The Collected Short Fiction of C.J. Cherryh

by C. J. Cherryh

Overview

All of C.J. Cherryh's award-winning short fiction, collected in one volume for the first time...

“It’s rare that I’m not working on a novel. Short stories often happen between novels. Consequently my output is fairly small. But I love the tale-telling concept, the notion that I can spin a yarn, rather than construct something architectural and precise.”

So writes triple Hugo Award-winning author C.J. Cherryh in the introduction to this book, the first comprehensive collection of her independent short fiction. For though Cherryh is primarily known for her novels, it’s clear both from the more than two dozen brilliant and varied stories collected here, as well as her commentaries about them, that she loves the short forms and truly enjoys her forays into them.

We welcome you to join the realms of C. J. Cherryh’s imagination, where you’ll visit: “Cassandra”—the Hugo Award-winning tale of a woman cursed with a unique, prophetic madness. “Threads of Time”—an unforgettable reminder that when you play tricks in time, Time itself may play the greatest trick on you. Sunfall—in which six mighty Earth cities laden with the grandeur of history confront their fates in the far future light of our own dying sun. And many other magical, alien, and future worlds, in a volume that incorporates all C. J. Cherryh’s previous, long-unavailable collections, individual short stories that have never been compiled before, and a never-before-published novella written specifically for this book.

Board this spaceship where your tour guide is one of the most gifted and brilliant science fiction and fantasy writers, and embark on a journey fueled by the imagination of the incomparable C. J. Cherryh.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780756415563
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	06/11/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	736
Sales rank:	621,305
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.57(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

C. J. Cherryh planned to write since the age of ten. When she was older, she learned to use a typewriter while triple-majoring in Classics, Latin, and Greek. With more than seventy books to her credit, and the winner of three Hugo Awards, she is one of the most prolific and highly respected authors in the science fiction field. Cherryh was named a Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. She lives in Washington state. She can be found at cherryh.com.

Read an Excerpt

THE ONLY DEATH IN THE CITY
(Continues…)

---

Excerpted from "The Collected Short Fiction of C.J. Cherryh"
by .
Copyright © 2019 C. J. Cherryh.
Excerpted by permission of DAW.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Editorial Reviews

"Sure to appeal to Cherryh enthusiasts as well as initiates... all readers should appreciate her short fiction's lyrical blend of SF and fantasy.... The Visible Light section, which includes the Hugo-winning 'Cassandra,' highlights her skill at creating poignant, believable characters embedded in political and personal conflicts." —Publishers Weekly

"This massive and valuable collection reprints all of Cherryh's short fiction... 'Cassandra' is a Hugo Award winner and, with 'A Thief in Korianth' and 'The Last Tower,' enjoys classic status in the Cherryh canon.... 'The Dark King,' 'The Unshadowed Land,' and 'Gwydion and the Dragon' are outstanding. Cherryh crafts even less impressive stories well enough to verify her reputation for brilliance and versatility." —Booklist

"The twenty-nine short stories, novellas, and novelettes gathered here represent the best of Cherryh's short fiction. Known primarily for such novels as Cuckoo's Egg and the 'Chanur' series, Cherryh demonstrates a fine flair for compact storytelling that encompasses science, fantasy, and myth." —Library Journal

"A quarter-century of short stories shows an award-winning writer to be master of more than just novels. Economical, swift, varied, employing just the right amount of detail, they are all eminently readable and often accomplish the same thing the novels do in a fraction of the space." —SciFi.com

"Highly intelligent and inexhaustibly imaginative, this versatile collection should be cherished for decades to come. Much more than entertainment, The Collected Short Fiction of C.J. Cherryh is literary history unearthed." —The Barnes & Noble Review

From the Publisher

The Barnes & Noble Review
Millions of C. J. Cherryh fans should be preparing thank-you letters to DAW for having the insight to collect into one volume Cherryh's short stories, novellas, and novelettes. Included in the collection are the Hugo Award–winning "Cassandra" and classics like "The Unshadowed Land" and "Mech," as well as a never-before-published Sunfall story!

"Masks," the new Sunfall tale, takes place in a quixotic Venice of the far future -- a "city at war between sea and land, a city that has found a unique way to be modern, and still to remain so perfectly ancient." Forced into a marriage by her materialistic grandmother, young Giacinta vows to follow her heart, even if it means dishonor and almost certain death. In "Companions," Paul Warren is the last explorer left alive on an idyllic planet after a mysterious plague kills the rest of his team. Left alone with just the ship's artificial intelligence, he searches the lush planet for another sentient form of life -- and finds it in the unlikeliest of places. In 1977's "The Dark King," Death gets outsmarted by King Sisyphos in Corinth when the dark twin of Sleep comes for the king's soul.

Admirers of Cherryh's internationally renowned novels -- Downbelow Station, the Faded Sun trilogy (Kesrith, Shon'jir, Kutath), the epic Foreigner sequence, et al. -- need to read this masterful collection of her short works. Highly intelligent and inexhaustibly imaginative, this versatile collection should be cherished for decades to come. Much more than entertainment, The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh is literary history unearthed. Paul Goat Allen

bn.com

Sure to appeal to Cherryh enthusiasts as well as initiates, this omnibus volume gathers the stories from two out-of-print collections, Sunfall (1981) and Visible Light (1986), plus 16 additional tales. The majority showcase the author's talent for depicting the effect of history on individuals. In the Sunfall stories, about a far-future Earth where the Sun has begun to cool, Cherryh dramatizes how the inhabitants of such cities as Paris, London and Moscow might cope with gradual cultural and physical collapse. "Masks," a new Sunfall story original to this book, portrays carnevale revels in a far-future Venice as if it were again an independent city-state. The Visible Light section, which includes the Hugo-winning "Cassandra," highlights her skill at creating poignant, believable characters embedded in political and personal conflicts. Notable in the miscellaneous group is "Pots," which simultaneously recapitulates differing priorities in the politics and science of archeology. Its basic premise, that archeological truth is not always acceptable to those in power, could equally describe the past or the future of this science. Some may wish that the author's brief general introduction and new introduction to the Visible Light stories were more substantial, but all readers should appreciate her short fiction's lyrical blend of SF and fantasy. (Feb. 1) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

From a cycle of tales depicting the futures of the world's great cities beneath a dying sun ("Sunfall")-which includes a story written specifically for this collection ("Masks")-to a tale of a family blessed and cursed by the sea ("Sea Change"), the 29 short stories, novellas, and novelettes gathered here represent the best of Cherryh's short fiction. Known primarily for such novels as Cuckoo's Egg and the "Chanur" series, Cherryh demonstrates a fine flair for compact storytelling that encompasses science, fantasy, and myth. For most libraries. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal