Orbit was an American long-running series of anthologies of new fiction edited by Damon Knight, often featuring work by such writers as Gene Wolfe, Joanna Russ, R. A. Lafferty, and Kate Wilhelm, who was married to Knight. The anthologies tended toward the avant-garde edge of science fiction, but by no means exclusively; occasionally the volumes would feature some nonfiction critical writing or humorous anecdotes by Knight. Inspired by Frederik Pohl's Star Science Fiction series, and in its turn an influence on Harlan Ellison's Dangerous Visions volumes and many others, it ran for over a decade and twenty-one volumes, not including a "Best-of" collection which covered the years 1966-1976.
Volume 1 was published in October 1966. Algis Budrys described it as an example of "a book that represents science fiction well, but not to any extraordinary extent."
Table of contents:
"Introduction", by Damon Knight
"Staras Flonderans", by Kate Wilhelm
"The Secret Place", by Richard M. McKenna
"How Beautiful with Banners", by James Blish
"The Disinherited", by Poul Anderson reprinted as "Home"
"The Loolies Are Here", by Allison Rice
"Kangaroo Court", by Virginia Kidd, reprinted as "Flowering Season"
"Splice of Life", by Sonya Dorman
"5 Eggs", by Thomas M. Disch
"The Deeps", by Keith Roberts
Volume 2 was published in 1967, and edited by Damon Knight. Budrys received it without enthusiasm, saying "It is more a sign that Damon's heart is in the right place than it is a really satisfactory book."
Table of contents:
"The Doctor", short story by Ted Thomas
"Baby, You Were Great", short story by Kate Wilhelm
"Fiddler's Green", short story by Richard McKenna
"Trip, Trap", short story by Gene Wolfe
"The Dimple In Draco", short story by Philip Latham
"I Gave her Sack and Sherry", short story by Joanna Russ
"The Adventuress", short story by Joanna Russ
"The Hole on the Corner", short story by R. A. Lafferty
"The Food Farm", short story by Kit Reed
"Full Sun", short story by Brian W Aldiss written in 1967, with a werewolf theme. Republished in World's Best Science Fiction: 1968. and Creatures from beyond: Nine stories of science fiction and fantasy
Volume 3 was published in 1968, and edited by Damon Knight. Algis Budrys found the volume "happens to contain some remarkable work," although he faulted the jacket copy as overpromotional.
Table of contents:
"Mother to the World" Richard Wilson
"Bramble Bush" by Richard McKenna (interior artwork by Jack Gaughan
"The Barbarian" by Joanna Russ
"The Changeling" by Gene Wolfe
"Why They Mobbed the White House" by Doris Pitkin Buck
"The Planners" by Kate Wilhelm
"Don't Wash the Carats" by Philip José Farmer
"Letter to a Young Poet" by James Sallis
"Here Is Thy Sting" by John Jakes
Volume 4 was published in 1968, and edited by Damon Knight.
Table of contents:
"Windsong", novelette by Kate Wilhelm
"Probable Cause", novella by Charles L. Harness
"Shattered Like a Glass Goblin", short story by Harlan Ellison
"This Corruptible", novelette by Jacob Transue
"Animal", short story by Carol Emshwiller
"One at a Time", short story by R. A. Lafferty
"Passengers", short story by Robert Silverberg
"Grimm’s Story", novella (in the "Tatja Grimm" series) by Vernor Vinge
"A Few Last Words", short story by James Sallis
Volume 5 was published September 1969 by G.P. Putnam's Sons. It was reprinted in October 1969 by Putnam, December 1969 by Berkley Medallion, and November 1970 in the UK by Rapp & Whiting. It was edited by Damon Knight Barry Malzberg wrote that the anthology "doesn't, somehow, seem to be at the same high level of ambition or accomplishment as the earlier volumes," but singled out "The Big Flash" for praise, declaring "The last pages of this story may be one of the strongest experiences available in modern American fiction."
Table of contents:
"Somerset Dreams", short story by Kate Wilhelm
"The Roads, The Roads, The Beautiful Roads", short story by Avram Davidson, written in 1969, reprinted in the anthology Car Sinister The head of a state highway department, whose highest passion in life is designing highways even if they are not needed, is driving on one of the highways he built. He takes the wrong exit and ends up in a closed off tunnel where a highway minotaur attacks him.
"Look, You Think you've Got Troubles", short story by Carol Carr, about a non-religious Jewish family whose daughter marries an alien who subsequently converts to Judaism.
"Winter's King", short story by Ursula K. Le Guin
"The Time Machine", short story by Langdon Jones, with a prisoner reminiscing about an affair he had with a married woman.
"Configuration of the North Shore", short story by R.A. Lafferty about a psychiatrist exploring a patient's extraordinary dream that could lead to the ultimate fulfillment of human existence.
"Paul's Treehouse", short story by Gene Wolfe
"The Price", short story by Belcher C. Davis, reprinted as "Just Dead Enough". A local newspaper reporter follows a case where a man dies in a car accident and his organs are transplanted into other people in the town. The case becomes interesting when one of the organ recipients kills someone in a car accident and doesn't have insurance. The lawyer tries to make the argument that the organ recipient is the heir of the donor. Then the heirs sue the hospital for getting them involved in the case to begin with.
"The Rose Bowl-Pluto Hypothesis", short story by Robert S. Richardson written under the pen name Philip Latham. A professor notices that racing scores have dramatically improved and proposes that it is due to space shrinking.
"Winston", short story by Kit Reed, written in 1969 and reprinted in 1976 in the anthology The Killer Mice and in 1981 in the collection Other Stories and...The Attack of the Giant Baby. A family purchases a child bred for intelligence, but neglects it and beats it until it suffers irreparable brain damage. In its brain damaged state the mother finally views it as a normal child.
"The History Makers", short story by James Sallis, written in 1969. The story is told in a series of letters from a person known as Jim to his brother John. He writes about his stay on an alien planet. The beings there live in an "alternate time span" whereby interaction with humans is nearly impossible. Over the course of the planet's "day" the inhabitants build a city from a rude village. Over the course of the day of city gains in size until it becomes a major metropolises. Than as the day ends the inhabitants began to go through a change. Most go comatose, while others began insanely destroying their city. Eventually the entire city, nicknamed Siva, including ruins is destroyed.
"The Big Flash", a short story by Norman Spinrad, which won the Nebula Award for Best Novelette. The Pentagon hatches a plan to use atomic warfare in the Vietnam War. It had been determined that a single nuclear attack would destroy 2/3 of the enemy's fighting force. In order to get the American population to go along with the idea of nuclear warfare, the Pentagon hire a rock band called the Four Horsemen to popularize the use of nuclear warfare.
Edited by Damon Knight
Table of contents:
"The Second Inquisition" by Joanna Russ
"Remembrance to Come" by Gene Wolfe
"How the Whip Came Back" by Gene Wolfe
"Goslin Day" by Avram Davidson
"Maybe Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck, Was a Little Bit Right" by Robin S. Scott
"The Chosen" by Kate Wilhelm
"Entire and Perfect Chrysolite" by R. A. Lafferty
"Sunburst" by Roderick Thorp
"The Creation of Bennie Good" by James Sallis
"The End" by Ursula K. Le Guin
"A Cold Dark Night with Snow" by Kate Wilhelm
"Fame" by Jean Cox
"Debut" by Carol Emshwiller
"Where No Sun Shines" by Gardner Dozois
"The Asian Shore" by Thomas M. Disch
Edited by Damon Knight
Table of contents:
"The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories" by Gene Wolfe
"In the Queue" by Keith Laumer
"Continued on Next Rock" by R. A. Lafferty
"Eyebem" by Gene Wolfe
"Jim and Mary G" by James Sallis
"Old Foot Forgot" by R. A. Lafferty
"The Pressure of Time" by Thomas M. Disch
"Woman Waiting" by Carol Emshwiller
"The Living End" by Sonya Dorman
"To Sport with Amaryllis" by Richard Hill
"April Fool's Day Forever" by Kate Wilhelm
"A Dream at Noonday" by Gardner Dozois
Published in 1970 by G.P. Putnam's Sons and edited by Damon Knight.
Table of contents:
"Horse of Air", by Gardner Dozois, reprinted in Nebula Award Stories 7, The Best from Orbit, and The Visible Man. A man survives the end of the world inside his apartment.
"A Method Bit in "B"", by Gene Wolfe. A police sergeant investigating a murder discovers he is actually a bit character in a B-movie.
"Interurban Queen", by R.A. Lafferty, reprinted in RINGING CHANGES, Days of Grass, Days of Straw, and in Lafferty in Orbit. A satirical story about an alternate history America where light rail systems have become the norm and cars are outlawed. This world is portrayed as a paradise, with all cities small, unique, and mostly for entertainment. Cars still exist, and are built by "Sly klunker makers". Being caught driving a car is a capital offense without trial.
Edited by Damon Knight, published by Putnam Books in 1971.
Theodore Sturgeon found the anthology "fascinating," saying "I profoundly admire what Knight is doing here."
Edited by Damon Knight, published in 1972. Table of contents:
"The Fifth Head of Cerberus", by Gene Wolfe
"Jody after the War", by Edward Bryant
"Al", by Carol Emshwiller
"Now I'm Watching Roger", by Alexei Panshin
"Whirl Cage", by Jack M. Dann
"A Kingdom by the Sea", by Gardner R. Dozois
"Christlings", by Albert Teichner
"Live, from Berchtesgaden", by George Alec Effinger
"Dorg", by R.A. Lafferty
"Gantlet", by Richard E. Peck
"The Fusion Bomb", by Kate Wilhelm
Edited by Damon Knight, published in 1973. Table of contents:
"Alien Stones" by Gene Wolfe
"Spectra" by Vonda N. McIntyre
"I Remember a Winter" by Frederik Pohl
"Doucement, S'il Vous Plait" by James Sallis
"The Summer of the Irish Sea" by Charles L. Grant (as "C. L. Grant")
"Good-bye, Shelley, Shirley, Charlotte, Charlene" by Robert Thurston
"Father's in the Basement" by Philip José Farmer
"Down by the Old Maelstrom" by Edward Wellen
"Things Go Better" by George Alec Effinger (as "Geo. Alec Effinger")
"Dissolve" by Gary K. Wolfe
"Dune's Edge" by Edward Bryant
"The Drum Lollipop" by Jack Dann (as "Jack M. Dann")
"Machines of Loving Grace" by Gardner R. Dozois
"They Cope" by David J. Skal (as "Dave Skal")
"Counterpoint" by Joe Haldeman (as "Joe W. Haldeman")
"Old Soul" by Steve Herbst
"New York Times" by Charles Platt
"The Crystallization of the Myth" by John Barfoot
"To Plant a Seed" by Hank Davis
"On the Road to Honeyville" by Kate Wilhelm
Edited by Damon Knight Table of Contents:
"Shark" by Edward Bryant
"Direction of the Road" by Ursula K. Le Guin
"The Windows in Dante's Hell" by Michael Bishop
"Four Stories" by Brian W. Aldiss
"Serpent Burning on an Alter"
"Woman in Sunlight with Mandoline"
"The Young Soldier's Horoscope"
"Castle Scene with Penitents"
"The Red Canary" by Kate Wilhelm
"What's the Matter With Herbie?" by Mel Gilden
"Pinup" by Edward Bryant
"The Genius Freaks" by Vonda N. McIntyre
"Burger Creature" by Steve Chapman
"Half the Kingdom" by Doris Piserchia
"Continuing Westward" by Gene Wolfe
Edited by Damon Knight Table of Contents:
"The Scream" by Kate Wilhelm
"Young Love" by Grania Davis
"And Name My Name" by R. A. Lafferty
"Going West" by Edward Bryant
"My Friend Zarathustra" by James Sallis
"Therapy" by Gary K. Wolf
"Gardening Notes From All Over" by W. Macfarlane
"Idio" by Doris Piserchia
Table of contents:
"Mother and Child" - Joan D. Vinge
"The Skinny People of Leptophlebo Street" - R. A. Lafferty
"A Brilliant Curiosity" - Doris Piserchia
"Phoenix House" - Jesse Miller
"Jack and Betty" - Robert Thurston
"Prison of Clay, Prison of Steel" - Henry-Luc Planchat
"Heartland" - Gustav Hasford
"Sandial" - Moshe Feder
"In Donovan's Time" - C. L. Grant
"Ambience" - Dave Skal
"Binary Justice" - Richard Bireley
"The House by the Sea" - Eleanor Arnason
"Euclid Alone" - William F. Orr
Spider Robinson dismissed the anthology as minor and disappointing, noting that most of the stories were "manifestly by newcomers, first sales or nearly so."
Edited by Damon Knight, first published in 1975.
Table of Contents:
"The Anthropologist" by Kathleen M. Sidney
"The Man with the Golden Reticulates" by Felix C. Gotschalk
"The Steel Sonnets" by Jeff Duntemann
"Toto, I Have a Feeling We're Not in Kansas Anymore" by Jeff Millar
"Autopsy in Transit" by Stepan Chapman (as Steve Chapman)
"House" by John Barfoot
"Fun Palace" by Raylyn Moore
"When We Were Good" by Dave Skal
"Which in the Wood Decays" by Seth McEvoy
"Great Day in the Morning" by R. A. Lafferty
"The Maze" by Stuart Dybek
"Quite Late One Spring Night" by John M. Curlovich
"Under the Hollywood Sign" by Tom Reamy
Edited by Damon Knight, first published in 1976.
Table of Contents:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, This Is Your Crisis" by Kate Wilhelm
"The Hand with One Hundred Fingers" by R. A. Lafferty
"Meathouse Man" by George R. R. Martin
"Rules of Moopsball" by Gary Cohn
"Who Was the First Oscar to Win a Negro?" by Craig Strete
In Pierson's Orchestra by Kim Stanley Robinson
"Mary Margaret Road-Grader" by Howard Waldrop
"The Family Winter of 1986" by Felix C. Gotschalk
"The Teacher" by Kathleen M. Sidney
"Coming Back to Dixieland" by Kim Stanley Robinson
"A Modular Story" by Raylyn Moore
"The M&M Seen as a Low-Yield Thermonuclear Device" by John Varley
"The Eve of the Last Apollo" by Carter Scholz
Edited by Damon Knight
Table of Contents:
"Lollipop and the Tar Baby" by John Varley
"State of Grace" by Kate Wilhelm
"Many Mansions" by Gene Wolfe
"The Veil Over the River" by Felix C. Gotschalk
"Fall of Pebble-Sky" by R. A. Lafferty
Memory Machine - Quotes
"Tomus" by Stephen Robinett
"Under Jupiter" by Michael W. McClintock
"To the Dark Tower Came" by Gene Wolfe
"Vamp" by Michael Conner
"Being of Game P-U" by Phillip Teich
"Night Shift" by Kevin O'Donnell, Jr.
"Going Down" by Eleanor Arnason
"The Disguise" by Kim Stanley Robinson
Arcs and Secants" - Afterword
