All the Sounds of Fear

by Harlan Ellison

1973 Panther books. Some residue at bottom right of front cover- perhaps former sticker remains. Ink name on flyleaf. Last few pages and back cover bending outwards some. Some browning especially near edges of pages (margins). Back cover some scuffing. No other writing, highlighting or underlining.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Collections

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

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

[Florence Salmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Harlequin is repenting? In this economy?!

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange, dark, thoughtful stories. For me, it leaned more towards well-written than enjoyable.

[Leo H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good short story collection, some hits and misses as is always the case. Very much enjoyed "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman , but apparently it's the most widely reprinted short story ever, so it appears I'm somewhat late to that party.

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Without a face. From his hairline to his chin, a blank, empty, featureless expanse. Empty. Silent. Devoid of sight or smell or sound. Blank and faceless, a creature God had never deigned to bless with a mirror to the world. His Method now was gone.

[Mårten Ericson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never really heard about Harlan Ellison before I found this collection of short stories. In the beginning I was highly impressed with the work. I can see why H. Ellison would have been able to win both the Hugo & Nebula Awards. However, some of the stories are naturally better than others. I'll give it a 3 but some of the stories clearly deserves a 4.

[Paul Trembling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading old sf (This book has been on my shelf for probably thirty years or more, and I got it second hand: some of the stories are older than I am!) can tell you more about the time they were written than about the future. For example, the characters all seem to smoke as a matter of course, and it seems that none of the myriad futures speculated on included ones where the inhaling of nicotine had been found to be unhealthy and was therefore discouraged.

And it seems from the forward that a big concern of the time - or at least, one of Ellison's big concerns - was 'alienation' - the disconnect between the individual and society, or the world, or the universe, etc. Well we still have that, but it's not such big concern anymore, apathy having taken over.

Of course, all stories also say a lot about the writer, and from this collection you'd think that Ellison was a man with a very gloomy outlook on life. There's not a lot of laughs here. He is undeniably good with words, brilliant at vivid description, but what he describes are very bleak futures. Only two of them. 'Deeper than the Darkness' and 'Blind Lightning' have any sort of hope in them, though even that bit is very welcome after the utter despair of other storeys.

The collection includes one of his best known stories, '"Repent, Harlequin" Said The Ticktockman' which deserves to be known just for its title, which must be one of the best in all SF! Like the title, the story is quirky and wonderfully well imagined. Like most of the other stories, the message is gloomy - 'you can't beat the system'. Although we are, perhaps, encouraged to be brave enough to try.

My favourite was the final story, 'Bright Eyes', a haunting look at a post-apocalyptic world from an unusual perspective. But it's as gloomy as the rest of them.

I can't say I enjoyed these stories. I admired the talent behind them but they tended to leave a dark shadow behind them. Which is probably exactly what Ellison intended.

[Andreas Valentin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harlan Ellison er vild, ikke fordi han tager sine historier til sære fjerne verdener, men fordi han gør dem så markant anderledes end vores, og alligevel får dem til at virke ægte.
Han tager absolut ingen gidsler, hvad verdensopbygning gælder. Man bliver kastet direkte ind i verden efter verden, hvor et nyt sæt regler for eksistens gælder. Der gik ofte flere sider i hver novelle, før jeg følte at jeg havde fanget hvad den gik ud på, men når tiøren var faldet kunne jeg nærmest hver gang bare give mig hen til en underholdene og dyb lille fortælling.
Temaet i denne novellesamling er fremmedgørelse, og nogle af historierne rammer knusende godt. Især 'I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream', synes jeg er grusom, hvad angår formidlingen af fremmedgørelse, og så er den bare super uhyggelig samtidig.

Mine favoritter:
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
All the Sounds of Fear
The Silver Corridor
'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book at an early age and never forgot the story 'I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream'. It's a powerful story that made a big impression on me at a very impressionable age. Not every story is as good but the book is worth reading. I just reread it as I re-alphabetised my sci fic book shelves.

[Rob Gruszecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

First collection of Ellison stories I've read and I can't wait to dive into more. Some great ones in this collection like "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream", "Repent Harlequin said the Tick Tockman" and "Blind Lightning". All were great though.

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in one of Hitchcock's compilations. I honestly can't remember much about this one. Giving it the benefit of the doubt and giving it three stars. Seems fair enough. At the end of the day, it's just another rating towards my account.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories are better than others but mostly I enjoyed this.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of writing that show the essence of Harlan Ellison’s greatness. I particularly enjoyed “Deeper Than The Darness”

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for being one of the few collections that include both Repent Harlequin & IHNMAIMS

[Gareth Howells · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I read, and collected, of Harlan Ellison's writing.
Absolutely incredible stories - famously, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" won awards, as did "Repent Harlequin Said the Ticktockman" - those are the highlights, but the whole collection is brilliant.

[Perry Middlemiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of Ellison’s stories ranging from 1956 through to 1967, including his award winning stories “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” and “’Repent, Harlequin!’ said the Ticktockman”. All of these deal with the themes of alienation and oppression, either by external forces – governments or society – or by the stories’ protagonists themselves. Most of them were originally published in the various sf magazines of the period, other than the title story, with first appeared in The Saint Detective Magazine. It’s very easy, and also very interesting, to see the author’s progression from the earlier, standard sf stories to his later award winners. R: 3.4/5.0

[Ian McQuaid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ai pessimism in I Have No Mouth and resistance against the tyranny of industrialised time keeping in Repent Harlequin both deserve their exalted position in the Sci fi canon. Others a bit hit and miss, but the classics make it all worth it

[Dirk Wickenden · Rating 3 out of 5]

My UK Granada copy has a different cover (by artist David Jackson).

This is the most 'science fictiony' of Uncle Harlan's books, I think. I Have No Mouth is the most disturbing, adult orientated story in the collection. I couldn't really understand The Silver Corridor. My fave story in this collection is Repent, Harlequin.

[Zantaeus Glom · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute masterpiece! Ellison is the man!

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Melodramatic.

[Adam Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” is the scariest thing I’ve ever read.