Polyphony, Volume 1 [Paperback]

Deborah Layne (Editor), Jay Lake (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2002

Polyphony is a new biannual anthology of original short fiction. Featuring a mix of established and new writers, Polyphony Volume 1 offers a dozen stories that skate gracefully across the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, magic realism, and literary fiction.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"Twelve good writers, cutting free of commercial and canonical limitations, make an anthology that goes way beyond 'experimental' into 'extraordinary.'"
Ursula K. Le Guin

"Face it: for the most part, SF, Fantasy and Horror--the genres of the ostensibly fantastic--have long ago hit the snooze button and rolled back over for a long lazy hibernation, while the world outside their bedchamber ferments and explodes in ways almost too bizarre to imagine. But now comes an irresistable wake-up call. The stellar new original anthology series POLYPHONY is a fizzy bottle of champagne sprayed across the sleepers' faces. Old hands--Shepard and Emshwiller--consort with newer writers--Duncan and McHugh--and first-timers--Singh and Garcia--to produce a slipstream banquet that is truly a many-voiced paean to the inexhaustible possibilities of the literature of the marvelous."
Paul Di Filippo

"So far, most of the remarkable slipstream fiction being published today has been falling into the chasm between genre and literary fiction. Genre science fiction and fantasy magazines seem designed to put such stories only into the hands of people guaranteed to be disappointed by them; mainstream literary publications are uncomfortable with anything that carries the whiff of genre. POLYPHONY is the promised land for readers of the strange, miraculous, and speculative. Cross the river and enter."
John Kessel

"POLYPHONY" means "many voices." Or "two or more independent melodic parts sounded together." This first volume of POLYPHONY lives up to both definitions. It offers an array of strong voices and arranges them so as to showcase not only their harmonies but also their distinctions. Established voices like Lucius Shepard's, Andy Duncan's, Carol Emshwiller's, and Maureen McHugh's chime provocatively with the haunting new voices of Victoria Elizabeth Garcia and Vandana Singh. The reader also hears terrific solos by Leslie What, Ray Vukcevich, Carrie Vaugh, Douglas Lain, and James Van Pelt, and a stunning 11-part recitative by Bruce Holland Rogers, a whole concert in itself. POLYPHONY is a stirring venture. Anyone attuned to first-rate storytelling will applaud its debut and eagerly await performances to come.
Michael Bishop

"Leslie [What's] comic stories are indeed fun to read, but I've noticed quite often that there is a serious aftertaste when the bubbles and froth have disappeared. That's very nice. 'Blind Date With the Invisible Man' is one of those stories that linger afterward."
Kate Wilhelm

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Wheatland Press (August 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972054707
• ISBN-13: 978-0972054706
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,260,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Making a strong case for slipstream, September 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Polyphony, Volume 1 (Paperback)

Slipstream, a term often bandied about in discussions of science fiction, doesn't lend itself to easy definition. It's used to describe stories that don't fit neatly into genre categories, in which the fantastic elements that usually mark a story as science fiction or fantasy are subtle or barely present.

POLYPHONY happily embraces the slipstream, and the result is a fine assortment of short fiction that belongs wherever well-written, imaginative stories are welcome.

Every item in the table of contents offers something of interest. Highlights include the following:

"Anthropology" by Victoria Elisabeth Garcia, a wonderfully lunatic tale of mating rituals, Victoriana, and weird science.

"The Sea Monkey Conspiracy" by Douglas Lain, where brine shrimp and 2-XL robots feed a college student's paranoia and/or serve as the tools of dark, manipulative agencies.

"The Room on the Roof" by Vandana Singh, a sensually rich story about a sculptress who introduces magic and strangeness into the life of a girl growing up in India.

"Laika Comes Back Safe" by Maureen McHugh, a showcase for McHugh's ear for distinct voices in which a Russian dog stranded in orbit and a werewolf cousin figure in the life of a girl straining against a troubled home life.

"The Main Design That Shines Through Sky and Earth" by Bruce Holland Rogers, a particulary moving story (or suite of stories) that examines teachers, teaching, lessons, and students.

If the world works the way it ought to, we'll have many more volumes of POLYPHONY to look forward to, and open-minded readers will have continued cause to celebrate.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Collection of Slipstream Fiction, November 2, 2002

By 

Fosky Bob "human" (Vacaville, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Polyphony, Volume 1 (Paperback)

_Polyphony_ is a new anthology series that showcases excellent stories that lie somewhere between mainstream fiction and fantastic/SF fiction. The stories in this, the premiere volume of Polyphony, are of a consistently high quality.

My favorite story in the volume (and picking a favorite story is like shooting fish in a barrel) is from Victoria Elisabeth Garcia. "Anthropology" is her first published story. It's about the intricate plans a woman goes through to seduce an anthropology professor. An excellent piece of work.

The rest of the anthology is very good as well. The reader should pay special attention to the stories by Carol Emshwiller, Maureen McHugh, James Van Pelt, Bruce Holland Rogers, & Douglas Lain. Carrie Vaughn writes a very nice story, but the first half of the story is eerily similar to the recent war movie 'Enemy at the Gates'. I assume that either the similarity is coincidental or that both stories are rooted in the same historical facts (with which I am unfamiliar).

I was slightly disappointed with the stories by Andy Duncan and Lucius Shepard. They're nice enough but don't have any of the zest both writers normally deliver. Be warned, Shepard's piece was published previously in an e-book.

I'm eagerly looking forward to the next volume in the Polyphony series. With luck (and reader support), Polyphony will become successful and continue indefinitely. If the quality of the fiction is as excellent as it is in this collection, I can't wait.