I enjoyed Deathbird Stories for the most part. There were several stories that bored me to tears, but those were mostly overshadowed by the better works in the collection. The title story, ("The Deathbird") was a great ending for the stories on gods and how they function. Ellison is just as sharp with this collection as he is with any other, and that really made me a happy person. I wouldn't suggest a person that isn't familiar with Ellison read this book, however, as some of it requires an temperament toward Ellison that has to be cultivated over time. ( )

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. ( )

At 3.42, and mostly decent stories with several good ones out of 19, I'd call this a 3.75 and strong enough to round up.

Deathbird Stories : The Whimper of Whipped Dogs - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Along the Scenic Route - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : On the Downhill Side - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : O Ye of Little Faith - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Neon - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Basilisk - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Corpse - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Shattered Like a Glass Goblin - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Delusion for a Dragon Slayer - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : The Face of Helene Bournouw - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Bleeding Stones - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : At the Mouse Circus - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : The Place with No Name - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Paingod - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Ernest and the Machine God - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Rock God - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans - Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories : The Deathbird - Harlan Ellison

City god call.

3.5 out of 5

Death Race.

3.5 out of 5

A little more, with unicorn.

3 out of 5

Niven's minotaur getaway.

3.5 out of 5

Roger me now.

3 out of 5

Stake step takeover repatriation facefry shootdown.

4 out of 5

Maggie, I wish I had something to say to you. But you're dead.

3.5 out of 5

Poor cars.

3 out of 5

Drug monsters.

3 out of 5

Pulped voyeur chopper spat out.

3.5 out of 5

Gobsmacking gorgeousbot.

3.5 out of 5

Gargoyle nun massacre.

3.5 out of 5

Fat white pumpers.

2.5 out of 5

Pimp beater gone bush.

3 out of 5

Dodgy deity deal.

3.5 out of 5

Psi manipulator lost and gone.

4 out of 5

Moist men, Dis.

3.5 out of 5

Werewolf's Frankenstein graser soul search.

4 out of 5

Devil Stack Man end.

4 out of 5

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2008/12... ( )

Uniting theme: gods are created by men. The stories are depressing, viscerally descriptive, and mostly urban fantasy or horror. + means hit, - means miss:

- The Whimper of Whipped Dogs (1973)
- Along the Scenic Route (1969)
- On the Downhill Side (1972)
- Oh Ye of Little Faith (1968)
- Neon (1973)
- Basilisk (1972)
- Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes (1967)
- Corpse (1972)
- Shattered Like a Glass Goblin (1968)
- Delusion for a Dragon Slayer (1966)
- The Face of Helene Bourouw (1960)
- Bleeding Stones (1972)
- At the Mouse Circus (1971)
- The Place with No Name (1969)
- Paingod (1964)
- Ernest and the Machine God (1968)
- Rock God (1969)
- Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38°54'N, Longitude 77°00'13"W (1974)
- The Deathbird (1973) ( )

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. ( )