The Last Dangerous Visions

Dangerous Visions #3

by Harlan Ellison (Editor), J. Michael Straczynski, Stephen Robinett

An anthology more than half a century in the making, The Last Dangerous Visions is the third and final installment of the legendary science fiction anthology series.

In 1973, celebrated writer and editor Harlan Ellison announced the third and final volume of his unprecedented anthology series, which began with Dangerous Visions and continued with Again Dangerous Visions. But for reasons undisclosed, The Last Dangerous Visions was never completed.

Now, six years after Ellison's passing, science fiction's most famous unpublished book is here. And with it, the heartbreaking true story of the troubled genius behind it.

Provocative and controversial, socially conscious and politically charged, wildly imaginative yet deeply grounded, the thirty-two never-before published stories, essays, and poems in The Last Dangerous Visions stand as a testament to Ellison's lifelong pursuit of art, representing voices both well-known and entirely new, including David Brin, Max Brooks, Cory Doctorow, Dan Simmons, AE van Vogt, Edward Bryant, and Robert Sheckley, among others.

With an introduction and exegesis by J. Michael Straczynski, and a story introduction by Ellison himself, The Last Dangerous Visions is an extraordinary addition to an incredible literary legacy.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Audiobook

433 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2024

About the author

Harlan Jay Ellison (1934-2018) was a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, teleplays, essays, and criticism.

His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of both The Outer Limits and Star Trek as well as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; edited the multiple-award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions; and served as creative consultant/writer to the science fiction TV series The New Twilight Zone and Babylon 5.

Several of his short fiction pieces have been made into movies, such as the classic "The Boy and His Dog".

Reviews

[Books_the_Magical_Fruit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harlan Ellison was a complicated man. If you’d like to know just how complicated, J. Michael “Joe” Straczynski has written a beautiful tribute to his closest friend. I recommend getting this book for that alone, really. However, the anthology also contains some good stories, and I loved immersing myself in the different science fiction worlds and realities. There are some duds, of course, but there’s more good than bad here.

Pick this up in October!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this is challenging. I'm one of those old rabid Ellison fans that anxiously waited for literally over half a century for this book. Nothing lives up to pay off that much anticipation, so objectivity is out the window. I read Again, Dangerous Visions when it was new from the SF Book Club and then Dangerous Visions during my first year of high school and impatiently began my wait for The Last Dangerous Visions. I wish it had appeared when originally announced; the stories would have been more relevant. They're not really dangerous now, the society we find ourselves in is at least as dangerous as any of the visions the authors of those stories from the 1960s offered. I miss Ellison's introductions and commentary. (The current title does have one by Ellison, for an Edward Bryant story.) However, the purpose isn't to lament what the book is not, but to comment on what the book actually is, so... I love Tim Kirk's illustrations and wonder what happened to the ones he presumably did for the stories that are not included. I loved Straczynski's introductory essays and afterword to the book, though I didn't care for his afterwords to the individual stories; they were confusing, timewise, talking about the writers at the time the stories were initially bought and then giving details of their death, but not mentioning what year the stories were actually written or sold. The tense was confusing. He says that Ellison was unable to complete the book because of health issues, but Ellison produced a whole lot of other books during that time, so I suspect we'll never know the full reason that it was never completed. The list of stories that Ellison purchased for the anthology is four or five times longer than the ones that it actually includes, but, again, the ones that appear are what we have to look at... the future isn't what it used to be. I love the fact that JMS edited the book but just had Harlan's name on it, a fitting and final tribute to his friend. He addresses the lack of diversity and aging to explain why he added new stories from current authors instead of sticking strictly with Ellison purchases, but the majority of the stories he added are from old white guys. The stories are mostly good, enjoyable, entertaining... but none of them are really great. When reading the LeGuin or Lupoff or Farmer or Delany or Spinrad stories from the earlier books, you just knew that they were going to be around and talked about for years, but nothing here strikes me as an iconic classic. I enjoyed the stories by Dan Simmons and Edward Bryant and Stephen Robinett the most, and it was sweet to see stories by Ward Moore and A.E. van Vogt that were new to me. Rating it for what I wanted would be low, but I'll try to love it for what (and when) it is, no matter how much I wish I could have read it fifty years ago. The big accomplishment is that the book, at long last, was published, it has Ellison's name on it, and it closes the case of one of the biggest mysteries in the field.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published October 1, 2024.

For Ellison fans I’m sure it’s thrilling to see the third and final volume of this anthology series, announced in 1973 but never completed. Ellison died in 2018.

The book contains thirty-two new stories, some purchased by Ellison for inclusion in his version (he kept buying stories over the years, always with a thought he might see the thing through, while at the same time knowing he couldn’t as explained in the very interesting (but very, very sad) “Ellison Exegesis” which explains much about the man and the book, and wriitten by this book’s editor, Ellison’s executor and his great friend J. Michael Straczynski.

I’m a bit torn about this, in that the essay reveals so much private information about Ellison’s mental illness, and it sounds as if he was not open about this during his life, for the most part. However, it sounds as if Straczynski knew him better than anyone save his wife and presumably has the best idea about how Ellison would want to be remembered.

As with most anthologies the stories themselves were a mixed bag for me. My two favorites (“Hunger” by Max Brooks and “First Sight” by Adrian Tchaikovsky) were not among those Ellison chose, but rather two that Starczynski commissioned from writers he thought would be true to Ellison’s world view. There is a real lack of diversity here and the editor addresses that at the end; even still the book suffers a bit from a lack of variety in voice. I love that the editor offered a space to an unpublished writer and I enjoyed that story.

Overall, given its history it’s really a must read for those who read the first two volumes and for those who enjoy science fiction/speculative fiction short stories. A nice testimonial to the legend.

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

The long awaited final volume in the Dangerous Visions series is finally here. Do we need another Dangerous Visions? The original 1967 anthology was a response by Harlan Ellison to the largely banal and innocuous science fiction of the 1950s and 60s, where topics such as sexuality and gender identity were rare (although perhaps not as rare as Ellison would have had us believe, since the New Wave movement had been going strong, especially in Britain, for several years). Since then, though, these kinds of stories are ubiquitous—what could be dangerous now?

This volume is trying to do three things at once, and thus is not as effective as it could have been if it had concentrated on one thing. Firstly, it tries to be some sort of archive of what Ellison's The Last Dangerous Visions would have looked like in 1974, but this is impossible since a large number of stories Ellison bought were returned to their authors or authors' estates. Moreover, a number of the remaining stories were dated or just not good enough for a prestige anthology. A better option would have been to collect the manuscripts at a university library for scholarly research (perhaps publishing the more useable stories for any old-timers who were curious about these “lost” stories). Secondly, this book tries to honor Ellison's legacy in the way an anthology like Songs of the Dying Earth did for Jack Vance. But an anthology like this would likely only be of interest to a niche audience, no matter how good the contents. So, this book emphasizes its third purpose: helping bring Ellison's name back into the consciousness of the reading public. To do this, J. Michael Straczynski put together something called The Last Dangerous Visions but it is not really very close to what Ellison envisioned.

Although the book has little to do with what Ellison would have published, that it is here at all is, frankly, amazing. It is a beautiful tribute to Ellison. Yes, Ellison bought 24 of the stories to only 7 by Straczynski, but don't be fooled into thinking that Ellison is the editor of this anthology, that honor goes to the humble Straczynski, Ellison's good friend and literary executor, who could have (and probably should have) at least gotten a co-editor billing. But if Straczynski wants to keep the spotlight on Ellison, so be it. I won't be surprised if Ellison receives a Best Editor Hugo nomination next year, but if this happens I will put No Award above his name. Straczynski, on the other hand, deserves a Hugo nomination for this and Ellison's Greatest Hits earlier this year.

One of the hallmarks of the original two Dangerous Visions was Ellison's introductions. Sometimes they talked about the author, sometimes about the story, and sometimes about other topics far and wide. Those introductions were often long, and not infrequently, better (or at least more interesting) than the stories themselves. In this third installment, the introductions are perfunctory, much like you would see in Asimov's SF Magazine. The stories are followed by author bios that are strangely written as if it is 1974, but also with a look at future author accomplishments—very weird.

I wouldn't call very many of the stories “dangerous” and most of the stories are no better than what one might find in a typical issue of Clarkesworld or Uncanny Magazine (and some are, frankly, not worthy of inclusion in a major anthology such as this). While I won't be surprised if several of these stories are finalists for various awards next year (and some might even win), I doubt there's much here that will still be in the literary conversation 10 or 20 years from now the way the contents of the original Dangerous Visions are half a century later.


"Ellison Exegesis" • essay by J. Michael Straczynski
This long essay relates the friendship journey between Ellison and Straczynski, and why The Last Dangerous Visions took fifty years to see publication. It's a heart-wrenching tale that documents Ellison's reasons for the massive writer's block that consumed the last half of his life. For anyone who has read Nat Segaloff's biography of Ellison, A Lit Fuse, The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison, this will not come as a surprise, but it is sad, nevertheless. Straczynski is to be commended for standing by his pal through it all, now serving as Ellison's executor, a pro bono task that is undoubtedly taking us away from new Straczynski material.

“Assignment No. 1” • short story by Stephen Robinett
4 stars
A fourth-grade boy watches as his parents commit his invalid grandfather to a tank farm where he will float with piped-in daydreams for as long as he lives. Will the future give us the option of living in “peace” forever, or should we be allowed to die with dignity? (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Hunger” • short story by Max Brooks
4 stars
This is a thinly disguised essay about how easy it might be for China to control US food production and thus force the US into doing China's bidding lest the population start to go hungry and rebel against their indifferent government leaders. Brooks, a military historian, lays out an unnerving scenario that sounds quite possible. (This story was purchased by Straczynski.)

“Intermezzo 1: Broken, Beautiful Body on Beach” • short story by Deborah Shepard [as by D. M. Rowles]
3 stars
Six unnamed figures find a dead something on a beach and argue about what to do with it. Very much style over substance. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“None So Deaf” • short story by Richard E. Peck
3 stars
A man goes deaf after his wife dies. One day he witnesses a boy get killed by a speeding vehicle, and subsequently begins to hear nothing but screaming. The story is a fable about how PTSD can affect one's life. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

Introduction to Ed Bryant's “War Stories” • essay by Harlan Ellison
This is quintessential Ellison riffing on his pal Ed Bryant. It's the only introduction Ellison ever got finished for TLDV, hinting at what an Ellison edited TLDV might have looked like.

“War Stories” • novelette by Edward Bryant
4 stars
Six thematically connected short stories featuring sharks in various stages of evolution weave a tapestry of death and survival. The symbolism of sharks as hunters versus humans as warmongers is intentional and intense. This is a literate and thought provoking story that works as well now as when it was written. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Intermezzo 2: Bedtime Story” • short story by Deborah Shepard [as by D. M. Rowles]
2 stars
This is a silly one-page fable about the origin of science. It's essentially a prose version of The Far Side cartoon. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“The Great Forest Lawn Clearance Sale—Hurry, Last Days!” • short story by Stephen Dedman
3 stars
A company reincarnates famous historical figures, with an emphasis on religious icons. Is the man they claim to be Jesus the real thing? It's a cautionary tale about the influence of religion on politics, but it is a bit hard to follow, and suffers from some dated references. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Intermezzo 3: Even Beyond Olympus” • short story by Deborah Shepard [as by D. M. Rowles]
1 star
A man creates miniature dioramas on his hands. What is this even doing here? (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“After Taste” • novelette by by Cecil Castellucci
4 stars
Straczynski almost ruins the surprise of this story with his introduction, but it still manages to pack a punch. It is a sort of first contact story about a human woman who rates food for a prestigious review service, going to an isolated planet to try their cuisine. If she is successful, it will be the planet's first exposure to the other species of the galaxy. Be warned, there's some body horror, although more implied than explicit. (This story was purchased by Straczynski.)

“Leveled Best” • by short story Steve Herbst
3 stars
In a dystopian future, a single man tries to buck the system, then pays a price. Do his actions inspire or frighten others? (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“The Time of the Skin” • short story by A. E. Van Vogt
3 stars
A ho-hum story of humanoid aliens who steal items from passengers at a starport. The aliens are able to hypnotize their victims, making the thefts easier. The story is dated by mention of cafeteria automats, long gone in the real world. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Rundown” • short story by John Morressy
2 stars
This piece (not really sure I'd call it a story) is long on gonzo and short on comprehension. It is possibly about the end of the world. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Intermezzo 4: Elemental” • short story by Deborah Shepard [as by D. M. Rowles]
3 stars
A weird vignette about what some people see in a telescope. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“The Weight of a Feather (The Weight of a Heart)” • novelette by by Cory Doctrow
4 stars
I suspect the description of the near-future technology in this novelette will become dated fairly soon, but the emotional core will still be valuable for some time to come. The story describes a world where people who are jerks or trolls to others are sent (or volunteer to go) to a self-contained city where they can receive counseling and make new friends. The protagonist has been living there for several years when his girlfriend acquires an AI robot that ultimately helps them with various problems. The novelette looks not only at how AI might soon be used, but also how certain aspects of a socially enlightened society could evolve. (This story was purchased by Straczynski.)

“The Malibu Fault” • short story by Jonathan Fast
3 stars
A transplanted writer from New York living in Malibu faces a mid-life crisis, as he not so secretly pines for the grit of his old city in the wonderland of California. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“The Size of the Problem” • short story by Howard Fast
3 stars
This story about a man at a psychotherapy session has a somewhat interesting twist of perspective, but is too short to really pay off. I suspect its inclusion has a lot to do with Ellison trying to highlight the awful McCarthy blacklisting to which Fast was subjected. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Intermezzo 5: First Contact” • short story by Deborah Shepard [as by D. M. Rowles]
2 stars
A jokey piece of fluff about a woman who finds herself face to face with an alien in her bathroom. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“A Night at the Opera” • short story by Robert Wissner
3 stars
This story has more style than substance, and is more mainstream than genre. An avant-garde opera composer describes the unlikely course of his new work to the beautiful woman who sits next to him at the premiere. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Goodbye” • short story by Steven Utley
4 stars
This story displays the anger part of grief, when a lovelorn writer must deal with the disappearance of his time traveling lover who suddenly and without warning goes back to her present, his future. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Primordial Follies” • short story by Robert Sheckley
3 stars
Sheckley is known for his humorous tales, and this one has its moments, but is ultimately just a shaggy dog story about sentient galactic entities who decide to try to become a bit less omnipotent. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Men in White” • short story by David Brin
2 stars
This is a very short trifle postulating that aliens and supernatural beings are real and humans need to realize that. (This story was purchased by Straczynski.)

“Intermezzo 6: Continuity” • short story by Deborah Shepard [as by D. M. Rowles]
2 stars
Another short piece of fluff about a couple of humans who don't realize they're in an alien zoo. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“The Final Pogrom” • novelette by by Dan Simmons
3 stars
When this was written, it was a chilling prediction of a dystopian future where Jews are exterminated and pandemics scour the world, with the tagline “Let's Make America Strong Again.” It's even more chilling now, realizing that it comes far too close to present events. Knowing Simmons's political leanings, it's not clear whether he intended this story to be a warning or a wish. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Intermezzo 7: The Space Behind the Obvious” • short story by Deborah Shepard [as by D. M. Rowles]
1 star
A mouse causes the downfall of civilization. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Falling from Grace” • short story by Ward Moore
3 stars
This is a satirical look at today's society through the lens of some clueless future historians. The story's inclusion seems to be more due to Ellison's friendship with Moore than the quality of the story itself. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“First Sight” • short story by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4 stars
This is a clever first contact story with some very alien aliens, demonstrating that humans can never fully understand another species, terrestrial or extraterrestrial. (This story was purchased by Straczynski.)

“Intermezzo 8: Proof” • short story by Deborah Shepard [as by D. M. Rowles]
2 stars
This tale is intended be humorously ironic (I guess), but is just grisly. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Binary System” • short story by Kayo Hartenbaum
4 stars
Straczynski solicited stories from unpublished writers to include in the anthology, as this is something that Ellison did. Hartenbaum won the competition with this stylistic meditation on the differences between what an individual wants and needs versus what society imposes. Although the plot is minimal (and is devoid of a lot of detail about the hows and whys of the situation), it is thought provoking. Time will tell whether Hartenbaum becomes a major name or remains a footnote. (This story was purchased by Straczynski.)

“Dark Threshold” • short story by P. C. Hodgell
5 stars
A little girl's cat goes missing, and in the ensuing search she learns some dark but also comforting secrets from her grandfather. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“The Danann Children Laugh” • short story by Mildred Downey Broxon
4 stars
This tale of an early 20th Century Irish couple whose son may or may not have been taken by fairies is a heartbreaking look at how far parents' love will go to protect their children, and how hope is not always justified. (This story was purchased by Ellison.)

“Judas Iscariot Didn't Kill Himself: A Story in Fragments” • short story by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck [as by James S. A. Corey]
4 stars
This is definitely the most dangerous story in the book, a tale involving child pornography and the lengths to which people will try to hide or expose other people's peccadilloes. The story also features a future where gender reassignment is easy and routine (shades of John Varley!). (This story was purchased by Straczynski.)

Afterword: “Tetelestai! Compiling The Last Dangerous Visions” • essay by J. Michael Straczynski
Straczynski chronicles some of the obstacles he, and Ellison before him, had to contend with in their quest to get this book published. In addition to Ellison's bipolar syndrome, they had to contend with an ever changing publishing landscape, as well as winnowing out some of the lesser quality stories or stories that became dated over time. Straczynski talks at some length about trying to infuse more diversity into the contents, but of the seven stories he bought, one is by a woman, one by a genderqueer, and the rest by (white) men. Straczynski concludes by admitting that no matter what he might have done, there will be critics of the final product, but it was important for him to get what he could published, no matter what.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly didn't think I'd see this published in my lifetime. Before I'd even left the bookstore, I posted a photo of the book online with the caption,”O!! M!! G!! It's REAL!!” Sometime around 1980 or so, I discovered Again, Dangerous Visions, and a few years later, Dangerous Visions. I remember the introduction to ADV promising a third volume, The Last Dangerous Visions. And then realizing that it was ten years later, with no sign of the book. And now, it's 2024 as I type this, so … slight lag there.

J. Michael Straczynski goes into detail in his introduction, “Ellison Exegesis,” on just why the project took so long. Years of being an Ellison fan has taught me that his books are always worth the wait (and also to take upcoming project announcements with a grain of salt.)

After fifty years of waiting, the big question is, does The Last Dangerous Visions live up to expectations? I'm hardly unbiased, but, yeah, I think it does. I haven't read it as many times as I've read the other two DV anthologies, but it definitely feels worthy of the name. Obviously, we don't get Ellisonian forewords and afterwords for each story. But all of these stories can hold their own with those of the previous anthologies.

I'm not going to try to review each story, but standouts on the first read through for me include, “War Stories” by Edward Bryant, “After Taste” by Cecil Castellucci, “The Time of the Skin” by A.E. Van Vogt, “The Weight of a Feather (The Weight of A Heart)” by Cory Doctorow, “A Night At the Opera” by Robert Wissner, “Primordial Follies” by Robert Sheckley, “Men In White” by David Brin, “Falling From Grace” by Ward Moore, “First Sight” by Adrian Tchaikovsky, “The Danann Children Laugh” by Mildred Downey Broxon, and “Judas Iscariot Didn't Kill Himself: A Story In Fragments” by James S.A. Corey.

Students of science fiction will notice that some of those names can't possibly have been in that original stack of submissions that sat on Harlan's desk for decades. There's an Afterword to the book that talks about the selection process. Part of the problem is that there was no definitive table of contents. Stories were dropping out for various reasons, and Harlan was more or less constantly soliciting new ones. This book is as definitive a version as we're ever likely to get. Hopefully, future would-be editors will resist the urge to tinker …

And so, after about fifty years, the Dangerous Visions saga finally comes to an end. Future generations will be able to simply pluck them off the shelf and read them, one by one. I'm almost jealous.

The Last Dangerous Visions is definitely worth the wait. Highly recommended!

[Lou Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS … EDITED by: Harlan Ellison and J. Michael Stracynski
Published: 10/ 1/ 2024 by Blackstone Publications
Page Count: 450




Finally! The long awaited completion of the legendary trilogy of “Dangerous Visions” has arrived. Sadly it arrives six years after Ellison’s death in 2018 …. and more than fifty years after it’s originally announced publication. Regardless, it provides a welcome tribute and addition to the lore of this magnificent giant of the genre. Ellison’s close friend has successfully taken on this monumental task of bringing this dream to fruition. J. Michael Stracynski provides a marvelous essay to help explain the demons that haunted Ellison throughout his career which was responsible for his misunderstood demeanor and inability to complete this project. His essay alone is worth the price of admission. Presented are thirty-two stories of speculative fiction … some are dated, but all worth the reading. Just to mention a few five-star stories:
the compelling ,War stories by Edward Bryant; the haunting, The Final Pogrom by Dan Simmons; Binary System by Kayo Hartenbaum. Stracynski provides an introduction and author biography for each story in the tradition of Ellison’s previous works.
Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. I would recommend this original anthology to any fan of speculative fiction. I have longed to read this since the original publication of Dangerous Visions in 1967, which shaped by love for the genre.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as “dangerous” as I expected the stories to be compared to historical “dangerous” stories from Ellison’s anthologies.

Top 3 stories:
1. “The Final Pogrom” by Dan Simmons
2. “After Taste” by Cecil Castellucci
3. “Hunger” by Max Brooks

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful stories mixed in with some duds. It's worth the read if only for the opening story about Harlan Ellison.

[Amir Sepahram · Rating 4 out of 5]

مجموعه داستان خوبی است. البته به عنوان آخرین میراث هارلن الیسون، که البته به کوشش کس دیگه‌ای جمع شده، می‌تونست داستان‌های بهتری داشته باشه. ولی چهار ستاره.

[Ben Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

missed the introductions from the first 2 volumes but given that this came out 50 years after it was announced i’ll let it slide. i was very impressed by the contemporary stories, really nice to see the genre in such cutting form when there is so much slop out there. my favorite story, though, was an old one, “The Final Pogrom” by Dan Simmons. it felt a lot like the stories I loved in A,DV; that is to say, it blew the top of my head clean off.

[Chris Hinchley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very dangerous after being fifty years overdue. Some good stuff but most of the entries are average to mediocre. What a disappointment.

[Joe Karpierz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anticipation. Expectations. Hype. We generally apply these words when looking forward to events, whether it be sports (the Super Bowl of American football), movies (a new Star Wars installment), television shows (a new season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), or books. Ah books. We all look forward to the publication of a new book from a favorite author. But whatever the thing is that we're looking forward to, it can either bring elation and joy, or disappointment, or even a vast sense of "meh".

The Last Dangerous Visions is one of those books that pretty much nobody expected would see the light of day. Harlan Ellison was working on it back in the 1970s, but never pulled the trigger on. He bought hundreds of stories for the book. It grew to three volumes at one point (it should be noted that Again, Dangerous Visions, the follow up to the original Dangerous Visions, clocks in at 1141 pages with 46 stories). It never got published. The science fiction community resigned itself to never seeing the book. The reasons why it never saw the light of day were unknown.
And the anticipation was high. Given the success of the first two books, the stories and authors they contained, and the awards that resulted from those two books, who wouldn't want to see The Last Dangerous Visions?

Then Harlan Ellison passed away, and that was that.

The story is fairly well known in science fiction circles. J. Michael Straczynski became the executor of the Ellison estate, and he set his sights on publishing The Last Dangerous Visions. Selecting the stories was a daunting task. He had a ton of stories that Harlan had bought back in the day and still had the rights to (the rights to some of the stories had been sold back to either the writers themselves or their estates). Straczynski wanted to include present day authors, and he wanted to include new authors, since Ellison was a champion for new writers.

I'm going to say it up front, before I get into the details. For me, the book brought on a vast sense of "meh".

There are a few reasons for that. What was considered "dangerous" back in the 1970s is fairly tame and commonplace today. Stories that were edgy back then are not edgy today. From what I've gathered from podcasts and reading things about the time LDV (Last Dangerous Visions, in case it wasn't obvious) was to be published, authors were getting skittish about publishing things that were on the cutting edge, that were considered "dangerous". And, quite frankly, not only do the stories that Straczynski included not hold up over time, they are fairly uninteresting.

If I were to pick a "best" story from what would have been the original LDV, I'd pick Ed Bryant's "War Stories", although "The Final Pogrom", from Dan Simmons, stands out as well (it's hard to believe that Simmons is still out there producing work after all these years, although to be fair it's been awhile since he's published anything). The astounding (see what I did there) thing is that most of the stories that Straczynski chose were from authors that I really haven't heard of. Sure, there are a few, like A.E. Van Vogt ("The Time of the Skin"), Robert Sheckley ("Primordial Follies"), and P.C. Hodgell ("Dark Threshold), but for the most part none of the stories from back in the day were from authors that made it big (unlike those that were already big when they had stories published in the first two Dangerous Visions volumes).

The modern day writers that are included here *did* have stories that were at the least very good, if not terrific. The best of the bunch was James S.A. Corey's "Judas Iscariot Didn't Kill Himself: A Story In Fragments", followed closely by Adrian Tchaikovsky's "First Sight" and Corey Doctorow's "The Weight of a Feather (The Weight of a Heart)". The Corey will be a story that I nominate on my Hugo ballot in 2025.

Maybe it's not fair to compare this volume to prior installments. I've elsewhere reviewed the original "Dangerous Visions" (and listed the authors that came out of that book with awards and award nominations), but as I look at the Table of Contents of "Again, Dangerous Visions" (which I have yet to read but now feel like I need to sooner rather than later), I see Ursula K. Le Guin, Gene Wolfe, Ray Bradbury, Kate Wilhelm, Joanna Russ, Kurt Vonnegut, David Gerrold, Greg Benford, and a host of other huge names in the field. I don't see any names that ended up being huge
out of the stories that made it to LDV from that era (yes, you could argue Van Vogt, but even that story wasn't that good).

The two pieces that were interesting to me were "Ellison Exegesis", in which Straczynski tells the story of just why Ellison couldn't get LDV published (which some people have stated is an invasion of Ellison's privacy - I'll leave that up to the reader), and the afterword, entitled "Tetelestai! Compiling The Last Dangerous Visions", which as you might guess is a look at how Straczynski put the book together.

I don't often reread books these days. I just have too much on my to-be-read list and not enough time to read what is there. While I may go back some day and reread "Dangerous Visions", and I have yet to read "Again, Dangerous Visions", I most likely won't go back and reread "The Last Dangerous Visions". And that makes me sad.

I also want to issue a formal apology to Blackstone Publishing, which was kind enough to allow me to read an eARC of "The Last Dangerous Visions". Life got in the way, and I'd bitten off more than I could chew in requesting eARCs from NetGalley. This review is two and a half months past the publication date of LDV, and it is unconscionable that this review is this late. I'm grateful that the Blackstone gave permission for me to read the book in advance of the publication, and sorry that I didn't get it done in time.

[Craig Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final installment of the Dangerous Visions series begun by Harlan Ellison in the 1960s, at which point it played a major role in transforming science fiction from "genre" to a central part of the broader cultural scene, was almost sure to be a letdown. And, sadly, it is. The first two volumes, especially the first and to a lesser extent Again, Dangerous Visions, pushed boundaries by raising questions and using styles pretty much foreign to sci fi. Given the changed literary landscape--DV played a role in creating it--it's difficult to even imagine what a "dangerous" story would look like. Certainly not the bullshit "nobody's talking about" or "they won't let you say" stuff in the memespheres. The fact that Ellison chose most of the stories in LDV decades ago also creates a strange time lag, though J. Michael Stracyznski did heroic work getting if out at all after Ellison's psychological problems made it impossible for him to finish.

Beyond that, though, the straight ahead quality of the stories as a whole isn't up to the first two volumes. There are only a few that stand out in ways that would make them at home in DV and ADV. Almost all of the rest are perfectly good, but "good" wasn't what Ellison ever shot or settled for. Having said that, I'd single out Cory Doctorow's The Weight of a Feather (The Weight of a Heart), Cecil Castellucci's After Taste, and especially Adrian Tchaikovsky's First Sight as worthy additions to the canon.

So, three stars for overall quality, a star added for historical importance, bringing a significant story in the history of SF to a respectable landing.

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of science fiction short stories is the third and final installment of the Dangerous Visions trilogy.
I had read the other two long ago.
Like any collection, it contained some storied I enjoyed, others that made little impact and some I disliked.
Most notable to me was the lengthy introductory piece that described the life and process of putting the book together of/by Harlan Ellison and his very devoted friend and successor. It was a very human look behind the curtain.
I can't say I agree with them particularly about the continued importance of finishing the series; it certainly took an incredible dedication to do that, but I didn't find the collected works to be particularly dangerous or prescient- any more so than other science fiction anyway. I'm sure it was a bigger 'threat' back when volume one came out and broke new ground with science fiction commenting (and criticizing) the ways people and practices would effect us all if certain things continue on and expand in the future.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most infamous books never published, 'The Last Dangerous Visions' is a dream given form by Harlan Ellison and the executor of his estate, J. Michael Straczynski. A book over fifty years late, it collects some groundbreaking short stories from the era with some of today's bestselling and exciting SF writers.

[Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay ... where were we when we were so rudely interrupted?

Ah, yes. There are a few questions to be answered about this publication:

1. Is it, really, a book of Dangerous Visions™?
2. To what extent does it represent the work and intentions of Harlan Ellison™?
3. Is it any good? And if so, how good is it?

There are thirty-two stories here. Far too many for my limited time and energy to go into individually, even if I did think spoilers were a good idea. Which I don't.

There are 433+xvi -- that's 449 to you and I -- pages in this book. 450 if you count the blank page on
the back of page 433. And there are three main bits of apparatus: a Brief Introduction (v pages,) the
"Ellison Exegesis" (56) which precedes the stories, and various bits of endmatter (19) -- a total of
80 pages written by J. Michael Straczynski (hereinafter referred to as JMS for space). Throw in the x
pages of forematter and table of contents which precede the introduction, and 90 pages - 20% of the book - are specifically not stories. This is a bit more than, but not too far from, the percentage of the first two DV books taken up by front matter, tables of contents, Harlan Ellison's general Introduction, the Introductions to the individual stories, and the authors' Afterwords (plus, on the first book, Isaac Asimov's two bits of introductory fluff. So that's fair.

I personally miss the story introductions and Afterwords, here replaced with a brief blurb (like the ones frequently seen before the beginning of a story in a pulp and many other types of magazine) and a paragraph-long bio of the writer. Skipping the introductions makes sense: JMS would have had to try to do what Ellison (hereinafter referred to as HE) did, which is pretty much impossible. And JMS does print the one Introduction HE had actually written (an interesting and peculiar case for other reasons).

As for the Afterwords -- well, I don't know how many (if any) of the numerous deceased writers represented herein had actually provided any. Having afterwords for some but not others might appear a bit lame, so that's all fairly done.

But I miss them anyway.

The Exegesis presents three matters in great detail: the evolution of JMS's relationship to, and eventually with, HE; a very specifically focused life story of HE; and the story of The Last Dangerous Visions (hereinafter referred to as LDV ). Together, they present a case for why Harlan was what he was, did what he did, and was ultimately unable to complete LDV -- but, as I said, no spoilers here. It's a sad and fascinating and, ultimately, I think, uplifting story.

As for the aftermatter -- most of it is "Tetelestai!", an explanation of how LDV , once put into JMS's hands, became what it is. A bit of narrative, a bit of apologetics, and three and two-thirds (roughly) pages displaying one of HE's many proposed tables of contents for LDV over the years. After this are a brief Acknowledgements, and an About the Artist on page 433.

And now, after much fumfuhing and avoidance, we come to the stories.

The first thing that jumped to my attention in scanning the ToC was the presence of eight(!) "Intermezzi" by D.M. Rowles. (JMS's excuse, if he needed one, for this was that HE had included two stories by David R. Bunch in the first volume; two by Bernard Wolfe and three by Gene Wolfe in the second; and purchased a second story by Edward Bryant -- the one for which HE's sole Introduction was written -- for LDV , fairly early I suspect) These are very weird, and in some cases quite wonderful, flash fictions. Or prose poems. Or ... whatever they are.

The stories do not, I'm afraid, really start with a bang. Stephen Robinett's "Assignment No. 1" could have fit nicely next to Larry Niven's "The Jigsaw Man" in the original DV ; and it would certainly have been "dangerous" then. Is it today? Maybe; maybe not. But, like the Niven, it proposes a possibly-bad and possibly-inevitable solution to a problem that we will have to face sometime, should we live so long.

With that out of the way, I'll stick to the highlights and lowlights.

Bryant's "War Stories" is a definite highlight, and "dangerous" in HE's sense as I understand it after rereading the first two volumes in the past month or so, dealing with how the military might use certain types of posited technologies. Also, sharks.

Stephen Dedman's "The Gret Forest Lawn Clearance sale - Hurry, Last Days!" is a weird and satiric fantasy that got most of the few genuine laughs I experienced reading these stories.

Cecil Castelluci's "After Taste" is a story that starts out feeling light and winds up being quite dangerous indeed in its implications.

And now we come to A.E. van Vogt, one of two real "Campbell-era" writers represented herein. "The Time of the Skin" is, well, it's a van Vogt story. I realize that some people don't know what I mean by that, but it would take a whole short essay to explain. Let me just sum it up by saying that it could have been published in any science fiction magazine of the '40s, with the possible exception of Campbell's Astounding . Not "dangerous" a-tall.

I want to call out John Morressy's "Rundown" as possibly the weirdest story in the book, both structurally and in content. I think it has some "dangerous" bits. But I'm really not sure.

Cory Doctorow's "The Weight of a Feather (the Weight of a Heart)" is a favorite of mine, and as "dangerous" in its way as Bryant's tale -- with which it shares the dubious honor of being tied for the longest story (by page count: 28 each) in the book.

Jonathan and Howard Fast, son and father, provide a pair of slightly surreal -- or magical realist -- views of the nature and meaning of NYC.

Robert Sheckley's "Primordial Follies" is precisely the sort of thing that only Sheckley could write. Sheckley was sui generis and one final story from him is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

Dan Simmons's "The Final Pogrom" is one of only two stories herein to actually upset me, dealing as it does with an almost (I hope it's only "almost") plausible extrapolation of certain sociopolitical tendencies present in American society, and some others, right through here.

Ward Moore is the other Campbell-era writer represented herein. His "Falling from Grace" takes an idea similar Star Trek 's "The Omega Glory" and puts it through some hilariously-exaggerated paces.

When he announced the imminent appearance of LDV , JMS indicated that he would do another HE-like thing and purchase a first story -- just one -- by an aspiring writer. The winning writer is Kayo Harterbaum, and zir story "Binary System" is very good indeed, though not terribly "dangerous."

Mildred Downey Broxon's "The Danaan Children Laugh" is a rather chilling take on Irish folklore. Some of which is, frankly, pretty chilling to begin with.

JMS wisely closes the book with the other story that upset me: James S.A. Corey's "Judas Iscariot Didn't Kill Himself: A Story in Fragments," a story that could conceivably be happening today, even as I write. It involves one interesting technology not present in current reality, and which may not be possible at all; but that technology simply exaggerates a feature of one of today's main technological features -- the one by which you are reading this review, the one where "nobody knows you're a dog."

I would be remiss if I failed to mention Tim Kirk's illustrations for the various stories (except for the Intermezzi). This work is far removed from the cute Hobbits and similar that first made him famous, and that has always been what Kirk's name brought to my mind. They provide reflections of the stories, without really telling you much about what you're about to read. Frankly, though this may be blasphemy, I think they are far, far superior to the illustrations (by the Dillons and Ed Emshwiller) in the first two DV books. And the color endpapers are to die for.

So. Returning to my original questions...

1. Is it, really, a book of Dangerous Visions™?

Mostly, yes, to the extent such a thing is possible in the absence of HE. The percentage of genuinely "dangerous" stories herein is about as high as in the other two anthologies. Most of the places where it is unlike DV and A,DV are, pretty much, unavoidable ...

except ...

One of my relatively few gripes with the book at hand is the lack of any really long stories. Stories like Philip José Farmer's "Riders of the Purple Wage," Le Guin's "The Word for World is Forest," and Richard A. Lupoff's "With the Bentfin Boomer Boys on Little Old New Alabama" were not only among the best stories in the first two volumes; they provided those volumes with a kind of backbone this one lacks. The long stories have the space to really tackle some tough and interesting issues.

2. To what extent does it represent the work and intentions of Harlan Ellison™?

One cannot really speak for the intentions of another, especially one who has passed from this world and cannot defend himself should we misrepresent him.

About 90% of the stories herein were purchased by HE. A quite saddening number of them were pretty obvious from the author notes, because the authors had predeceased him; but of the others, I would not have been able to state with any certainty which were his and which were JMSs.

A word about the author notes. JMS did something a little peculiar, which bothered me at first but was kind of fun once I caught on: He wrote them all in the present tense, as at the time the story was originally purchased; anything after that is in the future tense. Thus:

A.E. van Vogth is sixty-one. Born in Edenburg, Canada, he made his way to Los Angeles to pursue a writing career. His most recent novels include Moonbeast, Rogue Ship, and Quest for the Future. He will go on to win acclaim as one of the greatest writers of science fiction of the twentieth century, receiving the honor of being named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1995. He will wear that distinction with pride and humility to the day of his passing on January 26, 2000.

This is an innovation of which -- risking that bit about the intention of another! - I believe HE would have approved.

3. Is it any good? And if so, how good is it?

Yes, it is any good. I would go so far as to say it is quite good. Not all the stories are to my taste; but there are none (as there were one each in the first two books) that I just plain don't get.

It is not quite the book I wanted, but that train had long left the station, even before HE's passing. I am (to paraphrase King Crimson) happy with what I have to be happy with. I'm glad that LDV didn't simply fade into the dust.

There is not a story in here I would call actively bad, and there are a couple that might be serious award fodder.

Based on this book, the legacy of Harlan Ellison is in good hands.

[Austin Beeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATED 76% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 3.7 OF 5
23 STORIES : 5 GREAT / 10 GOOD / 5 AVERAGE / 2 POOR / 1 DNF

This is absolutely not what it says on the cover. This is not the unearthed “lost third anthology” of Harlan Ellison’s iconic Dangerous Visions series. To understand what J. Michael Straczynski - creator of Babylon Five - has made for us is going to be far more complicated. And a lot more messy.

The stories are a mixed bag. Straczynski has made the choice to replace some of the stories purchased by Ellison and since returned to their authors with modern stories. This is pretty jarring as you begin each story not knowing which generation’s context you should have your head in. Straczynski also doesn’t reveal this until the end of the book.

Two long pieces written by Straczynski bookend.the anthology. The opening is a loving, yet nakedly raw, look at Harlan Ellison’s issues with mental illness. While written from the perspective of a friend it felt too personal and a level of intimacy that wasn’t appropriate for a public article. It was emotional and well written. I felt myself tearing up towards the end of tit

The second is the description of how the book came together, which explains many of the books quirky and flaws, but doesn’t excuse them. I would have tried to recreate Harlan Ellison’s table of contents as much as possible even if it meant reprinting some stories that were purchased for this anthology but later published elsewhere.

He has also made the choice to write brief author biographies after each story. With the conceit of describing the author where they were in their life as the moment they wrote this story and frequently mentioning their death. For a number of the writers I felt sad as they didn’t achieve the authorial success they hoped for. Maybe if Harlan Ellison had been able to publish his version of this book, their lives would have been different.

I can’t imagine a new reader of Science Fiction picking up this book and reading it with pleasure. But if you love the history of the Science Fiction genre or Harlan Ellison, the non-story material will make Last, Dangerous Visions more valuable as a book than as an anthology. And would have been even more valuable as a historical project if Straczynski had taken that perspective.

Five Stories Make the All-Time Great List: (weirdly even the old stuff is technically a 2024 story)
https://www.shortsf.com/beststories

War Stories • novelette by Edward Bryant

Really cool experimental story made of six vignettes that all center a world where sharks have been weaponized for war. Makes me want to read the author’s novel “Shark,” which appears to be out of print.

After Taste • novelette by Cecil Castellucci

A human journalist who specializes in eating the challenging food of alien planets finds on planet’s cuisine more than she can stomach. A slow burning story that ends in an incredibly alien and incredibly powerful way.

Goodbye • short story by Steven Utley

A heartbroken professor and writer coming to grips with the abrupt end to a love affair with a woman he knew was a time traveler. Raw, painful, and beautiful.

The Final Pogrom • novelette by Dan Simmons.

It is dangerous to write a story about a global genocide of the Jews. It is dangerous to think intelligently about the logistics how how that could most effectively be done. It is dangerous to invent a plausible scientific rationale for why this keeps happening to the Jews throughout history. Simmons’ story is like watching a plane crash. Majestic and horrifying. One of the stories most consistent with the premise of a Dangerous Visions book.

First Sight • short story by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Strong story about the cultural blindness that we all have. A diplomat is being interrogated for a first contact that went horribly wrong. While a newly written story, this is the interesting kind of First Contact story that could have been written anytime in the SF genre’s history.

***

Dangerous Visions
23 STORIES : 5 GREAT / 10 GOOD / 5 AVERAGE / 2 POOR / 1 DNF

Assignment No. 1 • short story by Stephen Robinett

Good. Strong story written by a young boy about the uncaring behavior of his parents towards his aging grandfather. The parents shuffle the grandfather off to a floating sensory cocoon when they no longer want him around.

Hunger • short story by Max Brooks

Good. This feels like an opinion piece ripped from the headlines and not a story. A letter to the American President from the Leader of China about how China will bring the USA to its knees if the USA interferes with China absorbing Taiwan. It also is the first indication that there are more modern stories included here and this isn’t only what Ellison acquired. Not sure why that choice was made.

None So Deaf • short story by Richard E. Peck

Average. A man loses hearing when his wife dies, but then can only hear the screaming of others

War Stories • novelette by Edward Bryant

Great. Really cool experimental story made of six vignettes that all center a world where sharks have been weaponized for war. Makes me want to read the author’s novel “Shark,” which appears to be out of print.

The Great Forest Lawn Clearance Sale—Hurry, Last Days! • short story by Stephen Dedman

Good. In a world where figures of the past (like Jesus or Jack the Ripper) have been cloned, there is some discussion as to whether or not the clone is the actual person reborn.

After Taste • novelette by Cecil Castellucci

Great. A human journalist who specializes in eating the challenging food of alien planets finds on planet’s cuisine more than she can stomach. A slow burning story that ends in an incredibly alien and incredibly powerful way.

Leveled Best • short story by Steve Herbst

Average. The first person narration of a man who attempts to resist a destruction of his will and psyche. “1984” by way of “Flowers for Algernon” and far inferior to either.

The Time of the Skin • short story by A. E. van Vogt

Good. A family of aliens with special powers spend their lives in a spaceport stealing things. A security agent comes into contact with one of them. Hijinks ensues.

Rundown • short story by John Morressy

Average. Pointless little story about a politician and how he lives better than everyone else. Told in Non Sequiturs that are pleasantly witty … and least some of the time. It’s short anyway.

The Weight of a Feather (The Weight of a Heart) • novelette by Cory Doctorow

Average. A man has been sent to a community as a result of a social faux pas. He is to learn and become better. He starts a relationship with a woman who has just bought a robot that follows you around. And somehow has great difficulty with stairs.

The Malibu Fault • short story by Jonathan Fast

Poor. A man from New York is living in California and he is dreading the masses of New Yorkers who will follow him there.

The Size of the Problem • short story by Howard Fast

Good. A man, scared of ants, tells his therapist that he thinks he is dreaming now. Fun short-short with a twist.

A Night at the Opera • short story by Robert Wissner

Good. The creator of a strange, perverse, and very unconventional opera takes his seat. All attention is on him as he tells a woman about what they are about to see. Deals with the complex issues of the form of art, the nature of shame, and the desire for voyeurism.

Goodbye • short story by Steven Utley

Great. A heartbroken professor and writer coming to grips with the abrupt end to a love affair with a woman he knew was a time traveler. Raw, painful, and beautiful.

Primordial Follies • short story by Robert Sheckley

DNF. Witty but ultimately boring humorous story about war between humans and a huge being that is eating everything in the universe.

Men in White • short story by David Brin

Good. A very short story. Our narrator is warning humanity about the things that go bump in the night. In the last lines, we discover who he is and whom he represents.

The Final Pogrom • novelette by Dan Simmons.

Great. It is dangerous to write a story about a global genocide of the Jews. It is dangerous to think intelligently about the logistics how how that could most effectively be done. It is dangerous to invent a plausible scientific rationale for why this keeps happening to the Jews throughout history. Simmons’ story is like watching a plane crash. Majestic and horrifying. One of the stories most consistent with the premise of a Dangerous Visions book.

Falling from Grace • short story by Ward Moore

Poor. In a dumbed-down future where current culture and language are lost and misunderstood, a communications trainee and a girlfriday talk about preserving the information in the great computer. Mediocre, but a little funny. All about the errors in translation. Gene Wolfe and Jack Vance did this kind of thing better.

First Sight • short story by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Great. Strong story about the cultural blindness that we all have. A diplomat is being interrogated for a first contact that went horribly wrong. While a newly written story, this is the interesting kind of First Contact story that could have been written anytime in the SF genre’s history.

Binary System • short story by Kayo Hartenbaum

Good. A slice-of-many-lives story about solo lightship keeper who lives a solitary existence in deep space. They have two parts: mechanical and biological. Occasionally, they receive visitors that they interact with.

Dark Threshold • short story by P. C. Hodgell

Average. Gently creepy story of a room in a house where things go when they disappear.

The Danann Children Laugh • short story by Mildred Downey Broxon

Good. Good creepy piece about myth, faith, horror, and the weakness of too much rationality. A woman from the Health Ministry goes to investigate a truant young man only to find his parents caring for his body, apparently brain damaged and sore-riddled. They claim he is off with Irish Faeries and they are waiting for him to return.

Judas Iscariot Didn't Kill Himself: A Story in Fragments • short story by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck [as by James S. A. Corey]

Good. In a world where you can ‘resleeve’ your mind (soul?) into a new body whenever you want, accusations of child pornography, tear apart an attempted utopian cult. Plays with some interesting ideas that could have been expanded into something great. Do religious organizations exist for the purpose of hiding sadism? Can humans ever achieve any sort of utopia in groups? Is cancel culture justice, abuse, a witch hunt, or a form of stealing?

https://www.shortsf.com/reviews/lastdv

[Sharon Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of both Dangerous Visions and Again Dangerous Visions, I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I respect what Joe did to bring it to life, for better or for ill, but I found only a couple of the stories memorable and some of them just seemed like fluff.

[Devan]

Some good some bad

[Al Lock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the final Dangerous Visions. Anyone who liked or loved what Harlan Ellison did should read this, if only for the information provided regarding his struggles in life. In addition, because of the editing done after his death, this is the most dangerous visions of the Dangerous Visions trilogy. Well worth reading.

[Book Club of One · Rating 4 out of 5]

A work long rumored to be in process, The Last Dangerous Visions seemed fated never to complete the anthology trilogy of path breaking science fiction works organized and edited by the prolific, influential and outspokenly combative writer, Harlan Ellison. Originally planned for release in 1973, readers in 2024 finally have the chance to read at least a form of this book.

Like the other two volumes, The Last Dangerous Visions gathers many of the current best known writers of science fiction and a few strong new voices. However, with its long gestation, The Last Dangerous Visions also includes two major essays explaining both what took so long and how the stories included in this official release were gathered. That first essay, written by J. Michael Straczynski, as Ellison's executor, details the life or Ellison as Straczynski experienced it as a longtime friend seeking to offer what he saw as the reason it took so long for this volume to be published, this is the one part of this book to definitely read.

Like the other two volumes, each of the 31 stories has artwork by Tim Kirk followed by an introduction and a post story present tense career profile. Alongside the stories are a series of flash fiction 'intermezzos.'

And lets be very honest, would this book every have the hope to living up to its possibilities after such a length of time? Most of the stories certainly play with the possibilities of science fiction, and many are centered on questions of mortality. A few are humorously playful ("A Night At the Opera" of "Great Forest Lawn...") but many are much focused on specific issues or social commentary.

Standouts can vary according to readers favorite writer, I was interested to see what Max Brooks, James S. A. Corey and Adrian Tchaikovsky contributions were, but instead am left recalling the elder care dystopia of "Assignment No, 1," by Stephen Robinett the consequence of choice in "After Taste" by Cecil Castellucci or where lost things go in "Dark Threshold" by P. C. Hodgell.

Recommended to readers of classic and contemporary science fiction.

I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.

[John Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Day The Clown Cried of SF anthologies. Of interest to 70s nostalgists and Ellison's boomer fans only.

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating anthology of stories, many originally collected by Harlan Ellison but completed and released by J. Michael Straczynski. In an essay, Straczynski gives a summary of who was Harlan Ellison, his importance to the field of speculative fiction and why he never completed this anthology.

The anthology has changed, with some additional material acquired by Straczynski. But it is like an artifact from the past, created at a time when many of the stories would be considered cutting edge and 'dangerous': but released today, the anthology merely feels 'edgy', with startling but not dangerous stories. Even so, it is still an enjoyable anthology, with good stories by Stephen Dedman, Cecil Castellucci, A. E. van Vogt, Howard Fast, Adrian Tchaikovsky, P. C. Hodgell and Mildred Downey Broxon.

- “Assignment No. 1” by Stephen Robinett: a child discovers his grandfather is to be sent to a retirement home where he would be immersed in a virtual environment for the rest of his life. While the child does not understand his grandfather's words, he does know that his grandfather hates the idea.

- “Hunger” by Max Brooks: the leader of China sends a letter to the President of the United States, warning it from supporting Taiwan in a confrontation. In support of the warning, China describes the steps it has taken, using copyright infringement, fake news and disinformation, to bring down the US.

- "Intermezzo 1 : Broken, Beautiful Body on Beach" by D.M. Rowles: six 'things' fight over a body found on a beach.

- “None So Deaf” by Richard E. Peck: a man goes functionally deaf after the death of his wife. He goes on with his life, not hearing anything. But one day, an event occurs that would cause him to hear one kind of sound.

- “War Stories” by Edward Bryant: connected stories about a future war machine: genetically engineered sharks. They patrol the oceans for their enemy. But to a shark, almost any human can be an enemy.

- "Intermezzo 2: Bedtime" by D.M. Rowles: on how science came about, as told to children in the future.

- “The Great Forest Lawn Clearance Sale—Hurry, Last Days!!” by Stephen Dedman: dead people can be resurrected into the bodies of the brain-dead. Among those resurrected is Jesus, who now appears on talk shows with a popular evangelical. But a murder in the company that does the resurrection reveals that all is not right with the resurrected Jesus; if he is Jesus.

- "Intermezzo 3: Even beyond Olympus" by D.M. Rowles: a boy shows what he can create with his hand.

- “After Taste” by Cecil Castellucci: a food critic goes to a little known planet to taste its cuisine for a galactic version of the Michelin Guide. Before tasting the food, she gets to know one member of the aliens and finds herself developing an emotional relationship with the alien. This would turn out to be important when she tries the food at a restaurant and discovers how they breed.

- “Leveled Best” by Steve Herbst: a political prisoner prepares himself for interrogation by the government. He knows he may well lose his mind, but he hopes to keep enough about himself intact to pass on the need to rebel to the next person.

- “The Time of the Skin” by A. E. van Vogt: a group of aliens gathers at a spaceport where a VIP is passing through. These aliens have the ability to hypnotise others, but the purpose of the gathering is not known, even to the security personnel who seek them, but it involves their ability to 'change' their skin.

- “Rundown” by John Morressy: a brief story of a future where things are breaking down and coming apart, with one person at the centre of it all.

- "Intermezzo 4: Elemental" by D.M. Rowles: what a woman saw inside a display.

- “The Weight of a Feather (The Weight of a Heart)” by Cory Doctorow: a man is sent to a rehabilitation town for unstated crimes. It is while he is there, and through his conversations with others, that we get an idea of the heinous crimes he committed against others, and what he needs to do.

- “The Malibu Fault” by Jonathan Fast: a screenwriter wanders along Malibu, waiting for an event that would forever change its character.

- “The Size of the Problem” by Howard Fast: a patient at a psychiatrist's office talks about the problems he has with ants while informing the psychiatrist that he is part of the patient's dream. A twist at the end provides a change of perspective to the story.

- "Intermezzo 5: First contact" by D.M. Rowle: a woman startles an alien in her house.

- “A Night at the Opera” by Robert Wissner: people settle down to hear what the composer has to say about his opera that about to be performed. What they hear is an opera that may be a comedy or a tragedy, and will definitely change some lives.

- “Goodbye” by Steven Utley: a man is convinced that his lover is not from his time.

- “Primordial Follies” by Robert Sheckley: the first primordial carnivore born is devouring the universe. It would need some multidimensional tinkering to halt its progress; for now.

- “Men in White” by David Brin: about the opposites of the Men in Black, who try in vain to warn humanity.

- “Intermezzo 6: Continuity” by D. M. Rowles: on life on a distant world, with late delivery.

- “The Final Pogrom” by Dan Simmons: a rather realistic portrayal of the implementation of the Final Solution to the Jewish problem, along with the conspiracy-like involvement of a virus that may have given rise to Anti-Semitism. In secret, a vaccine is developed; but the cure may be worse than the disease.

- “Intermezzo 7: The Space Behind the Obvious” by D. M. Rowles: a rat powers off the world.

- “Falling from Grace” by Ward Moore: in a future where computers have stopped working and 'researchers' struggle to interpret whatever writings they can find, two people consider having a relationship, with a 'magic' pill that can prevent pregnancy, or so they hope.

- “First Sight” by Adrian Tchaikovsky: first contact with an alien race goes badly when an innocent question causes a genocide. But that may not be the end of the question of who is really an alien.

- “Intermezzo 8: Proof” by D. M. Rowles: on what it takes to prove something is real.

- “Binary System” by Kayo Hartenbaum: a lighthouse keeper in space reflects on his life, alone in the lighthouse, and whether he wants to return to civilisation in the end.

- “Dark Threshold” by P. C. Hodgell: a touching story of a young girl who loses her beloved cat. She searches for it all over the house and gardens, except for one room that is always kept locked. Then she is told that the cat has gone behind the door, along with all the things she knows have been lost. But then, she is giving the opportunity to see exactly what is behind that locked door.

- “The Danann Children Laugh” by Mildred Downey Broxon: an English nurse visits the house of an Irish couple to find out why they did not send their son to school. There, she discovers that the Irish couple believe that he has been 'taken away' by The Good Folk, leaving behind only his body. The nurse does not believe the story and tries to arrange for the boy to be taken care of in a home. But then, it is revealed to her the truth behind the story.

- “Judas Iscariot Didn’t Kill Himself: A Story in Fragments” by James S. A. Corey: a small cultist colony finds itself behind torn apart when a member is found to be holding on to items considered very Not Safe For Work: or for Home. Then it is revealed that the person may not be whom the others think he is, in a society where people can 'change skins' whenever they like.

[Eamonn Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

After fifty years of waiting, The Last Dangerous Visions is finally here. Dangerous Visions, the first groundbreaking anthology published in 1967, was followed by Again, Dangerous Visions in 1972, and since then, until he died in 2018, Harlan Ellison struggled intermittently with a pile of stories intended for the final anthology. J. Michael Straczynski explains this battle in a long essay titled ‘Ellison Exegesis’ at the start of the book and adds more in ‘Afterword: Tetelestai! Compiling The Last Dangerous Visions’. He is a loyal friend of Harlan, who, by all accounts, could be a difficult fellow. There are over twenty stories here with some flash fiction ‘Intermezzo’ in between. The following caught my attention.

‘Assignment No. 1’ by Stephen Robinett is told from the point of view of a young boy, so you feel his powerlessness to do anything about the situation. His Grandpa Willis is taken to a place called ‘Golden Tomorrows.’ Floaters—recumbents is the official term—are in coffin-sized tanks with transparent lids, floating face up in a cloudy blue fluid with a skull cap on their heads from which a cable runs to a mainframe computer. They are living their best dream inside their heads unless, like Grandpa Willis, they resist. An excellent solution to the problem of elderly care, maybe.

‘Hunger’ by Max Brooks takes the form of a letter to the US President from a high-ranking Chinese official explaining why they will lose the coming war over Taiwan. It quotes ‘Unrestricted Warfare’ by Colonel Liang and Colonel Xiangsui and also P.J. O’Rourke on how the USA beat the Warsaw Pact. “You have been consistently dividing and dumbing down your own people for selfish, shortsighted gain. From education cuts to a deregulated media, you have slowly turned an iron-spined civilisation into a flock of gullible, jittery dullards.” It’s uncomfortable reading for Westerners but rings very true.

‘War Stories’ by Edward Bryant is a series of short tales from different viewpoints about a future conflict in which genetically and technologically enhanced ocean dwellers are used. Different, entertaining and informative, it was probably inspired by those stories about the CIA and the KGB using dolphins, who are not, incidentally, as cuddly and nice as their permanent smiles make you think. It’s also rather a poetic homage to sharks, the perfect killing machine.

LifePlus brings famous people back to life in new bodies as revenants but it’s funded by a newspaper baron so only does it for those he deems worthy of interest. These include Mary Kelly, the last known victim of Jack the Ripper, a famous writer from England and Jesus of Nazareth. Mary has settled comfortably into modern life and enjoys the televangelists, the cartoon shows and the porn channels. The writer is a big hit on talk shows and Jesus! Well, you’ll have to read ‘The Great Forest Lawn Sale - Hurry, Last Days’ by Stephen Dedman to find out.

Martin 4.683.218 defiantly calls himself Martin Liberté and has paper books by Kafka and Voltaire to support his idea that the Clinic is evil and must be destroyed. The Clinic is the instrument of the Great Govet which makes everyone equal and if you don’t agree, you are tortured. ‘Levelled Best’ by Steve Herbst has an old totalitarian theme that’s still terrible. Paper books raise the issue, now current, that if you get everything by streaming then the providers can choose what you get, and might opt for making unavailable stuff that doesn’t fit their worldview.

‘The Weight of a Feather (The Weight of a Heart) by Cory Doctorow seems to be set in a post-scarcity future because Ivan lives with other social outcasts in a growing town and work is not necessary. After one too many ‘fits of pique’, recorded and put out on social media by others, he has to change, but he’s not sure how. The fact that he voluntarily opted for rehabilitation doesn’t make it any better. To me, this future is nearly as bad as the one in ‘Levelled Best’ but I’m a contrary fellow.

‘The Malibu Fault’ by Jonathan Fast, son of Howard, is about a Hollywood screenwriter who migrated from New York like many of his colleagues, has a perfect life and is sure it will end when they come. If you’re happy, it means disaster is just around the corner. Beware. I feel this, too. Is it common? In ‘The Size of the Problem’ by Howard Fast, Mister Hunter tells his psychiatrist that he is dreaming this session and all the previous ones. A neat little fantasy by the author of ‘Spartacus’ who went to jail for three months for being Unamerican.

When a lovely time traveller abandons a professor of English Literature who fell in love with her, it hurts. ‘Goodbye’ by Steven Utley is a first-person lament with a science fiction theme. Love does hurt but when we all upload to the cloud it won’t be a worry. The last line rang true.

At the dawn of time, when the universe was nearly all matter with hardly any space, certain proto-beings came into existence. Usually, they faded away but one called Ilvan was the first to eat others for sustenance so he survived. He slowly ate most of the matter in the universe but left what he didn’t like much, the stars and planets we have now. ‘Primordial Follies’ by Robert Sheckley is as offbeat and amusing as that author’s usual fare.

‘The Final Pogrom’ by Dan Simmons tells a lot about the history of Anti-semitic Pogroms and predicts another, this one backed up with modern surveillance technology and a ruthless police state so no one can escape. There’s a sting in the tail.

First contact stories are a common trope in the genre. In ‘First Sight’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Diplomatic Attaché Helen leads a delegation to the Baili of planet Haile. There has been a lot of preparation beforehand with human and Haile doing their honest best to understand each other. But can you comprehend something truly alien that perceives reality differently? Solid science fiction.

‘Binary System’ by Kayo Hartenbaum is zir first published piece and is about a lighthouse keeper made effectively immortal by an AI duplicate who avoids human society by working in isolation on an interstellar beacon. It has an interesting point of view. Why must every story have a romance in it? Can a human not exist as an independent entity?

The most dangerous vision is saved for last. ‘Judas Iscariot Didn’t Kill Himself: A Story in Fragments’ by James S. A. Corey is about a sort of religious community in the age of neural resheathing, where you can get a new body of any sex, colour or shape whenever you want. It touches on themes of hypocrisy, abuse, and the online troll world, which feeds into the news cycle and other very up-to-date concerns. It might make you uncomfortable.

An excellent collection, but dangerous? Not really. Times have changed since 1967 and what was taboo then isn’t now. Indeed, many things that were normal then are taboo now. Straczynski feels compelled to apologise for ‘a bit of Catskills-Borscht belt humour about marital relations’ in Robert Sheckley’s story. I didn’t notice anything offensive but I’m old.

As with the original Dangerous Visions, these stories might upset the Moral Majority, a group not favoured by Ellison and Straczynski, but it won’t bother today’s speculative fiction readers. Despite the misleading title, it’s a fine collection. Hats off to Ellison and especially Straczynski for putting it together.

[Gull · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a bittersweet feeling holding TLDV. On one hand, it's finally, FINALLY here. After half a century in the works, The Last Dangerous Visions exists against all odds. On the other, it's a goddamn shame Harlan Ellison couldn't have lived to see it and bring it about. Ellison is an author that was instrumental in getting me back into reading last spring, and finding out, right after reading many of his stories for the first time, that the legendarily-delayed TLDV had an actual, honest-to-god, we-swear-we're-not-joking release date felt like I'd chosen the exact right moment to pick his stuff up. Something about the way he wrote spoke to me. Deep. Intuitively. The kind of communication that chooses the exact right words and phrasings to punch through and hit me square in the soul. Turns out there's a reason for that. This one's going to get personal, and in a way I truly didn't anticipate.

On release day, I picked up TLDV, all but ran to the nearest available chair, and cracked the book open. What I read affected me so deeply that the feeling I got from those words is still with me today. The introduction and the following story Ellison Exegesis, both written by Ellison's friend and executor J. Michael Straczynski, laid out exactly why TLDV took so, so long to release, and the reasons were far too close to home. To come right out and say it, Ellison had a lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder that he refused to have treated until it was tragically too late. Suddenly everything made sense about his writing to me. The intense, bleeding emotion. The manic trancelike pace. The unshaking refusal to see the world in anything but the rawest, most honest terms. All or nothing. A feeling I know all too well. See, my father was also diagnosed bipolar when I was about 9 years old, and I realized that the two seemed kindred spirits in certain ways. Ways that I felt about myself as I was reading Ellison. Reading Exegesis and watching Ellison's life spiral out of control was like watching a path my life might one day take if I chose to ignore the tugging I felt at my heart in that moment. A potential bad ending, laid out in stark terms. It's directly because of this story that I sought an actual diagnosis and started dabbling in medication for cyclothymia, a lesser form of bipolar disorder, all because of how intensely what I read in this book touched me. For that, TLDV has my infinite gratitude.

So, how is it as a collection of sf short stories? Thankfully, Straczynski, who served as the final editor of this book, did a damn good job at preserving the spirit and quality of the Dangerous Visions project. Sure, there will be stories that won't hit for individual readers, but I found the overall quality level pretty high, a hit-to-miss ratio comparable with the original DV and surpassing A,DV.

My picks:

Hunger - Max Brooks
Chillingly researched and presented, it lays out a scenario for weaponized mass starvation so plausible that it hardly feels like fiction.

The Great Forest Lawn Clearance Sale - Hurry, Last Days! - Stephen Dedmen
Scores of historical figures, ranging from Thomas Jefferson to Oscar Wilde and even to Jesus himself, are reincarnated via cloning. Really enjoyable, with a fun pulpy tone and a conclusion that sticks the landing perfectly.

After Taste - Cecil Castellucci
The day after hitting it off with somebody at a bar, a renowned intergalactic food critic visits an unassuming, little-publicized restaurant by invitation. Starts off gentle but by the time you realize what kind of teeth this story has, you're already being crushed by them.

Goodbye - Steven Utley
A bitter breakup letter written by a professor to the time traveler who left him. Stings with the aching fury of a broken heart compounded by impossible temporal circumstances.

The Final Pogrom - Dan Simmons
This feels like a close ancestor to Hunger, because it works in very much the same space - a meticulously detailed rundown of how The Final Solution would not just work but -succeed- in a modern computerized era. Nightmarish in a way DV at its full power should feel, with the most chilling illustration in the book for my money.

Falling From Grace - Ward Moore
Smartly placed right after Pogrom, a much-needed spot of levity. A post-apocalyptic society tries (and hilariously fails) to piece together human history through the lens of a culture that reveres extinct supercomputers and corporations as gods.

First Sight - Adrian Tchaikovsky
Humans have finally made first contact with another species on a distant planet, but the first face-to-face meeting leads to a tragedy nobody could have foreseen. Tells you right away that this won't end well, then spends the remainder of its length building up tension while sketching out the alien world and physiology before finally bringing the hammer down.

Dark Threshold - PC Hodgell
A gorgeously dark fairytale about a locked room in a sprawling house where lost things end up. As gentle as a bedtime story, but with the soft and subtle menace of the original versions of those stories where the implications and possibilities are explored to their fullest.

Judas Iscariot Didn't Kill Himself: A Story in Fragments - James SA Corey
When resheathing, a way to implant a consciousness into a different body, becomes possible, a small pseudo-religious commune for resheathed people is founded, and unchained from the permanence of a physical form, seeks to explore the furthest reaches of consciousness. Much like another, more ancient band of about 12 people, this religion isn't without its Judas. Unsettlingly dark and with a point that makes plenty of sense in the internet age.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 5.0 of 5

Is it possible to wait 50 years for one book? Yes. Fans of Harlan Ellison and/or his Dangerous Visions collections have been waiting for this particular book for just that long.
Is it possible for a book that one has been waiting for for half a century to even come close to meeting fifty years' worth of expectations? Ahhh, that is the real question, isn't it? The answer is a resounding "Yes!" The stories ... well let me get to the stories in a minute.

Although this project was underway in the 1970's, the late Harlan Ellison was constantly questioned "When would it come out?" "What's taking so long?" This isn't a surprise. The first two books garnered a lot of attention, really pushed some boundaries and quite probably changed the face of science fiction and speculative fiction. So, the last volume ... where is it?

The brilliant J. Michael Straczynski - author, editor, and perhaps Harlan Ellison's closest living friend - has picked up the Dangerous Visions torch and seen it through to publication. In doing so, Straczynski opens the books (after the Introduction) with a 58 page essay titled "Ellison Exegesis" in which he explains the real reasons why this book was fifty years in the making. If you are human, and not a psychopath, you will certainly be moved by what you read. Straczynski is frank and almost brutal - though the word has a negative connotation and I don't mean it that way at all.

Harlan Ellison suffered his demons. Those of us who were not friends, but fans, were not aware of this. Our heroes aren't supposed to be human, after all.

What Straczynski reveals - from his relationship with Ellison to the depths of Harlan's troubles - is worth the price of the book. Especially if you have been waiting 50 years for this volume or you're a fan of Ellison's work.

To the collection:

Straczynski provides the majority of the introductions (read that "Ellison Exegesis" to understand the importance of this) and has picked a few stories to be added to the collection. As he explains, over the course of fifty years, some authors whose work has initially been selected to appear in the volume have asked for the rights back in order to be published elsewhere. Others are, perhaps, no longer 'dangerous' to the modern reader.

Overall I found the anthology to be of high caliber and great reading. So often in a collection like this there are one or two stories (at least I hope for only one or two) that don't speak to me at all. All the stories here were enjoyable and if I wasn't familiar with the author, I've already gone and looked them up to see what else of theirs is available to read.

Though nothing was a bomb, a couple of stories stood out to me. First was Cecil Castellucci's "After Taste" - an interesting storing of eating alien cuisine.

I can't say that I've been a big fan of Cory Doctorow's writing (I don't dislike it, but I'm generally not inclined to pick up a book with his name on it) but I did enjoy "The Weight of a Feather (The Weight of a Heart)".

Kayo Hartenbaum is one of those authors with whom I am not familiar. "Binary System" is possibly one of the more 'dangerous' stories in the collection and I was definitely impressed.

The book is very delightfully illustrated by artist Tim Kirk. I remember Kirk's work from the 1970's. The work here - whether from the 70's or the 2020's (I'm not sure when these were done) - is very strong.

This book contains the following:

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS by J. Michael Straczynski
ELLISON EXEGESIS by J. Michael Straczynski
ASSIGNMENT NO.1 by Stephen Robinett
HUNGER by Max Brooks
INTERMEZZO 1: BROKEN, BEAUTIFUL BODY ON BEACH by D. M. Rowles
NONE SO DEAF by Richard E. Peck
INTRODUCTION TO ED BRYANT’S “WAR STORIES” by Harlan Ellison
WAR STORIES by Edward Bryant
INTERMEZZO 2: BEDTIME STORY by D. M. Rowles
THE GREAT FOREST LAWN CLEARANCE SALE—HURRY, LAST DAYS! by Stephen Dedman
INTERMEZZO 3: EVEN BEYOND OLYMPUS by D. M. Rowles
AFTER TASTE by Cecil Castellucci
LEVELED BEST by Steve Herbst
THE TIME OF THE SKIN by A. E. Van Vogt
RUNDOWN by John Morressy
INTERMEZZO 4: ELEMENTAL by D. M. Rowles
THE WEIGHT OF A FEATHER (THE WEIGHT OF A HEART) by Cory Doctorow
THE MALIBU FAULT by Jonathan Fast
THE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM by Howard Fast
INTERMEZZO 5: FIRST CONTACT by D. M. Rowles
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA by Robert Wissner
GOODBYE by Steven Utley
PRIMORDIAL FOLLIES by Robert Sheckley
MEN IN WHITE by David Brin
INTERMEZZO 6: CONTINUITY by D. M. Rowles
THE FINAL POGROM by Dan Simmons
INTERMEZZO 7: THE SPACE BEHIND THE OBVIOUS by D. M. Rowles
FALLING FROM GRACE by Ward Moore
FIRST SIGHT by Adrian Tchaikovsky
INTERMEZZO 8: PROOF by D. M. Rowles
BINARY SYSTEM by Kayo Hartenbaum
DARK THRESHOLD by P. C. Hodgell
THE DANANN CHILDREN LAUGH by Mildred Downey Broxon
JUDAS ISCARIOT DIDN’T KILL HIMSELF: A STORY IN FRAGMENTS by James S. A. Corey
AFTERWORD: TETELESTAI! COMPILING THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS
Looking for a good book? Last Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison (and J. Michael Straczynski) was worth waiting for, with powerful fiction for modern readers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley and Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

[Andrew Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like many, I looked forward to seeing this book published for decades

And, not surprisingly, it was disappointing. I suppose you have to be crazy like Ellison to stretch that edge of inappropriate, rather than skirt it as the editor with the psych degree seems to. With one or two exceptions, it just doesn't hit the mark.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Blackstone Publishing for an advance copy of this short story collection that was the Holy Grail for many science fiction fans, thought lost forever, though no one knew why. Until now.

I have learned not to trust memoirs that so many people seem to be coming out with. There are many important moments in my life I can't remember, though memoirs are filled with dialogue, descriptions, weather and other descriptives that make a good story. I do remember the first movie I saw in theaters. Other things have become lost in time, or mythologized usually to my benefit. I don't remember what drew me to Harlan Ellison, an author whose books I own in multiple additions, on all sorts of media from LPS, audio tape, and VHS. Probably DVD that's slipping my mind, see don't trust memoirs. How I came across Ellison I have no idea. A short story, a critical review, a teleplay, on television. Was my introduction by Gay Talese in a classic articel about Frank Sinatra, or Tom Snyder who had Ellison on as a guest numerous times. I don't know. For half my life, Ellison was a writer I loved, admired,and wanted to meet more than anything. After reading this collection, a collection I never thought I would see, I have even more feelings for the man and what he suffered. And fans of Ellison owe quite a lot of thanks to J. Michael Straczynski for being a man who was more than willing for bear this burden, editing, compiling, deleting, and of course adding to this collection, a true labor of love. The Last Dangerous Visions is a collection of stories that looks at our future, our past, judges and finds us wanting in many ways, and yet leaves us with hope for both the future and literature. This is also one of the purest examples of love, respect and honoring the wishes of those who have gone before us, a real gift to us all.

The 60's and 70's were an eventful time for the world, writing and the author Harlan Ellison. Cool as any cucumber, Ellison was a multi-hyphenate of a a writer, movies, television, criticism, fiction, and being a character. Ellison had an idea, to shake up the moribund conservative world that science fiction was, and in many ways continues to be, with stories showing what was happening now, with writers, old and new trying things that were unknown in the genre. Dangerous Visions was a success,a bomb blasting the old and showing the new and the possible. A sequel, Again Dangerous Visions, did just as well, introducing new writers and making fans want more. The Last Dangerous Visions, was announced, stories collected, a list of chapters presented, and nothing. Not a whimper, just nothing. The books were demanding for Ellison, each story had an essay by Ellison, about the story, author or just life in the world, and Ellison was buying lots of stories, so people just thought the project was getting bigger. However the truth was far worse.

The first part of the book details in painful ways why the book was delayed, and explains a lot of the things that Ellison fans have had to wonder about a man who seemed so driven to write, and yet did not produce for quite a while. I won't go into detail, I will just say read it. J. Michael Straczynski a writer of note himself, is the literary executor for the Ellison estate, and was a long time friend. Straczynski details the problems in the forward and afterword, and they are many, and heart breaking.

The stories are at the heart and really hit hard. Even writers who I was familiar with Max Brooks, Cory Doctrow, Dan Simmons seemed to bring the A in the game, trying new things, new ideas. One can see the older stories have a sense of hope, while the newer ones in the era of this failed century seem more, think it's bad now, get ready. There were like in any collection, crossing eras, a few stories that were just ok. Standouts though include the Intermezzo stories by Deborah Shepard writing as D.M Roules, I loved the way that even though the stories were short, the writing, the ideas, and the way Shepard presented them. The art is also good, and make for a really fine collection. One well worth the weight.

As good as the stories are, the writing by J. Michael Straczynski is the reason to get this book. Straczynski's recollections of Ellison the importance of Ellison's writing to him are just beautiful to read. Reading this made me feel bad that Harlan seemed so sad, so alone in the world. However he wasn't he had a friend like J. Michael Straczynski, who I hope has someone keeping an eye on him. Straczynski more than deserves it. Without a doubt a buy for fans who love good stories, or reading about people who care for each other. Can't recommend enough.

[Tim OBrien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am old enough to have read "Dangerous Visions" and "Again Dangerous Visions" when they first came out. I was blown away by the stories in those two collections. They are still on my bookshelf (along with collections of Harlan's own short stories). I have been a fan of Harlan's work since the sixties. In 2017 (the year before Harlan died) I even wrote an article, "Harlan Ellison: He's Not Dead Yet and He's Not Done Either"; for the now defunct Barnes & Noble Science Fiction Fantasy blog. (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/c...)

Like many others I often wondered about "The Last Dangerous Visions" over the past fifty years. When I read that the book was finally being published I immediately bought a copy. J. Michael Straczynski, Harlan's friend and executor of his estate, is responsible for "The Last Dangerous Visions" finally being published posthumously. In "A Brief Introduction to The Last Dangerous Visions" Straczynski talks about the first two volumes of the Dangerous Visions series and their impact on science fiction. He also talks about the struggles he had as executor of Harlan's estate in bringing the book to publication.

Straczynski also wrote a long essay for the book titled "Ellison Exegesis". In that essay he tells his own story of the impact of Harlan's stories on him as a young boy, and how he met Harlan who became his mentor, then his friend. And how Harlan's struggles with bipolar disorder, medical and financial problems kept him from finishing the project and created many other problems in his life. It is a moving story, well told.

In the "Afterword" for TLDV Straczynski describes in some detail his work finishing this book. Harlan had bought more than a hundred stories for TLDV over the decades. Sometimes even buying stories that were not good for TLDV to help friends who needed the money or a career boost. So Straczynski had to decide which were good and still relevant years after they were written. He solicited additional new stories as well. Plus he had to write introductions to each story if Harlan had not already done so. And write a bio for each author in the present tense.

As Straczynski says at the end of the "Afterword": " The Last Dangerous Visions is as complete as it ever will be, and more complete than it ever was." I just wish it was better. Most short story collections vary in quality, and personal taste certainly comes into play. But I was disappointed by many of the stories. (There were probably stories that I didn't like the the first two Dangerous Visions books too. But I didn't wait fifty years for those.) There were some outstanding stories too: "War Stories" by Edward Bryant, "The Weight of a Feather (The Weight of a Heart) by Cory Doctorow, "Goodbye" by Steven Utley, "Binary Systems" by Kato Hartenbaum (her first published story, purchased by Straczynski), "Dark Threshold" by P.C. Hodgett, and "Judas Iscariot Didn't Kill Himself: A Story in Fragments" by James S. A. Corey (probably the most dangerous vision in the entire collection). And Harlan's long introduction to "War Stories" is a wonderful story of Harlan and Ed Bryant and a good example of the introductions that added so much to all three Dangerous Visions books.

If you're a fan or just interested in Harlan Ellison you should definitely pick up this book. Maybe my expectations were just too high and I was bound to be disappointed. The book has more good stories than many "Best SF of the Year" collections. So I would recommend it for the general SF reader as well. Not just for the good stories but to learn a bit about Harlan's life.

Now I have to sit down and decide which of the stories I am going to nominate for this year's Hugo Award. The first two Dangerous Visions held a slew of award nominees and winners. I think this one will too.

[Luke Dylan Ramsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

C+/B-

Almost 4 stars, but not quite. The stories in this collection are mostly solid; a few are spectacular; and some are pretty damn bad… this is true of Ellison’s other entries in the Dangerous Visions series of anthologies (and true of pretty much all short story collections, including (and especially) multi-author anthologies), but the highs here are not as high while the lows are even lower than they were in the other books in this series.

That being said, I only had a major issue with one story: “The Final Pogrom” by Dan Simmons. To get straight to the point, the story at least implies that anti-semitism and anti-Zionism are one and the same. In the current political climate, this is kind of outrageous, also regressive and lacking in any nuance.

The intro by Stracynski takes great pains to paint a subtle and refined portrait of Ellison, a portrait that attempts to reconcile Ellison’s issues with mental health (he was bipolar but undiagnosed as such for almost his entire life), Ellison’s problematic actions (especially later in life), and the fact that Ellison was a socially conscious writer who did things like march with MLK. In other words, the intro portrays Ellison as on the correct side throughout history and makes me think that Ellison may have (or, perhaps, should have) had second thoughts about the story’s inclusion if he was still alive here in 2024. That being said, Ellison was Jewish and very well could have been a Zionist (I don’t really know).

I would like to point out that I am in no way condoning anti-semitism, I am just saying it’s not the same as anti-Zionism.

ANYWAYS. The Tchaikovsky story was disappointing, sadly, the Ward Moore story was a highlight, the James SA Corey story was pretty damn good, the Robert Wissner and Max Brooks stories were also highlights. The stories by the father and son (Hodgson, maybe?) were atrocious low lights. Cory Doctorow’s story was really good (maybe not amazing but definitely worth your time) and very timely as well. The story by a previously unpublished author (Kayo Hartenbaum) was enjoyable and solid but I didn’t feel like it really jived with the rest of the collection.

I did very much enjoy the intro and endtro by Straczynski. As someone who has been cursed by the gods below with bipolar disorder, it definitely helped rehabilitate Ellison’s reputation with me. I know very well how hard it can be to concentrate, how difficult impulse control can get, and how sometimes, with a disorder like bipolar, you can sometimes find yourself acting and/or communicating in ways that aren’t representative of who you are as a person. It also does a good job of explaining why the anthology took over 50 years to come out.

The endtro does explain one of my biggest problems with the book: it’s almost completely just white male authors. As this was outside of the editors’ control, I can’t really knock them for it.

Worth checking out (though maybe not urgently so), especially if you are a fan of Ellison or a fan of the other anthologies in the series.