The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World [Paperback]

Harlan Ellison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1984

"It crouches near the center of creation. There is no night where it waits. Only the riddle of which terrible dream will set it loose. It beheaded mercy to take possession of that place. It feasts on darkness from the minds of men. No one has ever seen its eyeless face. When it sleeps we know a few moments of peace. But when it breathes again we go down in fire and mate with jackals. It knows our fear. It has our number. It waited for our coming and it will abide long after we have become congealed smoke. It has never heard music, and shows its fangs when we panic. It is the beast of our savage past, hungering today, and waiting patiently for the mortal meal of all our golden tomorrows. It lies waiting." --Harlan Ellison 15 stories by Harlan Ellison

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (August 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312940270
• ISBN-13: 978-0312940270
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,430,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eleven stories and a lousy introduction., March 28, 2001

By 

John Peter O'connor - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (Paperback)

A lot of people skip introductions to books which is just as well in the case of this one but the contents really do not need an introduction.

The eleven stories here, first published between 1957 and 1969, can stand up and speak for themselves very well indeed. From the opening shot of the title story to the close with "A boy and his dog" the author delivers a fine selection of his work.

There are no weak stories in this book, every one is a good read. The title story, "Try a Dull Knife", "Santa Claus VS. S.P.I.D.E.R." and "A boy and his dog" are my favourites and they show the range of Ellison's talents from horror to science fiction and also display his characteristic cynical humour.

"A boy and his dog" is the best known story here largely because it has been made into a very controversial film. It also happens to be one of Ellison's finest stories and that is praise indeed. It tells the story of fifteen year old Vic and his telepathic dog Blood in a post apocalypse America. Even though it is a brutish story, Ellison's wit and lucid writing style make it a compelling read.

The stories here will appeal to almost any SF fan though, if you are new to Ellison, the book "The Essential Ellison" is a better first buy. If you like this author and wonder what else you might like to read, I'd suggest short story collections by Bruce Sterling and Eric brown.

Although this book is out of print, it is available together with the anthology "Love ain't nothing but sex misspelled" as volume four of the Edgeworks series. I note though that the contents of the Edgeworks version are not the same as the contents of my copy of this book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly 60's-era Ellison, and very good, July 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (Paperback)

This is one of the stronger Ellison collections I've come across. The keepers include the late 50's science-fiction adventure nasty "Run For the Stars" and the classic "A Boy and His Dog."

1 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A boy loves his dog., June 2, 2001

By 

Sean Nolan "I love a good story" (Greenville, SC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (Paperback)

It started out kind of slow. The first couple of stosies I didn't like to much. The one that the book was named after, I didn't like at all. But, the last few, funny funny, I'll say it again, F-U-N-N-Y. In a skewed kinda way