The Book on the Edge of Forever: An Enquiry into the Non-Appearance of Harlan Ellison's the Last Dangerous Visions

A scathing appraisal of Harlan Ellison's failure to finish the third Dangerous Visions anthology. Having spoken to a hot young writer who sold him a story for the book as late as 1988, and having seen his temper tantrum when NESFA dared to publish (in 1993!) a previously unseen Cordwainer Smith story originally intended for TLDV, I consider Priest's analysis quite fair. Anyone interested in science fiction or Harlan Ellison should read it. I say these things as someone who greatly admires Ellison's body of work but is no longer willing to apologize for his bad behavior.

The Book on the Edge of Forever by Christopher Priest My Copy ebook 1994 Edition

Not a rant or takedown as some would have you believe but this short (novella length) essay originally published in 1984 and then updated in 1994, chronicles the broken promises and story behind Harlan Ellison’s unpublished The Last Dangerous Visions.

As a slice of history and an exploration of the publishing of anthologies it’s an interesting read. Priest writes concisely laying out the timeline from the original 1973 publication date up until 1994. His evidence and conclusions are well thought out and make sense.

What struck me most though reading it was the amount of good fiction that never got published because of the delay’s and Ellison’s show more unwillingness to admit he had bitten off more than he could chew. It now looks like J Michael Stracynski has managed to get a version to be published in 2023, if this happens 51 years after the original publication date it will be interesting to see what stories survived from the original idea.

This is well worth reading not just for the historical value, but it is an example of well thought essay. I’ve rated this 4 star but it is probably nearer 3 ½ but it’s not the easiest to decide on a rating in comparison to my other reading.

Goodreads ratings are pretty limiting, my benchmark using those ratings are anything 3 or above is a good strong recommendation that I would happily reread at some point. I rarely give 5 star reviews unless it’s exceptional and near perfect.
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Perhaps the only information we are ever likely to have on Ellison's long-promised third Dangerous Visions anthology. Well researched, Priest clearly lays out why we will never see this book in print anywhere. Note: this is not the first time Harlan has promised more than he could deliver, and then refused to acknowledge his failure. It takes nothing from Ellison's accomplishments to state that sometimes, he over-reaches his ability.