In Sunfire by Francis Stevens, five explorers travel by canoe to the headwaters of the Rio Silencioso, to a hidden lake with an ancient pyramid. There they are seduced and trapped, and are fated to become human sacrifices to an ancient god. Sunfire (1923) – Harrowing and Weird Events Startle the Five Adventurers Who Land Upon a Far-off Island Chapter One – The Derelict Fleet Chapter Two – To The Rescue Chapter Three – Scolopendra Horribilis Chapter Four – “Sunfire” Chapter Five – The Bronze Lever Chapter Six – Assai Wine Chapter Seven – The Hag Chapter Eight – “Tata Quarahy” Part Two – A Resume Of The Early Chapters Chapter Nine – An Unwelcome Invitation Chapter Ten – The Dance Chapter Eleven – The Sacrifice Chapter Twelve – Revenge! Chapter Thirteen – An Awful Chime Chapter Fourteen – Flight Chapter Fifteen – Down The Stair Chapter Sixteen – The Story Of Miss Enid Widdiup Sunfire was Bennett’s last published work. It was serialized in two parts in Weird Tales in 1923. Francis Stevens was the pen-name of Gertrude Barrows Bennett (1883-1948). Bennett has been credited as having “the best claim at creating the new genre of dark fantasy”. Bennett was the first major female writer of fantasy and science fiction in the United States, and has been called the most important female fantasy writer between Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and C.L. Moore. It has been said that she influenced both H.P. Lovecraft and A. Merritt, both of whom “emulated Bennett’s earlier style and themes”.
