Alone Against Tomorrow
Encyclopedia
Alone Against Tomorrow is a collection of short stories by author Harlan Ellison
. Published in the United States
in 1971, as a ten year retrospective of Ellison's short stories, it includes some of his most famous work. It was later published in the UK in two volumes as All the Sounds of Fear in 1973 and The Time of the Eye in 1974. All of the stories in this collection center around isolation and alienation, and were selected from previous short story collections to fit this theme.
The book was dedicated to, among others, four student protesters who were killed in the Kent State shootings
of 1970. This dedication prompted a response from a reader calling the students "hooligans" who were "Communist-led radical revolutionaries and anarchists, and deserved to be shot". This letter was reprinted in the introduction to Ellison's subsequent 1974 short story collection Approaching Oblivion
. Ellison states that this letter frightened him and was one of the things that led him to change that collection from a call to action to a cry of frustration disillusionment.
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
. Published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1971, as a ten year retrospective of Ellison's short stories, it includes some of his most famous work. It was later published in the UK in two volumes as All the Sounds of Fear in 1973 and The Time of the Eye in 1974. All of the stories in this collection center around isolation and alienation, and were selected from previous short story collections to fit this theme.
The book was dedicated to, among others, four student protesters who were killed in the Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
The Kent State shootings—also known as the May 4 massacre or the Kent State massacre—occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970...
of 1970. This dedication prompted a response from a reader calling the students "hooligans" who were "Communist-led radical revolutionaries and anarchists, and deserved to be shot". This letter was reprinted in the introduction to Ellison's subsequent 1974 short story collection Approaching Oblivion
Approaching Oblivion
Approaching Oblivion is a collection of short stories by author Harlan Ellison. The short stories had appeared in various magazines throughout the early 1970s with the exceptions of "Paulie Charmed the Sleeping Woman" which originally appeared in 1962 and "Ecowareness" which was previously...
. Ellison states that this letter frightened him and was one of the things that led him to change that collection from a call to action to a cry of frustration disillusionment.
Contents
- I Have No Mouth, and I Must ScreamI Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a postapocalyptic science fiction short story by Harlan Ellison. It was first published in the March 1967 issue of IF: Worlds of Science Fiction. It won a Hugo Award in 1968. The name was also used for a short story collection of Ellison's work, featuring...
- The Discarded
- Deeper Than the Darkness
- Blind Lightning
- All the Sounds of Fear
- The Silver Corridor
- "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman
- Bright Eyes
- Are You Listening?
- Try a Dull Knife
- In Lonely Lands
- Eyes of Dust
- Nothing for My Noon Meal
- O Ye of Little Faith
- The Time of the Eye
- Life Hutch
- The Very Last Day of a Good Woman
- Night Vigil
- Lonelyache
- Pennies, Off a Dead Man's Eyes