The Heads of Cerberus
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Publisher Description
The Heads of Cerberus is a science fiction novel by American writer Francis Stevens. It was first published in book form in 1952 by Polaris Press in an edition of 1,563 copies. It was the first book published by Polaris Press. The novel was originally serialized in the pulp magazine The Thrill Book in 1919. A scholarly reprint edition was issued by Arno Press in 1978, and a mass market paperback by Carroll & Graf in 1984.
"Those who yearn for the Good Old Days are bound to like it.… Those who insist on the close reasoning and satirical wit of modern science fiction will find surprising amounts of both here; and if, like myself, you have a foot in both camps, you're sure to be delighted by this connoisseur's blend of the quaint and the ageless… not dated writing and is never likely to be; it's lucid, didactic, analytical, and above all, zestful." —Damon Knight, In Search of Wonder
Francis Stevens - "the woman who invented dark fantasy"
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This rediscovered 1919 classic by Stevens (the pseudonym of Gertrude Barrows Bennett, 1884 1948, who arguably invented dark fantasy) is an intriguing and political time-travel adventure. Clever teen Viola Trenmore is hanging out in 1918 Philadelphia in the company of her brother, Terence Trenmore, a wealthy, burly Irishman; his friend Robert Drayton, a lawyer; and Arnold Bertram, a hapless burglar. After Drayton breaks open a crystal vial, the dust inside it propels the foursome to a strange limbo called Ulithia, where they meet dancing shadow people. Then they're sent 200 years into the future. The capricious regime of 2118 uses murderous public competitions to keep the population subjugated, and the oppressed are forced to wear large yellow buttons; though the text predates Nazi Germany by decades, modern readers will find those connotations inescapable. Viola is as logical as she is petite, and easily holds her own alongside the men as they explore weird Ulithia and interact with corrupt government officials. This work, set in the birthplace of America, proclaims that democracy is tenuous, and its themes will be deeply resonant for those concerned by present-day politics.
