Kingsley Amis & Robert Conquest : Spectrum


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Following publication of his nonfiction examination of modern SF in 1960, New Maps of Hell: A Survey of Science Fiction, author and critic Amis teamed up with another novelist and critic, Robert Conquest, to produce a series of anthologies of short works which they felt defended their claims about the genre against reviewers who dismissed the very idea of mature readers having an interest in the future or in space travel. The books were published first by Gollancz in the UK, then by Harcourt, Brace & World in the US. The first four US volumes rearranged their contents. Berkley paperback reprints of the US volumes are shown in the photo; the paperback of the first volume drops three stories, by Barr, Berryman, and MacLean.

The editors made a point of using only one story per author, across the five books.

  • Spectrum, (Gollancz, 1961) [isfdb]
  • Spectrum II, (Gollancz, 1962) [isfdb]
  • Spectrum III, (Gollancz, 1963) [isfdb]
  • Spectrum IV, (Gollancz, 1965) [isfdb]
  • Spectrum V, (Gollancz, 1966) [isfdb]


Combined Contents by Author and Title


Brian W. Aldiss
  • There Is a Tide (New Worlds Feb 1956) -- Vol. #3
    • Poul Anderson
  • Call Me Joe (Astounding Apr 1957) -- Vol. #4
    • Christopher Anvil
  • Gadget vs. Trend (Analog Oct 1962) -- Vol. #5
    • Paul Ash
  • Big Sword (Astounding Oct 1958) -- Vol. #2
    • Richard Ashby
  • Commencement Night (Astounding Aug 1953) -- Vol. #2
    • Isaac Asimov
  • The Feeling of Power (If Feb 1958) -- Vol. #3
    • J. G. Ballard
  • The Voices of Time (New Worlds Oct 1960) -- Vol. #4
    • Stephen Barr
  • The Homing Instinct of Joe Vargo (F&SF Dec 1959) -- Vol. #1
    • John Berryman
  • Special Flight (Astounding May 1939) -- Vol. #1
    • Alfred Bester
  • Fondly Fahrenheit (F&SF Aug 1954) -- Vol. #4
    • James Blish
  • Bridge (Astounding Feb 1952) -- Vol. #3
    • Anthony Boucher
  • Barrier -- Vol. #5
    • John Brunner
  • Such Stuff (F&SF Jun 1962) -- Vol. #5
    • Algis Budrys
  • The Executioner (Astounding Jan 1956) -- Vol. #1
    • Arthur C. Clarke
  • The Sentinel (Ten Story Fantasy Spr 1951) -- Vol. #4
    • Hal Clement
  • Hot Planet (Galaxy Aug 1963) -- Vol. #5
    • Mark Clifton
  • Sense from Thought Divide (Astounding Mar 1955) -- Vol. #3
    • Allan Danzig
  • The Great Nebraska Sea -- Vol. #5
    • Philip K. Dick
  • Second Variety (Space Science Fiction May 1953) -- Vol. #3
    • H. Chandler Elliott
  • Inanimate Objection (Galaxy Feb 1954) -- Vol. #1
    • Howard Fast
  • The Large Ant (Fantastic Universe Feb 1960) -- Vol. #5
    • Tom Godwin
  • Mother of Invention (Astounding Dec 1953) -- Vol. #2
    • Ron Goulart
  • Into the Shop (F&SF Apr 1964) -- Vol. #5
    • Wyman Guin
  • Beyond Bedlam (Galaxy Aug 1951) -- Vol. #3
    • Robert A. Heinlein
  • By His Bootstraps (Astounding Oct 1941) -- Vol. #1
    • Wayland Hilton-Young
  • The Choice (Punch Mar 19 1952) -- Vol. #5
    • John Jakes
  • The Sellers of the Dream (Galaxy Jun 1963) -- Vol. #5
    • Raymond F. Jones
  • Noise Level (Astounding Dec 1952) -- Vol. #2
    • Damon Knight
  • Stranger Station (F&SF Dec 1956) -- Vol. #5
    • C. M. Kornbluth
  • The Marching Morons (Galaxy Apr 1951) -- Vol. #5
    • Henry Kuttner
  • Vintage Season (by HK & C. L. Moore) (Astounding Sep 1946) -- Vol. #3 as by Henry Kuttner
    • Fritz Leiber
  • The Secret Songs (F&SF Aug 1962) -- Vol. #5
    • Murray Leinster
  • Exploration Team (Astounding Mar 1956) -- Vol. #4
    • Katherine MacLean
  • Unhuman Sacrifice (Astounding Nov 1958) -- Vol. #1
    • Walter M. Miller, Jr.
  • Crucifixus Etiam (Astounding Feb 1953) -- Vol. #2
    • C. L. Moore
  • Vintage Season (by Henry Kuttner & CLM) (Astounding Sep 1946) -- Vol. #3 as by Henry Kuttner
    • Peter Phillips
  • Dreams Are Sacred (Astounding Sep 1948) -- Vol. #4
    • Frederik Pohl
  • The Midas Plague (Galaxy Apr 1954) -- Vol. #1
    • Mark Rose
  • We Would See a Sign (Spectrum 3, 1964) -- Vol. #4
    • James H. Schmitz
  • Grandpa (Astounding Feb 1955) -- Vol. #2
    • Robert Sheckley
  • Pilgrimage to Earth (Playboy Sep 1956) -- Vol. #1
    • Clifford D. Simak
  • Limiting Factor (Startling Stories Nov 1949) -- Vol. #1
    • Cordwainer Smith
  • A Planet Named Shayol (Galaxy Oct 1961) -- Vol. #5
    • Theodore Sturgeon
  • Killdozer! (Astounding Nov 1944) -- Vol. #4
    • William Tenn
  • Null-P (Worlds Beyond Jan 1951) -- Vol. #1
    • Theodore Thomas
  • The Far Look (Astounding Aug 1956) -- Vol. #2
    • A. E. van Vogt
  • Resurrection (Astounding Aug 1948) -- Vol. #3
    • F. L. Wallace
  • Student Body (Galaxy Mar 1953) -- Vol. #2
    • John Wyndham
  • Compassion Circuit (Sunday Chronicle Aug 29 1954) -- Vol. #5

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