Coolhunting

by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Steffie makes her living as a coolhunter—someone who discovers an interesting look and makes it fashion, often overnight. She managed to escape her stifling upbringing, but her sister KD—genetically altered to remain a child—remains trapped.

Steffie left KD behind once. But when KD asks Steffie to help her run away from home, Steffie must decide whether to help or to abandon her sister for a second time.

A Locus Award finalist, and winner of the Science Fiction Age Reader’s Choice Award.

“This is a fascinating and thought-provoking novella and perfectly exemplifies one of the reasons I enjoy Rusch's writing as much as I do. Her stories often unfold with a breezy, entertaining flow, leading one to expect something fuzzy and warm. Except at its heart, her fiction has a deep emotional edge that, while it might seem at odds with the storytelling style, turns out to be perfectly suited to it, paying off her readers with rich dividends.”

—Charles de Lint, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

Genres: Science Fiction

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2001

About the author

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is an award-winning mystery, romance, science fiction, and fantasy writer. She has written many novels under various names, including Kristine Grayson for romance, and Kris Nelscott for mystery. Her novels have made the bestseller lists –even in London– and have been published in 14 countries and 13 different languages.

Her awards range from the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award to the John W. Campbell Award. In the past year, she has been nominated for the Hugo, the Shamus, and the Anthony Award. She is the only person in the history of the science fiction field to have won a Hugo award for editing and a Hugo award for fiction.

In addition, she's written a number of nonfiction articles over the years, with her latest being the book "A Freelancer's Survival Guide".

She has also published as:
Sandy Schofield (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kristine Grayson - romances
Kathryn Wesley (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kris Nelscott - mysteries
Kris Rusch - historical fiction
Kris DeLake - romances

Reviews

[Howard Brazee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neat story at different levels. The protagonist makes good money by being an anonymous searcher for the Next Cool Thing (which vendors want to jump on, as they only last for days). But the family she left has it's old New Thing - a sister who was designed to be an infant all her life - who needs her help to break away and be an adult.

[Milady133 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read as Free Fiction Monday story in the author's web page. Really unsettling, I like these stories of unexpected consecuences on what people think could be a good idea to develop in the future.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how to do this story justice in a review.
I leave this as an exercise for the reader.