The Heads of Cerberus
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Capped by a silver figure of Cerberus, the three-headed hound that guards the gates of Hell, an ancient glass vial contains ordinary-looking dust. Once inhaled, however, the dust exhibits extraordinary powers, transporting a trio of adventurers from the early twentieth century to the year 2118. The time-travelers emerge into Philadelphia's brutal totalitarian state, where the city hall is a temple, a statue of William Penn is worshipped as an idol, and the citizens are crushed under the religious tyranny of the Penn Service and its Superlatives.
This 1919 classic was the first alternate-world fantasy. Loaded with action and humor, the imaginative extravaganza anticipates the work of Philip K. Dick. Author Francis Stevens — actually Gertrude Bennett, a pioneer of science fiction and fantasy — was praised by H. P. Lovecraft as ranking among "the top grade of writers," and her dystopian political and social satire continues to captivate modern readers. "A much-sought rarity." — Analog.
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.
