UNIVERSE 2

The Universe series, comprising previously unpublished material, once edited by the late Terry Carr, was revived in 1990 by the Silverbergs (note the change in publisher from Universe 1). This edition has 22 variations, short and long, with the sf label flexibly applied. Some of the more intriguing entries: a murder mystery set aboard a Mars shuttle (Cary James); an alien contact/transcendence tale (Carolyn Gilman); absorbing xenology from Paula May; three more peculiar yet stimulating enigmas, courtesy of the redoubtable Brian W. Aldiss; and a witty parody of Tom Godwin's famous story, ``The Cold Equations'' (Deborah Wessel). Also on the agenda: surrogate soldiers; alien artifacts; curious aliens; a futuristic Miss Manners column; a postindustrial-future variant; sf ghosts; a mechanized future; musical space mysteries; alien invaders; plus the usual crop of unclassifiable weirdos. About average overall, with new ideas few and far between and a stale writers'-workshop air hanging over much of the proceedings.