Southern Seven 5 Published and edited by Ann Wortham. 2 volumes 1989. 408 pp Comb bound. Given its size and overall high standard, volume 5 of Southern Seven has to have something for everyone. The stories and poetry are helpfully arranged in roughly chronological order to cover the four series and post-GP. There are rather more stories based on series 3, 4 and PG than on 1 + 2. There is a mixture of action, comedy, and angst, a sizeable number being alternative universe. Personally I like angsty pieces best, and there weren't as many of them in this as in some other SS volumes, but what there were, were great. As far as I remember, having reached page 404 a couple of weeks ago, there is no particular emphasis overall on any one character. There are as usual with Southern Seven a lot of cartoons and pieces of artwork.
24 pages are devoted to letters of comment. Personally I find it very helpful reading comments on previous issues for the obvious ereason that it helps me choose whether or not to order them. However if you think differently or have already got everything (lucky you) you may find it annoying to have the space taken up (but 24 out of 408 densely packed pages isn't that bad, is it?).
Volume 2 is post-Terminal and includes Book V of Log of the Hellhound which is over 80 pages long. If you like Hellhound this is fine. If you do not like it, 80+ pages of a zine is a lot to skip over.
. All but one of the series 1+2 stories are relatively short with the exception of "Fate's Final Act" an intriguing and well thought out pre-Star One scenario. Of the short ones I particularly liked the exquisite "Companions for your Watch", which is about Avon, Cally and Vila shortly before Terminal , a Cally/Avon story called Out of the Tomb, and all the Orbit stories. Also "Rumours with a View ", which unusually has a happy ending for Avon and Anna, and for Cally and Vila.
There are too many writers to list individually, but they include xBryn Lantry, Jeanne DeVore, Sue Williams, Linda Knights, Alicia Ann Fox, Sheila Paulson, Sophia R. Mulvey and Mary Alice Wuerz.