I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream and Other Works

De: Harlan Ellison

Narrado por: Luis Moreno

The following books are included: Paingod and Other Delusions, I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream, and From the Land of Fear.

©2021 Harlan Ellison (P)2021 Recorded Books

I had not heard of Harlan Ellison before this.

I had zero idea what I was getting into with this book. I added it after seeing/hearing something about the title at work and downloaded it, forgot about it and then listened to it. I should not have waited. This book of short stories was a solid listen.

The unbridled imagination of a cantankerous mind

Harlan Ellison (1934-2018) was a loudmouth. He was combative (or call it outspoken) - about just about everything. His attack-mode seems to have been the default (and sometimes that also led to physical altercations). Call him brutally honest, or garrulous, or stuck-up, or abrasive or cantankerous … he was all of that and more and, from what I’ve read and seen, I think all of that friction actually supercharged him into writing, according to his own calculation, around 1’800 stories, essays and scripts.

When you look up the word ‘prolific’ you’ll likely find a picture of Harlan Ellison next to it. Well, you’ll probably see a picture of Isaac Asimov first - but Harlan Ellison would be right there with him. Ellison is not as known as Asimov (who is currently introduced to a new generation with Apple TV’s awesome Foundation series) … but if you’ve never heard of him, he’s definitely worth discovering.

This collection of short stories attest to Ellison’s exuberant - and dark - imagination. Not all stories will equally grab you - but they are all truly rich in creative power, insight and language. No doubt among the most famous ones are ‘I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream’ (a nightmarish trip if ever there was one) and ‘Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman’ (a dystopian future story about time, control and freedom). He wrote stories about a god whose job is to deliver pain and suffering (Paingod), about crazy peple who are actually geniuses (The Crackpots), the end of humanity (Bright Eyes), genetically deformed humans exiled on a spaceship (The Discarded), a world where surgery is exclusively done by machines (Wanted in Surgery), about a ghost in a Vegas slot machine (Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes) and ever so much more. The width and breadth of the man’s imagination was staggering - for us readers/listeners, it's often mind-expanding.

Really good

Good stories with amazing narrator. Really solid overall, would highly recommend listening to the whole thing however just browsing and finding a story you would like is something that would definitely happen.

Exquisite set of weird & Science Fiction stories

I did not know the works by Harlan Ellison but now I want to know more.
Stories contained within this publication are strange, yet captivating and memorable.
Titular I have no mouth is a classic, though also Paingod, Soldier, We mourn for anyone... all are great.
The narrator also did a great job here.
I recommend this publication.

That you could make twenty hours seem like an eternity

Have No Mouth & I Must Scream
00:06
Echoes of Screams, 1983
01:27
Introduction: The Mover, the Shaker
08:42
Foreword: How Science Fiction Saved Me from a
Life of Crime
12:11
| Have No Mouth & I Must Scream
45:57
Big Sam Was My Friend
39:14
Eyes of Dust
23:09
World of the Myth
51:58
Lonelyache
52:17
Delusion for a Dragon Slayer
41:14
Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes
01:02:50
Paingod and Other Delusions
00:05
New Introduction: Your Basic Crown of Thorns
30:57
Introduction to First Edition
07:23
Paingod
34:08
"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman
35:56
The Crackpots
01:46:04
Sleeping Dogs
26:42
Bright Eyes
38:20
The Discarded
33:44
Wanted in Surgery
01:23:53
Deeper Than the Darkness
56:26
From the Land of Fear
00:04
Foreword: In Praise of His Spirits Noble and Otherwise
10:02
Introduction: Where the Stray Dreams Go
10:55
The / One / Word / People
02:31
Moth on the Moon
07:26
Snake in the Mind
11:27
The Sky Is Burning
23:51
My Brother Paulie
20:14
The Time of the Eye
25:33
Life Hutch
31:31
Battle Without Banners
36:08
Back to the Drawing Boards
33:59
A Friend to Man
18:41
"We Mourn for Anyone.."
38:30
The Voice in the Garden
03:12
Soldier
59:29
The Discarded, Narrated by Harlan Ellison
33:09
End Credits
00:30

This is the definitive collection of stories by Harlan Ellison. This is the storyteller that influenced the great one like King and Saul, and Koontz. His stories are provocative style, blending sci-fi with social commentary, raw emotion, and experimental narrative to challenge readers.

I wanted to attach this note because of the very first review. Harlan Ellison was not misogynistic or maybe he was in today’s look back. But his personality or personal style is in no way shape or form meant to cloud his stories because it was just how things were back then.


Each story is unique often preceded by an introduction about the following story. The stories are interesting and entertaining. This was over twenty hours worth of short stories. So I took my time and enjoyed each one individually. They are historically important to the history of science fiction.

As far as the term genius is used and how many people throw it around. That you will need to decide for yourself. For me I will let you know I checked out many times because I either lost interest or lost track of where the storyline was going. His writing when it’s on is on full . But when it droning on it can feel like eons . Best advice take it in small chunks.