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    Deathbird Stories
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    Deathbird Stories
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    Deathbird Stories
    Ebook404 pages6 hours

    Deathbird Stories

    By Harlan Ellison

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Masterpieces of myth and terror about modern gods from technology to drugs to materialism—“fantasy at its most bizarre and unsettling” (The New York Times).

    As Earth approaches Armageddon, a man embarks on a quest to confront God in the Hugo Award–winning novelette, “The Deathbird.”
     
    In New York City, a brutal act of violence summons a malevolent spirit and a growing congregation of desensitized worshippers in “The Whimper of Whipped Dogs,” an Edgar Award winner influenced by the real-life murder of Queens resident Kitty Genovese in 1964.
     
    In “Paingod,” the deity tasked with inflicting pain and suffering on every living being in the universe questions the purpose of its cruel existence.
     
    Deathbird Stories collects these and sixteen more provocative tales exploring the futility of faith in a faithless world. A legendary author of speculative fiction whose best-known works include A Boy and His Dog and I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream—and whose major awards and nominations number in the dozens, Harlan Ellison strips away convention and hypocrisy and lays bare the human condition in modern society as ancient gods fade and new deities rise to appease the masses—gods of technology, drugs, gambling, materialism—that are as insubstantial as the beliefs of those who venerate them.
     
    In addition to his Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, Bram Stoker, Edgar, and other awards, Ellison was called “one of the great living American short story writers” by the Washington Post—and this collection makes it clear why he has earned such an extraordinary assortment of accolades.
     
    Stories include:
    “Introduction: Oblations at Alien Altars”
    “The Whimper of Whipped Dogs”
    “Along the Scenic Route”
    “On the Downhill Side”
    “O Ye of Little Faith”
    “Neon”
    “Basilisk”
    “Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes”
    “Corpse”
    “Shattered Like a Glass Goblin”
    “Delusion for a Dragon Slayer”
    “The Face of Helene Bournouw”
    “Bleeding Stones”
    “At the Mouse Circus”
    “The Place with No Name”
    “Paingod”
    “Ernest and the Machine God”
    “Rock God”
    “Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W”
    “The Deathbird”
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Media
    Release dateApr 29, 2014
    ISBN9781497604773

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    Reviews for Deathbird Stories

    4/5

    18 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Harlan Ellison built his career on the short story format and as a result, became one of the most awarded living writers. I have many of his collections in my library, which was why I recognized most of the material in this anthology.Deathbird Stories consists of 19 tales, originally printed between 1960 and 1974, all loosely gathered here under the theme of modern gods. While some of the stories, such as "Neon", "Along the Scenic Route", and "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" seem to miss that mark, many of the stories directly fit the theme or at least, contained supernatural elements.Some of my favorites included (along with Harlan's taglines for each):The Whimper of Whipped Dogs - When the new god comes to the Big Apple, its Kyrie Eleison turns out to be a prayer Kitty Genovese simply couldn't sing. But thirty-eight others knew the tune.Along the Scenic Route - God, in the latest, chrome-plated, dual-carb, chopped & channeled, eight-hundred-horsepowered incarnation. God's unspoken name is Vroooom!On The Downhill Side - Posing the question: does the god of love use underarm deodorant, vaginal spray and fluoride toothpaste?Neon - Kurt Weill and Max Anderson wrote, "Maybe God's gone away, forgetting His promise He made that day: and we're lost out here in the stars." And maybe He/She's just waiting for the night signal to come back, whaddaya think?Basilisk - Have you ever noticed: the most vocal superpatriots are the old men who send young men off to die? Well, it might just be that the heaviest reverential act when worshipping the god of war is to be the biggest mutherin traitor of them all. Check Spiro, I think he's having a seizure.Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes - The god of the slot machine: new religions, new souls, new limbos.Paingod - If God is good, why does He send us pain and misery?Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans - Reality has become fantasy; fantasy has become reality. 35mm constructs have more substance than your senior congressman, but Martha Nelson is real, no matter what you think. And the search for your soul in a soulless world requires special maps.
    • 5/5
      I somehow discovered this book when I was a kid. As dark and violent as it was, I found it weirdly hopeful. Finally, I thought, an adult who won't fucking lie to you, someone who will just say yes, everything sucks and people are screwed up and the only thing you can do in the face of all this misery is fight, even though you'll probably fail. Fight, and remember that everyone else is in pain, and never lose your outrage or your compassion. Not to pile more melodrama onto this paragraph, but it probably saved my life.

      Twenty years later, I still found it strange, lovely, and compelling. It appears to be out of print, which is a shame. A whole generation is missing out on this great american master of weird fiction.
    • 3/5
      It is always challenging to write a review for a collection of short stories. It is especially difficult when this short story collection represents your first encounter with an author. It may be especially, especially difficult if that author is Harlan Ellison. Deathbird Stories contains nineteen short stories centering around the theme of a God or Gods. Of the nineteen, there were a few standouts: "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes", "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" and "The Deathbird". None of the stories in this collection were "bad" per se, but to be honest, more than a few times I found myself finishing a story and thinking... "huh?". I may need to come back to this collection after I familiarize myself a bit more with the author.
    • 5/5
      There is a warning at the beginning of the book. It takes a great deal of arrogance to write such a warning. It takes even more talent to have written something that actually requires one.
    • 4/5
      A collection of short stories, originally published in the mid-70s and loosely organized around the theme of "gods" -- literal and metaphorical, ancient and modern. They range from fairly simple stories which use SF or horror elements as obvious metaphors for modern problems, to strange, surreal pieces full of obscure, dreamlike imagery. With perhaps one or two exceptions, I don't think I'd place these among Ellison's best, but "not Ellison's best," really, only means that they're merely good, as opposed to leaving you feeling as if you've just been punched in the brain.
    • 5/5
      I read about half of the short stories in this collection before I had to return the book to the library. I would have kept it longer, but it was an ILL, so no go. A lot of them were terribly violent, and almost none of them were optimistic, but they all had a vitality that kept me turning the pages. Sections out the short stories "The Deathbird," and "Basilisk" truly awed me. The theme of the book was modern and future gods, and what may have become of old ones. The first story was about a god of inner city violence; the next one was about futuristic, legalized road rage; there was another one a man with no faith; there was a story about a modern manifestation of chaos; a story about life in the city lights; "The Basilisk" was about Mars and traitors; "The Deathbird" was a strange montage about the end of the world. There was a warning at the beginning of the book not to read it all in one sitting as the stories were emotionally intense. At first I thought it might be a joke, but after reading the first story, I changed my mind. They are all very intense and disturbing, but mostly really well done.
    • 4/5
      Another fine collection from Harlan Ellison. None of these stories would rank among my all-time favorites, but many of them were very good. And even the few that didn't really work for me, still left me impressed by their ambition and Ellison's fecund imagination. My favorites from the collection were "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs," a re-imagining of dark reality behind the infamous Kitty Genovese murder; "Basilisk," a story of a disgraced young veteran who returns from Vietnam with a dark secret to face hostility in his home town; "Bleeding Stones," in which gargoyles come to life to spread havoc; "Rock God," which tells of the origins of Stonehenge; and the eponymous "The Deathbird," a re-interpretation of the Genesis story that, as you might expect, varies substantially from the biblical cosmology.
    • 5/5
      Damn, son. This is one hell of a collection of short stories. They talk about desperation and struggle, gods that could not and should not be revered, animal impulses, living cities and the Deathbird. Protip for writers: read this if you want to learn how to properly put a lot of detail in just a few words. This man is a virtuoso
    • 4/5
      The warning at the start of the book set the tone well:"It is suggested that the reader not attempt to read this book at one sitting. The emotional content of these stories, taken without break, may be extremely upsetting. This not is intended most sincerely, and not as hyperbole" (xii).The first story was troubling enough to make me question whether or not I should have bought the book. Ellison lacks the restraint that most human beings come by instinctively. I suppose, when writing a book about all the gods people follow today (the gods of the freeway, the coaxial cable, the paingod, the god of neon, the rock god, the god of smog and even the god of Freudian guilt), you should expect trouble.I tracked this volume down through AbeBooks.com after learning it was the inspiration behind Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Anansi Boys. The concept that a god is only alive insofar as he or she is worshiped is a fascinating idea to explore. Gaiman explored it with brilliance while Ellison used it as the lietmotif in this collection of short stories.From a Christian perspective, Deathbird Stories invites some interesting thoughts about the nature of belief and modern forms of idolatry. These hallucinatory tales show idolatry for what it is—unfortunately, without offering any solution.
    • 4/5
      I read this for 12 Grandmasters in 2012 challenge. I had heard of Ellison, of course. I know who he is, I’ve heard the rumors, the gossip, the cool talk about him. He’s rough. He’s crude. He’s a blazing asshole. He’s brilliant. This is, however, the first time I’ve actually read anything by him (of course I’ve seen things that he’s written screenplays for). He’s definitely unique, and I don’t think I’ve read anything that touches him.

      This is a compilation of short stories, whose theme seems to be “god” or “gods.” The death of gods, little gods, new gods, modern gods. It’s loose, but it works (mostly). There are some stories that feel dated, but overall it’s not too bad.

      The book/stories are inconsistent, but brilliant where it’s good. The good stories pale next to the brilliant ones, so otherwise good stories don’t seem very good at all. I would suggest it be read in small chunks, digest and give breathing room for other (not so brilliant) stories to shine. Of course, after a brilliant story, digesting time seems mandatory anyway.

      Here’s a list of my favorite stories and my love for them -

      The Whimper of Whipped Dogs - This story is inspired/framed by the murder of Kitty Genovese. Its an award winner and it’s very dark … very grimy, and gritty and everything that seems to be the reality of living in a large, impersonal city/society. The story is what you have to accept to survive. And it’s so cold it burns. It’s the first story in this book and talk about starting off with a bang, wow.

      Basilisk - a harsh, twisted story about a vietnam vet who was tortured until he talked, and what happened to him when he came home after the publicity and court-martial. There’s a monster, a horrible monster, and it’s an amazing intra and interpersonal story even without the fantasy element.

      Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes - boring premise, but gorgeously written characters, especially Maggie. Kostner is down on his luck/life and tries his hand at gambling in Vegas and nearly loses it all - or does he? His destiny crosses with that of Maggie - a dangerous and exotic woman who wants it all, one way or another. Gorgeous

      Delusion for a Dragon Slayer - I liked this one a lot for a myriad of reasons. One, is that it was kind of random, and I think that was part of the story’s point. A million different little inconsequential things can lead to the life, death, or glory of a consequential or inconsequential person. The story not only joined together some really random lives, but then managed to go into a sword & sorcery tale of heaven and how we lead ourselves into our own beliefs and expectations. I had this gloriously old school set of images running through my head in this story, and I just loved the pay off.

      Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W - A man wants to die, but first he has to find his soul. I thought it was interesting, and fun, and dry. It wasn’t scary at all, but incredibly interesting. There’s a lot of random, which is interesting, but sometimes it feels like Ellison is babbling a wee bit too much.

      The Deathbird - The book started off with one of the best stories and it ends with the best story. This one won the Hugo, and it totally deserves it. It’s one of the most random, interesting, and engrossing novellas I’ve ever read. God, isn’t so much an omniscient, omnipotent being as some asshole that won a lawsuit that gave him the right to Earth. The creator gods get caught in “God’s” PR campaign and become the maligned evil snake. A man, a descendant of Adam, must put the Earth out of her misery, as he did for his own corporeal mother and bring about the Deathbird. There’s a lot of different styles mashed together, and it really works well. Transitions are abrupt, but fit. I adore this story.

      And here is meh to WTF to yuck -
      Along the scenic route - a logical progression of road rage to an awful end. Decent, but not thrilling
      On the Downhill Side - style and writing are beautiful, even if the story is boring.
      O Ye of Little Faith - Short, but sweet
      Neon - OK, I’m not entirely sure what went on, but it wasn’t terribly dark or anything
      Corpse - What if cars were sentient... it could have been a lot better, and this particular story felt very dated.
      Shattered Like a Glass Goblin - I’m not sure how I feel about this story. Army dude gets discharged and finds his lost fiance in a drug den in LA. It deals with the monsters of drugs and drug use, but not in any way that feels really satisfactory to me. It got a little weird, but not necessarily in a good way. I could have lived without and I’m not sure where Ellison was going.
      The Face of Helene Bournouw - interesting start, weak payoff. I was disappointed at the ending.
      Bleeding Stones - my response was something of an “um, what?” Not a fan.
      At the Mouse Circus - I have no idea what the hell that was, but damn it was weird. Mostly Fail.
      The Place with No Name - So Jesus Christ and Prometheus are homosexual alien lovers and none of it makes one bit of sense or a good story. Fail.
      Paingod - Meh.
      Ernest and the Machine God - Not the best story, but I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and imagery in this one.
      Rock God - Feels super dated. And I really wanted the story to go somewhere or mean something, especially the people the mote-soul changed hands with.
    • 5/5
      "No, mom, you can't see it because you always open up to the worst possible thing in the book," I said when my mother wanted to know what Deathbird Stories were. Based on the title and the picture on the front of the book, she asked if it was sacreligious. I should have told her it was and let her read a page. Really, I don't think I could have found a single safe page to show her in the entire book. Harlan Ellison is terribly irreverent and aggressive in his writing style. His subjects are never dainty ones. And, as I read Deathbird Stories, a plethora of theoretical but highly unlikely pantheistic thoughts start collecting in my brain and jostling around in there.It is rare that I read a book and finish it knowing that bits and pieces of it will forever be lodged into my brain like pieces of stray shrapnel. And I use the simile "shrapnel" because just small shards of the suggestions, theories, and ideas of the stories will remain. They won't change the way that I view life, but they will occasionally remind me that they're there. Or will they change the way that I view the world? Perhaps they will change me in a sarcastically amusing sort of way.For example, in the story, "Corpse", one of the characters tosses out the theory that cars have developed a collective consciousness and have declared a silent war on humans. He cites the fact that over 1,750,000 people have been killed since Henry Ford first introduced the automobile in 1896. And the idea is that if cars have a group mind, then perhaps they have a culture, secret dreams, and even a god. Or maybe we should pray to them as a collective god-like entity for mercy. So today, when three Korean students got out of a car and bowed to it continuously, I chuckled to myself thinking that perhaps they were paying homage to the great and mighty car god and thanking it for a safe journey. Of course, they were thanking the person that drove them to school, but I could pretend they were bowing to the car instead.Then there's the story "The Place With No Name" where a man, running from the cops after a murder, encounters a little shop with a sign outside that says "ESCAPE INSIDE". So he does escape inside, finding a little old man who asks whether he wants to escape inside or continue to try to elude the cops outside. He chooses the former and finds himself waking up in a jungle. In the end, he finds that there is no real escape from what he has done. Whether out in the real world, inside your head, or in the midst of some seemingly magical "escape", one can never escape from the consequences of one's actions. The story reminds me of a scene in Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf where Steppenwolf encounters a sign that says "MAGIC THEATER. ENTRANCE NOT FOR EVERYBODY. FOR MADMEN ONLY!" Both stories are studies of the human mind and its self-torment. If you're walking down the street and you see a sign that seems to be written expressly with you in mind, it probably is in your mind. Do you walk through the door or do you just keep going?In "Ernest and the Machine God", the gangly, lanky Ernest touches the temptress' car in such a loving, healing way that she cannot resist being touched by him. And then the no-longer-virgin machine god seems to suck every ounce of her life from her to add to his virility and power.Then there's the man who literally goes on a physical journey within his body (after much study of Grey's Anatomy) in search of his soul "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38º 54' N, Longitude 77º 00' 13" W". And his soul turns out to be in the shape of a Howdy Doody button. Who knew?In "The Deathbird", Ellison ties together three stories and a series of questions to make a coherent whole. In fact, the story is written like a complex test which forces the student to read various stories and passages and answer analytical and opinion questions. One story features a boy who stays with his beloved dog as the veterinarian puts him down, and another story features a man assisting in euthanizing his mother. In return for the favor of death, his mother agrees to tell him the answer to a question that he knew the answer to all along. The third is a story of a man who wakes up after over a million years and has to discover who he is and remember that his predestined purpose is to destroy the dying earth. Upon each man's realization that they have to assist with the death of "someone" they love, none of them can just can't leave the "people" they love alone with strangers in death. Ellison's progression of the logical and emotional reasons for euthanizing a dog, a person, and then a planet makes the latter seem less extreme. Many of the questions asked on the "test" about these stories are slanted in such a way as to make you realize that maybe every myth and every person's life has been created with bits of truth, but that they are made in such a sleight of hand way as to lure you away from the real truth. What is being hidden? What do we hide from ourselves? Perhaps we know all along and refused to acknowledge truth as true until the end has come. Such is life. You believe what you want, but sometimes you just have to pull the plug on things. It's often only at the end that the truth that you pretended you didn't know becomes blatantly apparent.In the acknowledgment to Neil Gaiman's American Gods (which I blasphemously haven't read yet), Gaiman says that the stories in this book burned themselves into the back of his brain when he was younger. I certainly understand that statement now, as they are now indelibly burned within mine. I'm glad that Dan lent me his copy after I was awed by the accidental discovery of Ellison's stories in his Dream Corridor comic series. Of course, reading only begets more reading, so I finally got out my reading glasses last night, knowing I'll be reading much more Ellison, his influences, and those that he has influenced in the near future.