The Book on the Edge of Forever: The Facts, the Figures, and the Delusions Behind Harlan Ellison's Never-Published Anthology

by Christopher Priest

The Book on the Edge of Forever is about Harlan Ellison's third volume of his famed triptych of science fiction anthologies: Dangerous Visions.

The first two volumes were published a quarter of a century ago, but the third has never appeared.

What has gone wrong?

Harlan Ellison has repeatedly made predictions of completion and publication... but without exception these promises have turned out to be false. Since the early 1970s his contributors have seen their stories ties up in what amounts to a non-existent book. Is The Last Dangerous Visions out of control, and has it become unfinishable?

How many writers have withdrawn their stories, and what happened to them as a result? How many writers have died while waiting for Harlan Ellison's untrue promises to be honoured? Who are the writers who remain, and who are the writers who will have nothing to do with the project?

Will the book ever be published?

Genres: Nonfiction

56 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Christopher Priest was born in Cheshire, England. He began writing soon after leaving school and has been a full-time freelance writer since 1968.

He published eleven novels, four short story collections and a number of other books, including critical works, biographies, novelizations and children’s non-fiction.

He also wrote drama for radio (BBC Radio 4) and television (Thames TV and HTV). In 2006, The Prestige was made into a major production by Newmarket Films. Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Prestige went straight to No.1 US box office. It received two Academy Award nominations. Other novels, including Fugue for a Darkening Island and The Glamour, are currently in preparation for filming.

He was Vice-President of the H. G. Wells Society. In 2007, an exhibition of installation art based on his novel The Affirmation was mounted in London.

As a journalist he wrote features and reviews for The Times, the Guardian, the Independent, the New Statesman, the Scotsman, and many different magazines.

Reviews

[Ignacio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christopher Priest se monta un panfleto para contar la historia de The Last Dangerous Visions desde su lado de la barrera: el del cronista que recuerda el largo historial de anuncios de una antología que debiera haber aparecido en 1972. Año tras año, declaración tras declaración, Harlan Ellison publicitaba estar en las últimas fases de su trabajo de edición mientras seleccionaba más relatos, en una huida hacia adelante que sólo ha terminado años más tarde de su muerte cuando otro editor ha terminado su trabajo. Leídas los diferentes anuncios de Ellison apuntados por Priest queda al descubierto un bluff editorial que ha hecho daño a multitud de autores que vieron sus obras retenidas durante décadas, a las editoriales que alguna vez acogieron la iniciativa, y a una figura como Ellison cuyo bocachanclismo queda retratado para la posteridad.

Pero quien realmente amplia la visión es Greg Feeley. En una carta escrita después de la publicación del panfleto extiende el comportamiento de Ellison a toda su carrera. Recuerda sus proyectos fallidos, múltiples retrasos al cumplir con plazos, sus baladronadas anunciando novelas y relatos que jamás publicaba... Priest pecó de buena fe en su mirada. Si hubiera ampliado el objeto de su análisis, Ellison habría quedado por los suelos de todas todas.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad to think of the dozens of stories Ellison has allowed to go to waste by refusing to return to authors stories they sold him 40 years ago for an unpublished and unpublishable SF anthology. Priest details well the story behind the great publishing nonevent--the usual cautionary tale of ego and hubris. Nowdays, Ellison attends conferences to retail his imminent demise, assuring us that no hand however skilled will be allowed to finish the 100 or so stories he's leaving behind (not that anybody bothered asking for the job), and leaving in the lurch the dozens of other writers he's strung along for so long. A sincere, unction-free apology from Ellison to his contributors would be nice at this point. But the captain insists going down with his ego. . .

[Kateblue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this, last revised in 1994 here: The Wayback Machine http :// sf.www. lysator.liu.
se/sf_archive/ sf-texts/ Ansible/Last_Deadloss_Visions%2CChris_Priest (eliminate spaces to get to the site) At that site, it is still called The Last Deadloss Visions, but because it was last revised in 1994, I believe it must be substantially the same as this Hugo nominated version, which cannot be purchased for less than $140.

What an interesting and amazing read! And how frustrating the history for all involved, including Mr. Ellison. I never knew any of this because, being a fan of SF writing, not a fan of SF authors or a member of fandom, I never paid attention. Just wow. And I thought I was a procrastinator!

Apparently, The Last Dangerous Visions is now scheduled for publication in 2023, 51 years late. I will believe it when I see it. And probably buy it.

[David]

Guesstimating the date: was going to read just a little but wound up reading the whole thing in to like 5am. Originally left off my list because I wasn’t sure if the physical copy had extras and I was focusing on just queer authors for Pride month, but it’s December and I want to goose those yearly numbers.

[Duncan (Backawayfromthedonkey) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book on the Edge of Forever by Christopher Priest My Copy ebook 1994 Edition

Not a rant or takedown as some would have you believe but this short (novella length) essay originally published in 1984 and then updated in 1994, chronicles the broken promises and story behind Harlan Ellison’s unpublished The Last Dangerous Visions.

As a slice of history and an exploration of the publishing of anthologies it’s an interesting read. Priest writes concisely laying out the timeline from the original 1973 publication date up until 1994. His evidence and conclusions are well thought out and make sense.

What struck me most though reading it was the amount of good fiction that never got published because of the delay’s and Ellison’s unwillingness to admit he had bitten off more than he could chew. It now looks like J Michael Stracynski has managed to get a version to be published in 2023, if this happens 51 years after the original publication date it will be interesting to see what stories survived from the original idea.

This is well worth reading not just for the historical value, but it is an example of well thought essay. I’ve rated this 4 star but it is probably nearer 3 ½ but it’s not the easiest to decide on a rating in comparison to my other reading.


Goodreads ratings are pretty limiting, my benchmark using those ratings are anything 3 or above is a good strong recommendation that I would happily reread at some point. I rarely give 5 star reviews unless it’s exceptional and near perfect.
My Blog http://www.backawayfromthedonkey.co.uk/

[Chazzbot · Rating 3 out of 5]

At this point, this pamphlet is mostly a curiousity for people who love or love to hate Harlan Ellison. Detailing the long delays and repeated broken promises given by Ellison regarding the publication of the third volume of his Dangerous Visions series, Priest offers a sound, reasonable argument against Ellison's face-saving tactics. The most interesting aspect of this pamphlet are the letters written to Priest from different authors who submitted stories to Ellison for publication, and their reactions to his procrastination. The pamphlet itself is now nearly fifteen years out of date itself, so it is not much more than an historic footnote to a sadly unpublished collection of stories from a prominent SF author and editor.

[Luke Dylan Ramsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

B+/A-

While I enjoyed reading this book, the recent news that Harlan Ellison was, in fact, bipolar / manic depressive made this book seem a bit… problematic? Although Priest largely avoids the ad hominem attack approach, I wasn’t fully on board with how much Priest really lays into and almost makes fun of Ellison. The intro to the recently and finally published Last Dangerous Visions makes it seem like the fact that was never published during Ellison’s lifetime was entirely due to the fact that Ellison was too overwhelmed by the task of writing around 60-70k words for the intros to the various stories, and the author of that intro links that to Ellison’s worsening mental health as he got older. All of that being said, Priest is correct when he points out that Ellison should have just given up on the project and returned the money and the stories to the various authors; by not doing so, Ellison did those authors a great disservice.

All in all, this book is a complicated look at a complicated issue.

[Matthew Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Priest's scathing review of the late Ellison's most infamous unfinished (although J. Michael Strazinsky is now working on a truly complete version) is a tale of woe, told through the experiences of the various writers who submitted their works in good faith to the unfinished project. A cautionary tale for both writers and editors overcome by their own hubris.

[Hugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise and reasoned essay, based largely on facts and fair conjecture; worth considering that this book was published in 1994 and there is still no sign of The Last Dangerous Visions ever being finished.

[Duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two volumes in the series were MAGIC. Turned the field of science fiction on its ear, awards were flung at the contributors like so much confetti, new voices were heard, some of the best work in any literary genre was produced, etc, etc. The third has never appeared, apparently weighted down by both the audience's and the editor's expectations for something bigger, braver, bolder. Almost thirty years have passed, most of the visions collected for this book are likely to have lost their edge of danger, and still no TLDV. Mr Priest collects enough evidence both of Ellison's mercurial personality and inconsistency regarding this volume to paint a pretty damning portrait. While the story of the nonissuance of TLDV is interesting, I'd rather see the works it is supposed to have contained. Wouldn't that be nice? Hey, Harlan, let 'em go!

[Keith Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

If anyone ever writes a history of procrastination, Last Dangerous Visions should have its own chapter. First scheduled for publication in 1973, over 100 authors contributed stories to the anthology which has never been published and probably never will.