Full Spectrum 5 - Softcover

Full Spectrum is one of the few ongoing original SF anthology series still in existence. It owes much of its success to an impressive mix of talent, ranging from up-and-coming authors like Jonathan Lethem to acknowledged masters such as Gene Wolfe. This fifth volume collects 28 stories in all, including both the short and humorous and the long and delicious. Savor this volume, for the impressive editorial team that put it together has gone their separate ways.

Among the handful of sf anthologies that consist solely of previously unpublished fiction, Full Spectrum reigns supreme. As the title suggests, the anthology's contents cover a broad range of cutting-edge sf and fantasy, and the editors give special consideration to innovation and craftsmanship. The fifth FS includes only a few veterans (e.g., Michael Bishop, Gene Wolfe), filling out the volume with bright offerings from relative newcomers such as Neal Stephenson, Jonathan Lethem, and Karen Joy Fowler. Examples of the collection's imaginative range include S. A. Stolnack's story about a virtual reality device that allows one to step inside the paintings of Monet and Matisse, Pat York's vision of a surrealistic future when fashion has assumed religious significance, and John M. Landsberg's account of the effect a sophisticated alien weapon has on an Indian tribe of the 1600s. All 28 stories exemplify the best in imaginative short fiction and together serve as a reliable indicator of the leading edge of sf and fantasy. Carl Hays