KERR, Katharine

(1944-)

   US writer, best known for her substantial contributions to modern fantasy (see Other Works below); she became of interest as an author of sf with Polar City Blues (1990), which is set on a desert world populated by a wide ethnic mix of humans, and boxed in by 2 conflicting interstellar empires. The main characters, good and ill, have PSI POWERS, which allies the tale with KK's shaman-dominated fantasies; but there is a genuine hard-edged sf-like feel, and consequentiality, to the novel. Resurrection (1992) is a novella set in a NEAR FUTURE (or perhapsALTERNATE WORLD) San Francisco, where a brain-damaged protagonist, after suffering lengthy rehabilitation after a near-fatal crash, must sort out her distressed perception that something is profoundly awry. The tale is due to appear as well in Freeze Frames (coll of linked stories, dated 1994 but 1995).

   JC

   Other works: the Kingdom of Deverry sequence, comprising Daggerspell (1986; rev 1993), Darkspell (1987; rev 1994), The Bristling Wood (1989; vt Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood 1989 UK) and The Dragon Revenant (1990; vt Dragonspell: The Southern Sea 1990 UK); and the connectedWestlands Cycle,comprising A Time of Exile(1991), A Time of Omens (1992UK),A Time of War: Days of Blood and Fire(1993 UK; vt Days of Bloodand Fire: A Novel of theWestlands 1993 US) and A Time of Justice: Days of Airand Darkness (1994 UK; vt Days of Air andDarkness 1994 US); Weird Talesfrom Shakespeare(anth 1994) with Martin H. GREENBERG.