Up the Rainbow: The Complete Short Fiction of Susan Casper

by Susan Casper, Gardner Dozois (Editor), Michael Swanwick (Introduction)

Overview

Susan Casper (1947-2017) had a comparatively limited, but very intense writing career. She collaborated with some of the biggest names in the field, attempted truly daring and innovative fiction, and then slipped away from writing as quietly as she'd originally started. As Michael Swanwick says in his introduction, the reason she stopped writing is a mystery. There came a point when she simply stopped, apparently satisfied with what she had accomplished.

This collection of literary gems contains the two dozen stories that comprise Susan Casper's fiction output, as well as several of her in-depth trip reports. It has been lovingly assembled by her husband, the multi-award winning author and editor Gardner Dozois.

"Worthy reading for any fan of science fiction or darker fantasy." --Publishers Weekly

"...the stories deliver a powerful kick; Casper had the ability to bring the stuff of dreams and nightmares vividly into contact with everyday life.... If you're a lover of short fiction, this is one that belongs on your must-read list." --Analog

"A lot of variety. A delightful glimpse into the world of this fascinating woman." --Analog

"Whether she was writing about travel or over-protective mothers, unicorns or Pre-Raphaelite painters, Susan Casper always had something new and fascinating to say." --Connie Willis

"A vivid and compelling range of stories! A wonderful collection." --Nancy Kress

"Susan Casper's work is witty, well-observed, with a bite that you can never quite forget." --Pat Cadigan

"I have only one problem with Susan Casper's fiction: there isn't enough of it. This long-overdue collection, edited by her husband, multiple Hugo Award-winner Gardner Dozois, is an act of love--and love this deep should be shared. If you've never read Susan's work, you're in for a treat." --Kristine Kathyrn Rusch

"With a sly sense of humor and a profound sense of the tragic, Susan Casper crafted stories that show us the wonder and terror of our everyday lives." --James Patrick Kelly

"An impressive collection by an even more impressive lady." --Mike Resnick

"From the dark and disturbing to the amusing and uplifting, this collection of tales reveals the evocative depths of Susan Casper's vivid imagination." --Sheila Williams

"Beautifully written and beautifully observed." --Samuel R. Delany

"Finally, Susan Casper's powerful, wry, and provocative short fiction is available in one volume: a must-have collection that captures the essence of her brilliant, wild talent." --Jack Dann

"Susan's stories capture you with the first word and hold on with bloody claws until the last." --Eileen Gunn

"Up the Rainbow is a very gorgeous single-author collection from the unfortunately late Susan Casper, and the SF field has lost a Talent. Fortunately her husband, Gardner, was able to collect her fiction and nonfiction into this massive and very worthwhile volume, reminding us all that Susan could certainly shine." --True Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781515410287
Publisher:	Fantastic Books
Publication date:	07/18/2017
Pages:	452
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.01(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction, by Michael Swanwick

Spring-Fingered Jack

Shadowman

Mama

The Haunting

Spring Fever

The Clowns

Send No Money

Covenant with a Dragon

Under Her Skin

The Stray

Home for the Holiday

The Cleaning Lady

A Child of Darkness

Nine-Tenths of the Law

Djinn and Tonic

Betrayal

Coming of Age

Windows of the Soul

Up the Rainbow

Holmes Ex Machina

A Night at the J Street Bar

Why Do You Think They Call It Middle Earth?

Old Photographs

The Blessed Damosel

Afterword, by Andy Duncan

Trip Reports:

Bermuda Cruise

World Fantasy Con, Monterey, and the California Coast—1998

Anaheim/Las Vegas/Grand Canyon—1999

Hawaii: Westercon in O’ahu/The Big Island—2000

Paris/Nantes—2001

Barbados—2003

Germany/Prague/Vienna—2005

Editorial Reviews

“Whether she was writing about travel or over-protective mothers, unicorns or Pre-Raphaelite painters, Susan Casper always had something new and fascinating to say. She’ll be sadly missed. Thank goodness we have this new and compelling collection to remember her by!”

—Connie Willis, SFWA Grand Master, member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, winner of 7 Nebula Awards and 11 Hugo Awards

“What a vivid and compelling range of stories! Terrors from childhood nightmares made disturbingly real. Wistful glimpses of a past that never was. Sly, sideways looks at venerable fictions: Oz, Middle Earth, Rumpelstiltskin, Sherlock Holmes. Casper writes with meticulous attention to detail, putting you deep into time and place. A wonderful collection.”

—Nancy Kress, 6-time Nebula and 2-time Hugo Award winner

“Susan Casper is one of my favorite writers. Her work is witty, well-observed, with a bite that you can never quite forget, much like John Collier. I come away from her stories thinking, ‘I wish I’d written that.’”

—Pat Cadigan, Hugo- and World Fantasy Award-winner

“I have only one problem with Susan Casper’s fiction: there isn’t enough of it. I have loved every story of hers that I’ve read, and, as it turns out, I’ve read quite a few of them. Personal favorites include ‘The Stray’ and ‘Why Do You Think They Call It Middle Earth?’, but to be fair, that’s like picking the best chocolate from a Paris chocolate shop. They’re all good. I simply prefer some to others. This long-overdue collection, edited by her husband, multiple Hugo Award-winner Gardner Dozois, is an act of love—and love this deep should be shared. If you’ve never read Susan’s work, you’re in for a treat. If you have, you’ll be visiting old favorites and finding new favorites along the way.”

—Kristine Kathyrn Rusch, Hugo- and World Fantasy Award-winner

“Susan Casper lived in the real world, and so did her characters. The fantastic impinges gently on the familiar in her fiction. We recognize the bedrooms and the kitchens, the insistent mothers and the impatient children. But wait, is that really a ghost? Is it trying to tell us something? Is that woman really a vampire? Is there a way to get to Oz? With a sly sense of humor and a profound sense of the tragic, Susan Casper crafted stories that show us the wonder and terror of our everyday lives.”

—James Patrick Kelly, Nebula- and Hugo Award-winner

“An impressive collection by an even more impressive lady.”

—Mike Resnick, Nebula- and 5-time Hugo Award-winner

“From the dark and disturbing to the amusing and uplifting, this collection of tales reveals the evocative depths of Susan Casper’s vivid imagination.”

—Sheila Williams, Editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, 2-time Hugo Award-winner

“Beautifully written and beautifully observed.” (“The Cleaning Lady”)

—Samuel R. Delany, SFWA Grand Master, member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, winner of 4 Nebula Awards and 2 Hugo Awards

“Finally, Susan Casper’s powerful, wry, and provocative short fiction is available in one volume: a must-have collection that captures the essence of her brilliant, wild talent.”

—Jack Dann, Nebula- and World Fantasy Award-winner

“Susan’s stories capture you with the first word and hold on with bloody claws until the last.”

—Eileen Gunn, Nebula Award-winner

From the Publisher

07/17/2017
This collection of the late Casper’s work (edited by her husband, longtime anthologist Dozois) showcases both her talent and the potential (highlighted in Michael Swanwick’s introduction) that was lost when she abruptly stopped writing. The major unpublished piece, “The Blessed Damosel,” was intended as the first chapter of a novel, and though it doesn’t completely work on its own, it shows the promise she had. The completed short stories are worthy reading for any fan of science fiction or darker fantasy. Some are fluffier—the holographic Sherlock in “Holmes Ex Machina” is pure fun—but, when she got serious, Casper produced “Covenant with a Dragon,” in which a Vietnam vet realizes that his wartime affair had hidden consequences, and the horrific “Shadowman,” featuring terrifying man-eating rats that aren’t even the real monster. A few fall flat—the controlling Jewish mother willing to go to incredible lengths to keep her daughter in line in “Mama” is uncomfortably stereotypical, and only completists will care about the trip reports that comprise the final third of this large volume, but there’s a lot here for genre fans to enjoy. (July)

Publishers Weekly