The Annals of Aardvark E-Book

Harlan Ellison

• Herausgeber: Wildside Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 22

Beschreibung

Cassius Q. Aardvark, a most peculiar creature, stumbles upon an icy crypt in the Swiss Alps. Driven by curiosity, Cassius frees two Valkyries and a mustachioed elephant named Rubin, and the four quickly form an unlikely friendship. Together, they journey to America, navigating the glitz of New York's high society and the gritty underbelly of the city's nightlife in a hilarious and unforgettable journey.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION, by John Betancourt

THE ANNALS OF AARDVARK, by Harlan Ellison

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Copyright © 2024 by Wildside Press LLC.

Text originally published in Fan Fare, May 1953.

Introduction © 2024 by John Betancourt.

Published by Wildside Press LLC.

wildsidepress.com

INTRODUCTION,by John Betancourt

Harlan Ellison was one of the funniest people I have ever known. He was a master storyteller in person, whether at an intimate dinner or in front of crowdsof hundreds at a convention. Like any good comedian, he never let the truth stand in the way of a laugh—I still remember his tale of sending a dead gopher to a publisher (along with a recipe for gopher stew from Anne McCaffrey’s cook, Cooking Out of This World) in an attempt to recover the rights to one of his old books. He has his audience laughing hysterically.

I didn’t have the heart to point out that the “gophers” in the recipe were a type of turtle, so it was a turtle soup recipe. I had just republished Cooking Out of This World and knew its contents imtimately from proofreading hundreds of recipes. Including the gopher recipe.

If you never encountered Harlan in person, though, you might not realize he was anything but deadly serious. His best and most famous fiction has a true bite to it and demands to be taken seriously. News stories tended to emphasize the causes he felt passionate about, such as the Equal Rights Amendment. Even his more most comic nonfiction tended toward the biting and satiric rather than laugh-out-loud, Dave Barry style comedy.

Turn back the dial to the days he was getting started as a writer inthe 1950s, though, and you’ll find some surprising work, such as “The Annals of Aardvark,” a rather silly fantasy. I can see it starting with the line, “An aarvark, and elephant, and two Valkyries walk into a bar...” It originally appeared in a 1954 fanzine, Fan Fare, which was edited by the World Fantasy Award-winning former editor of Weirdbook, Paul Ganley, himself a young fan at the time.

I have no doubt Harlan sent this story to the major magazines and they turned it down. It’s journeyman work, certainly, but shows a funny side of Harlan that’s missing in his best known fiction. It’s definitely readable, and one of the rarest of his tales.

Enjoy!

THE ANNALS OF AARDVARK,by Harlan Ellison

CHAPTER 1

The Entrance