Deathbird Stories

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Summary: Deathbird Stories
Review: Deathbird Stories is a true classic. Age has not changed it's impact as it's stories are truly timeless. "Along the Scenic Route" is one of my personal favorites in a long line of classic stories from Mr. Ellison. You can almost imagine it taking place. This is an awesome collection especially for those unfamiliar with Mr. Ellison's style and anger.

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Summary: An apocryphal treatise...and a damn good book
Review: Despite the out-of-print listing, this book isn't impossible to find. And when you do, whatever effort you exerted will have been well worth it.

Harlan Ellison used this book to examine, debunk, and even glorify gods and how they relate to us. From the title story "The Deathbird" to the gutter-view "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes", he treats us to as many disturbing viewpoints as one person can stomach...he then adds one or two more, just to show you who's in charge.

It's an excellent book. You'll never look at anything quite the same way again.

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Summary: Harlan At His Best
Review: For those fans of Ellison, you will not be disappointed, for those of you not familiar with Ellison, this one will have you hitting the used book stores in a vain hope of finding more fodder for your mind. (Don't bother looking, I already hit every book store myself.) Reading this book is like seeing Mohammed Ali box or Stevie Ray Vaughn play the guitar, you get the feeling of seeing the best at his best. Every story in this collection is a gem, some more than others. "The Whimpering of Whipped Dogs" is a classic in and of itself. "The Deathbird" is the most amazing story ever created by a fantasy writer and I say this with no hyperbole. Go out and get this book . . . NOW! It will change the way you view the world and yourself. Other books make this promise, Deathbird Stories is the only book I've ever read that actually delivers.

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Summary: Modern Gods, What's This?! It's Out of Print?!
Review: I read this book because, in the acknowledgements his wonderful novel "American Gods," neil gaiman said this book burned itself into the back of brain when he was still young enough for something like that to happen.

Well, how can you resist an endorsement like that? So, I raced up to the nearest library that had this book (an hour or so away, I'll have you know) and checked it out. And befoul these modern gods if it didn't blow my mind. At least, parts of it did.

Most of the stories - "the Whimper of Whipped Dogs," "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin," "Basilisk," and "Ernest and the Machine God," just to name a few - are really brilliant. They will twist your mind around like only certain versions of certain myths can. They will smack your conciousness around until you think there really are gods in the engine of your car and that traitors really are the high priests of Aries. They will, as Niel Gaiman says, burn themselves into the back of your brain.

Others, however, are not so brilliant. A few simply repeated ideas put forth in other, better stories. Some were simply not as interesting as the others, and some were both uninteresting and sordid. But please note that "some" could and should be read as "one, two at the outside." The majority are amazing.

On the whole, however, this is a wonderful book. I am shocked and dismayed to find that it it unavailable. I think anybody who is into mythology should read this book, just for some of the ideas expressed in it. So should anyone who read "American Gods" and thought it was cool, too. They should have a good time pointing to certain stories and saying, "Neil Gaiman lifted that, that and that." I recommend this book highly. Even with the few faulty tales herein, it is definately worth the time.

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Summary: The New Gods According to Ellison
Review: In "Deathbird Stories", Harlan Ellison summons a variety of deities and demons that spring from the ghetto to the battlefield to a dying Earth. Bookended by 2 great pieces, Ellison tackles the creation of gods for the late 20th century, effectively blending fanatasy, horror and faith. Beginning with the gripping "Whimper of Whipped Dogs" to his magnum opus, "The Deathbird" (in which he combines "Old Yeller" with a retelling of the book of Genesis) with a mixture of the bizaare (Shattered Like a Glass Goblin) to the very good (Paingod) in between.

The Bluejay Books hardcover is THE essential version of these stories to have, with meticulously edited text and the great cover painting of the Deathbird.
I highly recommend this sadly out-of-print collection to anyone with a equal feel for sci-fi/fantasy and religion.

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Summary: A great collection from SF's master of short fiction.
Review: This collection groups nineteen of Ellison's stories dealing with subjects such as gods spirits and suchlike. In former times, people created numerous gods and spirits for just about every aspect of their lives. Gods for thunder the moon and the sea. Spirits and Ghosts living in caves, rivers etc. What if we still felt the need to invent and invoke such gods and spirits today? What would they be like? A god for machines? A spirit in a slot machine? A demon ruling over violent crime? These are the subjects that Ellison deals with in this collection of stories.

The book straddles the boundaries between science fiction, fantasy and horror and as such it will not satisfy SF purists but it does contain a number of very powerful stories. The opening tale, "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" is a shocking and worrying take on the cruelty of city violence. It is followed by "Along the Scenic Route" in which modern day knights in armour fight their jousts to the death on the public highway. Those two, along with "Ernest and the MachineGod", "Basilisk" and "Deathbird" are my favourites but they are not the only stories to leap off the page and grab hold of your imagination. There are some weaker tales here too but they are outnumbered by the good ones.

I'd not recommend this as an introduction to Ellison. The anthology "The Essential Ellison" fills that role perfectly but, if you read and enjoyed that, you will like this book. If you like this book, I'd recommend Ellen Datlow's themed anthology "Alien Sex" though not her rather weak follow up.

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Summary: Vicious truth, horrendous visions...
Review: This collection of stories is simply astounding. Ellison takes a hammer to all our preconceived notions on spirituality and religion and destroys them. In the rubble lay works of incalculable value and beauty. I have read Deathbird Stories at least 20 times and have yet to tire of it.

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Summary: JUST ANOTHER COLLECTION THAT SHOWS WHY ELLISON IS THE BEST
Review: This is a very black, dark book. This is not a book for kids, nor is it a book for people who haven't read anything by Ellison previously. Harlan Ellison is one of those rare writers that can finish a story so powerfully, that you'll feel like you've been literally stabbed in the heart. Like many of Ellison's short story collections, he deals with a specific theme. In this book, he writes short stories about gods, in all their myriad shapes and forms. Gods of machines, pain, rocks, speed, revenge, among others. Of the 19 stories in this collection, let me tell you what I consider to be the best. THE WHIMPER OF WHIPPED DOGS: Ellison's award-winning retelling of the Kitty Genovese incident. Never heard of Kitty Genovese? Don't worry, after reading this chilling tale, you'll make sure you remember. BASILISK: A traitor to his country comes home and finds that he is not welcome. A little confusing at first, but you'll soon get the hang of it. PRETTY MAGGIE MONEYEYES: Don't let the strange title deceive you. This is Ellison in TOP form. Ever wondered what gods reside at the casinos and what they have in mind. It's not PRETTY, I can assure you. ERNEST AND THE MACHINE GOD: An easy-to-visualize story about a girl in a car-accident and her meetings at a gas station. ADRIFT OFF THE ISLETS OF LANGERHANS . . . : Another award-winning story about a man trying to find the geographical location of his soul. THE DEATHBIRD: Still another award-winner. This one is Ellison's retelling of Genesis. This story has a very innovative structure to it. You'll see what I mean, when you buy this book.