Dust jacket by Gnemo

Subterranean Press is proud to present the expanded, definitive edition of Harlan Ellison’s landmark collection of stories, in an oversize hardcover edition.

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SOME BOOKS BECOME CLASSICS

For more than three decades this singular collection of stories in which the New Gods of freeways, and slot machines, internal combustion deities and evil so enormous that it swallows the streets in shadow, for more than thirty years the power of this book has compelled the attention of not only readers of imaginative bent, but the praise of hard-line literary critics. One cannot codify modern literature of the fantastic without including a reference or selection from this dark book of godly and troubling stories that will not be ignored.

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SOME WRITERS BECOME LEGENDS

Ellison. Harlan Ellison. He wrote this book midway toward the earliest acclaim of a career that now goes into sixty years. He’s still with us. The enfant terrible has become an eminence gris but the tongue remains sharp, the wit unpredictable, the manner still singular. He has outwritten and outlived his caste, and the words in this book carry the fire and truth of his career.

Trade: Fully cloth bound hardcover edition
Limited: 500 numbered copies, bound in leather, with illustrated endsheets by Leo & Diane Dillon, signed by author, housed in a custom slipcase
Lettered: 26 deluxe hardcovers, bound in leather, with illustrated endsheets by Leo & Diane Dillon, housed in a custom traycase

Table of Contents

Foreword: Oblations at Alien Altars
A Word about Time (*)
From A to Z, in the Sarsaparilla Alphabet (*)
The Whimper of Whipped Dogs
Along the Scenic Route
On the Downhill Side
O Ye of Little Faith
Scartaris, June 28th (*)
Neon
Basilisk
The Face of Helene Bournouw
Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38°54’N, Longitude 77°00’13’’W
Rock God
Bleeding Stones
Ernest and the Machine God
Delusion for a Dragon Slayer
Corpse
Shattered Like a Glass Goblin
Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes
Paingod
At the Mouse Circus
The Place With No Name
The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore (*)
The Deathbird
Afterword: Moving in Mysterious Ways (*)
A Word About the Cover Art (*)

(*) Exclusive to the Expanded Edition

From Publishers Weekly:
“…emotionally striking themes pervade these stories, and Ellison's unique and highly intellectual writing style require careful, slow, and thoughtful reading.”

From Fantasy Literature:
“What has changed in 35 years? Less than we might think. Many contemporary obsessions and fears can be traced back to the threats and changes that Ellison discusses in the 1970s… Deathbird Stories has been a highly regarded short story collection for 35 years, and rightly so. It’s focused, imaginative, and often more humorous than Ellison lets on.”

From SFRevu:
“I think that everyone who is fan of science fiction or just good writing needs to have Ellison on their shelf. That being said I can think of no finer example than Deathbird Stories as a best representation. Subterranean Press has put together a book worth owning and Harlan has given us content worth reading.”

From SFCrowsnest:
“Deathbird Stories is a hugely rewarding collection of short stories by a very gifted writer. Given that the original 1975 edition has been out of print for some years, this expanded re-issue from Subterranean Press is very welcome. The stories are original, well-crafted, thought-provoking and as relevant to the twenty-first century as they were to the twentieth. The foreword and afterword provide a fascinating insight into Ellison’s choice of theme for the collection. Finally, Subterranean Press have done their usual high quality job with the design and production of the book, including the use of a beautiful painting by Tom Kidd, commissioned by Ellison himself and refusing for it to be covered in title/author text, as the cover art. This is a book to treasure and re-read.”

Click thumbnail to see artwork