Orbit 11

Orbit #11

by Damon Knight (Editor)

Damon Knight's Orbit 11: An Anthology of New Stories. 1972, Putnam, NY, hardcover edition, 255 pages. Authors Gene Wolfe, Frederik Pohl, Kate Wilhelm, Philip Jose Farmer, and others.

Genres: Science Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Damon 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.

Reviews

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was a kid I’d walk to my neighborhood library and always go to the Science Fiction section first. Sometimes I’d see one of these shiny new Orbit anthologies with their brilliant covers by Paul Lehr and check them out, hoping the stories inside held the promise of the cover outside. Inevitably, I thought the stories in them sucked. I didn’t get them. I was more a rocket ships and ray guns kind of sci-fi kid. This new wave science fiction of the 60s and 70s was over my head.

Now all these years later I still get sucked into the awesome Paul Lehr covers. I’ve matured, somewhat, in my reading tastes but I have to admit that much of the new wave period of science fiction still doesn’t work for me.

I picked up this collection at a used bookstore a couple years ago for a few dollars. Orbit anthologies are getting scarce, so for a couple bucks I can at least have a book with a cool cover. The stories in this collection from 1972 are of their time, reflecting the fear and anxieties in an America wracked with ugly cities filled with crime and urban decay, pollution, inflation, gasoline shortages, the Vietnam war, home grown terrorism, social upheaval and fear of technology. A few of them can’t truly be considered science fiction. I read all but two of them. The two stories I didn’t finish were guilty of too many characters using too many made up words and running around within incomprehensible plots taking up way too many pages. I hate stories like that. The rest of the stories ranged from okay to pretty good.

Standouts for me: "Spectra" by Vonda M. McIntyre, "Goodbye, Shelley, Shirley, Charlotte, Charlene" by Robert Thurston, "Dissolve" by Gary K. Wolf, "Counterpoint" by Joe W. Haldeman, "New York Times" by Joe Platt and "On the Road to Honeyville" by Kate Wilhelm.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the eleventh volume of Damon Knight's long-running original anthology series of short speculative fiction. I thought it was one of the weaker books in the series, perhaps because it contained a larger number of shorter stories that seemed slight or less-accessible; many of them didn't provide enough background to allow the reader to establish a link with the worlds and characters. I did enjoy the ones by Philip Jose Farmer, Edward Bryant, and particularly Joe W. Haldeman.

[Jason Pryde · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had two kinds of stories in it.
One, traditional plot with well formed characters that fit traditional roles of protagonist, antagonist, supporting actor, etc.
The other was more “writing for arts sake” . The focus was more on pushing the boundaries of a story arc, making a statement or portrait of a human condition.
I am more of a consumer of plot than a philosopher though I do like to take away a lesson, moral, or at least a question to ponder.
This book was roughly half of each type of story, thus the middling rating.

[Bri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were harder to digest for me than others and there were a few that do not fit the sci-fi mold (rather regular fiction,) but I'm still glad I read every included selection. My few personal favorites-
Spectra · Vonda N. McIntyre
Good-Bye, Shelley, Shirley, Charlotte, Charlene · Robert Thurston
Father’s in the Basement · Philip José Farmer
Dune’s Edge · Edward Bryant