Cassandra (short story)

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Cassandra"

by C. J. Cherryh

CountryUnited States

Language English

Genre(s) Science fiction

Published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

Publication type Periodical

Publisher Mercury Publications

Media type Print (magazine)

Publication date October 1978

"Cassandra" is a science fiction short story by American writer 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).

"Cassandra" has been translated into German, French, Polish, Italian and Romanian.[1]
Short story writing is an activity that Cherryh 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 came as a
complete surprise to Cherryh.[2]

This short story is Cherryh's modern take on the Greek mythological figure Cassandra who had the gift of
prophecy.[2]

Plot summary

The gift of prescience, rather than a blessing, is a curse for the mythological character Cassandra that she
cannot control. She sees the future all the time and cannot turn it off. In Cherryh's story, Crazy Alis 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.

Awards and nominations

1979 – Hugo Award for Best Short Story: winner[3]

1979 – Nebula Award for Best Short Story: runner up[4]

1979 – Locus Award for Best Short Story: runner up[5]

1999 – Named one of Locus magazine's 50 best science fiction short stories of all time[6]

References

"Cassandra". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved February 25, 2018.

Cherryh, C. J. (2004). "Introduction". The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh. DAW Books. p. x.
ISBN 0-7564-0217-4.

"1979 Hugo Awards". Locus. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.

"1979 Nebula Awards". Locus. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
"1979 Locus Awards". Locus. Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2012.

"1999 Locus All-Time Poll". Locus. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved January 26,
2012.

Sources

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

External links

C. J. Cherryh's homepage. Bibliography of C.J. Cherryh