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Stephen's Reviews > Dangerous Visions
Dangerous Visions
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by
Stephen's review
bookshelves: 6-star-books, ebooks, short-fiction, science-fiction, novellas, 1954-1969, horror, on-deck-circle
Nov 01, 2009
bookshelves: 6-star-books, ebooks, short-fiction, science-fiction, novellas, 1954-1969, horror, on-deck-circle
6.0 stars. This is one case in which THE HYPE DON'T LIE and the HUGENORMOUS helpings of hallelujahs heaped on Harlan (Ellison) have hardly been hyperbole. Sorry about that, but it was fun to write. Seriously though, this book's Andre the Giant-sized reputation of amazing had me thinking there was no way for me to end up anywhere but disappointmentville. Uh...I was WRONG. This anthology is every bit as delicious as its press would have you believe.
It's fair to say that this collection has reached “legendary” status within the realm of speculative short fiction and certainly is a cornerstone in the mystique of Harlan Ellison as THE agent provocateur of the genre. I am still working my way through the book so this review will only cover the stories listed below (the first half of the book). These stories are evocative enough for me that I am reading them a few at a time to avoiding becoming emotionally catatonic.
There are a few stories that I would say are only “good” and one story that I just did not like, probably because its brilliance was just over my head...I will take full blame for that one. However, the vast majority of the stories are not just great but EXTRAORDINARY and will stay with you long after you finish. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
THE STORIES
Evensong by Lester Del Rey (6.0 stars): What a way to set the tone for a collection. This superb nugget is an allegory dealing with the "capture" by man of a powerful alien (his identity is part of the big reveal…though you can probably guess) in the end game of a galactic power struggle. Powerful, insightful and very original. Everything that short speculative fiction should be.
Flies by Robert Silverberg (6.0 stars): One of my early favorites in the collection. An alien race tries to reconstruct a horribly wounded man, but they decide to make one or two minor “alterations” while they're at it. Inspired by the line from King Lear: "As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport." VERY graphic, VERY disturbing and VERY, VERY good.
The Day After the Day the Martians Came by Frederic Pohl (4.0 stars): This is a good, but not great, story which illustrates man’s unfortunate ability to ridicule and hate any minority group (including those not from this planet). I would have liked this story more if the tone had not been so “tongue in cheek” as I think the seriousness of the theme would have been better addressed in a straight forward manner.
Riders of the Purple Wage by Philip Jose Farmer (2.0 stars): This is the story I mentioned above that is the only one that I really didn’t like and I am more then willing to believe that it is because it just went over my head. On one hand, this is probably the most ORIGINAL story in the entire collection as far as the prose, the narrative style and even the subject matter. On the other hand, except for some very funny moments and some clever phrasing, reading the story itself was more a chore than a pleasure. I may give this a re-read in the future but upon first inspection, this one just did not work for me.
The Malley System by Miriam Allen deFord (6.0 stars): Another absolutely fantastic story about a very unique method of dealing with homicidal criminals. A MUST READ!!
A Toy for Juliette by Robert Bloch (6.0 stars): Another candidate for best story. This incredible story revolves around Jack “the Ripper” being pulled into a dystopic future by a sadistic femme fatale and her mysterious grandfather. I know I probably sound like a broken record regarding how good most of these stories are (but that is just how good most of these stories are).
The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World by Harlan Ellison (6.0 stars): Written as a follow-up to "A Toy for Juliette" in which Jack the Ripper finds himself in a sterile futuristic metropolis where people are free to do WHATEVER they want and finds the experience less than pleasurable. An amazing story by THE MASTER himself.
The Night That All Time Broke Out by Brian W. Aldiss (3.0 stars): Quirky and very imaginative story about "time" going haywire. The story was interesting but it felt out of place in the collection of dark, disturbing, boundary stretching stories. One of the few that I can not say is great.
The Man Who Went to the Moon — Twice by Howard Rodman (5.0 stars): This is a great example of tone and prose being used to disguise the underlying power of the narrative. This seemingly simple, pastoral story is really an emotionally powerful lesson on the need people have to connect with other people and feel a part of life. I have thought about this story a lot in the time since I first read it over a year ago.
Faith of Our Fathers by Philip K. Dick (5.0 stars): Set in a dystopian future where Chinese style communism has taken over the world, this classic story is one in which Philip Dick pulls no punches in a scathing full frontal assault on faith, religion and God. Very disturbing, but among the best PKD pieces I have ever read.
MORE TO COME.....
It's fair to say that this collection has reached “legendary” status within the realm of speculative short fiction and certainly is a cornerstone in the mystique of Harlan Ellison as THE agent provocateur of the genre. I am still working my way through the book so this review will only cover the stories listed below (the first half of the book). These stories are evocative enough for me that I am reading them a few at a time to avoiding becoming emotionally catatonic.
There are a few stories that I would say are only “good” and one story that I just did not like, probably because its brilliance was just over my head...I will take full blame for that one. However, the vast majority of the stories are not just great but EXTRAORDINARY and will stay with you long after you finish. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
THE STORIES
Evensong by Lester Del Rey (6.0 stars): What a way to set the tone for a collection. This superb nugget is an allegory dealing with the "capture" by man of a powerful alien (his identity is part of the big reveal…though you can probably guess) in the end game of a galactic power struggle. Powerful, insightful and very original. Everything that short speculative fiction should be.
Flies by Robert Silverberg (6.0 stars): One of my early favorites in the collection. An alien race tries to reconstruct a horribly wounded man, but they decide to make one or two minor “alterations” while they're at it. Inspired by the line from King Lear: "As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport." VERY graphic, VERY disturbing and VERY, VERY good.
The Day After the Day the Martians Came by Frederic Pohl (4.0 stars): This is a good, but not great, story which illustrates man’s unfortunate ability to ridicule and hate any minority group (including those not from this planet). I would have liked this story more if the tone had not been so “tongue in cheek” as I think the seriousness of the theme would have been better addressed in a straight forward manner.
Riders of the Purple Wage by Philip Jose Farmer (2.0 stars): This is the story I mentioned above that is the only one that I really didn’t like and I am more then willing to believe that it is because it just went over my head. On one hand, this is probably the most ORIGINAL story in the entire collection as far as the prose, the narrative style and even the subject matter. On the other hand, except for some very funny moments and some clever phrasing, reading the story itself was more a chore than a pleasure. I may give this a re-read in the future but upon first inspection, this one just did not work for me.
The Malley System by Miriam Allen deFord (6.0 stars): Another absolutely fantastic story about a very unique method of dealing with homicidal criminals. A MUST READ!!
A Toy for Juliette by Robert Bloch (6.0 stars): Another candidate for best story. This incredible story revolves around Jack “the Ripper” being pulled into a dystopic future by a sadistic femme fatale and her mysterious grandfather. I know I probably sound like a broken record regarding how good most of these stories are (but that is just how good most of these stories are).
The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World by Harlan Ellison (6.0 stars): Written as a follow-up to "A Toy for Juliette" in which Jack the Ripper finds himself in a sterile futuristic metropolis where people are free to do WHATEVER they want and finds the experience less than pleasurable. An amazing story by THE MASTER himself.
The Night That All Time Broke Out by Brian W. Aldiss (3.0 stars): Quirky and very imaginative story about "time" going haywire. The story was interesting but it felt out of place in the collection of dark, disturbing, boundary stretching stories. One of the few that I can not say is great.
The Man Who Went to the Moon — Twice by Howard Rodman (5.0 stars): This is a great example of tone and prose being used to disguise the underlying power of the narrative. This seemingly simple, pastoral story is really an emotionally powerful lesson on the need people have to connect with other people and feel a part of life. I have thought about this story a lot in the time since I first read it over a year ago.
Faith of Our Fathers by Philip K. Dick (5.0 stars): Set in a dystopian future where Chinese style communism has taken over the world, this classic story is one in which Philip Dick pulls no punches in a scathing full frontal assault on faith, religion and God. Very disturbing, but among the best PKD pieces I have ever read.
MORE TO COME.....
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Reading Progress
November 1, 2009
– Shelved
November 11, 2009
–
Started Reading
February 9, 2011
–
Finished Reading
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by
Whitaker
(new)
Jul 09, 2011 08:36AM
Interesting that it hasn't aged. That's not something that you can say about a lot of SF from that period. I'd not heard of this collection before, so thanks for bringing it to my attention.
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Whitaker wrote: "Interesting that it hasn't aged. That's not something that you can say about a lot of SF from that period. I'd not heard of this collection before, so thanks for bringing it to my attention."I'd be interested to get your take on these if you read this, but I can't recall getting the sense of "this is dated" while reading these stories. If there were anachronisms, they were minor. I think the stories were so extreme at the time they were written that they feel more contemporary than they otherwise would.
Yeah, I've always liked this anthology as well. My favorite story is Evensong... hauntingly beautiful! Even to this day it is still one of my all-time favorite short stories.
I have my copy here & you've inspired me to give it a go now. I assume you knew there was a followup :http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60...
stephen, what is "Riders of the Purple Wage" about?
this book ,and it's sequel again, dangerous visions are, in my opinion, the best, and most influential sf anthologies of all time. i read them both when i was a teenager, and they were what turned me on to sf. i own signed copies of both of them now, and intend to re-read them soon.it was cutting edge stuff when it came out, and a lot of it still is now, 40 yeras later.
mark wrote: "stephen, what is "Riders of the Purple Wage" about?"Mark -
Without giving away any spoilers, here is the plot intro from Wikipedia which does a good job of describing the background without giving specific plot details (it's probably more info than you want, but it does do a good job). I would only add to the description below that the style of the story itself was inspired by James Joyce's Ulysseus and so has a very stream of consciousness flow to it that makes the narrative a bit hard to follow at times. Like I said in my review, it may be the most brilliant story in the collection, it just didn't connect with me.
"From Wikipedia"
Riders of the Purple Wage is an extrapolation of today's tendency towards state supervision and consumer-oriented economic planning. In the story, all citizens receive a salary (the purple wage) from the government, to which everyone is entitled just by being born. The population is self-segregated into relatively small communities, with a controlled environment, and keeps in contact with the rest of the world through the Fido, a combination television and videophone. The typical dwelling is an egg-shaped house, outside of which is a realistic simulation of an open environment with sky, sun and moon. In reality each community is on one level of a multi-level arcology. For those who dislike this lifestyle, there are wildlife reserves where they can join "tribes" of Native Americans and like-minded Anglos, living closer to nature for a while. Some choose this lifestyle permanently.
Art (and art appreciation) are prominently displayed in this society; artists receive press coverage comparable to that of today's movie stars. Hardly less glamorous are the art critics, each of whom has a pet theory about art. A critic also acts as an agent or manager, promoting the work of one or more artists, especially if their work seems to support his ideas. The story revolves around one of these pampered artists, who sometimes find themselves uninspired, due to the lack of major conflicts in society.
Sexual relations and sexual orientation are portrayed as absolutely free from prejudice. The main character is bisexual, and it is implied that most of his acquaintances have had at least experimental relations with members of both sexes. Several forms of birth control are also commonplace, encouraged by the government and freely discussed.
Two new sets of customs have arisen which profoundly influence the story. By tradition, everyone has a Naming Day when they are grown, at which point they select a name which reflects their outlook on life, their chosen profession, or the way they want others to see them. The second change derives from the so-called "Panamorite" religion, which features total sexual freedom including oral sex between parents and their children. One source of frustration for the main character is his mother's decision to "cut him off" from intimate physical contact, a situation made worse by her becoming morbidly obese, which is not unusual in this society."
Bill wrote: "this book ,and it's sequel again, dangerous visions are, in my opinion, the best, and most influential sf anthologies of all time. i read them both when i was a teenager, and they were what turned ..."Bill, I completely agree. It is amazing that stories written so long ago can still have such a hard edge to them. It just demonstrates the brilliance of the work.
