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{{trope}}
{{work}}
{{Infobox book
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{{quote|''"[[Badass Boast|What you hold in your hands is more than a book. If we are lucky, it is a revolution.]]"''|From "Introduction: Thirty-Two Soothsayers" (1967), [[Harlan Ellison]]}}
| title = Dangerous Visions
| image =
| caption =
| author =
| central theme =
| elevator pitch = A collection of short works that were, at the time, too controversial to publish in any other medium.
| genre = Science fiction
| publication date = 1967
| source page exists =
| wiki URL =
| wiki name =
}}
⚫
{{quote|''"[[Badass Boast|What you hold in your hands is more than a book. If we are lucky, it is a revolution.]]"''
|From "Introduction: Thirty-Two Soothsayers" (1967), [[Harlan Ellison]]}}


Harlan Ellison doesn't think small. The fact that the above page-quote--the first paragraph of his original introduction to the book--is, if anything, an ''understatement'', says a helluva lot.
Harlan Ellison doesn't think small. The fact that the above page-quote—the first paragraph of his original introduction to the book—is, if anything, an ''understatement'', says a helluva lot.


⚫
For those of you who came into the movie late, I'll bring you up to speed: in the 1960s, [[Harlan Ellison]] had the idea of putting together a science-fiction anthology. But not just any ordinary anthology—his mad scheme was to collect stories from the best writers in the field. And not just ANY stories—he wanted stories that were, well, too ''dangerous'' to get printed anywhere else.

⚫
For those of you who came into the movie late, I'll bring you up to speed: in the 1960s, [[Harlan Ellison]] had the idea of putting together a science-fiction anthology. But not just any ordinary anthology--his mad scheme was to collect stories from the best writers in the field. And not just ANY stories--he wanted stories that were, well, too ''dangerous'' to get printed anywhere else.


To cite just one example, from Damon Knight's afterword to "Shall the Dust Praise Thee?":
To cite just one example, from Damon Knight's afterword to "Shall the Dust Praise Thee?":


{{quote| "This story was written some years ago, and all I remember about it is that my then agent returned it with loathing, and told me I might possibly sell it to the ''[[Dirty Communists|Atheist Journal]]'' [[In Soviet Russia, Trope Mocks You|in Moscow]], but nowhere else."}}
{{quote|"This story was written some years ago, and all I remember about it is that my then agent returned it with loathing, and told me I might possibly sell it to the ''[[Dirty Communists|Atheist Journal]]'' [[In Soviet Russia, Trope Mocks You|in Moscow]], but nowhere else."}}


It also features introductions to each story by Harlan, who talks about the writer, and an afterword by the writer about the story. This gives the reader an immense feeling of the community surrounding science-fiction, and was part of why the anthology was so well-received.
It also features introductions to each story by Harlan, who talks about the writer, and an afterword by the writer about the story. This gives the reader an immense feeling of the community surrounding science-fiction, and was part of why the anthology was so well-received.
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''Dangerous Visions'' (1967) won a truckload of awards, and Harlan got a special citation at the 26th World SF Convention for editing "the most significant and [[The Gadfly|controversial]] SF book published in 1967". And it's gone on to be perhaps ''[[Famed in Story|the]]'' [[Famed in Story|most influential science-fiction anthology of all time]].
''Dangerous Visions'' (1967) won a truckload of awards, and Harlan got a special citation at the 26th World SF Convention for editing "the most significant and [[The Gadfly|controversial]] SF book published in 1967". And it's gone on to be perhaps ''[[Famed in Story|the]]'' [[Famed in Story|most influential science-fiction anthology of all time]].


It had a sequel anthology, ''[[Again Dangerous Visions|Again, Dangerous Visions]]'' (1971), and there were and sometimes apparently ''are'' plans for ''The Last Dangerous Visions'', but... well, [[Berserk Button|Harlan doesn't like to talk about it]] (though [[Christopher Priest]] is [http://web.archive.org/web/20000902203835/http://sf.www.lysator.liu.se/sf_archive/sf-texts/Ansible/Last_Deadloss_Visions,Chris_Priest happy to]).
It had a sequel anthology, ''[[Again, Dangerous Visions]]'' (1971), and there were and sometimes apparently ''are'' plans for ''The Last Dangerous Visions'', but... well, [[Berserk Button|Harlan doesn't like to talk about it]] (though [[Christopher Priest]] is [https://web.archive.org/web/20000902203835/http://sf.www.lysator.liu.se/sf_archive/sf-texts/Ansible/Last_Deadloss_Visions,Chris_Priest happy to]).

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{{tropelist}}
=== Tropes Associated with the Anthology Itself: ===
== Tropes Associated with the Anthology Itself ==
* [[All-Star Cast]]: [[Harlan Ellison]]. [[Isaac Asimov]] (introductions). [[Philip Jose Farmer]]. [[Philip K Dick]]. [[Robert Silverberg]]. [[Robert Bloch]]. [[Fritz Leiber]]. [[Larry Niven]]. [[Poul Anderson (Creator)|Poul Anderson]]. [[Creator/Damon Knight|Damon Knight]]. [[John Brunner]]....
* [[All-Star Cast]]: [[Harlan Ellison]]. [[Isaac Asimov]] (introductions). [[Philip Jose Farmer]]. [[Philip K. Dick]]. [[Robert Silverberg]]. [[Robert Bloch]]. [[Fritz Leiber]]. [[Larry Niven]]. [[Poul Anderson]]. [[Creator/Damon Knight|Damon Knight]]. [[John Brunner]]....
** And ''[[Again Dangerous Visions|Again, Dangerous Visions]]'' has [[Ursula K Le Guin (Creator)|Ursula K Le Guin]], [[Kurt Vonnegut (Creator)|Kurt Vonnegut]], [[Ray Bradbury]] (with a poem!), [[Piers Anthony]], [[Gahan Wilson]], [[Ben Bova]]...
*** AAAAND the lineup for ''[[The Last Dangerous Visions]]'' included [[Orson Scott Card (Creator)|Orson Scott Card]], [[Cordwainer Smith]], [[Dune|Frank Herbert]], [[Michael Moorcock]], [[Gordon R Dickson]]...
** And ''[[Again, Dangerous Visions]]'' has [[Ursula K. Le Guin|Ursula K Le Guin]], [[Kurt Vonnegut]], [[Ray Bradbury]] (with a poem!), [[Piers Anthony]], [[Gahan Wilson]], [[Ben Bova]]...
*** AAAAND the lineup for ''[[The Last Dangerous Visions]]'' included [[Orson Scott Card]], [[Cordwainer Smith]], [[Dune|Frank Herbert]], [[Michael Moorcock]], [[Gordon R. Dickson]]...
* [[Doorstopper]]: ''[[Dangerous Visions]]'' has a nice bulk to it. ''[[Again Dangerous Visions|Again, Dangerous Visions]]'' was released in two volumes (although it can also be found as one). And ''The Last Dangerous Visions'' would have had to be released in at least '''THREE''' volumes.
* [[Doorstopper]]: ''Dangerous Visions'' has a nice bulk to it. ''[[Again, Dangerous Visions]]'' was released in two volumes (although it can also be found as one). And ''The Last Dangerous Visions'' would have had to be released in at least '''THREE''' volumes.
* [[Most Writers Are Male]] And White: Despite being a progressive, forward-looking, radical collection of stories, the gender and racial diversity among the writers in this anthology is only incrementally better than in SF anthologies of the golden age.
* [[Most Writers Are Male]] And White: Despite being a progressive, forward-looking, radical collection of stories, the gender and racial diversity among the writers in this anthology is only incrementally better than in SF anthologies of the golden age.
* [[Public Domain Character|Public Domain Story]]: [[Berserk Button|Don't tell Harlan]], but you can find most of these stories somewhere online, if you know where to look....
* [[Public Domain Character|Public Domain Story]]: [[Berserk Button|Don't tell Harlan]], but you can find most of these stories somewhere online, if you know where to look....
** Although, aside of the questionable legality of doing so, most of these stories don't have Harlan's intros or the writers' afterwords, which are such an integral part of the feeling of the book. Just buy it on Amazon or [[Abe Books]].
** Although, aside of the questionable legality of doing so, most of these stories don't have Harlan's intros or the writers' afterwords, which are such an integral part of the feeling of the book. Just buy it on Amazon or [[Abe Books]].
* [[What Could Have Been]]
* [[What Could Have Been]]
** ''The Last Dangerous Visions''. See: [[Vaporware]] and [http://web.archive.org/web/20000902203835/http://sf.www.lysator.liu.se/sf_archive/sf-texts/Ansible/Last_Deadloss_Visions,Chris_Priest this essay.]
** ''The Last Dangerous Visions''. See: [[Vaporware]] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20000902203835/http://sf.www.lysator.liu.se/sf_archive/sf-texts/Ansible/Last_Deadloss_Visions,Chris_Priest this essay.]
** Ellison, from "Introduction: Year 2002":
** Ellison, from "Introduction: Year 2002":
{{quote| "[[Isaac Asimov|Isaac]]...was too [[Out-of-Character Moment|uncharacteristically]] and idiotically humble to write a ''story'' for [[Dangerous Visions|the book]], on the wholly bogus grounds that he was a geezer, couldn't write "the new thing," and didn't want to embarrass himself."}}
{{quote|"[[Isaac Asimov|Isaac]]...was too [[Out-of-Character Moment|uncharacteristically]] and idiotically humble to write a ''story'' for the book, on the wholly bogus grounds that he was a geezer, couldn't write "the new thing," and didn't want to embarrass himself."}}


⚫
== Tropes found in the Stories in ''Dangerous Visions'' ==

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⚫
=== Tropes found in the Stories in ''Dangerous Visions'': ===
The tropes found in each story (as well as in the introductions and afterwords) are listed under the story in question.
The tropes found in each story (as well as in the introductions and afterwords) are listed under the story in question.


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** [[Finger Wag]]: Done to {{spoiler|GOD}}.
** [[Finger Wag]]: Done to {{spoiler|GOD}}.
** [[A God I Am]]: ''Literally''.
** [[A God I Am]]: ''Literally''.
{{quote| ''"But--" Words were useless, but the bitterness inside him forced the words to come from him. "But why? I am God!"''<br />
{{quote|''"But--" Words were useless, but the bitterness inside him forced the words to come from him. "But why? I am God!"''
''For a moment, something akin to sadness and pity was in the eyes of the Usurper. Then it passed and the answer came. "I know. But I am Man. Come!"'' }}
''For a moment, something akin to sadness and pity was in the eyes of the Usurper. Then it passed and the answer came. "I know. But I am Man. Come!"'' }}
** [[Humans Are Bastards]]
** [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]]
** [[Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions]]
** [[Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions]]


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** [[For the Evulz]]: More than you can imagine.
** [[For the Evulz]]: More than you can imagine.
** [[A God I Am]]: Cassiday.
** [[A God I Am]]: Cassiday.
** [[Hoist By His Own Petard]]
** [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]
** [[Kick the Son of A Bitch]]: The ending.
** [[Kick the Son of a Bitch]]: The ending.
** [[Person of Mass Destruction]]: Cassiday.
** [[Person of Mass Destruction]]: Cassiday.
** [[Shout Out]]: The title is one to a line from ''[[King Lear]]'':
** [[Shout-Out]]: The title is one to a line from ''[[King Lear]]'':
{{quote| ''[[Jerkass Gods|As flies to wanton boys]], are we to the gods--''<br />
{{quote|''[[Jerkass Gods|As flies to wanton boys]], are we to the gods--''
''[[For the Evulz|they kill us for their sport]].'' }}
''[[For the Evulz|they kill us for their sport]].'' }}


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** [[Humans Are Morons]]
** [[Humans Are Morons]]


* '''"Riders of the Purple Wage" by [[Philip Jose Farmer]]''' ([[Hugo Award]] for best novella)
* '''"Riders of the Purple Wage" by [[Philip José Farmer]]''' ([[Hugo Award]] for best novella)
** [[Awesome McCoolname]]: Having one of these is a requirement for being in the story.
** [[Awesome McCoolname]]: Having one of these is a requirement for being in the story.
*** Chibiabos Elgreco Winnegan. Falco Accipter. Omar [[Bacchae (Theatre)|Bacchylides]] Runic. Benedictine Serinus Melba. Rousseau [[Noble Savage|Red Hawk]]. [[Pinkerton Detective|Pinkerton]] [[Edgar Allan Poe|Legrand]]. [[Hugo Gernsback|Huga]] [[HG Wells|Wells]]-[[Edgar Rice Burroughs|Erb]] [[Robert A. Heinlein|Hein]][[Theodore Sturgeon|stur]][[Ray Bradbury|bury]] ([[Lampshade Hanging|even the other characters remark on]] [[Overly Long Name|how ridiculously long his name is]]).
*** Chibiabos Elgreco Winnegan. Falco Accipter. Omar [[Bacchae|Bacchylides]] Runic. Benedictine Serinus Melba. Rousseau [[Noble Savage|Red Hawk]]. [[Pinkerton Detective|Pinkerton]] [[Edgar Allan Poe|Legrand]]. [[Hugo Gernsback|Huga]] [[H. G. Wells|Wells]]-[[Edgar Rice Burroughs|Erb]] [[Robert A. Heinlein|Hein]][[Theodore Sturgeon|stur]][[Ray Bradbury|bury]] ([[Lampshade Hanging|even the other characters remark on]] [[Overly Long Name|how ridiculously long his name is]]).
** [[Freudian Excuse]]: Introduced, subverted, parodied to hell and back, all at the same time.
** [[Freudian Excuse]]: Introduced, subverted, parodied to hell and back, all at the same time.
** [[Freudian Slip]]: See 'Freudian excuse'.
** [[Freudian Slip]]: See 'Freudian excuse'.
** [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] : This story is actually almost a stream-of-consciousness of amazing puns and literary references
** [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] : This story is actually almost a stream-of-consciousness of amazing puns and literary references
** [[Literary Allusion Title]]: SO many of the section-titles are these. To name just a few: "[[The Odyssey (Literature)|Sing, O Mews]], [[Uncle Sam Wants You|of Uncle Sam"]], "[[The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Literature)|The Ancient Marinator]]", "Sexual Implications of The [[Charge Of The Light Brigade]]", "[[Alice in Wonderland (Literature)|The Mad P Party]]"...
** [[Literary Allusion Title]]: SO many of the section-titles are these. To name just a few: "[[Odyssey|Sing, O Mews]], [[Uncle Sam Wants You|of Uncle Sam"]], "[[The Rime of the Ancient Mariner|The Ancient Marinator]]", "Sexual Implications of The [[Charge Of The Light Brigade]]", "[[Alice in Wonderland|The Mad P Party]]"...
** [[Pungeon Master]]: [[Author Appeal|Farmer himself]], but also some of the characters in the story.
** [[Pungeon Master]]: [[Author Appeal|Farmer himself]], but also some of the characters in the story.
** [[Shout Out]]: The number of literary allusions and puns in this story is simply staggering.
** [[Shout-Out]]: The number of literary allusions and puns in this story is simply staggering.
** [[Word Association Test]]: A lot of it, but "Sexual Implications of the [[Charge Of The Light Brigade]]" is pretty much straight-up [[All Psychology Is Freudian|pseudo-Freudian]] verbal diarrhea.
** [[Word Association Test]]: A lot of it, but "Sexual Implications of the [[Charge Of The Light Brigade]]" is pretty much straight-up [[All Psychology Is Freudian|pseudo-Freudian]] verbal diarrhea.


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** [[Gallows Humor]]
** [[Gallows Humor]]
** [[Historical In-Joke]]/[[Genius Bonus]]: Benjamin Bathurst, "that American aviatrix", and the crew of the ''Marie Celeste''. To name just a few...
** [[Historical In-Joke]]/[[Genius Bonus]]: Benjamin Bathurst, "that American aviatrix", and the crew of the ''Marie Celeste''. To name just a few...
** [[Hoist By His Own Petard]]: {{spoiler|Juliette}}
** [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: {{spoiler|Juliette}}
** {{spoiler|[[Jack the Ripper]]}}: the Toy.
** {{spoiler|[[Jack the Ripper]]}}: the Toy.
** [[Knife Nut]]: Juliette.
** [[Knife Nut]]: Juliette.
** [[Marquis De Sade|Marquis de Sade]]: [[Genius Bonus|Juliette is named after the titular antiheroine of ''Justine'']]
** [[Marquis de Sade]]: [[Genius Bonus|Juliette is named after the titular antiheroine of ''Justine'']]
** [[Person of Mass Destruction]]: Juliette.
** [[Person of Mass Destruction]]: Juliette.
** [[Twist Ending]]
** [[Twist Ending]]


* '''"The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World" by [[Harlan Ellison]]'''
* '''"The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World" by [[Harlan Ellison]]'''
{{quote| Harlan's story is a sequel to "A Toy for Juliette". So [[Hilarity Ensues|Bloch writes the profile of Harlan preceding the story...]]}}
{{quote|Harlan's story is a sequel to "A Toy for Juliette". So [[Hilarity Ensues|Bloch writes the profile of Harlan preceding the story...]]}}


** [[And I Must Scream]]: Not the [[Trope Namer]], but it ''is'' Harlan, after all...
** [[And I Must Scream]]: Not the [[Trope Namer]], but it ''is'' Harlan, after all...
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** [[Future Slang]]
** [[Future Slang]]
** [[Person of Mass Destruction]]: Jack.
** [[Person of Mass Destruction]]: Jack.
** [[Sympathy for The Devil|Sympathy For The Ripper]]
** [[Sympathy for the Devil|Sympathy For The Ripper]]


* '''"The Night That All Time Broke Out" by [[Brian W Aldiss]]'''
* '''"The Night That All Time Broke Out" by [[Brian W Aldiss]]'''
** [[The End of the World As We Know It]]
** [[The End of the World as We Know It]]


* '''"The Man Who Went to the Moon — Twice" by [[Howard Rodman]]'''
* '''"The Man Who Went to the Moon — Twice" by [[Howard Rodman]]'''
** [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]]
** [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]]


* '''"Faith of Our Fathers" by [[Philip K Dick]]'''
* '''"Faith of Our Fathers" by [[Philip K. Dick]]'''
** [[Dirty Communists]]: How Dick speculated the Cold War might turn out.
** [[Dirty Communists]]: How Dick speculated the Cold War might turn out.
** [[A Form You Are Comfortable With]]: [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]]
** [[A Form You Are Comfortable With]]: [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]]
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** [[Religious Horror]]
** [[Religious Horror]]
** [[Scary Amoral Religion]]
** [[Scary Amoral Religion]]
** [[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made On Drugs?]]: In-story: '''GOD'''. Out-of-story, subverted--Ellison even writes that he wanted "a story to be written about, and under the influence of (if possible), LSD. What follows...is the result of such a hallucinogenic journey."
** [[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?]]: In-story: '''GOD'''. Out-of-story, subverted—Ellison even writes that he wanted "a story to be written about, and under the influence of (if possible), LSD. What follows...is the result of such a hallucinogenic journey."


* '''"The Jigsaw Man" by [[Larry Niven]]'''
* '''"The Jigsaw Man" by [[Larry Niven]]'''
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* '''"Lord Randy, My Son" by Joe L. Hensley'''
* '''"Lord Randy, My Son" by Joe L. Hensley'''
{{quote| Harlan's introduction to Joe L. Hensley is one giant rollicking ride of [[Hilarity Ensues|undistilled hilarity]].}}
{{quote|Harlan's introduction to Joe L. Hensley is one giant rollicking ride of [[Hilarity Ensues|undistilled hilarity]].}}
** [[Creepy Child]]
** [[Creepy Child]]
** [[Enfant Terrible]]
** [[Enfant Terrible]]


* '''"Eutopia" by [[Poul Anderson (Creator)|Poul Anderson]]'''
* '''"Eutopia" by [[Poul Anderson]]'''
** Contains both [[Utopia]] and [[Dystopia]]
** Contains both [[Utopia]] and [[Dystopia]]
** [[Giving Radio to The Romans]]
** [[Giving Radio to the Romans]]
** [[Heroic Fantasy]]: Deconstructed.
** [[Heroic Fantasy]]: Deconstructed.
** [[Heros Muse]]: Subverted: The protagonist is on the run and only keeps going due to his dreams of his lover Nik, {{spoiler|who turns out to be a boy}}.
** [[Hero's Muse]]: Subverted: The protagonist is on the run and only keeps going due to his dreams of his lover Nik, {{spoiler|who turns out to be a boy}}.


* ''' ''A Pair of Bunch:'' "Incident in Moderan" and "The Escaping" by David R. Bunch'''
* ''' ''A Pair of Bunch:'' "Incident in Moderan" and "The Escaping" by David R. Bunch'''
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* '''"Shall the Dust Praise Thee?" by [[Creator/Damon Knight|Damon Knight]]'''
* '''"Shall the Dust Praise Thee?" by [[Creator/Damon Knight|Damon Knight]]'''
** [[The End of the World As We Know It]]
** [[The End of the World as We Know It]]


* '''"If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?" by [[Theodore Sturgeon]]'''
* '''"If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?" by [[Theodore Sturgeon]]'''
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* '''"Encounter with a Hick" by Jonathan Brand'''
* '''"Encounter with a Hick" by Jonathan Brand'''
** [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]:[[In-Universe]]; of ''[[The Bible (Literature)|God]]''
** [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]:[[In-Universe]]; of ''[[The Bible|God]]''
** [[Historical In-Joke|Biblical In-Joke]]
** [[Historical In-Joke|Biblical In-Joke]]
** [[Noodle Incident]]: From Harlan's introduction:
** [[Noodle Incident]]: From Harlan's introduction:
{{quote| "[Jonathan Brand] was lying there propped on his elbows, a blade of grass in his mouth, watching half a dozen of the older, more sophistocated giants of the science fiction field dousing each other with beer from quart bottles on the lawn of Damon Knight's home.<br />
{{quote|"[Jonathan Brand] was lying there propped on his elbows, a blade of grass in his mouth, watching half a dozen of the older, more sophistocated giants of the science fiction field dousing each other with beer from quart bottles on the lawn of Damon Knight's home.
"Kindness forbids my explaining why Jim Blish, Ted Thomas, Damon and Gordy Dickson were cavorting in such an unseemly manner..." }}
"Kindness forbids my explaining why Jim Blish, Ted Thomas, Damon and Gordy Dickson were cavorting in such an unseemly manner..." }}


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** [[All Myths Are True]]
** [[All Myths Are True]]


* '''"The Recognition" by J.G. Ballard'''
* '''"The Recognition" by [[J. G. Ballard]]'''
** [[Circus of Fear]]
** [[Circus of Fear]]


* '''"Judas" by [[John Brunner]]'''
* '''"Judas" by [[John Brunner]]'''
** [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|Android Jesus]]
** [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|Android Jesus]]
** [[Deus Est Machina]]: In a [[Sympathy for The Devil]] moment, the man branded with the title-name gives the following monologue to A-46:
** [[Deus Est Machina]]: In a [[Sympathy for the Devil]] moment, the man branded with the title-name gives the following monologue to A-46:
{{quote| "We've been slaves to our tools since the first caveman made the first knife to help him get his supper. After that there was no going back, and we built till our machines were ten million times more powerful than ourselves. We gave ourselves cars when we might have learned to run; we made airplanes when we might have grown wings; and then the inevitable. We made a machine our God."}}
{{quote|"We've been slaves to our tools since the first caveman made the first knife to help him get his supper. After that there was no going back, and we built till our machines were ten million times more powerful than ourselves. We gave ourselves cars when we might have learned to run; we made airplanes when we might have grown wings; and then the inevitable. We made a machine our God."}}
** [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]
** [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]
** [[Finding Judas]]: [[Don't Explain the Joke|Not even gonna touch this one...]]
** [[Finding Judas]]: [[Don't Explain the Joke|Not even gonna touch this one...]]
** [[First Church of Mecha]]: The Word Made Steel.
** [[First Church of Mecha]]: The Word Made Steel.
** [[Messianic Archtype]]
** [[Messianic Archtype]]
** [[No Such Thing As Space Jesus|No Such Thing As Robot Jesus]]: Don't tell that to A-46.
** [[No Such Thing as Space Jesus|No Such Thing As Robot Jesus]]: Don't tell that to A-46.
** [[Robot Religion]]
** [[Robot Religion]]
** [[Rule of Symbolism]]: {{spoiler|If you're an android...}}
** [[Rule of Symbolism]]: {{spoiler|If you're an android...}}
** [[Stop Worshipping Me|Stop Worshiping Him!]]
** [[Stop Worshipping Me!|Stop Worshiping Him!]]


* '''"Test to Destruction" by [[Keith Laumer]]'''
* '''"Test to Destruction" by [[Keith Laumer]]'''
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* '''"Carcinoma Angels" by [[Norman Spinrad]]'''
* '''"Carcinoma Angels" by [[Norman Spinrad]]'''
** [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick]]: "Novocain; morphine; curare; ''vlut'', a rare Central Asian poison which induced temporary blindness; [[Noodle Implements|olfactorcain, a top-secret smell-deadener used by skunk farmers]]; tympanoline, a drug which temporarily deadened the auditory nerves (used primarily by filibustering senators); a large dose of Benzedrinel lysergic acid; psilocybin; mescaline; peyote extract; [[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made On Drugs?|seven other highly experimental and most illegal hallucinogens;]] [[Eye of Newt|eye of newt]] and [[Unfortunate Ingredients|toe of dog]]."
** [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick]]: "Novocain; morphine; curare; ''vlut'', a rare Central Asian poison which induced temporary blindness; [[Noodle Implements|olfactorcain, a top-secret smell-deadener used by skunk farmers]]; tympanoline, a drug which temporarily deadened the auditory nerves (used primarily by filibustering senators); a large dose of Benzedrinel lysergic acid; psilocybin; mescaline; peyote extract; [[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?|seven other highly experimental and most illegal hallucinogens;]] [[Eye of Newt]] and [[Unfortunate Ingredients|toe of dog]]."
** [[Crazy Prepared]]: Harrison Wintergreen.
** [[Crazy Prepared]]: Harrison Wintergreen.
** [[Moment of Awesome]]: Harrison Wintergreen {{spoiler|beating cancer.}}
** [[Moment of Awesome]]: Harrison Wintergreen {{spoiler|beating cancer.}}
** [[Shout Out]]: In ''[[Transmetropolitan]]'', the cigarettes Spider smokes are "Carcinoma Angels".
** [[Shout-Out]]: In ''[[Transmetropolitan]]'', the cigarettes Spider smokes are "Carcinoma Angels".
** [[To Hell and Back]]
** [[To Hell and Back]]


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[[Category:Science Fiction Literature]]
[[Category:Science Fiction Literature]]
[[Category:Dangerous Visions]]
[[Category:Dangerous Visions]]
[[Category:Trope]]
[[Category:Literature of the 1960s]]
[[Category:Literature]]

Latest revision as of 18:40, 8 May 2021

Dangerous Visions
Central Theme:
Synopsis: A collection of short works that were, at the time, too controversial to publish in any other medium.
Genre(s): Science fiction
First published: 1967
v · d · e

"What you hold in your hands is more than a book. If we are lucky, it is a revolution."

—From "Introduction: Thirty-Two Soothsayers" (1967), Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison doesn't think small. The fact that the above page-quote—the first paragraph of his original introduction to the book—is, if anything, an understatement, says a helluva lot.

For those of you who came into the movie late, I'll bring you up to speed: in the 1960s, Harlan Ellison had the idea of putting together a science-fiction anthology. But not just any ordinary anthology—his mad scheme was to collect stories from the best writers in the field. And not just ANY stories—he wanted stories that were, well, too dangerous to get printed anywhere else.

To cite just one example, from Damon Knight's afterword to "Shall the Dust Praise Thee?":

"This story was written some years ago, and all I remember about it is that my then agent returned it with loathing, and told me I might possibly sell it to the Atheist Journal in Moscow, but nowhere else."

It also features introductions to each story by Harlan, who talks about the writer, and an afterword by the writer about the story. This gives the reader an immense feeling of the community surrounding science-fiction, and was part of why the anthology was so well-received.

Dangerous Visions (1967) won a truckload of awards, and Harlan got a special citation at the 26th World SF Convention for editing "the most significant and controversial SF book published in 1967". And it's gone on to be perhaps the most influential science-fiction anthology of all time.

It had a sequel anthology, Again, Dangerous Visions (1971), and there were and sometimes apparently are plans for The Last Dangerous Visions, but... well, Harlan doesn't like to talk about it (though Christopher Priest is happy to).

Tropes used in Dangerous Visions include:

Tropes Associated with the Anthology Itself

"Isaac...was too uncharacteristically and idiotically humble to write a story for the book, on the wholly bogus grounds that he was a geezer, couldn't write "the new thing," and didn't want to embarrass himself."

Tropes found in the Stories in Dangerous Visions

The tropes found in each story (as well as in the introductions and afterwords) are listed under the story in question.

"But--" Words were useless, but the bitterness inside him forced the words to come from him. "But why? I am God!"
For a moment, something akin to sadness and pity was in the eyes of the Usurper. Then it passed and the answer came. "I know. But I am Man. Come!"

As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods--
they kill us for their sport.

Harlan's story is a sequel to "A Toy for Juliette". So Bloch writes the profile of Harlan preceding the story...

  • "Lord Randy, My Son" by Joe L. Hensley

Harlan's introduction to Joe L. Hensley is one giant rollicking ride of undistilled hilarity.

  • A Pair of Bunch: "Incident in Moderan" and "The Escaping" by David R. Bunch
  • "The Doll-House" by James Cross

"[Jonathan Brand] was lying there propped on his elbows, a blade of grass in his mouth, watching half a dozen of the older, more sophistocated giants of the science fiction field dousing each other with beer from quart bottles on the lawn of Damon Knight's home.
"Kindness forbids my explaining why Jim Blish, Ted Thomas, Damon and Gordy Dickson were cavorting in such an unseemly manner..."

"We've been slaves to our tools since the first caveman made the first knife to help him get his supper. After that there was no going back, and we built till our machines were ten million times more powerful than ourselves. We gave ourselves cars when we might have learned to run; we made airplanes when we might have grown wings; and then the inevitable. We made a machine our God."

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