Dangerous Visions: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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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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=== 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)|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]]...
** 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]]...
*** 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]]...
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** ''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 [http://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 [[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."}}




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** [[Anachronism Stew]]: (Harlan, on the idea for the story) "The image of a creature of Whitechapel fog and filth, the dark figure of Leather Apron, skulking through a sterile and automated city of the future, was an anachronism that fascinated me."
** [[Anachronism Stew]]: (Harlan, on the idea for the story) "The image of a creature of Whitechapel fog and filth, the dark figure of Leather Apron, skulking through a sterile and automated city of the future, was an anachronism that fascinated me."
** [[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.
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** [[Crapsack World]]
** [[Crapsack World]]
** [[Driven to Madness]]
** [[Driven to Madness]]
** [[Everyone Calls Him Barkeep]]: Jack, as it turns out.
** [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]]: Jack, as it turns out.
** [[Gorn]]
** [[Gorn]]
** [[Jack the Ripper]]...[[Recycled in Space|IN THE FUTURE]]!!
** [[Jack the Ripper]]...[[Recycled in Space|IN THE FUTURE]]!!
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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]]'''
** [[Arson Murder and Jaywalking]]: {{spoiler|This ''is'' the [[Twist Ending]] of the story...}}
** [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: {{spoiler|This ''is'' the [[Twist Ending]] of the story...}}


* '''"Gonna Roll the Bones" by [[Fritz Leiber]]''' (got both the [[Hugo Award]] and [[Nebula Award]] for Best Novelette)
* '''"Gonna Roll the Bones" by [[Fritz Leiber]]''' (got both the [[Hugo Award]] and [[Nebula Award]] for Best Novelette)
** [[Awesome McCoolname]]: Joe Slattermill
** [[Awesome McCoolname]]: Joe Slattermill
** [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu]]: Joe tackling [[The Devil|the Big Gambler]]
** [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: Joe tackling [[The Devil|the Big Gambler]]
** [[The Gambling Addict|The Gambler]]: Joe Slattermill.
** [[The Gambling Addict|The Gambler]]: Joe Slattermill.
** [[Game Face]]
** [[Game Face]]
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* '''"What Happened to Auguste Clarot?" by [[Larry Eisenberg]]'''
* '''"What Happened to Auguste Clarot?" by [[Larry Eisenberg]]'''
** [[Historical in Joke]]
** [[Historical In-Joke]]


* '''"Ersatz" by [[Henry Slesar]]'''
* '''"Ersatz" by [[Henry Slesar]]'''
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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 (Literature)|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.<br />
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** [[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.
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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|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.}}

Revision as of 01:08, 9 January 2014
"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 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."

Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Dangerous_Visions?oldid=499317"