I know this is an older book, but it's been re-released by the SFBC. Seems to have gotten a lot of praise - what do you think? Is it still great reading - or dated now. I've already got a lot on my reading stack - so I'll only pick it up if people here recommend it. Thanks.
Dangerous Visions - Harlan Ellison
- Thread starter tpetty
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- Jul 16, 2001
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- 18,438
It is highly regarded and won a few awards 
Review I did from a while back - hope it helps (and doesn't kill the thread dead!
) :
Dangerous Visions, 35th Anniversary Edition, edited by Harlan Ellison.
Originally Published 1967; this edition 2002 by iBooks.
Paperback. 600 pages.
ISBN: 0743452615
Price: UKP: 10.99
To read this book you perhaps need a little historical perspective. The book was first published in the late 1960’s as an attempt to summarise and invigorate (especially for American readers) the changes that had been happening in the Sf world (particularly in England). The impact of writers like Mike Moorcock, JG Ballard and M John Harrison and the New Worlds magazine was starting to have its effects globally. ‘Outer space’ was being replaced by views on ‘inner space’ and partly as a consequence of the socially-liberal 60’s, things that were once taboo – sex, violence - were now able to be printed and published.
Harlan Ellison, a rather vocal voice of this American New Wave tried to highlight this change with the stories within. So we have here 34 stories, some written by authors still well-known today, such as Philip K Dick, Robert (Psycho) Bloch, Frederik Pohl, Larry Niven, Samuel Delany, Norman Spinrad and Harlan himself. Some of them were new at the time, some of them (Frederik Pohl, Lester del Rey) were the old guard trying to break into the new style. Other authors have faded into obscurity – where for art thou, Miriam Allen deFord? Howard Rodman? James Cross? David R Bunch has two stories here, but is not really known today.
Nevertheless, the impact the book had at the time of its original publication was phenomenal (though not perhaps as momentous as some American writers and perhaps old Harlan himself would have you believe). Ellison’s introductory lines – ‘What you hold in your hands is more than a book. If we are lucky it is a revolution.’ is a little over the top – there’s nothing like selling yourself, folks! but it did have an impact on the writers of the 70’s, 80’s and currently.
OK – history lecture over. Is the book any good? Has it stood up to 35 years?
To show this, let’s summarise some of the stories to try and give you an idea of the range of views within.
Riders of the Purple Wage by Philip Jose Farmer. The longest, and described by Ellison as ‘the finest’ in the book. (Surely that must have upset some of the other writers?) The title is a spoof on the old Zane Grey Western novel, Riders of the Purple Sage. Quite knowing and written in that jerky disconnected style often used by authors such as John Brunner (also in the book) in the 1960’s, it deals with the social problems of the 1960’s as seen by Farmer. Disconnected vignettes make up a rather depressing view of the future, mainly involving politics, sex – rape, religion, people rather than rockets, etc etc. Interesting in its own way, but the different perspectives both widen the view and dilute the outcome in my opinion. Nevertheless the story won a Hugo Award.
A Toy for Juliette by Robert Bloch. Slasher stalker horror at its finest. Still creepy, though not as much of a gore fest as you would perhaps expect these days. Bloch works on your subconscious. Harlan Ellison’s The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World, which follows it, makes an interesting counterpoint, using the same characters as Bloch and being based on Jack The Ripper.
Larry Niven – The Jigsaw Man. Deals with future punishments and the use of organ banks where criminals can be placed for their parts to be donated for the use of others. Good but at these stage a minor example of an author who was to be huge later. Now not very ground breaking at all, unless the ethics of ‘organ banks’ make you squeamish.
Each story has an introduction by Ellison – always entertaining if a little one-sided, and an afterword by the author themselves. Found these quite interesting if only to get an idea of the author’s own background and thoughts on their work.
My first reaction on re-reading the stories for the first time in about 20 years was that SF/Horror has moved on so far since this book was first published – something easily forgotten if you are perhaps reading them for the first time. They are not as visceral as let us say Clive Barker, not as salacious as many of the magazines widely available in your High Street chain store, and not as action-packed your standard 'action novel'. Ideas that were new at the time have now become part of the mainstream. Some of them have dated terribly. And yet – there is still something there. Stories like Fritz Leiber’s Gonna Roll the Bones, which won both a Hugo Award and a Nebula still reads well and have an ‘ahh’ factor. Some of them, Robert Silverberg’s for example, I had forgotten how good they were. Some of the ‘unknowns’ also show you how many good writers have been obsured by time – others less so and have perhaps been rightly buried.
With that in mind I didn’t mind the re-read, but it still is a little ‘pick and mix’ – pick Robert Bloch’s & Harlan Ellison’s, and skip over Henry Slezar’s Ersatz and Sonya Dorman’s Go Go Go, Said the Bird.. It is clear that you will be a rare person if you like every story in the book – I didn’t – but there’s stuff here that will make you think, keep you intrigued, make you amused. In that respect it’s worth a read.
Lastly, as a coda, Harlan Ellison published a ‘sequel’, called Again, Dangerous Visions about 15 years ago, and has been promising another, the Last Dangerous Visions, for about as long. Its non-appearance perhaps explains this fundamental change in the SF world. Dangerous visions are not as dangerous as they used to be. The legacy of the original Dangerous Visions book seems to be that the mainstream of today has incorporated so many of its ideas to such an extent that the dangerous visions of old are now no longer as dangerous as they used to be, which may also be why Harlan has had to delay and delay and delay..
Nevertheless, you never know, you might just see the sequel sometime in the 21st century….
Hobbit
Review I did from a while back - hope it helps (and doesn't kill the thread dead!
) :Dangerous Visions, 35th Anniversary Edition, edited by Harlan Ellison.
Originally Published 1967; this edition 2002 by iBooks.
Paperback. 600 pages.
ISBN: 0743452615
Price: UKP: 10.99
To read this book you perhaps need a little historical perspective. The book was first published in the late 1960’s as an attempt to summarise and invigorate (especially for American readers) the changes that had been happening in the Sf world (particularly in England). The impact of writers like Mike Moorcock, JG Ballard and M John Harrison and the New Worlds magazine was starting to have its effects globally. ‘Outer space’ was being replaced by views on ‘inner space’ and partly as a consequence of the socially-liberal 60’s, things that were once taboo – sex, violence - were now able to be printed and published.
Harlan Ellison, a rather vocal voice of this American New Wave tried to highlight this change with the stories within. So we have here 34 stories, some written by authors still well-known today, such as Philip K Dick, Robert (Psycho) Bloch, Frederik Pohl, Larry Niven, Samuel Delany, Norman Spinrad and Harlan himself. Some of them were new at the time, some of them (Frederik Pohl, Lester del Rey) were the old guard trying to break into the new style. Other authors have faded into obscurity – where for art thou, Miriam Allen deFord? Howard Rodman? James Cross? David R Bunch has two stories here, but is not really known today.
Nevertheless, the impact the book had at the time of its original publication was phenomenal (though not perhaps as momentous as some American writers and perhaps old Harlan himself would have you believe). Ellison’s introductory lines – ‘What you hold in your hands is more than a book. If we are lucky it is a revolution.’ is a little over the top – there’s nothing like selling yourself, folks! but it did have an impact on the writers of the 70’s, 80’s and currently.
OK – history lecture over. Is the book any good? Has it stood up to 35 years?
To show this, let’s summarise some of the stories to try and give you an idea of the range of views within.
Riders of the Purple Wage by Philip Jose Farmer. The longest, and described by Ellison as ‘the finest’ in the book. (Surely that must have upset some of the other writers?) The title is a spoof on the old Zane Grey Western novel, Riders of the Purple Sage. Quite knowing and written in that jerky disconnected style often used by authors such as John Brunner (also in the book) in the 1960’s, it deals with the social problems of the 1960’s as seen by Farmer. Disconnected vignettes make up a rather depressing view of the future, mainly involving politics, sex – rape, religion, people rather than rockets, etc etc. Interesting in its own way, but the different perspectives both widen the view and dilute the outcome in my opinion. Nevertheless the story won a Hugo Award.
A Toy for Juliette by Robert Bloch. Slasher stalker horror at its finest. Still creepy, though not as much of a gore fest as you would perhaps expect these days. Bloch works on your subconscious. Harlan Ellison’s The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World, which follows it, makes an interesting counterpoint, using the same characters as Bloch and being based on Jack The Ripper.
Larry Niven – The Jigsaw Man. Deals with future punishments and the use of organ banks where criminals can be placed for their parts to be donated for the use of others. Good but at these stage a minor example of an author who was to be huge later. Now not very ground breaking at all, unless the ethics of ‘organ banks’ make you squeamish.
Each story has an introduction by Ellison – always entertaining if a little one-sided, and an afterword by the author themselves. Found these quite interesting if only to get an idea of the author’s own background and thoughts on their work.
My first reaction on re-reading the stories for the first time in about 20 years was that SF/Horror has moved on so far since this book was first published – something easily forgotten if you are perhaps reading them for the first time. They are not as visceral as let us say Clive Barker, not as salacious as many of the magazines widely available in your High Street chain store, and not as action-packed your standard 'action novel'. Ideas that were new at the time have now become part of the mainstream. Some of them have dated terribly. And yet – there is still something there. Stories like Fritz Leiber’s Gonna Roll the Bones, which won both a Hugo Award and a Nebula still reads well and have an ‘ahh’ factor. Some of them, Robert Silverberg’s for example, I had forgotten how good they were. Some of the ‘unknowns’ also show you how many good writers have been obsured by time – others less so and have perhaps been rightly buried.
With that in mind I didn’t mind the re-read, but it still is a little ‘pick and mix’ – pick Robert Bloch’s & Harlan Ellison’s, and skip over Henry Slezar’s Ersatz and Sonya Dorman’s Go Go Go, Said the Bird.. It is clear that you will be a rare person if you like every story in the book – I didn’t – but there’s stuff here that will make you think, keep you intrigued, make you amused. In that respect it’s worth a read.
Lastly, as a coda, Harlan Ellison published a ‘sequel’, called Again, Dangerous Visions about 15 years ago, and has been promising another, the Last Dangerous Visions, for about as long. Its non-appearance perhaps explains this fundamental change in the SF world. Dangerous visions are not as dangerous as they used to be. The legacy of the original Dangerous Visions book seems to be that the mainstream of today has incorporated so many of its ideas to such an extent that the dangerous visions of old are now no longer as dangerous as they used to be, which may also be why Harlan has had to delay and delay and delay..
Nevertheless, you never know, you might just see the sequel sometime in the 21st century….
Hobbit
Clarkesworld
Publisher & Editor
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2003
- Messages
- 196
All the Dangerous Visions books are great. And when you're done with that, pick up one of the books Ellison wrote. Yes, they are a bit dated, but still very entertaining.
If you ever meet him, don't ask him about the next DV! Actually, he's a lot nicer than the reputation he has. Extremely funny to boot.
If you ever meet him, don't ask him about the next DV! Actually, he's a lot nicer than the reputation he has. Extremely funny to boot.
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