Deathbird Stories

by Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison's masterwork of myth and terror as he seduces all innocence on a mind-freezing odyssey into the darkest reaches of mortal terror and the most dazzling heights of Olympian hell in his finest collection.

Deathbird Stories is a collection of 19 of Harlan Ellison's best stories, including Edgar and Hugo winners, originally published between 1960 and 1974. The collection contains some of Ellison's best stories from earlier collections and is judged by some to be his most consistently high quality collection of short fiction. The theme of the collection can be loosely defined as God, or Gods. Sometimes they're dead or dying, some of them are as brand-new as today's technology. Unlike some of Ellison's collections, the introductory notes to each story can be as short as a phrase and rarely run more than a sentence or two. One story took a Locus Poll Award, the two final ones both garnered Hugo Awards and Locus Poll awards, and the final one also received a Jupiter Award from the Instructors of Science Fiction in Higher Education (discontinued in 1979). When the collection was published in Britain, it won the 1979 British Science Fiction Award for Short Fiction.

His stories will rivet you to the floor and change your heartbeat...as unforgettable a chamber of horror, fantasy and reality as you'll ever experience.
-Gallery

"Brutally and flamboyantly shocking, frequently brilliant, and always irresistibly mesmerizing."
-Richmond Times-Dispatch

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Collections

Nook

First published February 1, 1975

About the author

Harlan 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".

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this incredible collection over thirty years ago and, even before opening it up again, I could recall most of these stories in intense detail. These stories are powerful, gripping,mesmerizing. Don't necessarily dismiss Ellison as a science fiction writer as many of his stories have little, if anything, to do with flying saucers and little green men. The tales presented here are, first and foremost, about the human condition, about human emotions, frustrations, angers, fears....

The first story in this collection is, of course, "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs." It is a singularly intense piece that takes the reader through a whirlwind of emotions. It's New York City in the mid seventies and the city is epitomized by the all-too-true story of Kitty Genovese and the two dozen people who heard her scream and did nothing to help. It is a time when crime raged through the streets and rudeness ruled. Ellison takes this true story and peoples it with a young twenty- something from rural New England and his she adjusts to being one of the onlookers. It is a harsh, coarse story and it's so good it's worth getting the whole book just for this one.

Then again, it's probably worth getting this collection just for "Along The Scenic Route." Ever been cut off on the freeway? Ever been stuck behind a slowpoke or had some punk riding your tail? Wouldn't it be great if you could just phone Central Control and challenge them to a duel? Welcome to the future where just being a family man isn't good enough. This story is fuel-injected, turbo-charged madness.

Do you want something a little bit grittier, a little bit more noir-ish? You came to the right place. "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" is as good a story as you'll find anywhere. It's a story about the hopes and dreams and desperation of Las Vegas. It's s story of a girl who grew up dirt poor and swore anything was better than being poor again. It's the story of her sparkling blue eyes. It's the story of the hood who fell head over heels for her. It's also the story of a three-time loser with nothing to his name but a pocket full of change.

Can't discuss every story in this book, but these gems are enough to give you the flavor of this collection.

There is no question that this book is worthy of the coveted five stars,

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, I was slightly put off by some of the luridly poetic language of this story, but as it went on, it grew on me.
Clearly a response to the Vietnam War, this story is pretty much an all-around indictment of war, the treatment of prisoners of war, the treatment of returning veterans, the behavior of those veterans... but it also deals with each aspect with a surprising amount of compassion and understanding.

A worthwhile, thoughtful piece of war fiction, with a fantasy aspect that works both on face value and as metaphor

Merged review:

Another femme-fatale story from Ellison.

Our protagonist has always been able to manipulate men - and everyone around her - to do her bidding. She takes it pretty much for granted. But now, she's on the lam. When she's forced to go to a car mechanic in a one-horse town in the middle of nowhere, she unexpectedly meets a man who may be just as powerful as she is.

What happens then, however, just made me go "huh? why?" I didn't see the motivation...

Merged review:

This collection, originally published in 1975, has recently been re-released by Open Road Media. Many thanks to them for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinion is solely my own.

"Introduction: Oblations at Alien Altars"

*"The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" (Inspired by the Kitty Genovese murder.)
This story is the crappiest, most offensive indictment of city life - specifically New York City life - that I've ever encountered.
Apparently, Ellison (like others at the time) took the murder of Kitty Genovese as a symbol of all that was wrong with urban living. The problem is, that Ellison not only swallowed a misleading newspaper headline wholesale, he also strongly contributed to the erroneous myth that cities are festering cesspits of crime full of maliciously apathetic neighbors.
Kitty Genovese was murdered by a serial killer and rapist, in a horrific and violent crime. Later, it was reported that 38 witnesses 'did nothing.' That's not true. In reality, there were only two eyewitnesses to the crime. Multiple people called the police (who were terribly slow to respond). Kitty died in the arms of a neighbor who had come out to help. Other 'witnesses' were actually people who had heard noise, but assumed it was just a drunken quarrel outside a nearby bar. There was exactly one witness who knew something really bad was happening and did nothing. Yes, there are some reprehensible people out there.
However, Ellison intentionally went on a campaign to spread the myth that dozens of people did nothing while watching a young woman killed. Not only did he write this story, but he wrote articles about the factual case: "in articles published in 1970 and 1971 in the Los Angeles Free Press and in Rolling Stone, and in 1988 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (June 1988), later reprinted in his book Harlan Ellison's Watching." He referred to the witnesses as "thirty-six motherfuckers" and stated that they "stood by and watched" Genovese "get knifed to death right in front of them, and wouldn't make a move" and that "thirty-eight people watched" Genovese "get knifed to death in a New York street"."
Why did Ellison have this agenda to spread a rumor that city dwellers are morally deficient? I don't know. But the intention of this story is to create a graphic image of the crime scene that, while fictional, is designed to substitute for what happened to Kitty Genovese in the readers' mind.
The protagonist is an innocent young white girl (and yes, race 'matters' in this story), a recent Bennington graduate, who moves to the city to make it as a dance choreographer. She becomes one of the witnesses to a brutal murder in her courtyard. She sees all her neighbors in their windows, all looking down on the violence as if it's a show put on for their benefit.
She begins a relationship with a neighbor, who turns out to be brutally abusive and cruel. The city begins to 'eat her up,' and she begins to be aware of a demonic influence in her apartment complex. She can either be a victim of this evil power, or become a part of it.
In a final scene, she encounters a burglar in her apartment who attacks her in a scene that mirrors the attack that she witnessed earlier. The way it's written falls into every stereotype of the animalistic black brute savaging a white woman... there's some real racial paranoia here.
First thing I've read in a while that made me actively angry.

**** "Along the Scenic Route"
Wonderful send-up of the absurd connection we make between cars and masculinity. This takes it one step further than the state of the highways in Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451.' Road rage is taken to an extreme here, in a future where demolition duels on the highway are legal and licensed. The gender stereotypes are a bit cringe-worthy, but they work - are even essential - in the context of the satire.

**** "On the Downhill Side"
In a mystical New Orleans (strangely compatible with Anne Rice's visions of the city), two ghosts seek a kind of redemption. A beautiful supernatural fantasy of love and sacrifice.

**** "O Ye of Little Faith"
A man and the woman he's been having an affair with go down to Tijuana to procure an abortion. The story is an impressively-done character portrait of a commitment-phobic, not-very-likable but yet somehow sympathetic man, and his partner is also portrayed fairly and believably. Then, of course (this being an SF collection) a bit of magic enters the picture, thanks to a Mexican fortuneteller - and the story becomes a metaphorical tale of all who have lost faith not only in gods but in themselves and in everything around them. A life without anything to believe in, is a life without hope, Ellison concludes.
The story is told with a repetitive cadence that's a bit unusual, but works very well.
Is the protagonist being called 'Niven' a reference to Larry Niven? I can't help but wonder...
Ah-ha! Yes! "Ellison had written short stories to order earlier, notably "O Ye of Little Faith" at the 1965 Westercon in Long Beach, California, to three words — "serape", "polyp", and "minotaur" — provided at an auction by the winning bidder, Larry Niven, whose last name is that of the story’s protagonist.)"

*** "Neon"
There's a definite 1970's acid-trip feeling to this one.
A man is released from the hospital after a serious procedure, but he's not quite the same. His marriage and his life fall apart - and now he's wondering if he's going insane, as well. He's hearing voices - but does it have something to do with his bionic implants? (Or could it be ALIENS?)
In contrast to the first story in the book, I very much liked the dirty-old-New York setting here.

*** "Basilisk"
At first, I was slightly put off by some of the luridly poetic language of this story, but as it went on, it grew on me.
Clearly a response to the Vietnam War, this story is pretty much an all-around indictment of war, the treatment of prisoners of war, the treatment of returning veterans, the behavior of those veterans... but it also deals with each aspect with a surprising amount of compassion and understanding. A worthwhile, thoughtful piece of war fiction, with a fantasy aspect that works both on face value and as metaphor.

*** "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes"
A horror tale involving a haunted slot machine - and a well-crafted story about the false hopes of gambling, and the bleak desperation of those who are drawn to it.

** "Corpse"
A disaffected assistant professor living in a deteriorating New York City gives us a stream-of-consciousness monologue which details his falling-apart career, his lack of real personal connections - and his bizarre obsession with automobiles.
This shares a theme with the first story in the collection: new gods or powers arising from the gestalt of the society that we have created.

*** "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin"
Surreal horror... A young man is discharged from the army, and upon his return, finds that his fiancee has taken up residence in a communal household of drugged-out hippies, and seems strangely unwilling to leave. Not ready to give up on her, the boyfriend moves in... and discovers that the house is a stranger place than he'd guessed.

*** "Delusion for a Dragon Slayer"
After death, an unassuming 'Walter Mitty'-type has the chance - and only one chance - to grasp all his lifelong dreams and live as a hero in an epic fantasy-type scenario. But is he actually capable of heroism?
We like to think that the 'ordinary' man might be full of unrealized potential for greatness. But isn't it equally likely that he is full of the potential for evil?

** "The Face of Helene Bournouw"
A beautiful model has devastating power over every man she encounters - and she uses that power devastatingly. But there's a twist to this femme fatale story.
And... I didn't like that twist. It was creepy, but it also eliminated even the non-multi-faceted agency that a femme fatale usually has.

*** "Bleeding Stones"
If gargoyles ever came to life, putting them onto churches might turn out to have been an absolutely terrible idea. This gleefully tasteless scene feels like it was written by a headbanging teenager with an aim to shock - but I couldn't help enjoying it.

*** "At the Mouse Circus"
If this made any sense at all, I missed it. It's a bizarre acid-trip; a series of hallucinatory images. However, I didn't dislike it...

** "The Place with No Name"
A violent junkie pimp on the run from the law finds himself unexpectedly and magically transported into the body of an obsessed explorer in a fantastic Heart-of-Darkness-style scenario. The object of his driven quest turns out to be a bizarre scenario involving Prometheus and Jesus, with a sci-fi twist.
I found the disparate elements here to be too random; the way they were bound together didn't end up feeling meaningful.

*** "Paingod"
Musing on the idea that without pain, there can be no pleasure, Ellison gives his readers The Paingod - who, in actuality, seems more like a civil servant, dispensing pain and suffering to the denizens of countless worlds.

** "Ernest and the Machine God"
Another femme-fatale story. Our protagonist has always been able to manipulate men - and everyone around her - to do her bidding. She takes it pretty much for granted. But now, she's on the lam. When she's forced to go to a car mechanic in a one-horse town in the middle of nowhere, she unexpectedly meets a man who may be just as powerful as she is.
What happens then, however, just made me go "huh? why?" I didn't see the motivation...

*** "Rock God"
No, not THAT kind of Rock God. No guitars here.
From a sacrificial ritual in ancient history, Ellison traces his deity through the world's legends of sacred stones, up to the present world of corporations and skyscrapers.

*** "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W"
A suicidal but immortal werewolf... a secretive Information Agency... a high-tech scientific facility... A Fantastic Voyage-style journey... And a large heaping dollop of self-referential metaphysics. Interesting, but possibly just a bit too much for one story.

**** "The Deathbird"
This, the title story, shares a lot of themes with many of the other stories in this collection. It mixes science fiction with mythology and surrealism, weaves together disparate elements and symbols into a 'trippy' whole. However, I feel that it's a lot more successful than some of the other selections here.
250,000 years in the future, Nathan Stark is woken by aliens into a far-post-apocalyptic future, when he learns that there is some truth to the myths and legends of human religion - but 'God' has always been insane and 'Satan' is actually a caretaker, trapped by the strictures of his assigned role. The final fate of the Earth will rest on Stark's decisions.
It's not just a fate-of-the-Earth story, though... woven through the tale is an exploration of the meaning of compassion, and the meaning of love. A strong ending to the book.

[else fine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I somehow discovered this book when I was a kid. As dark and violent as it was, I found it weirdly hopeful. Finally, I thought, an adult who won't fucking lie to you, someone who will just say yes, everything sucks and people are screwed up and the only thing you can do in the face of all this misery is fight, even though you'll probably fail. Fight, and remember that everyone else is in pain, and never lose your outrage or your compassion. Not to pile more melodrama onto this paragraph, but it probably saved my life.

Twenty years later, I still found it strange, lovely, and compelling. It appears to be out of print, which is a shame. A whole generation is missing out on this great american master of weird fiction.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was in high school, this book was banned from our library. So naturally I made a pilgrimage to the public library, checked it out, read it, and basically this is the book that made me want to be a writer. Because it was the first time I realized books had the power to make parents lose their shit.

I later bought Harlan's first typewriter, a 1938 Remington Noiseless Portable forged in the fires of Mt Doom.

Thanks, Harlan. Give my love to Susan.

[Μιχάλης Μανωλιός]

Περίληψη: Ξεπερασμένα έργα από έναν από τους πλέον νάρκισσους συγγραφείς που έχω διαβάσει.

Δεν πήγε καλά.
Δεν φταίει ο Ellison, εγώ φταίω, που ξέρω ότι έχω μια αλλεργία με τα φουσκωμένα εγώ.
Πρώτ’ απ’ όλα, πριν φτάσει κανείς στην πρώτη λέξη του πρώτου διηγήματος, προηγούνται είκοσι σελίδες από: αφιέρωση, βιογραφία από το επίσημο site φίλων του Ellison πήχτρα στα βραβεία στις διακρίσεις και τις μεγάλες συνεργασίες, μια ακόμα πιο σύντομη βιογραφία από τον ίδιο τον συγγραφέα, «παραθέματα και τσιτάτα» του Ellison, ευχαριστίες, πρόλογος από τον ίδιο, ένα γράμμα του Σω προς τον Τολστόι, τρεις ρήσεις του Βολταίρου, του Οβίδιου και του Χάινλαϊν, «Δυο λόγια για τον Χρόνο» ξανά του Ellison, όπου μας εξηγεί πόσο γαμάτη είναι αυτή η συλλογή και πώς θα την έβγαζαν επετειακά στα 25 της χρόνια, αλλά τελικά το έκαναν στα 31 και μισό και πόσο μεγάλη αμηχανία νιώθει (χα! εδώ γέλασα!) που το βιβλίο αυτό συμπεριελήφθη στα καλύτερα βιβλία Ε.Φ. της δεκαετίας και τον έκαναν S.F. Grand Master. Δηλαδή, έλεος.
Και σαν να μην έφταναν όλα αυτά για φτιάξουν ένα φοβερό και τρομερό hype, σαν να μην αρκούσαν για να στείλουν τις προσδοκίες στα ουράνια, υπάρχει σ’ αυτές τις είκοσι σελίδες το χειρότερο όλων: Μια δήλωση του ίδιου του Ellison όπου με τη γνωστή του μετριοφροσύνη μάς προειδοποιεί για το εξής:

«Προτείνω στον αναγνώστη να μη διαβάσει μεμιάς αυτό το βιβλίο. Η συγκινησιακή φόρτιση των διηγημάτων που εμπεριέχονται εδώ, αν προσληφθεί χωρίς διάλειμμα, μπορεί να προκαλέσει μεγάλη αναστάτωση. Η προειδοποίηση αυτή δεν είναι υπερβολή. Αντιθέτως, παρέχεται με κάθε ειλικρίνεια. ΠΡΟΧΩΡΗΣΤΕ ΜΕ ΔΙΚΗ ΣΑΣ ΕΥΘΥΝΗ.»

Ώπα, Χάρλαν! Ένα-ένα για να σε προλαβαίνω.
Άλφον, φυσικά και δεν θα το διαβάσω με τη μία. Είναι συλλογή διηγημάτων –προφανώς και δεν πετάγομαι από τη μια ιδέα στην άλλη με μηδέν διάλειμμα. Επίσης, μην ανησυχείς, ελάχιστοι συγγραφείς μπορούν να με αρπάξουν έτσι που να μην αφήνω το βιβλίο τους από τα χέρια μου.
Βήτον, σανμπολύμεγάληιδέα μου φαίνεται ότι έχεις για το γράψιμό σου. Ακόμα και αν δεν το ήξερα (που το ήξερα, γι’ αυτό επαναλαμβάνω ότι φταίω εγώ και όχι εσύ) θα μου είχε γίνει παραπάνω από σαφές σ’ αυτές τις είκοσι σελίδες, αλλά και πάλι, δεν ξεκινάμε καλά.
Και γάμμον, η προειδοποίησή σου είναι τουλάχιστον υπερφίαλη και αγενής. Δεν μπορείς να απευθύνεσαι έτσι σε ένα μεγάλο αναγνωστικό κοινό. Δεν ξέρεις τι έχω διαβάσει, δεν ξέρεις τι άνθρωπος είμαι. Δεν ξέρεις πώς και πόσο καλά διαχειρίζομαι τη «συγκινησιακή φόρτιση» και, το κυριότερο, δεν ξέρεις πότε το διαβάζω αυτό. Δεν ξέρεις πόσα σπουδαία έργα έχουν γραφτεί από τότε που γράφεις αυτό την προειδοποίηση - μνημείο φιλαυτίας. Και τέλος, για μια φορά με κεφαλαία κι εγώ, ακολουθώντας το παράδειγμά σου, ΣΙΧΑΙΝΟΜΑΙ ΝΑ ΜΕ ΠΑΤΡΟΝΑΡΟΥΝ ΛΕΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΙΜΑΙ ΚΑΝΕΝΑ ΠΑΙΔΑΚΙ ΠΟΥ ΘΑ ΔΙΑΒΑΣΕΙ ΓΙΑ ΠΡΩΤΗ ΦΟΡΑ «ΜΕΓΑΛΗ» ΛΟΓΟΤΕΧΝΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΘΑ ΤΟΥ ΕΡΘΕΙ ΝΤΟΥΒΡΟΥΤΖΑΣ.

Και για όσους δεν το κατάλαβαν, δεν ξεκίνησα το διάβασμα με την καλύτερη διάθεση. Μάλιστα, όπως κάνω πάντα σε ανάλογες περιπτώσεις υπερβολικών προσδοκιών, έψαξα και βρήκα το μικρότερο καλάθι που μπορούσα να κρατήσω. Όμως, ειλικρινά, ήμουν ανοιχτός. Αν τα διηγήματα μου άρεσαν, θα μπορούσα να ξεχάσω τις πρώτες είκοσι σελίδες της εισαγωγής, τουλάχιστον μέχρι να τελειώσω το βιβλίο και να σκεφτώ κάτι σαν «φοβερός συγγραφέας, αλλά έχει καβαλήσει το καλάμι».

Όμως, δυστυχώς για τα λεφτά και τον χρόνο μου και καθόλου για τον Ellison, έγινε ακριβώς το αντίθετο. Δεν πήγε καθόλου καλά. Για την ακρίβεια εγκατέλειψα έχοντας διαβάσει 280 σελίδες, και χωρίς να έχω βρει ούτε μια ιστορία που να μου αρέσει. Δεν πρόκειται να αναλύσω το γιατί. Απλά, ο Ellison κι εγώ δεν ταιριάζουμε.
Ξέρω πόσο γραμμένες έχει ο συγγραφέας γνώμες σαν τη δική μου, εκεί, ανάμεσα στις δάφνες του, και βλέπω τις εξαιρετικές κριτικές και βαθμολογίες. Θα αρκεστώ, λοιπόν, να γράψω περιληπτικά τα γνωστά για την κατηγορία «Μεγάλα Έργα Που Δεν Είναι Πια»:
Χάρλαν, σ’ ευχαριστώ ειλικρινά για την τεράστια συμβολή σου στη λογοτεχνία και ειδικά στο αγαπημένο μου είδος της Ε.Φ. Άνοιξες δρόμους, πάτησαν πάνω σου οι επόμενοι, έκανες πράγματα που ήταν σχεδόν αδύνατα να φαίνονται τετριμμένα. Είσαι ένας από τους γίγαντες που μας πήραν στους ώμους τους.
Όμως μέχρι εκεί, Χάρλαν. Όπως μια φορά κι έναν καιρό γνώρισες τον Ισαάκ Ασίμωφ, στάθηκες μπροστά του και του είπες με παρρησία «Είσαι ένα τίποτα!», έτσι σου λέει κι αυτός ο ταπεινός αναγνώστης: «Είσαι ξεπερασμένος». Χωρίς καν θαυμαστικό.

[Skallagrimsen]

The first collection by Harlan Ellison I ever read remains the best by a substantial margin. It's the only one, as far as I'm concerned, in which Ellison's passion and poetry utterly overwhelm his pretentiousness. Even the introductory and framing material here enhance rather than distract from the content, which might just make it unique for an Ellison collection. "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" is one of his greatest stories, a horrific fantasy inspired by a horrific reality. It raises serious and disturbing questions about human passivity in the face of preventable atrocity. And it perfectly captures the physical and psychological hideousness of New York City in its 1970's, Son of Sam-era nadir.

The other stories are as good, if as grim, as their fabulous titles: "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin," "Bleeding Stones," "Paingod," and "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes," among others. "Along the Scenic Route," a relatively modest achievement for this fantastic assemblage, is one of my personal favorites, just begging to be made into a low budget dystopian science fiction film or, better yet, an episode of Black Mirror.

Deathbird Stories is the only book by Harlan Ellison I'd recommend without reservation. It's the only one I'd even consider re-reading.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

6.0 stars. Another superb collection of short stories by the greatest short story writer of all time. While all of the stories in this collection are excellent, I would mention "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" as one that particularly affected me when I read it. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!

Winner: British Science Fiction Award for Best Collection (1979)
Nominee: World Fantasy Award for Best Collection (1976)
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Collection (1976)
Voted to the Locus List of All Time Best Collections (6th)

[Andreas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vernon Lestig was caught by Viet cong, tortured until he talked, lost foot and eyesight, brought before a court-martial for treason, and returned home only to face his home in Kansas where nobody understood or accepted what happened in the face of public media.

Full review at my blog

Merged review:

Selena, a beautiful woman and a master manipulator, has a car accident in some lost town of North Carolina. An odd young man magically fixes it.

Full review at my blog

Merged review:

In an inversion of Christian and Jewish mythology, humanity's alien protector helps the reincarnated Adam in the final confrontation of a mad god and an anthropomorphized Earth's assisted suicide.

Full review at my blog

Merged review:

I've outsourced reviews of short stories to my blog. If you're curious, read it there or just follow the review-links below

Summary: Ellison linked 19 stories, which were previously published between 1960 and 1974, with a common topic: new gods of our modern society, like for city neighborhoods or cars, need to be worshipped or drop out of existence. The stories worked as a standalone narrations but must be interpreted differently in this new context. It is not a thematic link like Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles but more a common idea. The stories were considered so important that even a generation later, you find echoes in works like Neil Gaiman's American Gods.
Strong language, vivid imagery, and emotionally striking themes pervade these stories. The theme is not obvious in every story which range from magical realism to science fiction and horror. The nature of gods is sometimes benevolent like the snake in "Deathbird", but most often malevolent like the urban god feeding of violence in "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs". Often, moral tests define the relationship between gods and men, like in "Delusion for a Dragon Slayer" where a dying man is transported to a fantasy world to earn the Heaven he desires.

Ellison isn't bound to a specific subgenre but draws freely on speculative and non-speculative elements within any single story. Most strinkingly this is the case for "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans..." which merges genres and works from Kafka, Melville, Asimov, Shelley and others. Sometimes it is more Fantasy like in "Delusion of a Dragon Slayer", seldom pure SF like "Along the Scenic Route". The best way to characterize his stories would be "magical realism" or simply "speculative fiction", most often merged with psychological, or morale/theological topics, and set in contemporary U.S. at the edge to mimetic fiction.

He isn't a novelist but a master of short works with several hundreds of short stories. His natural form seems to be novella and novelette which are short enough to bind his impatience but long enough to develop character and background.

So, if you've got bored of plain story-telling, then up your narrative diet with Ellison's brilliant fiction. Not all of the stories are great, but they are certainly different - some of those you'll like, some you won't, depending on your openness to unusual narrative voices and willingness to dig into a short story.

Just do yourself a favour and don't read it in one session - Ellison himself recommended to digest this collection slowly.

My favourite ★★★★★ stories were

The Whimper of Whipped Dogs
Basilisk
Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes
Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W
The Deathbird

Weakest ☆ or ★ stories

Bleeding Stones
Corpse
At the Mouse Circus
The Place with no Name

Contents:

★★★★★ • “The Whimper of Whipped Dogs” • (1973) • the god of "not my problem": magical realism, Kitty Genovese in New York • review
★★★ • “Along the Scenic Route” • (1969) • the god of speed: Near SF car battle • review
★★★ • “On the Downhill Side” • (1972) • two ghosts in New Orleans react to the god of love's demands • review
★★ • “O Ye of Little Faith” • (1968) • Jerry Niven escapes both the questions of his paramour about their relationship and a Minotaur that he suddenly faces after entering a Mexican bookshop. A strong start with the Minotaur but then it only replays the introductory questions about gods. For 9 pages it doesn't need to say much more.
★★1/2 • “Neon” • (1973) • the gods of neon light enlighten the world • review
★★★★★ • “Basilisk” • (1972) • Mars, the god of war, sends a monster to a vietnam vet • review
★★★★★ • “Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes” • (1967) • The god of slot machines grants jackpots • review
★1/2 • “Corpse” • (1972) • More Americans die at the wheel than in military uniform. Are cars sentient, do they kill men on purpose? Weakest story in the collection so far with much philosophizing and an abrupt and unmotivated ending.
★★★ • “Shattered Like a Glass Goblin” • (1968) • review
★★★ • “Delusion for a Dragon Slayer” • (1966) • review
★★ • “The Face of Helene Bournouw” • (1968) • Helene Bournouw is beautiful beyond perfection. She ruins the lifes of a business man, an artist, and a priest. A heavy-handed story ending in a fairy tale: "Even God needs good rolling stock to get things done."
☆ • “Bleeding Stones” • (1973) • industrial pollution awaken the NYC cathedral gargoyles to life. It ends in a splatter movie like havoc because they purge the threat of what they are made to protect. Repulsive, explicit violence including raping a nun with a stop sign. At least, it is the shortest story with only a handful pages.
★ • “At the Mouse Circus” • (1971) • a highly surreal story of Charlie, the King-of-Tibet, travelling from Manhattan to Ohia in his cadillac, meeting witches, dinosaurs, and a Mickey Mouse who was as confused as I am after that story. At the end, a crowd eats his car.
★ • “The Place with No Name” • (1969) • Cocain-addicted pimp Norman flees the police, ending in a shop where he is magically transported to a jungle. He meets the bound Prometheus there. The climax is predictable, the rest completely confusing, leaving too many loose ends.
★★★★ • “Paingod” • (1965) • the god of pain immerses his subject's feelings • review
★★★ • “Ernest and the Machine God” • (1968) • Selena has a car accident • review
★★★ • “Rock God” • (1969) • An old Stonehenge god is about to awaken in a NYC skyscraper • review
★★★★★ • “Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W” • (1974) • pastiches from Kafka, Melville, Asimove, Shelley, and Siodmak • review
★★★★★ • “The Deathbird” • (1973) • Adam gives the needle •  review

[Theo Logos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a clever story collection, but falls well short of the “greatest collection” that many Ellison fans label it. In too many of these tales Ellison tripped over his own cleverness, and they come across as more pretentious than profound. One of the collection’s most praised stories is built around an ugly lie that became an urban myth and Ellison’s nasty, cynical story helped to amplify and perpetuate the lie.

There are several excellent stories here, (though a couple of my favorites were already published in earlier collections) and the book’s concept of examining the passing of old gods and establishing of new ones is boldly creative and was a significant influence on other writers. I think I just came to this collection too late in my life. Many of the concepts examined here could well have been mind blowing, even life changing if I first read this book as a teen or a young man. Yet through the alchemy of living, ideas that would have been mind blowing forty years ago have become little more than truisms at this life stage.



Forward: Oblations at Alien Alters: The author presents some dramatic words on the collection’s theme — Gods.
”There is one rule, one Seal of Solomon that can confound a god, and to which all gods pay service to the letter. When belief in a god dies, the god dies.”
3 ⭐️

The Whimper of Whipped Dogs: I absolutely despise this story. It is an obscenely violent, ugly, nihilistic, and cynical take on life in the city, riffing off the infamous (and inaccurate) myth of the Kitty Genovese murder. The story is an aggressively brutal assault on the reader — horror delivered with a maniacal grudge. Sure it’s well written, but Ellison was a bloody bastard to write it.
”When the new god comes to the Big Apple, its Kyrie Eleison turns out to be a prayer Kitty Genovese simply couldn’t sing. But thirty-eight others knew the tune.”
1 ⭐️

Along the Scenic Route: Along freeways of the future, aggressive driving and road rage has been officially systematized into a legally controlled highway dueling protocol, and cars are equipped with lethal weapons and defense systems. A family man out for a scenic drive with his wife allows his bad temper to bait him into an official road duel with a hot shot young blood. Insecure egos and toxic masculinity collide in this lethal thrill ride of a story.
”In the world of the freeway there was no place for a walking man.”
4 1/2 ⭐️

On the Downhill Side: New Orleans! Ghosts! Unicorns? A story of the follies of love, and redemption beyond the grave. Unfortunately, it all comes out as a cold, tasteless gumbo, pretentiousness masquerading as profundity.
”There’s a little book they sell, a guide to manners and dining in New Orleans. I’ve looked — nowhere in the book do they indicate the proper responses to a ghost.”
2 ⭐️

O Ye of Little Faith: Cynical asshole protagonist with commitment issues fights with girlfriend after her abortion, punches an old, Mexican fortune teller, and then has to fight a Minotaur? Actually, the story leads with minotaur fight and fills the rest in later. Interesting fusing of realistic relationship story with trippy doom in the land of forgotten gods.
”In a land without a name, his name was Niven, but it was no more important a name than Apollo, or Vishnu, or Baal, for it was not a name that men believed in, only the name of a man who had not believed.”
3 ⭐️

Scartaris, June 28th (note: this story was not part of the original collection, and is included as an untitled stealth track with the story above.) We meet him first in Alabama being lynched for assassinating a KKK goon, and afterwards resurrecting. Next he’s in Beloit in a working man’s bar buying a drink for his little brother who has no big brother, and encouraging him in an unorthodox way. We meet him again on an international flight baiting a pompous minister about gods and what happens to them when their worshippers are gone, and bringing the peace of release to another family. He has encounters in Greece and Zurich, conversing and transforming. He is lonely, because his people and his home are long gone. Poets don’t even write of it, he says, but once he mentioned his home to Plato who penned a couple lines about it.
This story unfolds slowly into something quietly magnificent.
4 1/2 ⭐️

Neon: A man in Times Square fears he is going mad because the signs are trying to communicate with him. Something is trying to woo and seduce him through neon signage. A strange tale that didn’t quite work for me.
2 1/2 ⭐️

Basilisk: A soldier is horribly wounded and captured in Vietnam. His captors torture him forcing him to reveal all the information he has. But he is touched by the god of war, who transforms the broken soldier into a weapon — a weapon that not only destroys his sadistic captors, but continues to work on the mindless patriots who see him as a traitor and torment him when he is sent home. Mars is an awesomely wicked god.
3 1/2 ⭐️

The Face of Helene Bournouw: She could make or break the men who desired her with a smile,or a word. She crushed and controlled millionaire industry titans, brilliant artists, highly connected priests by granting or withholding her charms. But who controls Helene Bournouw?
(I feel that this story owes a large debt to Fritz Leiber’s tale The Girl with the Hungry Eyes.)
Richard Strike the only one of the Broadway columnist with a valid claim to literacy once referred to her as “The most memorable succubus he had ever encountered.”
3 1/2 ⭐️

Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitide 38*54’ N, Longitude 78* 00’ W: Larry Talbot cannot gain the release of death until he finds his lost soul. His best friend Victor, a brilliant scientist, agrees to assist. With Victor’s expertise and a map obtained from a man named Demeter, Larry seeks for his soul on a (blessedly) moonless inner journey.
This story is sadly hypnotic, with fine writing and low-key, clever inclusions of MGM classic monsters.
”That’s not cosmic irony, Larry. That’s slapstick.”
3 1/2 ⭐️

Rock God: This tale was originally published as a comic book story. It begins with a ritual at Stonehenge by the ancient Wessex people to raise the god of rock, Dis, for his once a century manifestation. It tells how the god announced his long sleep, as he created seven rock manifestations of himself around the world, including the Blarney Stone, the Stone of Scone, and the Kaaba, holy Black Stone of Mecca, that contained his essence. The great Soul Mote Dis created finally came to rest in the corner stone of a boondoggle of a NYC skyscraper. And there, Dis stirred.
”Dis was not a god of promise.”
”Above the city the bulk of Dis rose, enormous.”
4 ⭐️

Bleeding Stones: Activated by smog, the gargoyles of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral come to horrifying life and reek vengeful, chaotic slaughter. Ellison was able to present raw and obscene violence as humorous slapstick.
”Come to life after a hundred years is the race that will inherit the Earth...The gargoyle throws back its head and the stone fangs catch the sunlight...The inheritors rise from their crouched position, their shapes black and firm edged against the gray and deadly sky. Then, like the fighting kites of Brazil, they dive into the crowd and begin the ritual slaughter.”
4 ⭐️

Ernest and the Machine God: We start with the manipulative woman who always wins, always gets her way. Then on to a murder, an accident, a weird service station staffed by useless slack jaws, an idiot savant youth with mechanical magic, and a seduction that angers the gods. A bunch of elements clanging about in this story, and it feels like some of them are just extra parts that don’t fit. It reads as a better story than it actually is.
”God is mad. The god of music is mad. The time god is punctual, but he is mad. And the machine god is mad. He has made the bomb and the pill, and the missile, and the acid, and the electric chair and the laser and embalming fluid in his own image.”
3 ⭐️

Delusions for a Dragon Slayer: A kind of Walter Mitty afterlife tale. A nonentity drudge of a man is killed in a ridiculous urban freak accident, and immediately wakens as a bronzed warrior hero in an afterlife something like a John Norman Gor novel, the afterlife created by his dreams. But can he prove himself worthy of those dreams?
”This was reality, and only reality for a man whose existence had been, not quite bad, merely insufficient, tenable, but hardly enriching. For a man who had lived a life of not quite enough this was all there ever could be of goodness and brilliance and light.”
3 ⭐️

Corpse: A second rate professor, a mediocrity, a bore, a religious man (as he mentions repeatedly)as a goof at an intolerable dinner party devised a theory of automobiles with sentience, society, and a grudge. He comes to find his fickle fancy more potent than he could imagine.
3 ⭐️

Shattered Like a Glass Goblin: Lovecraftian horror story or a screed against the excesses of the youth drug culture, this is a horrific tale. Rudy was discharged from the army and came to reclaim his former fiancée from the Hill — a house full of druggie, free love, freeloading kids. But the Hill claimed Rudy. When the full horror show is revealed, Ellison played on the ambiguity of whether what Rudy is experiencing is traditional horror or the hallucinations of a really bad trip, with the uncertainty amplifying the horror.
4 ⭐️

Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes: A Vegas looser at the end of his rope puts his last silver dollar in an antique slot machine. The machine is possessed by a dead prostitute, and pays off for him, beyond all possible odds, over, and over. But the uncanny blue eyes that he keeps seeing come up trouble him, and she haunts his dreams. And he forgot to ask, what’s in it for her?
”If there’s a buck in it there’s rhythm and the onomatopoeia is Maggie Maggie Maggie.”
4 ⭐️

Paingod: The god of pain throughout all the worlds becomes curious about his work, and he incarnates to learn what pain does to creatures. The story reads as if it’s trying to impart a profound truth, yet it’s message is commonplace to anyone who managed to survive to midlife. It struck me as more maudlin than profound.
3 ⭐️

At the Mouse Circus: A clever tale, loaded with cultural references, of a man enticed from childhood to chase the American Dream and finding only a surreal Nightmare.
3 1/2 ⭐️

The Place With No Name: So, there’s this junky pimp who commits a murder, then makes a deal with some floating gnome man to escape, and finds his consciousness merged with Harry Timmons, an obsessed and feverish jungle explorer searching for the forbidden Place with No Name. And, oh yeah, there’s Prometheus, chained there. Ellison questions the nature of identity. And justice. And mercy. He really makes you work for it. Is it worth it?
2 1/2 ⭐️

Deathbird: A story predicated on the Gnostic idea of God as Demiurge, malevolent and mad. Our hero is tasked with releasing the beloved from the misery of existence — first a loved dog companion, later his dying mother, and finally the Earth itself. There are also tests administered throughout. Clever. Poignant. Powerful.
The snake was the good guy, and since God wrote the PR release, old Snake simply got a lot of bad press.
”I know,” he said. And she died. And he cried. And that was the extent of the poetry in it.
5 ⭐️

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harlan Ellison is one of my consistently favorite writers of all time.

I have a rotating list of favorite writers in my top 10 list at any given time, mainly because I am always trying to read new authors, so from week to week the list is always different, but Ellison has always remained firmly at the top of that list, next to Mark Twain and William Shakespeare (who, to be honest, have occasionally been superseded by the latest "phase" authors that I am into. For example, I am currently in a Lee Child phase and a Robert Crais phase. These authors will probably be replaced by new authors in a week or two). Ellison, however, remains at #1.

"Deathbird Stories" was, I think, one of the first short story collections that I bought and read by him. I am on my second copy of the book, which is dog-eared and crumpled from re-reading dozens of times. The first story in the book, "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" will suck you in and change you. My life has never been the same since I opened an Ellison book.

[John Bruni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a few of these stories before, but never like this. No, every story in this book is meant to be read this way, not just a story here and there over the years. Read 'em all back to back, start to finish. (He warns you not to do that in the intro, but he's just goading you to do it.) It's a different, powerful experience. I think that SF has two phases: Before Harlan Ellison and After Harlan Ellison. He's a visceral guy. He doesn't do gentle, folks. He screams his straight-from-the-guts stories in your face.

Everyone's read "The Deathbird." You can't fool around with SF and not read it. It's obviously the best in the book. But here are a few of my favorites that I hadn't read before:

-"Along the Scenic Route": Wow. That's some Death Race 2000 stuff right there. I love the idiot slang terms that kids in the future use, and I love how it turns out to be a futuristic western in the end.

-"Neon": Quite the accidental love story. To say more would be to ruin it.

-"Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes": That's a haunting story about a, er, well. Read it.

-"Paingod": What happens when the God of Pain takes an interest in humanity? In a human sculptor in particular? It's not what you'd think would happen. I'm almost certain Warren Ellis has read that one, and Paingod got stuck to his brain stem.

-"Ernest and the Machine God": A very manipulative woman in a precarious situation accidentally drives off a cliff and finds herself in a strange town with a very unusual mechanic. The ending is pretty horrifying, but I kind of wonder what happens with Ernest next.

This is a great collection. If you haven't read it, you need to get to it immediately.

[Dr. Cat in the Brain · Rating 5 out of 5]

At his worst Ellison was an overwhelming, self-aggrandising hipster, constantly high on his own supply. At his best he was a mad poet who put Dostoevsky to shame. His prose goes from entertainment schlock to bone-cracking levels of emotional weight.

Love him, despise him, build golden statues in his honour, throw eggs at his grave and sniff at his legacy. None of it really matters.

A phenomenal writer. Always. Forever. One of the best.

And this is one of his best collections.

10/10

[Ben Loory · Rating 4 out of 5]

i remember when this came in the mail from the science fiction book club when i was twelve. it was like having someone tear out my stomach.

[W.T.H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrapped up Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison early Saturday. I was ( I AM) beyond astounded by this collection of stories, by the skill and imagination of Ellison, by my physical and mental reaction to nearly every story, and by the gaping void I was feeling when it was time to move on and follow it with something else. There are absolute explosions of numbness coursing through my veins as I closed this one up. Absolutely Phenomenal. "BASILISK" is an absolute beast of a story, as are "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs", "Paingod", "The Deathbird" & "Rock God". There are moments of sheer insanity (" Along The Scenic Route") & moments while reading, even if I didn't love the story wholeheartedly ("Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W") there are moments and transitions in the story so breathtaking I was left in awe. Imagination and intelligence wise? You could compare him to Bradbury, Asimov. A few others. But Ellison's got a transgressive edge to his writing that I'm unsure anyone else can touch. If I'm wrong, I'd really love to hear some recs along those lines.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

DEATHBIRD STORIES, by Harlan Ellison is a collection of some of his varied short stories. I do love Ellison's literary style and writing in general; however, as in most story collections, some of the themes of the individual stories "worked" for me much more so than others. In general, I found that I prefered his horror and supernatural-style stories over those that reached into the fantasy and (to a lesser extent) the science fiction areas.

The writing is brilliant all throughout, in my opinion. Each of these stories is so widely ranged that there really is something for everyone in this collection. Certainly a book worthwhile to add to my shelves, just for the ones I enjoyed the most.

Two of my personal favorites--that were actually quite different from each other--were:

--"Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes": a supernatural story involving a casino gambler, and a very "discerning" slot machine. This one simply hit me emotionally, and the ending packed a lasting punch.

Perhaps my absolute favorite in the book was:

--"Basilisk": Outwardly, this is a story about a war veteran who is ironically condemned by others for wanting to live. I found the "inner" meaning much more potent and powerful as a social commentary of sorts. Often, those that condemn the loudest have never been in the face of a war themselves. It's so easy to blame others when you know nothing about what they have gone through . . .

Recommended to those who love reading various themes and genres.

*I won this book in a Goodread's Giveaway. Thank you!*

[Joel Abel · Rating 5 out of 5]

for me this books represents one of those rare moments in life where you can point to a single instant and say, "that moment changed me".

i was around thirteen years old, and, as a lot of young teenagers, really struggling with Christianity, social expectations, parental smothering, etc. and so on. lets just say the box was feeling particularly small and i was feeling the squeeze.

enter a fateful trip to the local flea market/second hand emporium.

imagine a flea market booth so full of worthless items that it looks like you and a few of your best friends and a few of your friends friends decided, on graduation day, to cram all of your college furniture into a single tomb and seal it off forever. the smell and rough economic worth of this tomb puts you in the neighborhood of this sad stall. of course, to me, it looked like a treasure chest.

now imagine a box of books under a rotting futon. lurid westerns mixed in with lurid romance novels, their colors as bright and superficial as the red paint on a whorehouse. imagine buried deep in the box, almost at the bottom, a book so out of place it might as well be as from another world. its cover a stark, black and white watercolor of a mournful bird draping its wings around a dying sun. imagine school, parents, family, flea markets and all the rest disappearing as you read the first page of something that is so utterly unlike anything you have ever known that you dont notice you have broken into a sweat, that one page has turned into twenty, and suddenly your legs are tired and your neck hurts because you havent moved a single inch in 15 minutes.

imagine that when you look up, your world is no longer the same.

that was my introduction to death bird stories.

[Shauny Free Palestine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harlan Ellison has written some of my favourite short stories, including A Boy and His Dog, Repent Harlequin, and I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream, so I was naturally excited to read my first short story collection by him.

Whilst the stories are well-written and very unique, none of them reached the height of genius that I previously read by Ellison.

Standouts include The Whimper of Whipped Dogs, which is based on a real-life murder, a tale about Gargoyles named Bleeding Stones, and The Deathbird itself.

Maybe short story collections are simply not for me, as I haven’t found one I truly love. Nevertheless, Ellison was a bold and visionary storyteller that deserves more attention.

[Alazzar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to give up on this collection around page 183, in the middle of a story that meant nothing to me.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m bad at reading anthologies (with the exception of The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, of course). The problem is that anytime I hit a story I’m not a big fan of, it makes it harder and harder to pick the book back up. I do all right with short story collections on the Kindle, but part of that is because it’s harder to tell how many pages are left during those moments of despair; if I can’t tell how far I am from the end, I don’t get as discouraged by the bad entries.

Unfortunately, I got Mr. Ellison’s book in paperback format, and was constantly reminded of just how much I had left to read.

Deathbird Stories started out well enough with “The Whimper of Whipped Dogs,” a tale that begins with a gruesome scene where apartment residents watch a woman get stabbed to death in their courtyard. There was some great imagery here, and this story was the perfect choice for an opening act after Ellison’s note about gods being given life by human belief. (If you’ve read Neil Gaiman’s American Gods , you’ll see some similarities in religious theory here.)

“Along the Scenic Route” is good as well—it’s a once-scene story about an old man who refuses to suffer the presence of an interstate punk in a future where even the family station wagon is a dangerous weapon.

Then we hit “On the Downhill Side,” which pretty much put me to sleep. I’d tell you what it was about, but the plot started melding with the dream I was having as I dozed, and I’m pretty sure there weren’t actually any bookkeeping koalas in the story.

“O Ye of Little Faith” started out very strong with its opening scene (minotaurs are scary), but kinda went downhill from there. “Neon” was decent (though not great), but after that, we hit the dynamic duo of “Basilisk” and “Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes.” Before getting to these stories, I’d had the terrible feeling that this book was just going to be another one of those anthologies I couldn’t force myself to get through. But “Basilisk” (a story about a war vet accused of treason and ostracized by pretty much everyone in America) and “Maggie” (a story about . . . well, it’s just awesome, let’s say that) were so stinkin’ good that I figured I’d be blazing through the rest of the book.

Not so.

Sure, “Corpse” was decent enough. And “Shattered Like a Glass Goblin” actually had some really creepy, awesome visuals at the end (I might put it as my third favorite story of the book just for the final scene). But then we hit “Delusion for a Dragon Slayer,” which was a major low point. To be fair, I actually liked the intro to “Delusion”—the setup, if you will. But once we got into the meat of the story I stopped caring.

Things picked up a little with “The Face of Helene Bournow,” a story about a woman with looks and allure that can (and will) ruin even the strongest men. “Bleeding Stones” is a story with virtually no value by means of character and plot, but the action/horror scene is so well painted and gruesome that I actually did enjoy it.

I don’t even know what “At the Mouse Circus” was about. Apparently whoever reviewed this collection for harlanellison.com was in the same boat: “I am absolutely stymied by this story. I have no idea what Ellison is trying to do, I have no understanding of the flow of the plot, I have no idea why the Wonderland white rabbit, Billy Batson, and Mickey Mouse pass through (although they all seem about as lost and confused as I), and Ellison’s note, ‘This is what happens when a black man worships a white god,’ offers no enlightenment.” (http://harlanellison.com/review/death...)

And I think that’s what finally killed my interest in the book. Sure, a lot of the stories were okay (i.e., not bad), but only a few really stood out for me. So, after a lackluster run of stories following “Maggie,” I hit “Mouse Circus” and wondered if I was missing something. Then I read the review quoted above, and found I wasn’t alone in my confusion. The one-two combination of my own opinion and someone else verifying my own opinion made me stop caring about the book. I got a few pages into “The Place with No Name,” but it just didn’t help me recover after “Mouse Circus.”

In the end, I just couldn’t stand that I was only able to read a few pages at a time before getting bored. I’d already been on this book for something like 10 days, and at that rate, I’d be going for 10 more. That seems like a lot of wasted time that could be spent on books I’ll actually enjoy. So, as much as I hate to quit a book before the end (even if it’s easier to do with anthologies), that’s what ended up happening here.

Maybe one day I’ll read those last few stories, but that would involve putting this on hold at the library again, and I can’t imagine that happening anytime soon.

As far as general comments on Ellison’s writing goes, I think he over-describes a lot of stuff. We get huge amounts of background detail that seem sort of insignificant to me. I’m sure a lot of people like that sort of thing (as evidenced by Stephen King’s success with books that weigh more than my car), but it’s not really for me—especially when it comes to short stories. I’m of the thought that short stories are an opportunity for the author to display how much punch they can pack in a small area, and that means cutting out the unnecessary stuff.

(And yes, I realize that this review probably could have been 750 words shorter and still gotten the point across. Shut up.)

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I'm might be in a minority on this book. It has had many good reviews on many venues and was a bookclub pick by one of our more adventurous members.

While this may not be my cup of tea - there are a couple of things specifically that bothered me about the book.

1. Many of the stories are firmly set in their era - the book was published in 1975 and you can tell by all of his branded references. Maybe this would be cool if you were reading it in 1975 and you could relate to the brands and trends, but reading it in 2007 and having lived through the brands and trends of 1975 if felt tired and cliche. "White wine" or "chardonnay" could easily have been substituted for "Almaden"; "gin & tonic" could have been substituted to "Tanqueray & tonic" - and thus kept the stories in present or even future time. In 1975 my mom was drinking Almaden (though I'm not sure you can even buy it now) and I was drinking Tanqueray & tonic (or T&T as we called it) - but I sure don't hear it ordered in bars today - at least not like in the 70's - the T&T was to the 70's what the Cosmopolitan was to the turn of the millennium. Firmly set in it's time.

The first story in particular was set in the New York City of the 1970's - dirty, dangerous, filled with paranoia and neuroses. It is not the fresh and exciting New York of today. The city has clearly cast off it's slimy mantle of danger and become the place to be. If not for the branding that occurs in the story, we could have read it to be a New York of the future - something that it still can be, rather than something it was so long ago - the story was tired.

2. I understand the theme was about gods and death but for the most part, I could not suspend my disbelief for long enough to buy into the premise for most of the stories - that is, for those I read, because I must confess, that after getting a bit more than halfway through the book, I stopped reading it. There are so many other books I want to read! Some of the characters drew me in and I began to care for them but then they just died and entered one of many eternal abysses - because, really, the stories were what happened after one becomes less than human - either by death or by submission to the ruling evil. I just don't buy it.

[Shawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

A chore to read. Ellison has a real self-satisfied "edgy" sense of humor, and attacks drinking, drugs, and religion. I feel like I know exactly who would appreciate this type of writing and they were the friends I felt embarrassed for in high school.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all-time favorite book by my all-time favorite author. Ellison writes like Johnny Unitas used to quarterback, or the way Neil Young plays guitar.

[Jon Von · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 A reread. When I was 25 this book changed my life. Not everything has aged so well, hence the half-point. But these stories are like sticking your finger in a light socket. It’s, at times, wildly original urban fantasy. Certainly, a trip and a half.

[Ηλίας Τσιάρας · Rating 4 out of 5]

Λεπτομέρειες σε προσεχές τεύχος από τις Αλλόκοσμες Ιστορίες

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard for me to give this an overall rating, because while I recognize that these were fine short stories, I don't think they were my cup of tea for the most part. Maybe I also went about this with wrong expectations—it was one of the recommended books in Stephen King's Danse Macabre, and I distinctly remember Joe Hill also mentioning this collection as being formative for him, yet I expected a horror style like the one I'd find in Ray Bradbury books for some reason. The first story in this collection quickly killed that notion... and after reading the introduction I can't shake the feeling that this is where Neil Gaiman got the idea behind American Gods , he very clearly influenced by it. Considering Ellison wrote the introduction to Seasons of Mist , it's fair to assume that the appreciation is mutual.

Overall, this collection was very hit or miss for me. I also find the Caveat Lector redundant in this day and age, but see how it may have been necessary in 1973—in fact, the stories somehow managed to feel dated and timeless to me at the same time.

I had a really hard time rating these, and I feel like I was too generous with my stars in the beginning when I had no frame of reference yet. If I'm honest I'd like to give it two stars because it didn't do that much for me, but the last story, The Deathbird, was exquisite, and there were some others that stood out, so I'm rounding up to three. All my favorite authors seem to love this collection, it won an incredible amount of prestigious literary awards, and the ratings on here are quite high as well, so I'm sure it's me. The concept behind it is great, and even though most stories included weren't my thing, a handful were really good, and will stay with me.

The Whimper of Whipped Dogs · ★★★
Along the Scenic Route · ★★
On the Downhill Side · ★★
O Ye Of Little Faith · ★★
Neon · ★★★
Basilisk · ★★★★★
Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes · ★★★★★
Corpse · ★★
Shattered Like a Glass Goblin · ★★★
Delusion For a Dragon Slayer · ★★★
The Face of Helene Bournouw · ★★
Bleeding Stones · ★★
At the Mouse Circus · ★
The Place With No Name · ★★
Paingod · ★★★★★
Ernest and the Machine God · ★★★
Rock God · ★★★
Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W · ★★
The Deathbird · ★★★★★

[Emily Kestrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are, for the most part, interesting and well-written, but after a while, the non-stop cynicism and darkness left my brain feeling a bit numb. I was glad, finally, to be be done with them. Ellison warns the reader not to attempt to read these in one sitting, stating that doing so might be "extremely upsetting," and I did anyway. This didn't really upset me, but it did leave me with the impression that, taken as a whole, there is something a bit "off" about the whole collection.

There's a tone of smug indignation that appears throughout that becomes quite annoying after a while, especially considering how dated and awkward some of these tales seem now, almost forty years after their publication. As a whole, the tales are too angry to be nihilistic, too morbid to be moralistic, and too relentlessly unpleasant to be "just for fun." But they are also too well-written to be overlooked.

My favorites from this collection include "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes," which has a good twist at the end; "Basilisk," about how public opinion is manipulated to serve the god of war, "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs," a creepy take on the source of urban anomie, and "The Deathbird," which I enjoyed mostly for its unusual narrative structure. "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin," an allegorical take on "just say no to drugs," was a runner-up, but was just a bit too dated.

Some of the others are definitely worth a miss, such as "On the Downhill Side," "Corpse," "Delusion for a Dragon Slayer," and "At the Mouse Circus." The only one I really, truly hated was "Bleeding Stones," an exercise in gratuitous nastiness that Ellison actually describes as "funny." He lost a lot of points for me with that one.

Finally, I just have to point out that in reality, 38 people did not watch Kitty Genovese, the real-life crime victim who inspired "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs," be repeatedly stabbed to death and do nothing. Most did not know what was happening, some did try to call the police, and one lady ran outside to help her. Only two were aware she was being murdered and did nothing, which is bad enough, but the extent of the urban callousness was mostly trumped up by the media (including Harlan Ellison)...go figure.

[Mary JL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harlan Ellison is a passionate writer with a unique style. I've have read many of his story stories, including these in this book.

Like most of Ellison's work, these stories are aiming for an emotional effect. Ellison has a great deal of anger in some stories, also he has very little optimism.

I often think of this child's poem when I read Ellison: "There once was a girl And she had a curl Right in the middle of her forehead And when she was good, she was very, very good And when she was bad she was horrid" For me the last two lines are exactly how I feel about his work. When he hits, it's dead on--but when he misses, for me, it is a complete miss.

I seldom feel "so so" about his stories; I like them or I hate them.

But, Ellison is a unique and widespread influence in science fiction; you owe it to yourself to read at least one collection of his short stories.

[Marvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harlan Ellison is one of my favorite short story writers but his output can be inconsistent. Deathbird Stories is easily his finest collection. These works are unflinchingly cynical and brutally honest about the human condition yet it is apparent that the writer hopes that mankind will rise and find something about it that is noble. If there is one repeating theme it is that man must create gods for itself even though those gods always fail us. Ellison's warning that these stories should not be read in one sitting is good advice. Even one a night may be pushing it. But stories like "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" , "Paingod" and "The Deathbird" will haunt you for a very long time.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read three from this collection - Deathbird, Paingod and The Whimper of Whipped Dogs - and was blown away by each. Deathbird and Paingod are what I'd call meta-universe type stories that touch deeply on religion, and the nature of life and mankind. The Whimper of Whipped Dogs, on the other hand, is just super creepy. A classic New York City horror tale!

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know quite what to expect from this volume, especially after reading the author's caveat at the beginning:

It is suggested that the reader not attempt to read this book at one sitting. The emotional content of these stories, taken without break, may be extremely upsetting. This note is intended most sincerely, and not as hyperbole.

Not that this is an issue for me, I never read books in one sitting. But after finishing these stories I can see what the author means and agree that it is not (at least entirely) hyperbole. Most of these stories are pretty bleak, full of deeply unlikable characters showing humanity's worst side.

This is a themed collection, containing many stories previously printed in earlier collections (I skipped "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" and "Delusion for a Dragon Slayer" that I had already read in I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream). The stories all seem to feature death, belief and gods. They also resist categorisation but include elements of SF, fantasy and horror.

While some stories seemed to lack subtlety and felt heavy-handed ("The Face of Helene Bournouw" and "Paingod") others were the other extreme and too opaque ("Neon" and "At the Mouse Circus"). However, there were some real gems. Powerful emotional stories that will stay with you ("The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" and "Basilisk") and engaging stories with striking imagery ("Ernest and the Machine God", "Rock God" and "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans").

Ellison doesn't seem to do bland or just so stories. He strives for the full emotional effect each time and some might find it too harsh or upsetting but at least you will react and remember them.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was difficult to rate... the last 2 stories are brilliant and a couple of others are classics as well, but so many of them just seemed pointless or had an interesting idea but just didn't seem to be able to achieve what it was attempting to do. And so many are all in the same vein, just full of anger and nastiness to the point where you feel like your mind needs a shower after reading them. It just gets so repetitive. And Ellison seems so impressed with himself for being "edgy" and dark. It can get a bit ridiculous. But then those last two stories are pretty impressive, I have to admit.

And look, I know Ellison marched with MLK in Selma and mentored Octavia Butler and protested in favor of the ERA, but there is no getting around the fact that several parts of this book are just hard not to see as being racist or misogynistic, as is sadly common from this era of science fiction (or speculative fiction, or whatever Ellison would call this). I know it was a different time and you can't judge it by what is acceptable now, but damn, it is hard to excuse some of this stuff.

As others have pointed out, you can easily see that this is one of the big influences on Gaiman's American Gods, and also on Sandman, for that matter. At its best, there are great stories here, but I found it inconsistent (in contrast with the general consensus that this is his most consistently strong collection).