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The Deadly Streets
Remember Charles Bronson stalking the streets of New York blowing holes in muggers in Death Wish? Remember Glenn Ford standing off the vicious juvenile delinquents in Blackboard Jungle? Well, it is more than fifty years and two different worlds from 1955 to now. And something the author of these stories knows that you are scared to admit is that reality and fantasy have flip‑flopped. They have switched places. The stories that scare you today are the ones about rapists and thugs, psychos who will carve you for a dollar and hypes who will bust your head to get fixed. Glenn Ford’s world was yesterday, and Bronson’s is today. And in the stalking midnight of this book, one of America’s top writers, Harlan Ellison, invades the shadows of both!
232 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1958
45 people are currently reading
257 people want to read
About the author
Harlan Ellison
1,083 books2,824 followersHarlan Jay Ellison (1934-2018) was a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, teleplays, essays, and criticism.
His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of both The Outer Limits and Star Trek as well as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; edited the multiple-award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions; and served as creative consultant/writer to the science fiction TV series The New Twilight Zone and Babylon 5.
Several of his short fiction pieces have been made into movies, such as the classic "The Boy and His Dog".
His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of both The Outer Limits and Star Trek as well as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; edited the multiple-award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions; and served as creative consultant/writer to the science fiction TV series The New Twilight Zone and Babylon 5.
Several of his short fiction pieces have been made into movies, such as the classic "The Boy and His Dog".
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 26, 2017
This is a collection of sixteen of Ellison's short stories from the '50s inspired and informed by his experience of life on the New York streets as a member of a kid gang, which he did as research and for inspiration. It goes hand-in-hand with other of his books such as Memos From Purgatory and Web of the City. Some of the violence and situations seem pretty tame today in comparison with the current daily news, but his writing is always vivid and entertaining and it's an excellent record of the history of the time.
December 20, 2022
Before finding success as a science fiction author and pop culture critic, Harlan Ellison got his start writing crime stories for pulp magazines. His first published collection showcases his most mature work from that period. These are not nostalgic reminisces of Fifties youth gangs like Grease and West Side Story. These simple, pithy tales are hardboiled and violent. The stories in this volume are from the same era and genre as those in Robert Silverberg's Rough Trade and Lawrence Block's One Night Stands and Lost Weekends.
Harlan kicks things off with two energetic introductions that effectively set the noir tone: "Some Sketches of the Damned" (written for the 1958 edition) and "Avoiding Dark Places" (from the expanded 1975 reissue with five additional stories). He talks about the ten weeks he spent as a full-fledged member of a juvenile delinquent street gang as background research for these stories and his first novel Web of the City. That experience also became the basis for the first half of his nonfiction memoir Memos from Purgatory.
The stories from the original edition are connected by several recurring characters, while the additional stories are standalone. Here are my individual story reviews:
"Rat Hater" (1956)-- Lou has been waiting 18 years to kill mob boss Chuckling Harry, whom he blames for the death of his sister. This a simple revenge tale exceedingly well told. It is hardboiled with a healthy dollop of horror, especially if you fear being eaten to death by rats.
"I'll Bet You a Death" (1956) -- Weeks after a rumble between the Strikers and the Jolly Stompers was interrupted by police, tensions are simmering. Checker and Vode make a wager: If Checker will kill a cop, then Vode will gift him his fiery redhead girlfriend Cherry. Originally published as "The Big Rumble", Part I.
"We Take Care of Our Dead" (1957) -- The Strikers force Vode to rob a candy store owned by a World War I vet, to atone for what happened to Checker in the previous story.
"The Man With the Golden Tongue" (1961) -- Mark witnesses a brutal pool hall murder but is scared to testify as to what he saw. When confronted by a cop, his desire for safety competes with his desire for the acclaim that will come with being a star witness. This suspense story works because the reader is kept guessing from the first line about the policeman's real motivation.
"Johnny Slice's Stoolie" (1956) -- Cheech is accused of ratting out his fellow Jolly Stomper gang initiates to the police. He flees his trial and leads the gang on a rooftop chase, hoping to somehow prove his innocence. Originally titled "I Never Squealed!"
"Joy Ride" (1958) -- Road rage leads to one man dead and another paralyzed after Jerry Marshon is run off the road by a juvenile delinquent. A tense, suspenseful story with slight shades of Ellison's later story "Along the Scenic Route".
"Buy Me That Blade" (1957) -- Teeny, Wally, and Rally head downtown to Greenwich Village to beat up gays and carve their initials into the thighs of a teenage girl. Their anger and disdain for outsiders is matched only by their mistrust towards each other. Originally titled "Buy Me That Knife!"
"The Hippie-Slayer" (1968) -- A distraught father goes all Charles Bronson on the Los Angeles subculture that he blames for the death of his daughter. Violent, predictable, fun.
"Kid Killer" (1957) -- A Polish teenager on the streets of New York gets hold of a .45 and uses it to protect himself from the Knifemen. If he plays it right, he may amass enough power to take over leadership of the gang… if they don't kill him first!
"With a Knife in Her Hand" (1958) -- Theresa is the rare girl gang leader. With an alluring body and a switchblade tucked between her breasts, she proves just as greedy and ruthless as any man--and more than most. But a power play by Policy George puts her rule and everyone's lives in jeopardy.
"Sob Story" (1957, with Henry Slesar) -- A husband disappears into the bathroom at the back of the bar, and never comes out again. Did he abandon his wife? Was he murdered? I read the ending twice but I still do not understand it. Who was the second man in the bathroom? Why didn't the policeman look into the cellar under the busted floorboards? Originally titled "He Disappeared!"
Look Me in the Eye, Boy!" (1957) -- The surly son of a police chief joins a juvie gang, trusting his father's clout and position to keep him out of prison… but there are no easy outs for murder.
"The Dead Shot" (1957) -- A lone gunman wanders the streets of New York killing whomever he pleases. This story is uncomfortably close to reality in America over 60 years later.
"Ship-Shape Pay-Off" (1957, with Robert Silverberg) -- A sailor commits murder for hire at the behest of his captain's wife, but after the deed is done she welches on the payment. However, there is more than one way for an alluring women to square up her debts… Originally titled "Pay Up or Else".
"Made in Heaven" (1956) -- Every boy in the Poppers wants to make Chickie, even though she has already carved Torchy's initials on her arm. But only Twist is willing to use violence and blackmail to get what he wants. Originally published as "The Big Rumble", Part II.
"Students of the Assassin" (1956) -- Tony and Pepper are just small-time muggers until the day they try to roll a mobster in Central Park. Now they are apprenticed to one of the most deadly triggermen in the City.
I listened to the audiobook read by Michael Braun and Mia Barron.
Harlan kicks things off with two energetic introductions that effectively set the noir tone: "Some Sketches of the Damned" (written for the 1958 edition) and "Avoiding Dark Places" (from the expanded 1975 reissue with five additional stories). He talks about the ten weeks he spent as a full-fledged member of a juvenile delinquent street gang as background research for these stories and his first novel Web of the City. That experience also became the basis for the first half of his nonfiction memoir Memos from Purgatory.
The stories from the original edition are connected by several recurring characters, while the additional stories are standalone. Here are my individual story reviews:
"Rat Hater" (1956)-- Lou has been waiting 18 years to kill mob boss Chuckling Harry, whom he blames for the death of his sister. This a simple revenge tale exceedingly well told. It is hardboiled with a healthy dollop of horror, especially if you fear being eaten to death by rats.
"I'll Bet You a Death" (1956) -- Weeks after a rumble between the Strikers and the Jolly Stompers was interrupted by police, tensions are simmering. Checker and Vode make a wager: If Checker will kill a cop, then Vode will gift him his fiery redhead girlfriend Cherry. Originally published as "The Big Rumble", Part I.
"We Take Care of Our Dead" (1957) -- The Strikers force Vode to rob a candy store owned by a World War I vet, to atone for what happened to Checker in the previous story.
"The Man With the Golden Tongue" (1961) -- Mark witnesses a brutal pool hall murder but is scared to testify as to what he saw. When confronted by a cop, his desire for safety competes with his desire for the acclaim that will come with being a star witness. This suspense story works because the reader is kept guessing from the first line about the policeman's real motivation.
"Johnny Slice's Stoolie" (1956) -- Cheech is accused of ratting out his fellow Jolly Stomper gang initiates to the police. He flees his trial and leads the gang on a rooftop chase, hoping to somehow prove his innocence. Originally titled "I Never Squealed!"
"Joy Ride" (1958) -- Road rage leads to one man dead and another paralyzed after Jerry Marshon is run off the road by a juvenile delinquent. A tense, suspenseful story with slight shades of Ellison's later story "Along the Scenic Route".
"Buy Me That Blade" (1957) -- Teeny, Wally, and Rally head downtown to Greenwich Village to beat up gays and carve their initials into the thighs of a teenage girl. Their anger and disdain for outsiders is matched only by their mistrust towards each other. Originally titled "Buy Me That Knife!"
"The Hippie-Slayer" (1968) -- A distraught father goes all Charles Bronson on the Los Angeles subculture that he blames for the death of his daughter. Violent, predictable, fun.
"Kid Killer" (1957) -- A Polish teenager on the streets of New York gets hold of a .45 and uses it to protect himself from the Knifemen. If he plays it right, he may amass enough power to take over leadership of the gang… if they don't kill him first!
"With a Knife in Her Hand" (1958) -- Theresa is the rare girl gang leader. With an alluring body and a switchblade tucked between her breasts, she proves just as greedy and ruthless as any man--and more than most. But a power play by Policy George puts her rule and everyone's lives in jeopardy.
"Sob Story" (1957, with Henry Slesar) -- A husband disappears into the bathroom at the back of the bar, and never comes out again. Did he abandon his wife? Was he murdered? I read the ending twice but I still do not understand it. Who was the second man in the bathroom? Why didn't the policeman look into the cellar under the busted floorboards? Originally titled "He Disappeared!"
Look Me in the Eye, Boy!" (1957) -- The surly son of a police chief joins a juvie gang, trusting his father's clout and position to keep him out of prison… but there are no easy outs for murder.
"The Dead Shot" (1957) -- A lone gunman wanders the streets of New York killing whomever he pleases. This story is uncomfortably close to reality in America over 60 years later.
"Ship-Shape Pay-Off" (1957, with Robert Silverberg) -- A sailor commits murder for hire at the behest of his captain's wife, but after the deed is done she welches on the payment. However, there is more than one way for an alluring women to square up her debts… Originally titled "Pay Up or Else".
"Made in Heaven" (1956) -- Every boy in the Poppers wants to make Chickie, even though she has already carved Torchy's initials on her arm. But only Twist is willing to use violence and blackmail to get what he wants. Originally published as "The Big Rumble", Part II.
"Students of the Assassin" (1956) -- Tony and Pepper are just small-time muggers until the day they try to roll a mobster in Central Park. Now they are apprenticed to one of the most deadly triggermen in the City.
I listened to the audiobook read by Michael Braun and Mia Barron.
October 10, 2022
Red hot 1950s pulp street crime, stick-up gangs, and all that. When I got to the end I wuz magically wearing a black leather jacket, and had a switchblade in my hand. Say, you guys wanna go crosstown and rumble with those slobs the Jolly Stompers they been cruisin on our turf and need somebody to give them a rough lesson!
March 27, 2021
First I have to remove this from my science fiction shelf, because it is a collection of stories about gangs and young criminals in New York in the fifties. Ellison’s descriptions and dialogue are both excellent, but the subject matter is a bit off putting.
January 30, 2017
A sizeable portion of early Ellison, written not from an outsider's viewpoint, but based on his time spent running with a 50's NYC street gang. As one discovers, this was a very different environment from contemporary gangs, with almost (but not quite) an innocence to their habits. And the writing is as tough as any he would compose later in his career. A brutal little history lesson for those of us in the here and now.
September 15, 2019
For ten weeks in the early 1950s, Harlan Ellison joined a notorious Brooklyn street gang known as the Barons as part of his research for his first novel, Web of the City and later, his crime collection, The Deadly Streets.
The first edition of The Deadly Streets was released in 1958 and contained 11 hard-boiled tales about teenage street gangs. The book was re-released in 1975 with an additional five crime stories, some written in collaboration with other writers including “Ship-Shape Pay-Off” with Robert Silverberg and “Sob Story” Henry Slesar.
What sets these additional five stories apart from the original 11 is that they are much shorter and completely unrelated to the theme of teenage street gangs. Rather, they tend to focus on mob hits (“The Man with the Golden Tongue”), revenge (“Rat Hater”, “Hippie Slayer”) and personal vendettas (the aforementioned “Ship-Shape Pay-Off”). “Sob Story” is the weakest of the lot and barely qualifies
My personal favorites from the collection include “We Take Care of our Dead,” “The Man with the Golden Tongue,” “Johnny Slice’s Stoolie,” “Buy Me That Blade,” “Hippie Slayer,” “With a Knife in Her Hand,” “Dead Shot,” and “Students of the Assassin.”
Although the slang is outdated and the depictions of violence mild by today’s standards, each of the original 11 tales present a vivid snapshot of the bloody and ruthless street gang culture of 1950s New York.
The first edition of The Deadly Streets was released in 1958 and contained 11 hard-boiled tales about teenage street gangs. The book was re-released in 1975 with an additional five crime stories, some written in collaboration with other writers including “Ship-Shape Pay-Off” with Robert Silverberg and “Sob Story” Henry Slesar.
What sets these additional five stories apart from the original 11 is that they are much shorter and completely unrelated to the theme of teenage street gangs. Rather, they tend to focus on mob hits (“The Man with the Golden Tongue”), revenge (“Rat Hater”, “Hippie Slayer”) and personal vendettas (the aforementioned “Ship-Shape Pay-Off”). “Sob Story” is the weakest of the lot and barely qualifies
My personal favorites from the collection include “We Take Care of our Dead,” “The Man with the Golden Tongue,” “Johnny Slice’s Stoolie,” “Buy Me That Blade,” “Hippie Slayer,” “With a Knife in Her Hand,” “Dead Shot,” and “Students of the Assassin.”
Although the slang is outdated and the depictions of violence mild by today’s standards, each of the original 11 tales present a vivid snapshot of the bloody and ruthless street gang culture of 1950s New York.
January 31, 2026
I think this is one of Ellison's earliest collections of short stories. If you're looking for his classic sci-fi brand of stories, this isn't going to satisfy that. But if you are looking for short stories about violent youth gangs in the streets of NYC, then this is the book for you. These are pretty intense and even more so when you learn that Ellison spent some time living with these street gangs to research ideas for this book. None of the stories are based on any real-life situations, but they helped him create the mood and characters from these stories. Overall it is a solid collection and worth looking in to.
November 8, 2017
I just bought this on an impulse -Ellison, right? And lo and behold, it wasn't sci-fi! Had no idea basically, but kept on reading because it was interesting. Quite dark and gritty, sometimes downright brutal, I could see this turned into a series of short TV episodes. However, it gets repetitive pretty fast, so really, not Ellison's best work.
June 22, 2017
Crime Stories
This is a collection of crime stories by the author that were published in various magazines in the 1950s and 60s. The stories still hold up decades later and are great crime stories.
This is a collection of crime stories by the author that were published in various magazines in the 1950s and 60s. The stories still hold up decades later and are great crime stories.
December 18, 2020
Early short stories by Ellison. They don't have the impact of his latter works but are still good. Inspired by his experience with street gangs.
August 12, 2022
Another great Ellison collection.
May 29, 2025
Good stories about 50s gang life based on his living in a gang for a time.
Read
June 26, 2015Subterranean Press is the epitome of cool. I have thought so for years. Books such as The Deadly Streets a reissue by Harlan Ellison continue to confirm it. This is a wonderful collection of visceral short stories, all with the take of violence on the street.
This is the second reissue of Ellison’s classic 1958 collection. (The first reissue was in 1975 when Ellison added five additional stories.)
Harlan Ellison is an incredible storyteller and there is not a dud in the mix. I personally consider these stories classics, among them a tied-up man terrified of rats; a boy who wants to kill a cop; a gang that takes care of their own, even their dead; a man who talks too much; a girl trying to hold her own against the rest of a male gang. In all, sixteen thematically connected original and violent stories. Though most are written prior to 1958, the writing, the characters, the plotting, and the situations still hold true. The “daddy-o’s” didn’t bother me a bit and the prose goes down like a teenager in a log flume.
After reading this collection, you philosophically will never view city sidewalks the same, but just as importantly for our Killer Nashville writers, studying these stories is one of the best lessons in learning how to write a short story. Harlan Ellison can write. The stories contained in this volume are one of the best short story writing textbooks you’ll ever find, and one I would encourage every short story writer to study. Have a mental dialogue with Ellison as you go along. He will teach you well.
Tune in next time when I talk about a new psychological mystery series I’ve discovered and why I’m now hooked. (As though I don’t have enough to read.)
My Review of Deadly Streets on Killer Nashville
My Other Reviews on Killer Nashville-stafford/
This is the second reissue of Ellison’s classic 1958 collection. (The first reissue was in 1975 when Ellison added five additional stories.)
Harlan Ellison is an incredible storyteller and there is not a dud in the mix. I personally consider these stories classics, among them a tied-up man terrified of rats; a boy who wants to kill a cop; a gang that takes care of their own, even their dead; a man who talks too much; a girl trying to hold her own against the rest of a male gang. In all, sixteen thematically connected original and violent stories. Though most are written prior to 1958, the writing, the characters, the plotting, and the situations still hold true. The “daddy-o’s” didn’t bother me a bit and the prose goes down like a teenager in a log flume.
After reading this collection, you philosophically will never view city sidewalks the same, but just as importantly for our Killer Nashville writers, studying these stories is one of the best lessons in learning how to write a short story. Harlan Ellison can write. The stories contained in this volume are one of the best short story writing textbooks you’ll ever find, and one I would encourage every short story writer to study. Have a mental dialogue with Ellison as you go along. He will teach you well.
Tune in next time when I talk about a new psychological mystery series I’ve discovered and why I’m now hooked. (As though I don’t have enough to read.)
My Review of Deadly Streets on Killer Nashville
My Other Reviews on Killer Nashville-stafford/
March 26, 2016
If you are looking for classic Harlan Ellison science fiction this book is not it. It is, however, a collection of tautly written urban dramas all dealing with life on the streets of New York from the 1950-1960 gangs perspective. The stories are violent with evil characters who do bad things but there is emotion and understanding that makes it very real. The stories have plenty of action and great twists that make you want to keep turning the page.
All the stories were good but my favorites were:
The Man With the Golden Tongue
Kid Killer
Students of the Assassin
All the stories have a rawness to them and based on the intro by Ellison he experienced this kind of violence up close as a young man growing up in this era. A surprisingly good read and if you are a fan of Ellison you will probably like this book even though it is not science fiction.
All the stories were good but my favorites were:
The Man With the Golden Tongue
Kid Killer
Students of the Assassin
All the stories have a rawness to them and based on the intro by Ellison he experienced this kind of violence up close as a young man growing up in this era. A surprisingly good read and if you are a fan of Ellison you will probably like this book even though it is not science fiction.
June 23, 2010
amazing..as always--brutal--short--aged by their language but in the best way--raw and obvious Ellison ran with the gangs..no nice stories here..no happy endings..really glad I have it!!:) working at half price blech had it's advantages...
July 3, 2011
Stories of street violence, muggings, teen gangs and juvenile delinquency, mostly dating to the 1950s, by the author best known for his fantasy work. Grim, brutal, efficient, these aren't Ellison's best, but they pack a punch.
August 20, 2011
"Aged by its language"--sure, but so is the original Twilight Zone, but I still love them.
There are some very good stories in this, including several that hold up well if they were produced for HBO today.
There are some very good stories in this, including several that hold up well if they were produced for HBO today.
April 13, 2012
This early work of Ellison's shows his edges at their roughest, but also foreshadows much of his future writing. It's also an interesting portrait of gang culture from the 50s - in many ways, not so different from the street gangs of today.
March 21, 2008
Ellison loves to talk about his days infiltrating a gang. I wish he just talked about it and didn't write about it.
November 15, 2012
Slices of real urban life--and, just like life in the wild (rural or urban), these tales are nasty, brutish, and short.
August 21, 2014
Some of Ellison's earliest stories are brutal and engaging. They also have the spark of the writer he would become. Entertaining.
November 17, 2018
Not my favorite by Ellison, a great inspiration.
February 17, 2021
"If you haven't read Harlan Ellison, you haven't read." ~ Richard Halasz
August 12, 2018
Well written but nasty revenge story.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews