The Heads of Cerberus
 Dust-jacket from the first edition | |
| Author | Francis Stevens |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Ric Binkley |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Polaris Press |
Publication date | 1952 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 191 pp |
| OCLC | 3102548 |
The Heads of Cerberus is a science fiction novel by author 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.[1]
Plot introduction
The novel concerns people who are transported to a future totalitarian Philadelphia in 2118, after inhaling a grey dust.
Reception
Groff Conklin called it "perhaps the first science fantasy to use the alternate time-track, or parallel worlds, idea."[2] Boucher and McComas praised the novel as "a slightly dated but still originally imaginative and acutely satiric story.".[3] P. Schuyler Miller found Cerberus "dated and old-fashioned," but noted it was "a pioneering variation on the parallel worlds theme."[4]
Everett F. Bleiler described the novel as "highly imaginative work, one of the classics of early pulp fantastic fiction," commenting that despite simplistic characterization, "the cynical anti-authoritarianism" in the description of the imagined future culture "is refreshing." Bleiler also noted that the novel's resolution "is a fine anticipation of the work of Philip K. Dick."[5]
References
- ^ ISFDB bibliography
- ^ "Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf", Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1952, p.124
- ^ "Recommended Reading," F&SF, October 1952, p.99
- ^ "The Reference Library", Astounding Science Fiction, September 1952, p.170
- ^ E. F. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years, Kent State University Press, 1990, p.704
- Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. p. 524.
- Clute, John; Peter Nicholls (1995). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 1164–1165. ISBN 0-312-13486-X.
- Tuck, Donald H. (1974). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent. p. 38. ISBN 0-911682-20-1.
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- 1920 novels
- 1920s science fiction novels
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- Alternate history novels
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- Works originally published in American magazines
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- Novels set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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