy.

3.5 out of 5


Cartoon copyright escape.

3.5 out of 5


Separation anxiety.

3.5 out of 5


Stupendous space spoof load launch.

3 out of 5


Robbery removal, high calibre.

3.5 out of 5


Third man pissoff whiner.

3 out of 5


Dream lawyers.

2.5 out of 5


Napalm death dog.

3.5 out of 5


Dream rock psi transfer rubbish.

2.5 out of 5


Malleable reality.

3 out of 5


Udderly alternate Earth Prime.

3.5 out of 5

Flush with the success of the briliant Dangeraus Visions, Harlan Ellison and his publishers leapt into the creation of a mulit-volume sequel. They should have quit while they were ahead. Most of the stories are good, but they have not dated well. Also the book runs needlessly long, with Ellison's hyper ego prattling on in the introductions and needless double header works by the writers. It took me a year to read it all and, for someone who goes through 3 to 5 books a month, that is NOT praise.

To anyone who has read the original collection of science fiction stories by renowned Sci-Fi masters of the 70's that Harlan Ellison released, this sequel packs all these that were missed, such as Philip Jose Farmer's "Riders of the Purple Wage". Even doubters of repeat success will enjoy this book, as the one refreshing rule (rarely broken) is that each author could only submit ONE story. There were no other rules.

Oh yeah, and Kurt Vonnegut's in it too!

This is it--the origin of the Doctor's worst enemies, the Daleks. This is good old-fashioned space opera, with the added touch of a Doctor uncertain if he has the right to decide the fate of the universe (something that will trouble him less and less in the future). A competent retelling of the TV show.

Like many Doctor Who fans, I'm often sceptical about the writing abilities of the late Terry Nation. He tended to fill his story with stereotypes, and reuse set pieces from story to story. I'm not sure how he wrote 'Genesis of the Daleks'. I guess it proves that he was a good writer, but perhaps too lazy to give us his best all the time.

Terrance Dicks' adaptation is not as good as the story deserves, but it is still quite good.

The Doctor, Sarah and Harry are sent on a mission for the Time Lords - the Doctor is instructed to prevent the creation of the Daleks. This story lands the trio at the end of a thousand year war, which has dragged two civilisations back to almost primitive levels. But the atomic and biological weapons used earlier in the wars have caused mutations...

Davros, the chief scientist of the Kaleds, is determined to make his race stronger through this mutation, and to this end he has designed a machine to house the ultimate mutated form of his race. Together, mutant and machine will be known as Daleks.

Davros is one of the great supporting characters ever created for the show, rather sadly ruined by his subsequent appearances. The great portrayal by Michael Wisher cannot translate properly to the written page, but he is still great.

An epic story worth a read by all Doctor Who fans.

First, it should be said that if you discovered this jumped-up fan tirade to be linked in any way to REAL books by award winning writer Harlan Ellison you have been led astray. But since the link to Harlan's work and Priest's is probably established by Priest and his associates pressing on this link repeatedly in their free time you will have this.

An unsuspecting reader should also know that when pressing the name Christopher Priest one is presented with links to a number of comic book TPB's by a different Christpher Priest. Here we have an example of a person achieving marginal notice by riding on the coat tails of not one, but TWO different (and far better) writers.

If you enjoy long winded and meanspirited tirades that bleat on for pages about slights and literary misdemeanors that could be covered in a few sentences - this is the screed you've been waiting for. If, on the other hand you'd like to read a good book - fiction or non-fiction - in just about any genre imaginable - try one of the 70 or so books Harlan has published in the last 45 years.

This book is published in the United States by Fantagraphics. This is appropriate as Fantagraphics also publishes the Eros line of XXX rated comics in order to stay afloat these days. Fans of self-abuse will be right at home with this title or any of the other books in the one-fisted Fantagraphics catalog.

Priest's contribution to TLDV was rejected 30 years ago by Harlan Ellison, and this one-sided hatchet job, published by another of Ellison's personal antagonists, Gary Groth, is the result. The fact that these two individuals went so far as to actually refer to themselves as the "Enemies of Ellison" (later "Victims of Ellison" but still something right out of elementary school) speaks volumes about both writer and publisher. It is ad hominem masquerading as journalism, and wasn't worth reading as a free download, let alone paying ... for it.

If you want to be entertained, read the many many volumes of Harlan Ellison's stories and essays. If you want to know more about Ellison himself, there are far better and more objective biographies and critiques of the man and his work.

For those previous reviewers who mentioned Stephen King's "lost story," consider this: It doesn't seem to have bothered King, who has gone on to have some modest success as a writer. Priest, OTOH, has built his entire ... career by attaching himself to Harlan's ankle like an angry Yorkie.

Skip this book...

This is a very specialized non-fiction book (booklet? pamphlet? it is very short) dealing with the sad history of the much awaited but never realized publication of The Last Dangerous Visions anthology by Harlan Ellison. The author, Christopher Priest, did his research, cited all of his sources, and pretty much just relates the facts of what Ellison has said and when he said it verses what he has actually done.

The biggest fact one can add to this book is that it is now 2005, over thirty years after the project began and eight years since Priest wrote his history/analysis of its non-occurence, and LDV _still_ has not come out nor shown any sign of ever coming out. And with each passing year, the stories age even further and, except for the handful of authors who took their stories back and had them published elsewhere, more of the included authors pass on with their stories unseen and unread in their lifetime.

Some of the other reviewers who have castigated Priest apparently didn't bother to do their research. One implies that Priest is being vindictive because his own story was rejected for LDV, which is not true (that was a completely different author, John Shirley). Another reveals his ignorance of Priest's publishing history, accusing him of riding the coattails of an American comic book author of the same name, when in fact the British author Priest has been around longer, pubished more and in fact has the real claim to the name since the comic book author apparently changed his name.

This book is interesting and invaluable if you're at all curious about this much talked-about but never seen anthology. Harlan Ellison is one of the truly great writers of speculative fiction and has earned his place of honor in its history. But even great men have their foibles and failures, and sadly LDV looks to be his.

This is a fascinating piece of detective work - probably not of great interest to the average book reader, but a wonderful revelation to people like myself, who have long wondered what happened to the book we awaited eagerly over 30 years ago.
It was a time when Harlan Ellison seemed to be both a great story writer and a great editor.
Little did we know that his third anthology would sit on the edge of forever.
I have read a number of speculations on the non-appearance of The Last Dangerous Visions, but at last here is one that makes complete sense.
Highly recommended.

Really, I still think that after reading this essay it's a great loss that The Last Dangerous Visions never saw the light of day. Up to now, I mean. I hope it will be put together one day but chances seem small.

Anyway, The Book on the Edge of Forever provides plenty of information, though a sad feeling may overcome you while reading it.

Thank you, Christopher Priest, for this book.

One of my favorite comic books. I read it weekly. Anything by Ellison is worth buying and this collection is definily worth it. The best story is probably Rat Hater.

If the reader wants a series of borring, unimaginative, and childish "stories" this is the book for you. Harlan has a way of boldly stating facts and ideas in this book as though they are his own when in reality, they are the same tired old stories, ideas, and viewpoints you have heard from many many other people over the years. In the end you kind of feel sorry for the guy. Doesn't Harlan know what this makes him look like?

This collection has so many problems - mainly, the selection of stories. These tales are by no means his best, or even his better ones. They seem like second-hand-twilight-zone stories: extremely predictable, and might I say... amateurish? Also, the artists chosen for these adaptations could have used some reconsideration. "Knox" has some interesting (?), abstract work, and "On the Slab" is beautiful, but the rest can go. Plus, several prose pieces are included, and if I wanted that, I'd buy one of his novels! Finally, "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream", part of the original comic series, and probably the most well-done, is not included. Boo, hiss.

What we have here is Harlan Ellison having some of his short stories (of which he has written over two thousand) adapted into being graphic stories.

An illustrated character (Ellison himself) takes the reader into his "corridor of dreams" where all the stories he ever wrote are stored in departments. He guides us through the humungous building and opens a department every now and then. Everytime he does the tour is interrupted and we get to read a selected short story ( a window-tale if you will), adapted into comicdom by different people (Len Wein, Michael T. Gilbert and others).
In this particular book are five of those short-stories which vary in quality. I definately want to point out "Rat-hater", a story about a guy taking revenge in the most gruesome way he can think of on a guy who is responsible for his sisters death. To my taste this is the best story in the book (both the story as the painted art are not to be missed). Some of the others are nice (The Len Wein story and something called "On the Slab") but there's also a story done by Phil Foglio about which you'll probably feel sorry you took the time for it afterwards.
Between the several short stories, in the sequences where Ellison takes the reader from one department to another, Ellison uses some pages to take some personal shots at people who in his eyes wrongfully criticezed his work, in a pretty chauvinistic way.
The last two pages contain part of a new never-printed-before piece of proze by Ellison.

All in all the conclussion I must come to is that this is not a spectacularly good book. There are some nice (not great) stories in here and there are some lesser ones.... As it is it's quite enjoyable but only worth the money for true Harlan Ellison fans who can't get enough of him.

Ellison once wrote that there are "five native American art forms that we've given to the world: Jazz, of course. Musical comedy as we know it today. The detective story as crafted by Poe. The banjo. And comic books." On display between these covers are some of the finest examples of comic book art and writing. "Dream Corridor" sprang to life after Showtime and HBO (having solicited him for an ongoing series) balked at paying Ellison for typing up proposals for a cable TV show. Still intrigued with the thought of having his tales transformed into the visual medium, Ellison came up with the idea for this ongoing series of quarterly comic books. Then he had them adapted by some of the finest writers and artists working in the medium (Faye Perozich, Peter David, Max Alan Collins, Doug Wildey, John K, Snyder, Mike Deodato, etc.). And to make the package twice as enticing, each issue of "Dream Corridor" included an original piece of cover artwork (beautifully drawn by the likes of Leo and Diane Dillon, Stephen Hickman or Sam Raffa)around which Ellison would write a brand new story. Not a few of those stories are already considered some of Ellison's best work in recent years: "Pulling Hard Time" is a hard-hitting, futuristic tale which begs a closer examination of our penal system and the often lopsided scales of justice. "Chatting With Anubis," a recent winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers of America, is a sly rumination on gods and what happens when the believers stop believing. And "Midnight In the Sunken Cathedral" is a haunting story about a son who transcends time and space to confront the father he never knew. This collection of the first year's output from "Harlan Ellison's Dream Corridor" is a jolt to the brain and a feast for the eyes! It's sure to attract new fans to a much maligned form of art.

I can't believe the bevy of 2-star reviews regarding this work! by people who claim to be H.E. fans, no less!! should i mention this is routinely cited as one of the best rock & roll stories EVER?! people, this novel was published in 1961, it's one of Harlan's early works & like many such pieces it has a very gritty & urban quality about it. the story may seem trite in this day & age, but remember that 1961 was far before the whole "debauched rock star" persona was etched into the collective American unconscious. and even though the story might be familiar, don't forget that the protagonist of the tale ISN'T the rock star! and his story makes the book that much better (btw, it wasn't Elvis that the rockstar character was based on, it was Jerry Lee Lewis.) i believe there are a cabal of "Harlan purists" who chafe at the idea of a young H.E. cranking out such hardboiled non-fantasy-oriented material, and as such seem to roll their eyes at anything this isn't I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, or Beast That Shouted Love At The Heart Of The World. possibly because Spider Kiss is one novel that you don't have to be a rabid H.E. fan to enjoy. pick this one up and judge for yourself. not to mention, it's always worthwhile picking up an Ellison book before it goes out of print, as they all-too-often do.

I suspect that some of the reviewers here were not born yet when this book was written (1961). It is very much a piece of its time and era, back when Ellison really *was* an Angry Young Man (and not a Cranky Old Fart). It wasn't his best book, by any means, but it gives a cynical view of an industry that even then, used people. Yes, the rockabilly star might remind you of Elvis, but what happens might also remind you of the much older tale of Fatty Arbuckle. I read the book in the early 70s, and some of the imagery is still with me. I can still remember the off-hand comment about the visual effect of one-piece girdles, and I remember having to ask someone what it meant to have the cylinders in one's Mercedes re-bored. If you've read The Web of the City, you should read this too.

Pre Fab Four novel of the ups and downs of being an up and coming "Rock" star. Not for the Sci Fi fan, more of a Stephen King novel in some ways.

Ellison's novel of a 50's-era rockabilly star (the book was originally titled "Rockabilly") is energetically written and a page-turner, but it's marred by Ellison's own outlook. Ellison's contempt not only for the character but also for rock`n'roll in general drips off every page. It spoiled the book for me, one that I genuinely tried to enjoy.

Well, maybe not Elvis, but Elvis could play him perfectly in a movie version (if there were a movie version, and if Elvis would take such an unflattering role, and if he weren't old and, not to mince words, dead). Where was I. Yes, it's a full-length Ellison novel, one of his earliest, about a country boy who becomes a huge rock star. The interesting stuff is Ellison's creation of a character who is able to come across as a charming kid and a glamorous star, while gradually being revealed to us as a real scum of a human being. Ellison does it beautifully, from his vantage point as someone who has clearly spent too much time hanging around people in the showbiz industry

Again, Dangerous Visions happens to include my favorite story 'Moth Race' by Richard Hill. It also has 'Things Lost', a memorable story about colonists on a long space flight who usually wear decorated masks in public. And it contains, 'Getting Along' a delicious story by James Blish, done in the writing style of Sir Conan Doyle/Jules Verne/HG Wells. For the most part tho, the stories are below average.

It also includes, 'With the Bentfin Boomer Boys on Little Old New Alabama' by Dick Lupoff. A story about a colony of whites at war with a colony of blacks.

This story was hyped by the editor as, "Friends, there has never been a thing like this one before, in or out of the field of SF. One expects some eye-openers... but nothing like Lupoff. He takes the solid gold award for chutzpah Above and Beyond the limits of Gall... frankly, had no other story than this one been written for Again, Dangerous Visions, the book would have been worth reading." It ended up being nominated for the Nebula award.

'Boomer Boys' is dangerous because it's told from the point of view of the racist 'New Alabamans' who are at war with the planet 'New Haiti'. The story is told in part thru a succession of speeches the New Alabama leadership give - as observed thru the eyes of the servicemen 'gyrenes' in the story.

The first speech is given at commencement... - "who ever said anybody needed - a commencement speech - to tell him to blast the uppities out of black space... some bigbellied Senator from Talledega? Sheeh! What if it was the Governor himself? what could he say about the war that everybody didn't know already anyhow? We all knew what would happen... the same thing that happened on O'Earth, before the Jewrabs pushed everybody else out and left the colony worlds to shift for themselves. Who needs speeches?"

The second speech is seen from guard duty at a conference of the friendly planets, 'N'Missa', 'N'Maddoxia', 'N'Transvaal', 'N'Boer Republic' - "I can well imagine how some of you - Ole Guv Youngerman, he lookin around to see who's pain attention & who's more interested in studyin his fingernails - how some of you - Ole Guv resumes - matt wonder how come we can't smash them nigra brutes with proven superiority of our kind... I'll be perfectly frank with yall, - Old Guv he looken almost fit to cry now - we taken a thorough whompin in this war... yall have to give us some help. Now that's all there is to it."

The third speech is before a big battle in space, "Colonel-General 'Pissfire' Pallbox, addressed the men. -Umen- are the finest fightin force in the en-tire planetary military establishment. - He spit on the deck., Some swabby wone like that! -M the N'Alabama planetary military establishment - his voice rising - being the finest fightin force among the pure surn white planets under God & His Son Jesus George Christ! - M the pure surn white planets - ole Pissfire hollern rantin now, snappin his official spacerine issue galluses m turnin from side to side - being the toughest, meanest, wild-spit-in-the-eye-&-kick-em-in-the-nuts bunch of ball-barren men in the entire galaxy! - He jumped up and down with a red face & shoutin... Spacerines cheerin an whoopin an huggin each other (sometimes with a leetle more hug than you might think for spacerines, but what the H, they wuz a long way from home)."

It's not hard to like the young 'gyrenes' in the story Gordon Wallace III and Freddie, tho the story does poke fun at them or at least their society - in one case they walk by a newspaper box, "Noozes: WARGOZWELL ENEMYFALLZBACK BLACK CASUALTIZRIEZ PAPADOCS LOZING. Y Bi Noozes? Headlines allasame allagame allafine allatime. Win win win. So: Why no fizem sidewalcracks, streetlights, build some houses? Afterwarz uvocrz". Sayings have changed over time, "Rise Agin!", "Lawnorder", "I'm dreaming of a white kiss miss."

Talking about the different colonies... Gordon mentions, even, "a few worlds colonized by homosexuals of both types, but they didn't breed true in captivity and they died out." Whenever they pass by another man in town they always scope him out, "Fatman was short (5'2" 2'5"? 52"? Short), perspiration too on that noble brow helped. He jiggled as he walked but the sarge (not to mention Gord & Freddie) didn't mind, watched his big behind, a find."

The crux of the story takes place in a seedy night club. Sarge takes Gord and Freddie to a show there last night before deployment. 'Miss Markum' performs a dance there for the crowd. Her dance is interrupted by a black male 'masher', even sarge "does a double take", "but no. He's white only daubed", "Curled around her jelly hip what's that black what's that? A handle it has she grasps and uncoils a whip. Maidenhood defended. Now willya see him cringe and crawl... hear him whine (phwapp!) good O God O finefinefineO go Miss Markum and crack! the people lose their mind the cheers the screams the hips, hips working, losing minds, pelvis grinds tears cheers, Miss Markum Truimphant calls defiant independent slogan: Never!"

N'Haiti does win the war. They solve their manpower shortage by reanimating the war dead: creating zombies. At one point in the story Gord asks to himself, "Why so many N'Alabama ships carry N'Missa names?"

The story ends back at the same night club after the war. Freddie now works there. Miss Markum still works there too, catering now, to the 'new visitors'. Only, things are reversed. She's made up to look quite quite dark, and a white N'Alabama surn man, jumps out and tries to grab her. The show must go on. At the start of the show the Emcee proclaims, "A dramatic interpretation ladies m gentlemen, music m drama m dance combine to present a traditional reenactment." Freddie, is actually the surn man in the show, facing the whip, "Freddie howls (it's part of the act, right, but Miss Markum do you gotta make it so real!)." A very dark Miss Markham gives him one final push down with her heel.

What seems dangerous to me, is, do the 'N'Alabamans' (who have an entire planet to themselves) really have to be so obsessed with race/the greatness of their race? Of course the words 'traditional reenactment' there at the end were a bit unnerving as well.

Generally, people who read this story today, take it to be a veiled reference to our own time. There are a lot of allusions to our times in the story like the veiled reference to Gloria Steinum above. Myself I don't limit the story to just an allegory. I see 'With the Bentfin Boomer Boys' as being more than just story about our times. I see it as a story of the future that happens to comment on our time. Mankind very well could colonize the galaxy one day. With that there are all kinds of dangerous possibilities too.

A not particularly necessary followup to the Dangerous Visions anthology in reading terms, at least.

As a whole, this is just ordinary. Of course, in any group of 40 odd stories there are likely to be some good ones, Ursula K. Le Guin's The Word for World is Forest being one such example.

No need to read this one except as a throwaway money priced used paperback.

Again Dangerous Visions : The Counterpoint Of View - John Heidenry
Again Dangerous Visions : Ching Witch! - Ross Rocklynne
Again Dangerous Visions : The Word for World is Forest - Ursula K. Le Guin
Again Dangerous Visions : For Value Received - Andrew J. Offutt
Again Dangerous Visions : Mathoms From the Time Closet - Gene Wolfe
Again Dangerous Visions : Time Travel For Pedestrians - Ray Nelson
Again Dangerous Visions : King Of The Hill - Chad Oliver
Again Dangerous Visions : The 10:00 Report Is Brought To You By - Edward Bryant
Again Dangerous Visions : The Funeral - Kate Wilhelm
Again Dangerous Visions : Harry The Hare - James B. Hemesath
Again Dangerous Visions : When It Changed - Joanna Russ
Again Dangerous Visions : The Big Space Frack - Kurt Vonnegut
Again Dangerous Visions : Bounty - T. L. Sherred
Again Dangerous Visions : Still-Life - Barry N. Malzberg
Again Dangerous Visions : Stoned Counsel - H. H. Hollis
Again Dangerous Visions : Monitored Dreams and Strategic Cremations - Bernard Wolfe
Again Dangerous Visions : With A Finger In My I - David Gerrold
Again Dangerous Visions : In The Barn - Piers Anthony
Again Dangerous Visions : Soundless Evening - Lee Hoffman
Again Dangerous Visions : the title is an ink blot - Gahan Wilson
Again Dangerous Visions : The Test-Tube Creature Afterward - Joan Bernott
Again Dangerous Visions : And The Sea Like Mirrors - Gregory Benford
Again Dangerous Visions : Bed Sheets Are White - Evelyn Lief
Again Dangerous Visions : Tissue at the fitting shop and 53rd American Dream - James Sallis
Again Dangerous Visions : Elouise And The Doctors Of The Planet Pergamon - Josephine Saxton
Again Dangerous Visions : Chuck Berry Won't You Please Come Home - Ken McCullough
Again Dangerous Visions : Epiphany For Aliens - David Kerr
Again Dangerous Visions : Eye Of The Beholder - Burt K. Filer
Again Dangerous Visions : Moth Race - Richard Hill
Again Dangerous Visions : In Re Glover - Leonard Tushnet
Again Dangerous Visions : Zero Gee - Ben Bova
Again Dangerous Visions : A Mouse In The Walls Of The Global Village - Dean R. Koontz
Again Dangerous Visions : Getting Along - James Blish and Judith Ann Lawrence
Again Dangerous Visions : Totenbuch - A Parra Y Figueredo
Again Dangerous Visions : Things Lost - Thomas M. Disch
Again Dangerous Visions : With The Bentfin Boomer Boys On Little Old New Alabama - Richard A. Lupoff
Again Dangerous Visions : Lamia Mutable - M John Harrison
Again Dangerous Visions : Last Train To Kankakee - Robin Scott
Again Dangerous Visions : Empire Of The Sun - Andrew Weiner
Again Dangerous Visions : Ozymandias - Terry Carr
Again Dangerous Visions : The Milk Of Paradise by James TiptreeJr.



3 out of 5

This is a good collection of mostly 70's-era Ellison stories. Devoted Ellison fanatics will love it. A more critical one, myself, I was impressed but not interested in several of the stories, but Ellison's vehemence and creativity are always on. This one is worthwhile for "Knox," a disturbing tale dealing with race hatred, and the poignant (and classic) "One Life Furnished in Early Poverty."

Having read lots of Harlan Ellison's collections, I can honestly say that this one is not one of his best. You won't find any Hugo-award winners in here, folks. Of course, I've read LOTS of Harlan stories that DIDN'T win awards and were absolutely WONDERFUL. There is one such story in this collection that comes to mind--Erotophobia. Remember the opening scene of Austin Powers? Where he's being chased by all these women. That's the basic idea for that story. Absolutely hilarious. As for the rest of the stories in this book, I didn't find any that were Harlan at his worst. Even the story Catman, the longest and least enjoyable of the bunch had a little something to it. I wouldn't recommend that first time Harlan-readers start here, though. But for those of us that have read our Harlan, this is definitely worth getting.

A Horror Fiction Story

Drug monsters.


3 out of 5