4,865 words (20-25 minutes)
Genre(s): Dystopian Science Fiction, Noir
First published in Galaxy Science Fiction in November, 1950

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Coming Attraction is a chilling vision of a post-nuclear-war America, seen through the eyes of an Englishman visiting New York. In this near-future dystopia, society is fractured—masked women hide their faces in a perverse twist on modesty, radioactive wastelands linger, and violent gangs roam the streets. When the protagonist saves a woman from a brutal attack, he is drawn into a web of deception, power plays, and disturbing gender dynamics. As he navigates this unsettling world, he comes to realize that beneath the masks—literal and metaphorical—lies something even more disturbing than he imagined.

Leiber blends hardboiled noir with dystopian sci-fi, crafting a critique of gender roles, societal decay, and post-war trauma. The ending, sharp and cynical, delivers a gut-punch revelation about both the characters and the world they inhabit.