The Nightmare and Other Tales of Dark Fantasy (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) (Paperback)

by Francis Stevens (Author), Gary Hoppenstand (Editor, Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Stevens was an interesting, highly original author who brought new motifs into pulp fiction."-Everett F. Bleiler, Science Fiction Studies (Everett F. Bleiler Science Fiction Studies )

Product Description

Slithering from these pages are never-before-collected tales of suspense and wonder by the woman who invented modern-day dark fantasy: A man goes quietly to bed aboard the doomed Lusitania and awakens on a magical South Pacific Island just as the passenger liner is torpedoed. In a future where women rule the world, a sentient island becomes murderously jealous of a shipwrecked couple. Dire consequences await a human swept into the dark, magical world of elves. A deadly labyrinth coils around the dark heart of a picturesque landscape garden. Within an Egyptian sarcophagus lies the horrifying price of infidelity. Swirling unseen around us are loathsome creatures giving form to our basest desires and fears. A beautiful, veiled medium may hold the key to preventing unspeakable evil from slipping through the borderlands between life and death. On a lost island a woman pipe player and her monstrous dancing partner bring death and terror to five adventurers. The stories in this collection have played an integral role in the development of modern dark fantasy, greatly influencing such writers as H. P. Lovecraft and A. Merritt.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 406 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books; illustrated edition edition (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803292988
• ISBN-13: 978-0803292987
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,178,447 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Francis Stevens: A Legendary Science Fantasy Writer, May 3, 2007

By	Arthur Fried "Alan's brother" (Concord, NH, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Francis Stevens was the pen name of Gertrude Bennett, an American writer of uncommon imagination whose work appeared in Argosy, Thrill Book and other early pulp magazines of the late teens and early twenties of the last century. Described as "the greatest woman writer of science fantasy" in the 100-plus years between Mary Shelley and Catherine Moore by science fiction historian Sam Moskowitz, Stevens is best known today for her longer works, The Heads of Cerberus, The Citadel of Fear, and Claimed, all of which have been reprinted within the past couple of decades. The Nightmare and Other Tales of Dark Fantasy is the first collection of her shorter work, most of which has not been reprinted in over 50 years.

A young widow and a single mother, Francis Stevens earned very little as a pulp writer and eventually gave up her writing career to earn a more reliable living as a secretary. She was a writer of genuine verve and spirit who deserves to be better known today.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not her best work, November 8, 2007

By	Mr Nerd - See all my reviews

This lady occasionally writes some great stuff, but you won't that in this book. Not all of the tales in this book are fantasy, some are cheap serials. None are really great, and some are downright boring. Better to try The Citadel of Fear, which is a great book of hers that Lovecraft himself was a big fan of.