  Fractional superstrings are non-trivial generalizations of ordinary
superstrings and heterotic strings, and have critical spacetime dimensions
which are less than ten by virtue of a worldsheet fractional supersymmetry
relating worldsheet bosons to worldsheet parafermions. In this paper, I provide
a short non-technical survey of the fundamental issues involved in these
recently-proposed theories. After introducing the basic ideas which underlie
these new string theories, I review their early successes and outline some
related outstanding questions.
  ( Talk given at the Internal Workshop on String Theory,
  Quantum Gravity, and the Unification of the Fundamental
  Interactions, held in Rome, Italy, 21-26 September 1992. )
