Cassandra (story)

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For other uses, see Cassandra (disambiguation).
"Cassandra"
Author C. J. Cherryh
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Genre(s) Science fiction, short story
Published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
Publication type Periodical
Publisher Mercury Press
Media type Print (Magazine)
Publication date 1978
October 1978 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, where "Cassandra" was first published.
October 1978 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, where "Cassandra" was first published.

"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).

Contents

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." [1]

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

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.

Preceded by
"Jeffty Is Five"
by Harlan Ellison		 Hugo Award for Best Short Story
1979		 Succeeded by
"The Way of Cross and Dragon"
by George R. R. Martin

  1. ^ Author's introduction to The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh.

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

v • d • e
Works by C. J. Cherryh  (bibliography)
Science fiction novels Gate of Ivrel (1976) • Brothers of Earth (1976) • Hunter of Worlds (1977) • The Faded Sun: Kesrith (1978) • The Faded Sun: Shon'jir (1978) • Well of Shiuan (1978) • The Faded Sun: Kutath (1979) • Fires of Azeroth (1979) • Hestia (1979) • Serpent's Reach (1980) • Wave Without a Shore (1981) • Downbelow Station (1981) • The Pride of Chanur (1981) • Merchanter's Luck (1982) • Port Eternity (1982) • Forty Thousand in Gehenna (1983) • Chanur's Venture (1984) • Voyager in Night (1984) • Angel With the Sword (1985) • Cuckoo's Egg (1985) • The Kif Strike Back (1985) • Chanur's Homecoming (1986) • Cyteen (1988) • Exile's Gate (1988) • Rimrunners (1989) • Heavy Time (1991) • Chanur's Legacy (1992) • Hellburner (1992) • Foreigner (1994) • Tripoint (1994) • Invader (1995) • Rider at the Gate (1995) • Cloud's Rider (1996) • Inheritor (1996) • Finity's End (1997) • Precursor (1999) • Defender (2001) • Hammerfall (2001) • Explorer (2003) • Forge of Heaven (2004) • Destroyer (2005) • Pretender (2006) • Deliverer (2007)
Fantasy novels The Dreamstone (1983) • The Tree of Swords and Jewels (1983) • The Gates of Hell (1986) • Kings in Hell (1987) • Legions of Hell (1987) • The Paladin (1988) • Rusalka (1989) • Chernevog (1990) • Yvgenie (1991) • The Goblin Mirror (1992) • Faery in Shadow (1993) • Fortress in the Eye of Time (1995) • Lois & Clark: A Superman Novel (1996) • Fortress of Eagles (1998) • Fortress of Owls (1999) • Fortress of Dragons (2000) • Fortress of Ice (2006)
Short story collections Sunfall (1981) • Visible Light (1986) • Glass and Amber (1987) • The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh (2004)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra_%28story%29"
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