The Citadel of Fear

The name of Francis Stevens may be little known today, but from 1916-1920, she was very well known to the readers of such magazines as "The Argosy" and "All-Story Weekly," and had fans that included H.P. Lovecraft and A. Merritt. In the introduction to the 1970 Paperback Library edition, Sam Moscowitz refers to her as "the most gifted woman writer of science fiction and science-fantasy between Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and C.L. Moore." Pretty high praise indeed, but having read what is considered to be Stevens' masterpiece, "The Citadel of Fear," one will be tempted to agree with this assessment. This novel originally appeared in "The Argosy" between September and October of 1918, and is as exciting and fascinating a read as any modern-day reader could hope for. It tells the tale of an Irishman and an American who come upon the lost Aztec city of Tlapallan, in the wilds of Mexico. After witnessing many fantastic sights there, the Irishman is kicked out for inadvertently stirring up a civil war, and the American is held prisoner. Flash forward 15 years. At the home of the Irishman's sister, a rampaging monster trashes the house one night, and that is only the beginning of one incredibly wild ride. I don't want to give too much away here, and spoil the book's many breathtaking surprises, but let me just say that by the novel's incredibly hallucinatory conclusion, we have been treated to a whole slew of nightmare creatures, battling Aztec gods, indoor swamps and on and on. Ms. Stevens sure did have one active imagination, AND the technical prowess to make her wildest plot devices come alive and seem plausible. The book is beautifully written, despite an occasional dangling modifier here and there, and there is no way that any reader will be able to guess what lies next in this amazing tale. What a shame that this package of wonders has been out of print for the last 30 years or so, in addition to all of Ms. Stevens' other work. Having read "Citadel," I would love to read some of Francis Stevens' other tales. So will you.