This is the first fiction anthology written, edited and published by Spaced Out. It is a highly promising venture, which should inspire the rest of us to apply the seat of our pants to the seat in front of our computers, and verbalise our own fantasies and visions.

Most of the stories in this first issue are variations on the themes "diversity" and "fear of difference", and their basic plots belong to well-known categories of science fiction. "Tortured Thoughts of A Boy in Love", by Alan Duncan, is based in a 'speculative universe' and emphasises the effects of prejudice by establishing sexual norms which are the exact opposite of the ones of our society. "Fate", by Stephen Stonewall, (I wish the author had given this powerful piece a less vague title) is a catastrophe story where the catastrophe is triggered by prejudice and fear. "Starry Dream", by Miriam English, is a moving, beautifully-written story about cyberships, loneliness, and longing.

Other stories are transparent metaphors for late twentieth-centuries issues vital to gay, bisexual, and transexual people. Stephen Stonewall's "Why 2-K?" represents an Earth conquered by an AIDS-like virus, but its message is not totally negative: catastrophes can produce unity, and ultimately a form of salvation. Stephen Stonewall's "Sky Sanctuary" is an extended metaphor for the identity issues of bisexual people. David Hanneford's "The Enemy Below"  can be read both as a passionately ironic defence of sea mammals and as a a biting, non-preachy parable about the intolerance and hatred which underlie moral crusades. Miriam English's "Virtual Confinement" is an understatedly chilling vision of future methods of dealing with dissidents.

The stories I found most memorable are two pieces which, in very different ways, are about communication, and hope. Michael A. J. Jordan's "Seed of Salvation", a clever, elegantly-written variation on the "helpful aliens" theme, and Adrian Gaetano's epic saga "Pre-Millennial Tension", which I found totally believable, economically written, and deeply moving.

My one negative remark is that the collection could have benefited from tighter editing: a few stories were good ideas that could have been developed better with careful rewriting. But the zine as a whole is definitely worth reading - I urge all members to buy it and to recommend it to friends and science-fiction clubs.

Solar Spectrum #1 ISSN 1445 - 002X

Available from Spaced Out
and Hares & Hyenas Bookshop