Cassandra (story)

Infobox short story |
name = Cassandra
title_orig =
translator =
author = C. J. Cherryh
country = flag|United States
language = English
series =
genre = Science fiction, short story
publication_type = Periodical
published_in = "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction"
publisher = Mercury Press
media_type = Print (Magazine)
pub_date = 1978
english_pub_date =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Cassandra" is a science fiction short story written by American science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh. It was first published in "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction" in October 1978, and won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1979. It was only her second published short story, after "The Dark King" (1977).

Background

C. J. Cherryh is best known for her science fiction and fantasy novels, and the bulk of her work comprises novels. Short story writing is an activity she generally only undertakes upon request or when an idea surfaces that does not lend itself to a novel. Receiving a Hugo Award for this story therefore "surprised its creator no end." [ Author's introduction to "The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh". ]

This short story is Cherryh's modern take on the Greek mythological figure Cassandra who had the gift of prophecy.

Plot summary

The gift of prescience, rather than a blessing, is a curse for Cassandra that she cannot control. She sees the future all the time and cannot turn it off. She leaves her burning apartment each morning and heads for the bombed-out coffee shop, passing charred corpses on the way. She knows it's going to happen but can do nothing about it. When the bombs do come and fire engulfs the city, her foresight actually saves her, but at what cost? She is the sole beneficiary of her misfortune in an otherwise non-functional existence.

Publication history

*"The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction", October 1978
*"The 1979 Annual World's Best SF" (English & Hebrew), 1979
*"Nebula Winners 14", 1980
*"Univers" (French), 1980
*"Science Fiction Story Reader 13" (German), 1980
*"SF Jubilaeum Band" (German), 1985
*"Visible Light", 1986
*"World SF" (Japanese), 1987
*"The Hugo Winners, Vol. 4", 1987
*"Mega Magazine", 1992
*"Women of Wonder Vol. 2", 1995
*"Wm Goldman" (German), 1997
*"The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh, 2004

Awards and nominations

*1978 – Nebula Award for Best Short Story: runner up
*1979 – Hugo Award for Best Short Story: winner
*1979 – Locus Award for Best Short Story: runner up
*1999 – Named one of Locus Magazine's 50 best science fiction short stories of all time

References

*C. J. Cherryh. "The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh". DAW Books 2004. ISBN 0-7564-0217-4.

External links

* [http://www.cherryh.com/www/foreignbiblio.htm C. J. Cherry's homepage] . "Bibliography of C.J. Cherryh".