Stellar #5: Science Fiction Stories

Stellar #5

by Judy-Lynn del Rey (Editor)

Stellar #5. The fifth in the Stellar anthology series. Stellar Science Fiction short stories. Delightfully entertaining science-fiction short stories, written by the stars of the field. Science Fiction in the grand tradition. Stories to read and enjoy. Boasting a truly stellar list of contributors, a story collection that guarantees you hours of mind-spinning entertainment. A good collection of "good old fashioned SF stories", that have more-or-less stood the test of time, designed to counter-balance some of the weird, pretentious New Wave SF anthologies...being good old-fashioned stories that are fun to read.

Contents:
* The Sword of Damocles (1980) / novella by James P. Hogan
* Chains of Air, Web of Aether (1980) / novelette by Philip K. Dick
* Grimm's Law [Win Bear/North American Confederacy] (1980) / short story by L. Neil Smith
* Corpus Cryptic (1980) / novelette by Lee Killough
* Elbow Room (1980) / novelette by Marion Zimmer Bradley
* The Nobel Laureate (1980) / short story by Robert H. Curtis
* All That Glitters (1980) / novelette by G. C. Edmondson
* The Subtle Serpent (1980) / novella by Charles Sheffield
* About the Authors (Stellar #5) • essay by uncredited

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Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

246 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 12, 1980

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good anthology of original science fiction stories edited by Judy-Lynn Benjamin del Rey. Inspired by the Pohl series of Star anthologies of the previous generation, she attempted to present stories that had the sense-of-wonder factor coupled with more character-driven literary works inspired by the "New Wave" movement of the '60s and '70s. My favorites in this volume were the stories by Charles Sheffield and James P. Hogan. It has a very good Darrell K. Sweet cover painting.

[Lyle Blosser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable eclectic set of stories!

[The other John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple collection of science fiction tales, published back in 1980. None of the tales are particularly "stellar", but my fondness for the lead tale, "The Sword of Damocles" by James P. Hogan, led me to keep the book on my shelf. "Damocles" is a tale of temporal blackmail, where an alien artifact enables unscrupulous fellows from the past hold the future for ransom. The other tales in the book are:

"Chains of Air, Web of Aether" by Philip K. Dick, a tale of two people stationed in at communications outposts in the depths of space.
"Grimm's Law" by L. Neil Smith, in which a time courier kills some time in a bar, regaling the bartender with an account of a recent job.
"Corpus Cryptic" by Lee Killough, a murder mystery solved by the scientific research of an assistant coroner.
"Elbow Room" by Marion Zimmer Bradley, another tale about a woman carrying out vital work in the lonely reaches of the cosmos.
"The Nobel Laureate" by Robert H. Curtis, a glimpse of what might have been if the gods had not chosen to intervene.
"All that Glitters" by G.C. Edmondson, a tale of another lonesome soul, this time in the nearby Yukon, who gets an interesting new neighbor.
"The Subtle Serpent" by Charles Sheffield, a story about a starfaring crew searching for the resources to repair their ship and escape from a primitive planet.

[Gary Barrentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really good stories mixed in with some okay ones.