Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World, The (2021 Edgeworks Abbey Archive Trade Paperback)

Five years in the making, the Edgeworks Abbey Archive represents Harlan Ellison’s last word on his written legacy. Researched and edited by the author’s long-time associate, Jason Davis, under the supervision of Harlan and Susan Ellison, this collection assembles the preferred texts of each story and essay along with previously uncollected and unpublished material to create the definitive edition.

A FEW (AMONG THE MANY) QUESTIONS THIS BOOK ANSWERS:

What stopped Attila the Hun from sacking the Holy City of Rome in the year 452 when it lay defenseless before him? Where is the sunken continent of Atlantis and what will happen if it rises? Has anyone ever made an interesting case for the merits of waging war, and how does war benefit the human race? What happened When Santa Claus attacked Ronald Reagan in the men’s toilet of the abandoned Camarillo State Mental Institution? Is it true that Jesus had a homosexual liaison with Prometheus? Does the Abominable Snowman exist, and what’s his sex life like? What’s the worst thing that can happen to those who do too much bad dope? How do you identify and survive the attentions of emotional vampires? Are you listening? Why are the bizarre stories of Harlan Ellison so damned popular, translated into thirteen languages, and made into movies; why do they influence a whole generation of younger writers, provoke lynch mobs, and win this Ellison person such an unconscionable array of literary awards?

ASK NOT FOR WHOM THIS BOOK TOILS.
IT TOILS FUR THEE, KIDDO.

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Description

Edited by Jason Davis, director of the Harlan Ellison Books Preservation Project.

Cover by Jason Davis, with assistance from Bo Nash and respect for Richard Chopping.

The complete table of contents of the 1994 Borderlands Press hardcover of THE BEAST THAT SHOUTED LOVE AT THE HEART OF THE WORLD, including later revisions by the author from EDGEWORKS, Volume 4 and subsequent short story appearances.

  • Foreword by Neil Gaiman
  • Introduction: The Waves in Rio
  • The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World
  • Along the Scenic Route
  • Phoenix
  • Asleep: With Still Hands
  • Santa Claus vs. S.P.I.D.E.R.
  • Try a Dull Knife
  • The Pitll Pawob Division
  • The Place with No Name
  • White on White
  • Run for the Stars
  • Are You Listening?
  • S.R.O.
  • Worlds to Kill
  • Shattered Like a Glass Goblin
  • A Boy and His Dog

NEW Edgeworks Abbey Archive Content:

Whatever Happened to “The 90003rd Fantastic Spectacular Windi Maypole Movie?” by Jason Davis
An original essay detailing the history of Ellison’s eleventh short story collection.

Beastly Copy: 1969-1997
A compendium of Ellison-written cover copy for 28 years’ worth of BEAST THAT SHOUTED… reissues.

Story Commentary: 1959-2015
Ellison-written commentary on the stories from an early assembly of A TOUCH OF INFINITY (1959), the unpublished collection CRACKPOTS and Other Delusions (ca. 1962), an early assembly of FROM THE LAND OF FEAR (1967), unpublished introductions from ALONE AGAINST TOMORROW (1971), Heavy Metal (December 1979), BLOOD IS NOT ENOUGH, edited by Ellen Datlow (1989), Absolute Magnitude (Winter, 1996), and THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF VAMPIRES, edited by Stephen Jones (2004).

Santa Claus vs. S.P.I.D.E.R. (previously unpublished)
A deleted scene from Ellison’s Ian Fleming parody that was read to the first audience ever to hear the author read his story aloud.

Worlds to Kill (previously unpublished)
Ellison’s original plot synopsis for the short story.

Kicking the Hobbit or, Why Do Science Fiction Fans Have Fur on Their Feets? (previously uncollected)
Ellison’s 1968 essay on the pleasures of science fiction fandom.

School for Apprentice Sorcerers
Ellison’s 1969 essay on the Clarion Writer’s Workshop, previously collected in THE BOOK OF ELLISON (1978).

DEMON WITH A GLASS HAND (featuring previously uncollected material)
A previously uncollected 1968 introduction and four chapters from Ellison’s unfinished novel that was the basis for The Outer Limits episode “Demon with a Glass Hand.” The novel-in-progress was previously published as OBITUARY FOR AN INSTANT in BRAIN MOVIES, Volume 3.

The Queer File
An abandoned short story and preliminary outline that Ellison adapted into the DEMON WITH A GLASS HAND. Previously collected BRAIN MOVIES, Volume 3.

These Are My Dreams (previously uncollected)
A 1968 essay originally published in Harlan Ellison: The Man, the Writer.

6″ x 9″ Trade Paperback, 386p. ISBN: 978-1-946542-72-4.

Additional information

Weight 1.3125 lbs
Dimensions 6 × 9 × 1 in
Condition

New, Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor, Binding Copy, Reading Copy