"When It Ends, He Catches Her" is a 2014 science fiction short story by Eugie Foster. It was first published on Daily Science Fiction, on September 26, 2014[1]—the day before Foster's death. An audio version (read by Tina Connolly) was subsequently made available via Pseudopod,[2] and the story was included in the 2015 Long List Anthology: More Stories from the Hugo Awards Nomination List[3] and Nebula Awards Showcase 2016.

Synopsis

Before civilization fell to a plague of zombies, Aisa was a ballet dancer. Now, she spends her time in an abandoned theater, dancing on an abandoned stage for an imaginary audience.

Reception

"Catches" was nominated for the 2015 Theodore Sturgeon Award[4] and the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Short Story;[5] Ursula Vernon, who won that award instead, has stated that she had expected "Catches" would win.[6] Jason Sanford called it "a beautiful elegy on life and death", and "both touching and disturbing."[7]

As well, analysis of the nominations for the 2015 Hugo Awards has shown that, if it were not for the involvement of the Sad Puppies, "Catches" would have been a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story.[8]

References

  1. ^ When It Ends, He Catches Her, by Eugie Foster, at Daily Science Fiction; published September 26, 2014; retrieved June 26, 2015
  2. ^ Pseudopod 428: When It Ends, He Catches Her, at Pseudopod; published March 6, 2015; retrieved June 26, 2015
  3. ^ Long List Anthology Published, by Mike Glyer, at File 770; published December 15, 2015; retrieved May 9, 2016
  4. ^ FINALISTS: 2015 The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, by Kristin Centorcelli; at SF Signal; published May 13, 2015; retrieved June 26, 2015
  5. ^ Announcing the 2014 Nebula Awards Winners!, at Tor.com; published June 6, 2015; retrieved June 26, 2015
  6. ^ Nebula Award, by Ursula Vernon, at Livejournal; published June 8, 2015; retrieved June 26, 2015
  7. ^ Remembering Eugie Foster and her stories, by Jason Sanford, at JasonSanford.com; published March 4, 2015; retrieved June 27, 2015
  8. ^ This Is What The 2015 Hugo Ballot Should Have Been, by Andrew Liptak, at Io9; published August 23, 2015; retrieved August 23, 2015


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