Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Roc (1975), Edition: First Thus, Mass Market Paperback
Description
Anthologies seldom make history, but Dangerous Visions is a grand exception. Harlan Ellison's 1967 collection of science fiction stories set an almost impossibly high standard, as more than a half dozen of its stories won major awards - not surprising with a contributors list that reads like a who's who of 20th-century SF: Evensong by Lester del Rey ~ Flies by Robert Silverberg ~ The Day After the Day the Martians Came by Frederik Pohl ~ Riders of the Purple Wage by Philip José Farmer ~ The Malley System by Miriam Allen deFord ~ A Toy for Juliette by Robert Bloch ~ The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World by Harlan Ellison ~ The Night That All Time Broke Out by Brian W. Aldiss ~ The Man Who Went to the Moon - Twice by Howard Rodman ~ Faith of Our Fathers by Philip K. Dick ~ The Jigsaw Man by Larry Niven ~ Gonna Roll the Bones by Fritz Leiber ~ Lord Randy, My Son by Joe L. Hensley ~ Eutopia by Poul Anderson ~ Incident in Moderan and The Escaping by David R. Bunch ~ The Doll-House by James Cross ~ Sex and/or Mr. Morrison by Carol Emshwiller ~ Shall the Dust Praise Thee? by Damon Knight ~ If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister? by Theodore Sturgeon ~ What Happened to Auguste Clarot? by Larry Eisenberg ~ Ersatz by Henry Slesar ~ Go, Go, Go, Said the Bird by Sonya Dorman ~ The Happy Breed by John Sladek ~ Encounter with a Hick by Jonathan Brand ~ From the Government Printing Office by Kris Neville ~ Land of the Great Horses by R. A. Lafferty ~ The Recognition by J. G. Ballard ~ Judas by John Brunner ~ Test to Destruction by Keith Laumer ~ Carcinoma Angels by Norman Spinrad ~ Auto-da-Fé by Roger Zelazny ~ Aye, and Gomorrah by Samuel R. Delany Unavailable for 15 years, this huge anthology now returns to print, as relevant now as when it was first published.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
I bought this collection of 33 science fiction stories because it was recommended in A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction on its "5 Parsec Shelf" of the best books in the genre. Here's what it said about the book: Anthologies, no matter how excellent, have seldom had enough impact to be "classics."
I've been a huge science fiction fan since childhood--especially of the science fiction short story, because at its best it's mind-expanding. I looked at the night sky with fresh awe after reading Isaac Asimov's "Nightfall;" his "The Dead Past" made me see the very nature of time in a new way. Stories such as Vernor Vinge's "The Ungoverned" made me think about the limits of freedom. Did any of the stories in this anthology work the same magic for me? Decidedly not. Maybe these stories were shocking or groundbreaking in 1967 when they were published. But in 2012? Even for 1967, I thought very few of these stories were innovative or thought-provoking. About a good third of the stories I couldn't for the life of me see what could have ever been controversial. Several stories such as Larry Niven's "Jigsaw Man," Henry Slesar's "Ersatz" and John Sladek's "The Happy Breed" seemed ridiculous to me, all the more for the sober afterwords of Niven and Sladek insisting this could be our near future. After 45 years, I'd say the near future has arrived--and doesn't look anything like what they feared.
Take the first seven stories that comprise about a quarter of the book. Lester del Rey's "Evensong" opens the anthology and tackles religion. I thought frankly Arthur C. Clarke's "The Star" published in Infinity Science Fiction in 1955 and C.L. Moore's "Fruit of Knowledge" published in Unknown in 1940 are both more provocative, more subversive--and much more memorable. (Ditto regarding almost all the other stories with religious themes such as Damon Knight's "Shall the Dust Praise Thee," Jonathan Brand's "Encounter With a Hick," and John Brunner's "Judas.") Robert Silverberg's "Flies" has some gut-wrenching misogynist violence that I could see making it hard to place with a magazine editor, but I didn't think the story had enough payoff to justify the content. Frederik Pohl's "The Day After the Martians Came" examined the potentially explosive issue of race--puerilely. Ray Bradbury's "Way in the Middle of the Air" published in Other Worlds in 1950 and later included in The Martian Chronicles is much more incisive and provocative on the subject. The next story is Philip Jose Farmer's "Riders of the Purple Wage." In his introduction to the story Ellison said this is not just the longest story in the anthology at over 30,000 words, but the "best" and the "finest." So, I started the first few paragraphs. And reread. And reread. Really trying to comprehend what I was reading. And by and large failing. Yet increasingly suspecting Farmer was trying to imitate James Joyce. This was solidified when I turned the page to read more. I flipped towards the end of the story and saw its last chapter was titled "Winnegan's Fake." You know, I really hated James Joyce's Ulysses, but at least I could respect it as innovative, original, and erudite. But when you're copying a style rolled out in 1922 in a 1967 story, as unpopular as the style might be, you're not being "new" or "bold." I skipped the rest of that story, because I hated the style fiercely. Thus what Ellison pointed to as the best story in the book would be the first I left unfinished. Not a good sign. Then the next story, Miriam Allen deFord's "The Malley System" didn't so much shock me as nauseate me with its depiction of child rape. The next two stories by Robert Bloch and Harlan Ellison inspired by Marquis de Sade and Jack the Ripper also hit my ewwwww spot. My reactions to these stories encapsulated my reaction to most of the book--a so-what shrug or a gag reflex or a huh???--at times evoked simultaneously in the same story.
I'm not impressed by writers trying to shock for its own sake. Reading many of these I was struck that "censorship" or "taboo" is often just another word for good taste, and if some of these stories couldn't find homes in magazines, it's to their editors credit. And it's science fiction's optimistic inspiring side that hooked me, not this dark, depressing strand. Many of the stories were more horror than science fiction. Nor am I a fan of the '60s counterculture or by and large of modernist literary techniques. But the hell of it is given this is an anthology comprised of different authors, I didn't feel I could just drop it after 50 to 100 pages as I would have were it a novel. I kept hoping for stories to love, especially since there were authors (including Farmer) on the contents page who had written stories or novels I'd enjoyed. For what it's worth, these were for me the standout stories in the order they appeared:
Philip Dick, "Faith of Our Fathers" - one of the few stories dealing with a religious theme that felt fresh and not predictable. It was more than a bit chilling in a horror story way.
Fritz Leiber, "Gonna Roll the Bones" - a truly chilling horror story well-told--but with more than a dollop of black humor--and humor was rare in this collection. I couldn't see what would be controversial about it though.
Poul Anderson, "Eutopia" - the ending I saw a long way off--but this not only had style but an intriguing set of alternate universes it would have been fun to explore further.
James Cross, "The Doll-House" - a horror story that would have made Poe or Hawthorne proud. Though another where I'm missing what makes it "edgy" in any way.
Keith Laumer, "Test to Destruction" - I liked the ironic twist in the tale at the end. Again, not getting what would have made this at all controversial.
Norman Spinrad, "Carcinoma Angels" - I thought it started off both infodumpy and Marty Stu--but it surprised me in the end. A horror tale I could see Stephen King proudly owning, yet another I can hardly see as shocking or controversial.
Samuel Delany, "Aye, and Gomorrah..." - Delany in the afterword called it essentially a horror story--but one I found rather poignant in a way I found rare in this anthology. And hey, it takes genius to invent a new sexual perversion!
Worth my buying and keeping the book on my shelves for those seven stories? I don't think so. Incidentally, I often found Ellison's introductions to stories off-putting and over-lengthy (in one case I noted it was longer than the story it was introducing) so about midway I started skipping them. They often seemed more about him than the story, and about sucking up to the authors when he wasn't being condescending. In particular, were I Miriam deFord, I'd have wanted to beat Ellison over the head with the book--the hardcover version.
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But the first Dangerous Visions, edited by Ellison, was not only a wonderful sampling of the writers working in the exciting late '60s, it revolutionized science fiction in the matter of attacking more controversial subject matter. It further claimed the book "revived the moribund science fiction short story as a form" by publishing "stories considered unpublishable by the American magazines." In his introduction, Harlan Ellison, said his purpose was to publish "taboo" stories, "all new stories, controversial, too fierce for magazines to buy... a canvas for new writing styles, bold departures, unpopular thoughts." In other words, dangerous visions, particularly dealing with religion, politics, violence or sex.I've been a huge science fiction fan since childhood--especially of the science fiction short story, because at its best it's mind-expanding. I looked at the night sky with fresh awe after reading Isaac Asimov's "Nightfall;" his "The Dead Past" made me see the very nature of time in a new way. Stories such as Vernor Vinge's "The Ungoverned" made me think about the limits of freedom. Did any of the stories in this anthology work the same magic for me? Decidedly not. Maybe these stories were shocking or groundbreaking in 1967 when they were published. But in 2012? Even for 1967, I thought very few of these stories were innovative or thought-provoking. About a good third of the stories I couldn't for the life of me see what could have ever been controversial. Several stories such as Larry Niven's "Jigsaw Man," Henry Slesar's "Ersatz" and John Sladek's "The Happy Breed" seemed ridiculous to me, all the more for the sober afterwords of Niven and Sladek insisting this could be our near future. After 45 years, I'd say the near future has arrived--and doesn't look anything like what they feared.
Take the first seven stories that comprise about a quarter of the book. Lester del Rey's "Evensong" opens the anthology and tackles religion. I thought frankly Arthur C. Clarke's "The Star" published in Infinity Science Fiction in 1955 and C.L. Moore's "Fruit of Knowledge" published in Unknown in 1940 are both more provocative, more subversive--and much more memorable. (Ditto regarding almost all the other stories with religious themes such as Damon Knight's "Shall the Dust Praise Thee," Jonathan Brand's "Encounter With a Hick," and John Brunner's "Judas.") Robert Silverberg's "Flies" has some gut-wrenching misogynist violence that I could see making it hard to place with a magazine editor, but I didn't think the story had enough payoff to justify the content. Frederik Pohl's "The Day After the Martians Came" examined the potentially explosive issue of race--puerilely. Ray Bradbury's "Way in the Middle of the Air" published in Other Worlds in 1950 and later included in The Martian Chronicles is much more incisive and provocative on the subject. The next story is Philip Jose Farmer's "Riders of the Purple Wage." In his introduction to the story Ellison said this is not just the longest story in the anthology at over 30,000 words, but the "best" and the "finest." So, I started the first few paragraphs. And reread. And reread. Really trying to comprehend what I was reading. And by and large failing. Yet increasingly suspecting Farmer was trying to imitate James Joyce. This was solidified when I turned the page to read more. I flipped towards the end of the story and saw its last chapter was titled "Winnegan's Fake." You know, I really hated James Joyce's Ulysses, but at least I could respect it as innovative, original, and erudite. But when you're copying a style rolled out in 1922 in a 1967 story, as unpopular as the style might be, you're not being "new" or "bold." I skipped the rest of that story, because I hated the style fiercely. Thus what Ellison pointed to as the best story in the book would be the first I left unfinished. Not a good sign. Then the next story, Miriam Allen deFord's "The Malley System" didn't so much shock me as nauseate me with its depiction of child rape. The next two stories by Robert Bloch and Harlan Ellison inspired by Marquis de Sade and Jack the Ripper also hit my ewwwww spot. My reactions to these stories encapsulated my reaction to most of the book--a so-what shrug or a gag reflex or a huh???--at times evoked simultaneously in the same story.
I'm not impressed by writers trying to shock for its own sake. Reading many of these I was struck that "censorship" or "taboo" is often just another word for good taste, and if some of these stories couldn't find homes in magazines, it's to their editors credit. And it's science fiction's optimistic inspiring side that hooked me, not this dark, depressing strand. Many of the stories were more horror than science fiction. Nor am I a fan of the '60s counterculture or by and large of modernist literary techniques. But the hell of it is given this is an anthology comprised of different authors, I didn't feel I could just drop it after 50 to 100 pages as I would have were it a novel. I kept hoping for stories to love, especially since there were authors (including Farmer) on the contents page who had written stories or novels I'd enjoyed. For what it's worth, these were for me the standout stories in the order they appeared:
Philip Dick, "Faith of Our Fathers" - one of the few stories dealing with a religious theme that felt fresh and not predictable. It was more than a bit chilling in a horror story way.
Fritz Leiber, "Gonna Roll the Bones" - a truly chilling horror story well-told--but with more than a dollop of black humor--and humor was rare in this collection. I couldn't see what would be controversial about it though.
Poul Anderson, "Eutopia" - the ending I saw a long way off--but this not only had style but an intriguing set of alternate universes it would have been fun to explore further.
James Cross, "The Doll-House" - a horror story that would have made Poe or Hawthorne proud. Though another where I'm missing what makes it "edgy" in any way.
Keith Laumer, "Test to Destruction" - I liked the ironic twist in the tale at the end. Again, not getting what would have made this at all controversial.
Norman Spinrad, "Carcinoma Angels" - I thought it started off both infodumpy and Marty Stu--but it surprised me in the end. A horror tale I could see Stephen King proudly owning, yet another I can hardly see as shocking or controversial.
Samuel Delany, "Aye, and Gomorrah..." - Delany in the afterword called it essentially a horror story--but one I found rather poignant in a way I found rare in this anthology. And hey, it takes genius to invent a new sexual perversion!
Worth my buying and keeping the book on my shelves for those seven stories? I don't think so. Incidentally, I often found Ellison's introductions to stories off-putting and over-lengthy (in one case I noted it was longer than the story it was introducing) so about midway I started skipping them. They often seemed more about him than the story, and about sucking up to the authors when he wasn't being condescending. In particular, were I Miriam deFord, I'd have wanted to beat Ellison over the head with the book--the hardcover version.
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LibraryThing member JohnFair
These stories were touted as being shocking and almost impossible to print when they were first published way back in the late sixties. It is instructive (one way or another) to note that most of these stories wouldn't elicit anything more than a 'so what' these days. The single exception to this
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would be Theodore Sturgeon's 'If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?'. which is one of the better written stories (IMO anyway :-)) Show Less
LibraryThing member kristykay22
An extremely influential anthology in 1967 that doesn't age particularly well. Harlan Ellison took on the epic task of collecting 35 never-before-published stories that were too "dangerous" for any other publisher to publish, and then brought them together with two forwards by Isaac Asimov, and a
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very extensive introduction by Ellison. Just in case you didn't get enough of our editor, he also gives us a gushing, clubby, and Ellison-focused introduction for every story in the volume. Finally, each story includes an afterward by the author. That is a lot of writing about the writing, and the nearly 600 page behemoth would probably be a little more approachable if we could have stuck to the stories. The stories themselves are written by some very recognizable names in mid-20th century sci-fi, but are a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the "Dangerous Visions" feel very mild in 2022. Others are stories that probably never needed to be told (do we really need so much incest?). Philip José Farmer's "Riders of the Purple Wage" almost made me give up on the whole enterprise (that it was very long and Ellison's favorite story in the collection didn't inspire confidence). The whole thing was worth it, though, for introducing me to "Sex and/or Mr. Morrison" by Carol Emshwiller, and J.G. Ballard's "The Recognition" was pretty amazing as well. An important book and an interesting time capsule for that mid-60s stylistic shift in sci-fi, but maybe just skim the Ellison parts. Show Less
LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
I reserve five stars for novels, or for history books for those are my prejudices. Since this is "the most honoured SF anthology of all time" and there are twenty-three other reviews, I am greatly surprised at the small number of reviews, and at the small number of LT members who have the book in
Taking 33 stories original stories from some established writers in the field, and some from relative tyros, Ellison put together what he felt was an anthology of works that the contemporary magazine editors would not print for violating the conventions of the SF genre at the time. It was a book that redefined, or blew apart, the conventions of the genre.
To my mind, it has worn well over the last forty-nine years, and though several of the pieces have been elevated into the RNA of the genre, this book should still be read, or reread whenever encountered. It is one of the books chained to a shelf in the Library of the Unseen University of Terry Pratchett's world. The surrounding books give it a respectful distance.
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their libraries. Perhaps this covers only ownership, not readership figures.Taking 33 stories original stories from some established writers in the field, and some from relative tyros, Ellison put together what he felt was an anthology of works that the contemporary magazine editors would not print for violating the conventions of the SF genre at the time. It was a book that redefined, or blew apart, the conventions of the genre.
To my mind, it has worn well over the last forty-nine years, and though several of the pieces have been elevated into the RNA of the genre, this book should still be read, or reread whenever encountered. It is one of the books chained to a shelf in the Library of the Unseen University of Terry Pratchett's world. The surrounding books give it a respectful distance.
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LibraryThing member heradas
This is supposed to be the defining speculative fiction anthology of the 'New Wave' era 60s/70s. 35 stories, never before published. Each author was told to write a story that is a dangerous vision or concept; through a mirror darkly, etc. There are some really excellent stories here, and a few
Harlan Ellison writes an introduction to each story, and the author writes an afterword for their story. The introductions quickly became my least favorite part of the book, as Ellison gushes and extols endlessly about each author.
Individual reviews:
Evensong, Lester del Rey: 4/5
A desperate God on the run from Man's vengeance. The idea of man slowly becoming more and more powerful, until God must fear Man. Very Nice prose.
Flies, Robert Silverberg: 1/5
Robert Silverberg completely botches the definition of empathy in the most pseudo-intellectual manner imaginable. I get what he was trying to say, but he failed miserably.
The Day After the Day After the Martians Came, Fredrick Pohl: 3/5
Probably really great in '67, but it relied very heavily on cultural jokes that everyone at the time would've been familiar with; I've never heard any of them. Still a cool little story.
Riders of the Purple Wage, Philip Jose Farmer: 1/5
Nearly incoherent misogynistic rambling about a future where everyone is mentally deficient. He almost had an idea, but gets distracted by how women are fat liars and just want to have abortions all of the time. Of course, this is Ellison's favorite story in the collection.
The Malley System, Miriam Allen deFord: 2/5
A future in which violent crimes are punished in unique ways. It didn't really resonate with me.
A Toy for Juliette, Robert Bloch: 5/5
Terrific. Sadistic and disturbing, but written very well and with a nice cyclical tone.
The Prowler in th City at the Edge of the World, Harlan Ellison: 2/5
A sequel to the previous story. Started out strong, but devolved rather rapidly. I find myself disliking Ellison more and more as I go on. I imagine he prides himself on this effect he seems to have.
The Night That All Time Broke Out, Brian W. Aldiss: 3/5
Cool premise, uneven execution.
The Man who Went to the Moon Twice, Howard Rodman: 4/5
Not speculative fiction at all, but I really liked it.
Faith of our Fathers, Philip K. Dick: 3/5
This one had a lot going for it; a little let down by the ending.
The Jigsaw Man, Larry Niven: 3/5
Tackles the problem of organ shortages in a world were immortality is in reach…for some.
Gonna Roll The Bones, Fritz Leiber: 4/5
I nearly didn't read this one after suffering through its terribly heavy handed first sentence. I'm glad I did. Like most old science fiction, it was too misogynistic for my liking, but the storytelling and prose eventually won me over.
Lord Randy, My Son, Joe L. Hensley: 5/5
My favorite so far. Great characters, and a captivating, sad story.
Eutopia, Poul Anderson: 4/5
Inter dimensional anthropology. I liked this one, although the language was a bit to 'fantasy' for my personal tastes.
Incident in Moderan, David R. Bunch: 5/5
Happy warmonger robots. Awesome.
The Escaping, David R. Bunch: 0/5
Terrible. Total gibberish.
The Doll-House, James Cross: 3/5
Like a twilight zone episode. One of those cautionary tales.
Sex and/or Mr Morrison, Carol Emshwiller: 3/5
I like her writing style. I didn't quite get the story but the prose was beautiful.
Shall The Dust Praise Thee?, Damon Knight: 3/5
God's vengeance may have been a little bit more than he bargained for. It seems that man could only take so much torment. This could've been executed a lot better, but I liked the concept.
If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?, Theodore Sturgeon: 5/5
So far, the only story that I would actually consider a 'Dangerous Vision'. It's disturbing, and pokes at deeply held moral and cultural constructs. It also really weirded me out. Disturbing.
What Happens To Auguste Clarot?, Larry Eisenberg: 1/5
Meh.
Ersatz, Henry Slesar: 2/5
Meh.
Go, Go, Go, Said The Bird, Sonya Dorman: 2/5
Post apocalyptic cannibals.
The Happy Breed, John T. Sladek: 4/5
People slowly turning their happiness over to machines. A really solid little cautionary tale, born of a fear of technology. It's even more interesting thinking about how much more we depend on technology these days.
Encounter With a Hick, Jonathan Brand: 3/5
A fun little biblical/evolution bar conversation recounted to an authority.
From the Government Printing Office, Kris Neville: 1/5
Told from the POV of a 3.5 year old in the future. Boring.
Land of the Great Horses, R. A. Lafferty: 4/5
Cool little story about the origin of Gypsies.
The Recognition, J.G. Ballard: 3/5
Terrific writing, not speculative fiction at all. Not particularly dangerous either—maybe in the 60s—in 2015 it’s a bit trite.
Judas, John Brunner: 5/5
Okay, I have to read more John Brunner. This story was incredible and exactly the type of thing I was looking for in this book. Solid solid solid.
Test to Destruction, Keith Laumer: 4/5
Political usurping, tyrany, sentient hive mind aliens, testing people's limits and morality.
Carcinoma Angels, Norman Spinrad: 3/5
An overachiever sets his sights on cancer; takes it one step too far. This one is kind of quirky/fun.
AUTO-DA-FÉ, Roger Zelazny: 3/5
Man vs machine, told in a matador vs bull analogy. I liked it. It felt like a fairytale or half remembered dream of a mechanic.
Aye, and Gomorrah…, Samuel R. Delany: 1/5
A story about attraction between earth bound people, and neutered space dwelling people. Interesting concept, bad execution. It didn’t flow well, and was hard to follow.
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decent ones. There are also some that are terribly trite and not at all dangerous or visionary. Then again, it's hard to read these within the context of the world in which they were written, 1967. A few of these stories may have been dangerous visions in the late 60s. Now? Mostly not so much. I still really enjoyed it, and rated/reviewed each story individually. The average rating for the whole collection was 2.7, rounded up.Harlan Ellison writes an introduction to each story, and the author writes an afterword for their story. The introductions quickly became my least favorite part of the book, as Ellison gushes and extols endlessly about each author.
Individual reviews:
Evensong, Lester del Rey: 4/5
A desperate God on the run from Man's vengeance. The idea of man slowly becoming more and more powerful, until God must fear Man. Very Nice prose.
Flies, Robert Silverberg: 1/5
Robert Silverberg completely botches the definition of empathy in the most pseudo-intellectual manner imaginable. I get what he was trying to say, but he failed miserably.
The Day After the Day After the Martians Came, Fredrick Pohl: 3/5
Probably really great in '67, but it relied very heavily on cultural jokes that everyone at the time would've been familiar with; I've never heard any of them. Still a cool little story.
Riders of the Purple Wage, Philip Jose Farmer: 1/5
Nearly incoherent misogynistic rambling about a future where everyone is mentally deficient. He almost had an idea, but gets distracted by how women are fat liars and just want to have abortions all of the time. Of course, this is Ellison's favorite story in the collection.
The Malley System, Miriam Allen deFord: 2/5
A future in which violent crimes are punished in unique ways. It didn't really resonate with me.
A Toy for Juliette, Robert Bloch: 5/5
Terrific. Sadistic and disturbing, but written very well and with a nice cyclical tone.
The Prowler in th City at the Edge of the World, Harlan Ellison: 2/5
A sequel to the previous story. Started out strong, but devolved rather rapidly. I find myself disliking Ellison more and more as I go on. I imagine he prides himself on this effect he seems to have.
The Night That All Time Broke Out, Brian W. Aldiss: 3/5
Cool premise, uneven execution.
The Man who Went to the Moon Twice, Howard Rodman: 4/5
Not speculative fiction at all, but I really liked it.
Faith of our Fathers, Philip K. Dick: 3/5
This one had a lot going for it; a little let down by the ending.
The Jigsaw Man, Larry Niven: 3/5
Tackles the problem of organ shortages in a world were immortality is in reach…for some.
Gonna Roll The Bones, Fritz Leiber: 4/5
I nearly didn't read this one after suffering through its terribly heavy handed first sentence. I'm glad I did. Like most old science fiction, it was too misogynistic for my liking, but the storytelling and prose eventually won me over.
Lord Randy, My Son, Joe L. Hensley: 5/5
My favorite so far. Great characters, and a captivating, sad story.
Eutopia, Poul Anderson: 4/5
Inter dimensional anthropology. I liked this one, although the language was a bit to 'fantasy' for my personal tastes.
Incident in Moderan, David R. Bunch: 5/5
Happy warmonger robots. Awesome.
The Escaping, David R. Bunch: 0/5
Terrible. Total gibberish.
The Doll-House, James Cross: 3/5
Like a twilight zone episode. One of those cautionary tales.
Sex and/or Mr Morrison, Carol Emshwiller: 3/5
I like her writing style. I didn't quite get the story but the prose was beautiful.
Shall The Dust Praise Thee?, Damon Knight: 3/5
God's vengeance may have been a little bit more than he bargained for. It seems that man could only take so much torment. This could've been executed a lot better, but I liked the concept.
If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?, Theodore Sturgeon: 5/5
So far, the only story that I would actually consider a 'Dangerous Vision'. It's disturbing, and pokes at deeply held moral and cultural constructs. It also really weirded me out. Disturbing.
What Happens To Auguste Clarot?, Larry Eisenberg: 1/5
Meh.
Ersatz, Henry Slesar: 2/5
Meh.
Go, Go, Go, Said The Bird, Sonya Dorman: 2/5
Post apocalyptic cannibals.
The Happy Breed, John T. Sladek: 4/5
People slowly turning their happiness over to machines. A really solid little cautionary tale, born of a fear of technology. It's even more interesting thinking about how much more we depend on technology these days.
Encounter With a Hick, Jonathan Brand: 3/5
A fun little biblical/evolution bar conversation recounted to an authority.
From the Government Printing Office, Kris Neville: 1/5
Told from the POV of a 3.5 year old in the future. Boring.
Land of the Great Horses, R. A. Lafferty: 4/5
Cool little story about the origin of Gypsies.
The Recognition, J.G. Ballard: 3/5
Terrific writing, not speculative fiction at all. Not particularly dangerous either—maybe in the 60s—in 2015 it’s a bit trite.
Judas, John Brunner: 5/5
Okay, I have to read more John Brunner. This story was incredible and exactly the type of thing I was looking for in this book. Solid solid solid.
Test to Destruction, Keith Laumer: 4/5
Political usurping, tyrany, sentient hive mind aliens, testing people's limits and morality.
Carcinoma Angels, Norman Spinrad: 3/5
An overachiever sets his sights on cancer; takes it one step too far. This one is kind of quirky/fun.
AUTO-DA-FÉ, Roger Zelazny: 3/5
Man vs machine, told in a matador vs bull analogy. I liked it. It felt like a fairytale or half remembered dream of a mechanic.
Aye, and Gomorrah…, Samuel R. Delany: 1/5
A story about attraction between earth bound people, and neutered space dwelling people. Interesting concept, bad execution. It didn’t flow well, and was hard to follow.
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LibraryThing member Eric_the_Hamster
When first published in the late 60s this anthology of short stories, it was the height of "new wave", and was hailed as (amongst other things) a "gigantic, exuberant and startling collection". The stories have not dated, and whilst some might not be as controversial as they were in 1967, are still
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very modern and well written stories. Show Less
LibraryThing member KevlarRelic
Heard it was pretty good somewhere, so I decided to check this book out.
I read half of the stories, but had to stop because the book was boring me to tears. A year later I picked the book up again and discovered that the part that was boring me to tears was reading the lengthy introductions and
This time I skipped all that worthless padding and got straight to the real meat of the book, which was some of the most original (even today) and exciting science fiction I have ever read. Someday I'll get around to reading the first half again, but for now, this book was just half excellent.
I read half of the stories, but had to stop because the book was boring me to tears. A year later I picked the book up again and discovered that the part that was boring me to tears was reading the lengthy introductions and
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authors notes. This time I skipped all that worthless padding and got straight to the real meat of the book, which was some of the most original (even today) and exciting science fiction I have ever read. Someday I'll get around to reading the first half again, but for now, this book was just half excellent.
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LibraryThing member clong
A groundbreaking and influential anthology of thirty-three short stories of speculative fiction. Several of them are quite strong, but others didn't do much for me. The Farmer, Dick, Leiber, Hensley, Cross, Dorman, and Laumer stories were my favorites. The introductions (by Ellison, except for his
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story), and afterwards (by the individual authors) added a lot to the collection, and gave a great sense of perspective on the evolution of science fiction writing. Show Less
LibraryThing member jimmaclachlan
Harlan Ellison is one of the best SF short story writers around. He's also a very good editor & seems to know everyone in the field. Here he's collected the best of the best. He introduces every story quickly, concisely & often humorously. He's also included an afterword for each story by the
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author. I don't know that I've ever seen that before. It really works & between them, I got a lot more out of each story. Show Less
LibraryThing member albertgoldfain
A well written collection of speculative fiction compiled in 1967 by Harlan Ellison. Although Ellison's own submission to the anthology is nothing special, he has done a good job of sequencing these works and colourfully introducing each author in the context of the times. My favorites were the
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novella "Riders of the Purple Wage", "A Toy for Juliette", "Gonna Roll the Bones", "If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister", "Carcinoma Angels". None of the stories fits the conventional sci-fi mold. Some are thought pieces, others are surprisingly twisted, but the writing is top-notch throughout. Show Less
LibraryThing member JudithProctor
Harlan Ellison and I have totally different tastes in SF. I don't want stories in which people get raped, have totally nasty things happen, etc. Once in a while is fine, but the stories I sampled ran too high on either being nasty or else using such 'clever' language that I found the story
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unreadable. Show Less
LibraryThing member CBJames
First published in 1967, Dangerous Visions was editor Harlan Ellison's attempt to make the case for science fiction as a literary genre and to shake up the genre itself in order to push it towards something new and better. At the time Dangerous Visions was the largest collection of original science
Reading the anthology some 40 years later most of the stories struck me as largely pedestrian, the kind of stuff one typically found in early science fiction magazines. They are all well-written; they are all entertaining, but only a handful struck me as dangerous or visionary. Some make contain very mild social critique. A few suggest there is no God. One creates a future society where incest is the norm. Most of them are material that would comfortably find a home on the Syfy channel today.
Samuel R. Delany provides the only truly dangerous vision in his story "Aye, and Gamorrah..." Mr. Delany imagines a future full of space travel that comes at a very high price. In order to survive the harsh conditions of space, "spacers" must be surgically altered to resist high levels of radiation including a process which renders them genderless. "Aye, and Gamorrah..." is the story of one such "spacer" on a visit to earth where he must face the advances of "frelks" unaltered humans who are sexually attracted to the genderless and passionless spacers. Readers of Mr. Delany know that he never shied away from discussion of sex and sexuality and the possible forms it might take in humanity's future. The rest of the stories in Dangerous Visions seem afraid of sex by comparison.
But the real reason to read Dangerous Visions in 2012 is the introductions Mr. Ellison wrote to each of the 33 stories, which are the only introductions I've really enjoyed reading. Gossipy, opinionated, intended to reveal the authors of each story, they succeed in creating a portrait of the editor who wrote them by creating portraits of the authors in the book. Many of the authors in Mr. Ellison's book did go on to do great work, but most of them are people I've never heard of before, in spite of Mr. Ellison's assurance that this was an author to watch. However, through his introductions, some of which are as long as the story that follows, Mr. Ellison brings each author to life as a character in an ensemble piece which is the world of science fiction circa mid-1960's. For that alone, Dangerous Visions is a useful and entertaining record.
Which is one reason why I found it such a shame that none of these visionary authors saw a future with a place for gay/lesbian people. References to LGBT people are limited to a few bits of casual homophobia both in the stories and in the introductions. I'm willing to cut people in history a little slack, but even in 1967 this was a backwards looking view. Pro-gay social movements were already visible in the major cities of America if not the countryside in the 1960's. Since so much of the publishing world at that time was centered in New York City, I find it difficult to accept that none of the writers in Mr. Ellison's book were aware of LGBT people. They're supposed to be visionaries. They're supposed to imagine the future. We would have to wait several more years for writers like Samuel R. Delany, Ursula K LeGuin, Octvia Butler to make room for gay and lesbian characters in science fiction. You can see a hint of his future in Mr. Delany's story, but that's the only one in Dangerous Visions that sees a future with anything other than fully heterosexual people in it.
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fiction short stories. It has become something of a legend in the 40 plus years since it was published. By insisting on all original work, no reprints of earlier material, Mr. Ellison hoped to provide a platform for ideas and stories that could not find a home in the periodicals of the day, visions of the future too dangerous for ordinary publications.Reading the anthology some 40 years later most of the stories struck me as largely pedestrian, the kind of stuff one typically found in early science fiction magazines. They are all well-written; they are all entertaining, but only a handful struck me as dangerous or visionary. Some make contain very mild social critique. A few suggest there is no God. One creates a future society where incest is the norm. Most of them are material that would comfortably find a home on the Syfy channel today.
Samuel R. Delany provides the only truly dangerous vision in his story "Aye, and Gamorrah..." Mr. Delany imagines a future full of space travel that comes at a very high price. In order to survive the harsh conditions of space, "spacers" must be surgically altered to resist high levels of radiation including a process which renders them genderless. "Aye, and Gamorrah..." is the story of one such "spacer" on a visit to earth where he must face the advances of "frelks" unaltered humans who are sexually attracted to the genderless and passionless spacers. Readers of Mr. Delany know that he never shied away from discussion of sex and sexuality and the possible forms it might take in humanity's future. The rest of the stories in Dangerous Visions seem afraid of sex by comparison.
But the real reason to read Dangerous Visions in 2012 is the introductions Mr. Ellison wrote to each of the 33 stories, which are the only introductions I've really enjoyed reading. Gossipy, opinionated, intended to reveal the authors of each story, they succeed in creating a portrait of the editor who wrote them by creating portraits of the authors in the book. Many of the authors in Mr. Ellison's book did go on to do great work, but most of them are people I've never heard of before, in spite of Mr. Ellison's assurance that this was an author to watch. However, through his introductions, some of which are as long as the story that follows, Mr. Ellison brings each author to life as a character in an ensemble piece which is the world of science fiction circa mid-1960's. For that alone, Dangerous Visions is a useful and entertaining record.
Which is one reason why I found it such a shame that none of these visionary authors saw a future with a place for gay/lesbian people. References to LGBT people are limited to a few bits of casual homophobia both in the stories and in the introductions. I'm willing to cut people in history a little slack, but even in 1967 this was a backwards looking view. Pro-gay social movements were already visible in the major cities of America if not the countryside in the 1960's. Since so much of the publishing world at that time was centered in New York City, I find it difficult to accept that none of the writers in Mr. Ellison's book were aware of LGBT people. They're supposed to be visionaries. They're supposed to imagine the future. We would have to wait several more years for writers like Samuel R. Delany, Ursula K LeGuin, Octvia Butler to make room for gay and lesbian characters in science fiction. You can see a hint of his future in Mr. Delany's story, but that's the only one in Dangerous Visions that sees a future with anything other than fully heterosexual people in it.
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LibraryThing member joeydag
I think I read this in college after Mark Hudobenko recommended it. I may have it confused with another collection of Harlan Ellison's writings. Too long ago to quite remember.
LibraryThing member DanielAlgara
Great stories. I could do without Ellison's moralizing intros though. This SOB loves the sound of his own voice, written or spoken. It's just not necessary, with the cute let-me-tell-you-about-this-guy prologues. Half the book's pages are his own rants. Someone needs to tell him to STFU.
Okay, I'll
Harlan, just for five minutes. STFU. Nobody cares what you think. So please. STFU.
Great stories though.
Okay, I'll
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do it:Harlan, just for five minutes. STFU. Nobody cares what you think. So please. STFU.
Great stories though.
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LibraryThing member Lyndatrue
Somehow, somewhere, my original copy of this went missing, I finally got tired of missing it (and Again, Dangerous Visions), and am incredibly grateful to find it in this SF Masterworks edition. It has a print inside, in the front of the original cover (and thank you, to whoever was so
I often read the other reviews of a book before adding my own, here. Sometimes everything that needs to be said has been said. Not this time.
If you don't own, or haven't at least read, this and the companion volume, you're missing a chunk of life that you aren't even aware is missing. Sure, some of the stories, from a distance of (oh my god) more than 35 years, are dated, and may not light the fire in you that they did in me, in that long ago time.
Each story in this has an introduction, and an afterword (all written *then*, and you must read them in that context), and those alone make it worthwhile. I'm looking forward to the pleasure of reading this again, and I have the joy of all those extra forewords and introductions to the book itself, added (mostly) in 2002.
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thoughtful).I often read the other reviews of a book before adding my own, here. Sometimes everything that needs to be said has been said. Not this time.
If you don't own, or haven't at least read, this and the companion volume, you're missing a chunk of life that you aren't even aware is missing. Sure, some of the stories, from a distance of (oh my god) more than 35 years, are dated, and may not light the fire in you that they did in me, in that long ago time.
Each story in this has an introduction, and an afterword (all written *then*, and you must read them in that context), and those alone make it worthwhile. I'm looking forward to the pleasure of reading this again, and I have the joy of all those extra forewords and introductions to the book itself, added (mostly) in 2002.
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LibraryThing member dbsovereign
Fun anthology with commentary by Ellison and by each of the writers. Some of the stories might seem a bit dated now, but nevertheless provide entertainment.
LibraryThing member TheCrow2
This SF anthology was almost revolutionary at its time and lots of the short stories of it are still important and interesting today. In whole the book doesn`t feel dated despite the first edition released on 1967.
LibraryThing member Rose999
I don't know the state that sci-fi was in when this book was published but from a 2020 perspective is extremely dated, most of the stories were predictable, a lot of the times the twist was shocking I imagine at the time but now a protag being gay is not even worth a mmmm, only 3 or so stories
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still hold their weight and the other 90% of the book is boring. Show Less
LibraryThing member HanGerg
This was a real disappointment. It's a complilation of short stories by some of Sci-Fi's heavy hitters, published in 1967, that was apparently a real game changer in the direction SF was headed, and threw off some of the old outdated notions of the SF precursors and dared to think differently.
The writers were, according to Ellison, really encouraged to tear up the rulebook and give us something shocking, so it's kind of disappointing how pedestrian many of them are. I know, unfair perhaps, all these years hence. But the thing I noticed the most was that old bug bear of us feminist SF fans - the gender relations. Could you writers in those days, asked to look into the future, really not foresee a world in which this was a little different? There are quite a few stories that reference the idea of "free love" type arrangements, where both sexes are free to have sex with whomever they like, whenever they like, but I think I have gained an important understanding about that concept in general, which is that it comes very much out of the male perspective, of having women sexually available to them on tap, and really doesn't stop to look very long at how this societal change would effect women. So this was a slight disappointment, but overall the lack of quality of the stories is the main problem. Also, having an introduction to ever single story from Elsion, who is a jokey, blokey presence, wore a bit thin after a while.
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Trouble is, from my perspective, many of the notions here are equally outdated for our times. I guess it's harsh to judge writers from almost 50 years ago by today's standards, but on the other hand I think the really quality SF writing of any era still stands the test of time. An example in this book is the Phillip K. Dick story, which still has the power to shock and unsettle all these years later. A few others also retain that power, but most fall far short. And the problem is, there's such a self-congratulatory air to the whole enterprise, in the form of Ellison's intro and then his foreword before each story, that you can't help but be annoyed by it.The writers were, according to Ellison, really encouraged to tear up the rulebook and give us something shocking, so it's kind of disappointing how pedestrian many of them are. I know, unfair perhaps, all these years hence. But the thing I noticed the most was that old bug bear of us feminist SF fans - the gender relations. Could you writers in those days, asked to look into the future, really not foresee a world in which this was a little different? There are quite a few stories that reference the idea of "free love" type arrangements, where both sexes are free to have sex with whomever they like, whenever they like, but I think I have gained an important understanding about that concept in general, which is that it comes very much out of the male perspective, of having women sexually available to them on tap, and really doesn't stop to look very long at how this societal change would effect women. So this was a slight disappointment, but overall the lack of quality of the stories is the main problem. Also, having an introduction to ever single story from Elsion, who is a jokey, blokey presence, wore a bit thin after a while.
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LibraryThing member selfnoise
A historically significant and very enjoyable collection of edgy SF stories. Represented the up-and-coming talent of the time in a way that few collections have before or since. Essential for any collector of SF short stories.
LibraryThing member Dannelke
The single most important science fiction anthology ever published.
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1967
Physical description
7 inches
ISBN
0451085027 / 9780451085023