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Over the Edge
Amid the ruins of a world in which men become monsters, dreams turn to poison, and the only sanity lies in fantasy, these eleven stories and two essays take you beyond the brink, to study the terrifying landscape charted by Harlan Ellison.
For those who have read even one of Harlan Ellison's books, no further introduction is necessary. But to those who may have escaped the pull of his imagination, here are some examples of the singular Ellison talent. Stories and essays in which:
The terrifying specter of Jack the Ripper walks again, in a tale so relentlessly uncompromising in its examination of the nature of evil, you will not soon be able to shake off its spell.
A stranger who may have come from Hell strips the veil of hypocrisy from a town's placid existence, exposing, with awful consequences, the evil underneath.
Gods for today—the rock god ad the machine god—are described in terms even the most devout will find compelling and strangely disturbing.
By misdirection and inference, Mr Ellison looks afresh at the core of alienation and race prejudice, the element of fear in films, the heart of loneliness, the bestiality of the male ego, and provides for several bad guys just desserts that will make the sadist in you leap for joy... and so... straight on!
For those who have read even one of Harlan Ellison's books, no further introduction is necessary. But to those who may have escaped the pull of his imagination, here are some examples of the singular Ellison talent. Stories and essays in which:
The terrifying specter of Jack the Ripper walks again, in a tale so relentlessly uncompromising in its examination of the nature of evil, you will not soon be able to shake off its spell.
A stranger who may have come from Hell strips the veil of hypocrisy from a town's placid existence, exposing, with awful consequences, the evil underneath.
Gods for today—the rock god ad the machine god—are described in terms even the most devout will find compelling and strangely disturbing.
By misdirection and inference, Mr Ellison looks afresh at the core of alienation and race prejudice, the element of fear in films, the heart of loneliness, the bestiality of the male ego, and provides for several bad guys just desserts that will make the sadist in you leap for joy... and so... straight on!
191 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1957
32 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Harlan Ellison
1,081 books2,806 followersHarlan 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".
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".
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 22, 2024
R.I.P Harlan Ellison, you would’ve loved writing unnecessarily long movie reviews on Letterboxd.
December 13, 2019
Great to be reading some Ellison again! Though some of the selections in Harlan Ellison's Over the Edge were rereads for me (he was a heavily anthologized writer, and with good reason) I still enjoyed every bit of this book. Ellison an author who always bears rereading and that puts him in a special class. We lost him in 2018 at the age of eighty four. Ellison was one of those authors who had a large impact on me-he defied everything, and he certainly helped me construct the intellectual armor that allowed me to survive almost a decade of higher education when I was a very sad human being. In an odd way I owe him, and now that he is gone I will never get to tell him that. But I can say it here, and that will have to do. Thank you Harlan-for everything.
June 29, 2022
Another great collection of Ellison’s work. The quality varies quite substantially from piece to piece, but the stories in the first half are especially strong. The essay on horror filmmaking is badly dated and disrupts the flow, and some of the stories in the second half are quite weak. But there’s something absorbing and unpredictable about Ellison’s work that makes this collection well worth reading. It’s like a 1960s version of Black Mirror.
May 6, 2022
This collection of stories and essays has the grab bag feeling of a fridge full of leftovers on Saturday night. Some items are better than others. Some might have been good once but are aging poorly. "Xenogenesis" is the showcase piece--engaging, infuriating, funny, and horrifying in turns. "Pennies, Off a Dead Man's Eyes" and "3 Faces of Fear" were considered by the author to be substantial elements of his oeuvre, but the passing years have rendered them stale and out of date.
(Note: All post-1995 editions of this book have a significantly altered table of contents. Six pieces were removed to minimize duplications with other Ellison collections, and six new pieces were added.)
2.5 stars. Here are my individual reviews:
1) "Pennies, Off a Dead Man's Eyes" (1969)
An unnamed narrator has the ability to render himself invisible. He sneaks into the funeral of an old Black man Jed, who took him in as a stray at the age of seven and raised him. After the open casket viewing, a gorgeous white woman steals the silver half-dollars off Jed's eyes, rendering the dead man's soul unable to pay his way across the River Jordon. Who is she, and why would she commit such an unthinkable horror?
I read this story years ago in Alone Against Tomorrow, but it did not stick with me at the time. Upon rereading, I think it has a wonderful premise. At the same time it is frustrating in its execution. It encapsulates both the best and worst aspects of Ellison's fiction. At the heart of this story is a compelling extended metaphor: The narrator is an alien whom Jed has taught how to pass as human. The woman is Jed's estranged daughter, who is passing for white.
The metaphor never gets legs because Ellison does not put in the necessary world building. How did the narrator get stuck on our planet? What challenges does he face to live amongst us? There should be at least a novella's worth of ideas here. Without the necessary foundation and underpinnings, it comes off as just a heavy-handed fable about racism and self-acceptance.
2) "The End of the Time of Leinard" (1958)
A gunslinger sheriff is adored when he cleans out the riffraff from a one-saloon town at the end of the wagon trail. However, his itchy trigger finger begins to rub townspeople the wrong way after order and civilization have been established.
3) "3 Faces of Fear: An Essay" (1966)
In the first part of this essay, Ellison praises the works of 1940's horror film producer Val Lewton. His main point is that horror is often more effective when imagined rather than seen. I guess Hollywood learned the lesson. Spielberg knew to show the shark as little as possible. Ridley Scott's alien slunk in the shadows until the third act. Has CGI changed the rules? Somehow I don't think the mere suggestion of a velociraptor would have worked in Jurassic Park or just a bare hint of a balrog in Fellowship of the Ring.
In the second section, Ellison eviscerates three movies from 1965 I've never even heard of: Rat King, Bunny Lake Is Missing, and The Loved Ones.
In the final section, Ellison heaps accolades on Roman Polanski's Repulsion before taking him to task for its thin plot and unanswered questions. His insights are interesting, given how Polanski's life and career have turned out. This was written, of course, before Rosemary's Baby, Sharon Tate's murder, or the child-rape conviction.
Note: This essay is discussed again in The Harlan Ellison Hornbook, in the context of Richard Matheson's rise in the world of horror film writers of the early 1970's.
4) "Blind Lightning" (1956)
An aging alien ecologist is threatened by an aggressive, telepathic ape-like life form on a jungle planet. What begins as a fight for survival becomes a chance instead to save a dying sentient race and achieve personal redemption. Entertaining pulp sci-fi.
5) "Walk the High Steel" (1964)
Chips Bolden is a wildcat driller, construction foreman, and all-around fixer who arrives in town to help Marci, a beautiful young woman whose business is under attack. The bad guys are local mobsters who covet Marci's lucrative contract. The story is full of fisticuffs and fight scenes. Too bad Ellison is not as adept at depicting physical violence as he is alien intelligences. This is nowhere near the level of visceral verisimilitude you get from hardboiled action sequences by Joe R. Lansdale or Max Allan Collins.
6) "Shadow Play" (1957)
A great change has wracked the cosmos. Shadows now alive break free of their human masters--their Substantials--and they have strange, wonderful powers to destroy, to kill, to rule the earth. But power is never unchecked. All living things have predators--and nature has also given rise to a new breed of mythological beast, the shadow-vampire. Another fun pulpy adventure story. Original title "Revolt of the Shadows"
7) "The Words in Spock's Mouth: An Essay" (1968)
Ellison tackles themes in this short essay that he will return to (at greater length and volume) many times in his career: Fans who worship their favorite artists; the lack of respect and equitable pay for working writers; and, finally, what distinguishes Art from dreck in literature, film and television.
There is a certain irony in some of Ellison's views as he himself became more of a Personality (and arguably less of an Artist) as his career wore on. He became more famous for his lawsuits than his stories. He infamously assaulted Connie Willis for shock value during the 2006 Hugo Awards convention. Yet he also had a lot of positive influence in standing up for authors' rights and fighting against plagiarism, piracy, and copyright infringement.
8) "From a Great Height" (1996)
Kennoy, a gigolo ski instructor, is hired to take a rich couple hiking to a snowy mountain summit. While on the way up, they both offer him large sums of money to kill the other spouse. Kennoy needs the money to pay off gambling debts. Is there an angle to play to collect from both of them? This is a nasty bit of noir tomfoolery, only slightly spoiled by the main character's obvious short-sightedness.
9) "Night Vigil" (1957 )
This is a well-written story about a man who has lived in isolation in deep space for more than 20 years. Unfortunately, I cannot get over the utter silliness of the premise. If we can build machines that can monitor the entire universe for alien threats, then why can’t those same machines send a warning message back to Earth? Why does someone have to sit in a room waiting for a red light to blink, so he can key a message back to the home planet?
10) "Xenogenesis: An Essay" (1984)
Ellison's hot take on toxic fandom, a phenomena that has only grown worse in the 38 years since the essay was written. He punctuates his points with story after story from other well-known sf authors -- Isaac Asimov, James Tiptree (Alice Sheldon), Robert Heinlein, David Gerrold, Alan Dean Foster, and many others who have experienced the dark side of interactions with their fans.
I suspect the manner of harassments, rudeness, stalkings, and invasions of privacy may have changed in the digital age. However, the underlying problems of obsession, entitlement, and inability to separate real life from fantasy have not.
11) "Rock God" (1969)
A horror story wherein the god of Stonehenge, who derives his essence from the crust of the earth, has been sleeping for thousands of years. When he awakens in New York City, he finds that city of steel and skyscrapers expands his power immensely.
12) "Ernest and the Machine God" (1968)
A woman with a near-supernatural power to manipulate men requests help from a young, awkward car mechanic who just happens to be a prophet of the Machine God. An entertaining, unpretentious story.
(Note: All post-1995 editions of this book have a significantly altered table of contents. Six pieces were removed to minimize duplications with other Ellison collections, and six new pieces were added.)
2.5 stars. Here are my individual reviews:
1) "Pennies, Off a Dead Man's Eyes" (1969)
An unnamed narrator has the ability to render himself invisible. He sneaks into the funeral of an old Black man Jed, who took him in as a stray at the age of seven and raised him. After the open casket viewing, a gorgeous white woman steals the silver half-dollars off Jed's eyes, rendering the dead man's soul unable to pay his way across the River Jordon. Who is she, and why would she commit such an unthinkable horror?
I read this story years ago in Alone Against Tomorrow, but it did not stick with me at the time. Upon rereading, I think it has a wonderful premise. At the same time it is frustrating in its execution. It encapsulates both the best and worst aspects of Ellison's fiction. At the heart of this story is a compelling extended metaphor: The narrator is an alien whom Jed has taught how to pass as human. The woman is Jed's estranged daughter, who is passing for white.
The metaphor never gets legs because Ellison does not put in the necessary world building. How did the narrator get stuck on our planet? What challenges does he face to live amongst us? There should be at least a novella's worth of ideas here. Without the necessary foundation and underpinnings, it comes off as just a heavy-handed fable about racism and self-acceptance.
2) "The End of the Time of Leinard" (1958)
A gunslinger sheriff is adored when he cleans out the riffraff from a one-saloon town at the end of the wagon trail. However, his itchy trigger finger begins to rub townspeople the wrong way after order and civilization have been established.
3) "3 Faces of Fear: An Essay" (1966)
In the first part of this essay, Ellison praises the works of 1940's horror film producer Val Lewton. His main point is that horror is often more effective when imagined rather than seen. I guess Hollywood learned the lesson. Spielberg knew to show the shark as little as possible. Ridley Scott's alien slunk in the shadows until the third act. Has CGI changed the rules? Somehow I don't think the mere suggestion of a velociraptor would have worked in Jurassic Park or just a bare hint of a balrog in Fellowship of the Ring.
In the second section, Ellison eviscerates three movies from 1965 I've never even heard of: Rat King, Bunny Lake Is Missing, and The Loved Ones.
In the final section, Ellison heaps accolades on Roman Polanski's Repulsion before taking him to task for its thin plot and unanswered questions. His insights are interesting, given how Polanski's life and career have turned out. This was written, of course, before Rosemary's Baby, Sharon Tate's murder, or the child-rape conviction.
Note: This essay is discussed again in The Harlan Ellison Hornbook, in the context of Richard Matheson's rise in the world of horror film writers of the early 1970's.
4) "Blind Lightning" (1956)
An aging alien ecologist is threatened by an aggressive, telepathic ape-like life form on a jungle planet. What begins as a fight for survival becomes a chance instead to save a dying sentient race and achieve personal redemption. Entertaining pulp sci-fi.
5) "Walk the High Steel" (1964)
Chips Bolden is a wildcat driller, construction foreman, and all-around fixer who arrives in town to help Marci, a beautiful young woman whose business is under attack. The bad guys are local mobsters who covet Marci's lucrative contract. The story is full of fisticuffs and fight scenes. Too bad Ellison is not as adept at depicting physical violence as he is alien intelligences. This is nowhere near the level of visceral verisimilitude you get from hardboiled action sequences by Joe R. Lansdale or Max Allan Collins.
6) "Shadow Play" (1957)
A great change has wracked the cosmos. Shadows now alive break free of their human masters--their Substantials--and they have strange, wonderful powers to destroy, to kill, to rule the earth. But power is never unchecked. All living things have predators--and nature has also given rise to a new breed of mythological beast, the shadow-vampire. Another fun pulpy adventure story. Original title "Revolt of the Shadows"
7) "The Words in Spock's Mouth: An Essay" (1968)
Ellison tackles themes in this short essay that he will return to (at greater length and volume) many times in his career: Fans who worship their favorite artists; the lack of respect and equitable pay for working writers; and, finally, what distinguishes Art from dreck in literature, film and television.
There is a certain irony in some of Ellison's views as he himself became more of a Personality (and arguably less of an Artist) as his career wore on. He became more famous for his lawsuits than his stories. He infamously assaulted Connie Willis for shock value during the 2006 Hugo Awards convention. Yet he also had a lot of positive influence in standing up for authors' rights and fighting against plagiarism, piracy, and copyright infringement.
8) "From a Great Height" (1996)
Kennoy, a gigolo ski instructor, is hired to take a rich couple hiking to a snowy mountain summit. While on the way up, they both offer him large sums of money to kill the other spouse. Kennoy needs the money to pay off gambling debts. Is there an angle to play to collect from both of them? This is a nasty bit of noir tomfoolery, only slightly spoiled by the main character's obvious short-sightedness.
9) "Night Vigil" (1957 )
This is a well-written story about a man who has lived in isolation in deep space for more than 20 years. Unfortunately, I cannot get over the utter silliness of the premise. If we can build machines that can monitor the entire universe for alien threats, then why can’t those same machines send a warning message back to Earth? Why does someone have to sit in a room waiting for a red light to blink, so he can key a message back to the home planet?
10) "Xenogenesis: An Essay" (1984)
Ellison's hot take on toxic fandom, a phenomena that has only grown worse in the 38 years since the essay was written. He punctuates his points with story after story from other well-known sf authors -- Isaac Asimov, James Tiptree (Alice Sheldon), Robert Heinlein, David Gerrold, Alan Dean Foster, and many others who have experienced the dark side of interactions with their fans.
I suspect the manner of harassments, rudeness, stalkings, and invasions of privacy may have changed in the digital age. However, the underlying problems of obsession, entitlement, and inability to separate real life from fantasy have not.
11) "Rock God" (1969)
A horror story wherein the god of Stonehenge, who derives his essence from the crust of the earth, has been sleeping for thousands of years. When he awakens in New York City, he finds that city of steel and skyscrapers expands his power immensely.
12) "Ernest and the Machine God" (1968)
A woman with a near-supernatural power to manipulate men requests help from a young, awkward car mechanic who just happens to be a prophet of the Machine God. An entertaining, unpretentious story.
August 6, 2018
This is by no means Harlan Ellison's best collection, but Over the Edge reminds me what it is about its author that keeps me coming back for more. This is a revised and expanded edition of the 1970 original. Ellison excised several of the early works which he no longer liked and replaced them with more interesting stories and essays.
Harlan Ellison is no great stylist, but he is one of the world's greatest story tellers. I actually liked all the stories, as well as all three essays, particularly "The Three Faces of Fear." Ellison's persona as an author is prickly in the extreme, but he is honest and always cogent. As he tells in "Xenogenesis," he suffered a great deal from fans who were put off by his personality; but then where is the author who is not a little afraid of his or her fans?
The more Ellison I read, the more I want to read.
Harlan Ellison is no great stylist, but he is one of the world's greatest story tellers. I actually liked all the stories, as well as all three essays, particularly "The Three Faces of Fear." Ellison's persona as an author is prickly in the extreme, but he is honest and always cogent. As he tells in "Xenogenesis," he suffered a great deal from fans who were put off by his personality; but then where is the author who is not a little afraid of his or her fans?
The more Ellison I read, the more I want to read.
November 9, 2021
A quite disturbing book in places, especially The Prowler In The City At The Edge Of The World, about Jack the Ripper being transported to a distant future - it is sickening. The! Teddy! Crazy! Show! was obviously a dig at a talk show host, whilst Pennies, Off A Dead Man's Eyes was fairly oblique in its storytelling. Rock God, the last story, was disturbing and offensive. Like Ellison himself could be! The introductions by Norman Spinrad and Ellison were tedious. Ellison's afterword was as short as the foreword should have been.
October 17, 2019
Another Harlan Ellison book I read years ago and needed to move to my Read shelf. I have yet to read an Ellison story that didn't blow my mind in some way. Dan Simmons comes closest to Ellison in his ability to write across genres with aplomb, but Ellison retains this edge to what he writes, and he predates Simmons by years and its likely taught Simmons how to be so amazingly adept. Simmons IS incredibly and diversely superb. Ellison is better. By a lot. Read him. A lot of him.
December 10, 2020
A collection of 13 short pieces, with 11 fiction, that show the breadth of Ellison's skill. Across his career, he produced fantastic work in not just science fiction but also fiction, criticism, movie scripts, teleplays - you name it. I particularly recommend Enter the Fanatic, Stage Left and Pennies, Off a Dead Man's Eyes but I think each reader will have their own preferences based on their own personal demons. Highly recommend, particularly if you are not familiar with Ellison's work.
March 5, 2023
NOT a fan.
Though I agree an author and his creative liberties as well as his civil one's need to be respected and some things which Harlan describes are HORRENDOUS and not excusable at all.... I didn't need to be subjected to this level of anger and irritation... The cover page for the novel is very misleading and frankly... The only reason I finished this was coz I don't like leaving things half done ...
Though I agree an author and his creative liberties as well as his civil one's need to be respected and some things which Harlan describes are HORRENDOUS and not excusable at all.... I didn't need to be subjected to this level of anger and irritation... The cover page for the novel is very misleading and frankly... The only reason I finished this was coz I don't like leaving things half done ...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2020
Here's another waste of time from H.E. The speculation in much of his fiction is speculating how he can kill people in his stories. Often women, many times wives. Worthless.
June 30, 2020
I've read a lot of Ellison stories. These are not examples of his best work.
February 28, 2017
Over the Edge is a relatively early collection of Ellison stories, and includes an essay which is a brilliant piece of film criticism and an interesting introduction by Norman Spinrad. Most of the stories are rather short, but pack quite a punch. Ellison at his best will always be worthwhile; these are some good ones from early in his career through his award-winning days.
September 4, 2022
Pennies, Off a Dead Man’s Eyes **ooo
The End of the Time of Leinard ****o
3 Faces of Fear (essay)
Blind Lightning *oooo
Walk the High Steel *oooo
Shadow Play *oooo
The Words in Spock’s Mouth (essay)
From a Great Height **ooo
Night Vigil **ooo
Xenogenesis (essay)
Rock God *oooo
Ernest and the Machine God *oooo
----------
The Final Push *oooo
The End of the Time of Leinard ****o
3 Faces of Fear (essay)
Blind Lightning *oooo
Walk the High Steel *oooo
Shadow Play *oooo
The Words in Spock’s Mouth (essay)
From a Great Height **ooo
Night Vigil **ooo
Xenogenesis (essay)
Rock God *oooo
Ernest and the Machine God *oooo
----------
The Final Push *oooo
April 26, 2013
This 1970 collection is a hodge-podge of then-recent and older stories, a few of which had already appeared in other collections, which is probably why Ellison let it go out of print. The essay on Val Lewton's suggestion-of-horror films is worthwhile and I'm not sure it's otherwise available.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews