Editing Dangerous Visions

{{short description|Science fiction short story anthology edited by Harlan Ellison}}
{{infobox book | 
| name          = Dangerous Visions
| title_orig    = 
| translator    = 
| image         = DangerousVisions(1stEd).jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = Cover of first edition (hardcover)
| editor = [[Harlan Ellison]]
| illustrator   = [[Leo and Diane Dillon]]
| cover_artist  = 
| country       = United States
| language      = English
| series        = 
| genre         = [[Science fiction]] 
| publisher     = [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]
| release_date  = 1967
| english_release_date =
| media_type    = Print ([[Hardcover]] & [[Paperback]])
| pages         = 544 
| preceded_by   = 
| followed_by   = [[Again, Dangerous Visions]]
}}
'''''Dangerous Visions''''' is an [[anthology]] of [[science fiction]] [[short story|short stories]] edited by American writer [[Harlan Ellison]] and illustrated by [[Leo and Diane Dillon]]. It was published in [[1967 in literature|1967]] and contained 33 stories, none of which had been previously published.<ref name="galaxy196712">{{Cite magazine
 |date=December 1967
 |title=For the first time anywhere—33 great new stories by all the science fiction masters of our time
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v26n02_1967-12_modified#page/n1/mode/2up
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=3
 |type=advertisement
}}</ref>

A path-breaking collection, ''Dangerous Visions'' helped define the [[New Wave (science fiction)|New Wave]] science fiction movement, particularly in its depiction of [[sex in science fiction]]. Writer/editor [[Al Sarrantonio]] wrote that ''Dangerous Visions'' "almost single-handedly [...] changed the way readers thought about science fiction."<ref>Sarrantonio, Al, editor. ''999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense''. 1999. Avon Books. {{ISBN|0-380-97740-0}}</ref>

Contributors to the volume included 20 authors who had won, or would win, a [[Hugo Award|Hugo]], [[Nebula Award|Nebula]], [[World Fantasy Award|World Fantasy]], or [[BSFA Award|BSFA]] award, and 16 with multiple such awards. Ellison introduced the anthology both collectively and individually while authors provided afterwords to their own stories.

==Awards and nominations==
The stories and the anthology itself were nominated for and received many awards. "[[Gonna Roll the Bones]]" by [[Fritz Leiber]] received both a [[Hugo Award for Best Novelette]] and a [[Nebula Award for Best Novelette]], whilst [[Philip K. Dick]]'s "[[Faith of Our Fathers (short story)|Faith of Our Fathers]]" was a nominee for the Hugo in the same category.<ref name="Hugos1968">{{cite web |title=1968 Hugo Awards |url=https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1968-hugo-awards/ |website=The Hugo Awards |date=26 July 2007 |access-date=5 November 2023}}</ref><ref name ="Nebulas1967">{{cite web |title=1967 Nebula Awards |url=https://nebulas.sfwa.org/award-year/1967/ |website=Nebula Awards |access-date=5 November 2023}}</ref> [[Philip José Farmer]] tied for the [[Hugo Award for Best Novella]] for "[[Riders of the Purple Wage]]".<ref name="Hugos1968"/> [[Samuel R. Delany]] won the Nebula for Best Short Story for "[[Aye, and Gomorrah...]]"<ref name ="Nebulas1967"/> Harlan Ellison received a special citation at the 26th [[Worldcon|World SF Convention]] for editing "the most significant and controversial SF book published in 1967."<ref name="Hugos1968"/>

==Reception==
"You should buy this book immediately", [[Algis Budrys]] wrote, "because this is a book that knows perfectly well that you are seething inside". He especially praised "[[Sex and/or Mr. Morrison]]".<ref name="budrys196804">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Budrys
 |first=Algis
 |date=April 1968
 |title=Galaxy Bookshelf
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v26n04_1968-04#page/n153/mode/2up
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=155–163
}}</ref>

[[David Langford|Dave Langford]] reviewed ''Dangerous Visions'' for ''[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]'' #94, and stated that it "poked at all SF's taboos, remains a quirky mix of achievement and hype, of stories still brilliantly fresh and stories already moribund two decades ago."<ref name="WD94">{{cite journal  | last =Langford | first =Dave | author-link =David Langford | title =Critical Mass  | journal =[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]  | issue = 94  | pages =12   | publisher =[[Games Workshop]]  | date = October 1987  }}</ref>

== Sequels ==
The collection was followed by a larger 1972 sequel, ''[[Again, Dangerous Visions]]''.  

The projected third collection, ''[[The Last Dangerous Visions]]'', was started, but controversially remained unpublished for decades. The final book has become something of a legend as science fiction's most famous unpublished book. It was originally announced for publication in 1973, but other work demanded Ellison's attention and the anthology did not see print in his lifetime. He came under criticism for his treatment of some writers who submitted their stories to him, whom some{{who?|date=February 2022}} estimate to number nearly 150 (and many of whom have died in the ensuing more than four decades since the anthology was first announced). In 1993 Ellison threatened to sue [[New England Science Fiction Association]] (NESFA) for publishing "Himself in Anachron", a short story written by [[Cordwainer Smith]] and sold to Ellison for the book by his widow,<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://news.ansible.co.uk/a76.html| journal=Ansible| title=ConFrancisco Continued| issn=0265-9816| volume=76|date=November 1993}}</ref> but later reached an amicable settlement.<ref>{{cite journal| journal=Ansible| title=Infinitely Improbable| volume=77| url=http://news.ansible.co.uk/a77.html|date=December 1993| issn=0265-9816}}</ref> British SF author [[Christopher Priest (novelist)|Christopher Priest]] critiqued Ellison's editorial practices in a widely disseminated article titled "[[The Book on the Edge of Forever]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eu.than.asia/2009/10/the-last-deadloss-visions |title=The Last Deadloss Visions |access-date=2006-03-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531020026/http://eu.than.asia/2009/10/the-last-deadloss-visions/ |archive-date=May 31, 2015 }}</ref> Priest documented a half-dozen instances in which Ellison promised ''TLDV'' would appear within a year of the statement, but did not fulfill those promises. Ellison had a record of fulfilling obligations in other instances, including to writers whose stories he solicited, and expressed outrage at other editors who have displayed poor practices. On May 2, 2022, [[J. Michael Straczynski]], the executor of the Ellison estate, announced on Twitter<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/straczynski/status/1521237044294414337 | title=Twitter}}</ref> that ''The Last Dangerous Visions'' would be published in 2023 by Blackstone Publishers. On Mar 25, 2024, Straczynski announced on Facebook that ''The Last Dangerous Visions'' would be available from Amazon on Oct. 1, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWPLX12S?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details|title=Amazon.com|website=Amazon }}</ref>

==Contents==
<!-- Deleted image removed: Dv35hc.jpgright|thumb|150px|Cover of 2002 35th Anniversary hardcover edition.]] -->
Illustrations by [[Leo and Diane Dillon]] accompany each short story.

*"Foreword 1 - The Second Revolution" by [[Isaac Asimov]]
*"Foreword 2 - Harlan and I" by Isaac Asimov
*"Thirty-Two Soothsayers" (introduction) by Harlan Ellison
*"Evensong" by [[Lester del Rey]]. This is described by its author as an [[allegory]]. It details the capture of a being, identified at the end of the story as [[God]], by [[Human|Man]], which has usurped God's power.
*"Flies" by [[Robert Silverberg]]. It was inspired by a quote from ''[[King Lear]]'': "As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport."
*"[[The Day After the Day the Martians Came]]" by [[Frederik Pohl]]
*"[[Riders of the Purple Wage]]" by [[Philip José Farmer]] ([[Hugo Award]] for best [[novella]])
*"The Malley System" by [[Miriam Allen deFord]]
*"[[A Toy for Juliette]]" by [[Robert Bloch]]
*"[[The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World]]" by [[Harlan Ellison]]
*"[[The Night That All Time Broke Out]]" by [[Brian W. Aldiss]]
*"The Man Who Went to the Moon — Twice" by Howard Rodman
*"[[Faith of Our Fathers (short story)|Faith of Our Fathers]]" by [[Philip K. Dick]]
*"[[The Jigsaw Man]]" by [[Larry Niven]]
*"[[Gonna Roll the Bones]]" by [[Fritz Leiber]] ([[Hugo Award|Hugo]] and [[Nebula Award|Nebula]] awards for Best Novelette)
*"Lord Randy, My Son" by [[Joe L. Hensley]]
*"[[Eutopia (novella)|Eutopia]]" by [[Poul Anderson]]
*"Incident in Moderan" and "The Escaping" by [[David R. Bunch]]
*"[[The Doll-House]]" by James Cross (pseudonym of [[Hugh Jones Parry]])
*"[[Sex and/or Mr. Morrison]]" by [[Carol Emshwiller]]
*"[[Shall the Dust Praise Thee?]]" by [[Damon Knight]]
*"[[If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?]]" by [[Theodore Sturgeon]]
*"What Happened to Auguste Clarot?" by [[Larry Eisenberg]]
*"Ersatz" by [[Henry Slesar]]
*"Go, Go, Go, Said the Bird" by [[Sonya Dorman]]
*"[[The Happy Breed]]" by [[John Sladek]]
*"Encounter with a Hick" by Jonathan Brand
*"From the Government Printing Office" by [[Kris Neville]]
*"[[Land of the Great Horses]]" by [[R. A. Lafferty]]
*"The Recognition" by [[J. G. Ballard]]
*"[[Judas (short story)|Judas]]" by [[John Brunner (novelist)|John Brunner]]
*"Test to Destruction" by [[Keith Laumer]]
*"Carcinoma Angels" by [[Norman Spinrad]]
*"[[Auto-da-Fé (short story)|Auto-da-Fé]]" by [[Roger Zelazny]]
*"[[Aye, and Gomorrah]]" by [[Samuel R. Delany]] ([[Nebula Award]] for best short story, 1967)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links ==
*{{isfdb series|id=8298|title=Dangerous Visions}}
*{{isfdb title|id=33483|title=Dangerous Visions}}
*{{OL work|id=1737330W|cname=''Dangerous Visions''}}

{{Harlan Ellison}}

[[Category:Dangerous Visions| ]]
[[Category:1967 anthologies]]
[[Category:Science fiction anthologies]]
[[Category:Works edited by Harlan Ellison]]
[[Category:Books with cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon]]
[[Category:Books illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon]]
[[Category:Doubleday (publisher) books]]