Deathbird Stories

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

Contents:

· Introduction: Oblations at Alien Altars
· The Whimper of Whipped Dogs · ss Bad Moon Rising, ed. Thomas M. Disch, Harper&Row, 1973
· Along the Scenic Route [“Dogfight on 101”] · ss Adam Aug’69; Amazing Sep’69
· On the Downhill Side · ss Universe 2, ed. Terry Carr, Ace, 1972
· O Ye of Little Faith · ss Knight Sep’68
· Neon · ss The Haunt of Horror Aug’73
· Basilisk · ss F&SF Aug’72
· Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes · nv Knight May’67
· Corpse · ss F&SF Jan’72
· Shattered Like a Glass Goblin · ss Orbit 4, ed. Damon Knight, G.P. Putnam’s, 1968
· Delusion for a Dragon Slayer · ss Knight Sep’66
· The Face of Helene Bournouw · ss Collage Oct’60
· Bleeding Stones · ss Vertex Apr’73
· At the Mouse Circus · ss New Dimensions I, ed. Robert Silverberg, Doubleday, 1971
· The Place with No Name · ss F&SF Jul’69
· Paingod · ss Fantastic Jun’64
· Ernest and the Machine God · nv Knight Jan’68
· Rock God · ss Coven 13 Nov’69
· Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38°54’N, Longitude 77°00’13"W · nv F&SF Oct’74
· The Deathbird · nv F&SF Mar’73