The Story Until Now

Science fiction is filled with writers who have a devoted coterie of admirers, yet who seem to have missed out on the awards and honours that normally come with such success. Kit Reed is a little like that, she is what you might call a writer's writer. Her fluent control of the language takes the breath away of anyone who is trying to be a writer themselves, her stories always catch you off guard; and she's been doing that consistently since the 1950s. By rights her shelves should be groaning under the awards she has amassed. The fact that they are not is more of a failure on the part of the genre than it is on her part. Of course, it doesn't help that she does not limit herself to one genre. Read through the stories gathered in this career retrospective and you'll find crime stories and weird fiction, mainstream and horror, alongside the science fiction. And within the science fiction you'll find everything from monsters to dystopias, mysterious disappearances and women going to war against their stultifying existence. Themes do recur, and yet every story feels different. Why it's on the list: This is an essential collection for anyone who wants to know how much the science fiction short story can achieve.