OTHER EDENS

   UK original anthology series, consisting of Other Edens (anth 1987), \#II (anth 1988) and \#III (anth 1989), ed Christopher EVANS and Robert HOLDSTOCK. This was a curious series. The (ironic?) title is taken from the description of England in Shakespeare's Richard II, though the editors mistakenly say it was Richard III; in fact, however, they rather let down their own ambition of giving a boost to UK short fiction by including stories by US writers like Kim Stanley ROBINSON and Scott BRADFIELD, which led some readers to the unfortunate conclusion that not enough local material existed. Though good stories were published (many of the better ones inclining to FABULATION or fantasy rather than sf) the overall tone was bleak and introspective, sometimes to the point of self-parody; thus the series could be read as supporting the long-held US stereotype of UK sf, a stereotype that was contemporaneously being destroyed by the magazine INTERZONE. The series did include good work from the new generation of UK writers, including Gill ALDERMAN, Stephen BAXTER, Keith BROOKE and Ian MCDONALD.

   PN