What do you think?
Rate this book
Orbit #7
Orbit: No. 7
Berkley Medallion, 1970. Mass market paperback. This was an acclaimed series of anthologies of original science fiction stories. This one has an all-star line Kate Wilhelm, Gene Wolfe, R. A. Lafferty, Keith Laumer, Carol Emshwiller, Thomas M. Disch, Richard Hill, Sonya Dorman, James Sallis and Gardner Dozois.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Damon Knight
581 books97 followersDamon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic.
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the National Fantasy Fan Federation, cofounder of the Milford Writer's Workshop, and cofounder of the Clarion Writers Workshop. Knight lived in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife Kate Wilhelm.
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the National Fantasy Fan Federation, cofounder of the Milford Writer's Workshop, and cofounder of the Clarion Writers Workshop. Knight lived in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife Kate Wilhelm.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 26, 2020
Damon Knight's Orbit series was probably the most venerated of the many original anthology series that proliferated in 1970s. His goal was to present stories that were more literary or "New Wave" in nature, more focused on character and perhaps experimental in style, than the speculative stories that appeared in the digest magazines of the time. The highlights of this seventh volume included Continued on Next Rock by R.A. Lafferty, A Dream at Noonday by Gardner R. Dozois, and April Fool's Day Forever by Kate Wilhelm, (who happened to be Knight's wife). My favorite story in the book was The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories by Gene Wolfe.
September 26, 2025
This is a review of the text only e-book edition available at BookReadFree.com. If there are illustrations, I haven't seen them, so can't comment on them.
I think Damon Knight gave up with Orbit at this point. He doesn't bother with any kind of introduction here -- just one story after another. By this time, he has his favorite authors and doesn't even try to find anyone new. There are two each by Gene Wolfe (good) and R. A. Lafferty (bad.)
Selections:
* "April Fool's Day Forever" by Kate Wilhelm. It goes on forever, has a confusing ending, and plot holes wide enough to fly a Boeing through. Must be nice to be the editor's wife to get whatever bollocks you write published.
* "Eyebem" by Gene Wolfe. Short but dense story narrated by a dying robot in a future Earth where robots are raised to take over the worst jobs, or the seemingly worst jobs.
* "Continued on Next Rock" by R. A. Lafferty. I'm sick and tired of Lafferty and his dead animal and dead people jokes.
* "To Sport with Amaryllis" by Richard Hill. Parody of hippie counterculture life dripping with references to Andy Warhol, Governor Ronald Reagan, and Max Rafferty.
* "In the Queue" by Keith Laumer. Not sure why they were standing in line for decades. Very frustrating.
* "The Living End" by Sonya Dorman. Another queue story, this time with a first time mother in labor. Again, it's hard to tell what the point is, beyond trying to shock.
* "A Dream at Noonday" by Gardiner R. Dozois. The plot (when you figure it out) is nothing new, but the prose is lush and absolutely gorgeous. If you like Stephen King, I think you're really going to like this.
* "Woman Waiting" by Carol Emschwiller. Woman goes crazy in an airport, waiting for a flight ... or something like that.
* "Old Foot Forgot" by R. A. Lafferty. This is a bit about the clash of religion and real life, and an attempt to create some truly alien aliens. However, it also ends abruptly without any real conclusion.
* "Jim and Mary G" by James Sallis. A couple is forced to kill their small child ... but why is never made clear. I wonder if Sallis had to kill a puppy and this is his way of confessing. Or perhaps its an anti-abortion statement. I've no idea.
* "The Pressure of Time" by Thomas M. Disch. Ireland of the future ... just as miserable and incomprehensible as Ireland of the present. I'm starting to hate Disch.
* "The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories" by Gene Wolfe. We end with a banger, and a beautiful ode to reading itself.
I think Damon Knight gave up with Orbit at this point. He doesn't bother with any kind of introduction here -- just one story after another. By this time, he has his favorite authors and doesn't even try to find anyone new. There are two each by Gene Wolfe (good) and R. A. Lafferty (bad.)
Selections:
* "April Fool's Day Forever" by Kate Wilhelm. It goes on forever, has a confusing ending, and plot holes wide enough to fly a Boeing through. Must be nice to be the editor's wife to get whatever bollocks you write published.
* "Eyebem" by Gene Wolfe. Short but dense story narrated by a dying robot in a future Earth where robots are raised to take over the worst jobs, or the seemingly worst jobs.
* "Continued on Next Rock" by R. A. Lafferty. I'm sick and tired of Lafferty and his dead animal and dead people jokes.
* "To Sport with Amaryllis" by Richard Hill. Parody of hippie counterculture life dripping with references to Andy Warhol, Governor Ronald Reagan, and Max Rafferty.
* "In the Queue" by Keith Laumer. Not sure why they were standing in line for decades. Very frustrating.
* "The Living End" by Sonya Dorman. Another queue story, this time with a first time mother in labor. Again, it's hard to tell what the point is, beyond trying to shock.
* "A Dream at Noonday" by Gardiner R. Dozois. The plot (when you figure it out) is nothing new, but the prose is lush and absolutely gorgeous. If you like Stephen King, I think you're really going to like this.
* "Woman Waiting" by Carol Emschwiller. Woman goes crazy in an airport, waiting for a flight ... or something like that.
* "Old Foot Forgot" by R. A. Lafferty. This is a bit about the clash of religion and real life, and an attempt to create some truly alien aliens. However, it also ends abruptly without any real conclusion.
* "Jim and Mary G" by James Sallis. A couple is forced to kill their small child ... but why is never made clear. I wonder if Sallis had to kill a puppy and this is his way of confessing. Or perhaps its an anti-abortion statement. I've no idea.
* "The Pressure of Time" by Thomas M. Disch. Ireland of the future ... just as miserable and incomprehensible as Ireland of the present. I'm starting to hate Disch.
* "The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories" by Gene Wolfe. We end with a banger, and a beautiful ode to reading itself.
June 15, 2009
Read in Michigan after term's end at Loyola during the summer of 1982 and reread in the midst of 1984.
August 14, 2016
This was a collection of short stories, but none were good. I bought this at a thrift store to read on the cruise and left the book there.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews