Lest Darkness Fall/To Bring the Light

by L. Sprague de Camp, David Drake

In Lest Darkness Fall, twentieth-century academic Martin Padway travels through time to prevent the fall of the Roman Empire, while in To Bring the Light, Herosilla must forge the birth of Roman civilization. Original.

Table of Contents
001 Lest Darkness Fall (1941) by L. Sprague de Camp (novel)
269 To Bring the Light (1996) by David Drake (novella)

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Alternate History, Time Travel, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Novels

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of non-fiction, including biographies of other fantasy authors. He was a major figure in science fiction in the 1930s and 1940s.

Reviews

[Q. 1994]

4/5 for both stories. To Bring the Light ends a little abruptly for my tastes though.

[Susan]

10/14 It is hard to judge a work written in 1939 that defined a new genre of time travel and alternate history. Not being a history buff and especially not liking military history, the story seemed ridiculous to me. However it paved the way for other interesting stories so I appreciate its place in igniting a new form of literature. The Novella "To Bring the Light" was a tribute to L. Sprague de Camp's work, but it too seemed a bit far fetched.

[Craig]

DeCamp's wonderful classic novel is packaged here with a very good novella by David Drake. They're a thought-provoking pair, and Drake's story works very well with DeCamp's. It's an excellent read.

[Tex-49]

Il voto si riferisca al romanzo Alba eterna, l'altro romanzo è stato votato separatamente

[Kathy Davie]

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court but with adults in Rome! Excellent story.

[John Love IV]

The first book is a classic and deserves it. Classic transported back in history and the changes made there after.

[Niklaus]

Curiosa la scelta di Urania di unire in unico volume due storie di autori diversi scritti a 50 anni di distanza.
Comprensibile dato il doppio comune denominatore del viaggio nel tempo (suo malgrado) del protagonista e l'ambientazione al tramonto e all'alba, rispettivamente, della civiltà romana.

Il racconto di Sprague de Camp inizia con uno studioso americano che mentre visita il foro nella Roma fascista si trova proiettato nel VI secolo in una Roma sotto dominio ostrogoto. Se ne farà una ragione e cercherà di cambiare il corso della storia agendo in modo da bloccare la catena degli eventi che avrebbe portato al Medioevo (nota. Una visione questa, del medioevo oscurantista molto vecchia ed errata).

Nel secondo racconto è una nobildonna romana che dall'epoca della Roma imperiale (nell'anno 1000 ab Urbe Condita) si trova sul colle Capitolino in compagnia niente meno che di Romolo e Remo ancora pastori rissosi.

Racconti godibili, ben documentati e con contorno di personaggi (in particolare il primo) molto interessanti.

[Devero]

Abisso del Passato è un racconto lungo ma molto intrigante, a differenza del racconto di Mark Twain "A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court" qui la ricostruzione storica è vera ed eccellente. Uno storico americano dei gioorni nostri è colpito da un fulmine davanti al Pantheon a Roma, e si ritrova proiettato nel passato ai tempi dell'invasione dei bizantini nell'Italia ostrogota. Ottima costruzione e conclusione.
Alba Eterna di Drake è un omaggio a questo precedente romazo breve di De Camp, e mentre il protagonista di De Camp tenta di evitare i secoli bui, la bella protagonista del racconto lungo di Drake cerca di favorire la nascita della propria città, Roma.

Nel complesso due letture decisamente buone.

[Alex]

VOTO COMPLESSIVO: 3,5
Questo volume comprende un romanzo e un racconto lungo incentrati su un inaspettato viaggio indietro nel tempo da parte dei rispettivi protagonisti.
Divertenti da leggere, ma niente di più: il romanzo è troppo frenetico e poco curato nei dettagli, secondo il mio punto di vista; del secondo la protagonista mi è stata tremendamente sui coglioni.

[Chris Miller]

Well, it rhymes with To Turn the Tide, but the latter is a better book. On the other hand, Lest Darkness Fall is great as a 1939 book. Both books deserve reading by sci-fi fans and people interested in speculation. The characters and story are fine, but the writing is a little stolid. Regarding To Bring the Light, it has its own view on time travel but gets a Meh!

[Marina]

Scritto in maniera fluida, ma l'argomento non è nelle mie corde. Mi sono un po' annoiata. Ad altri potrebbe senz'altro piacere.

[Stefano Amadei]

Devo dire simpatico e discreto nulla più. Troppi riferimenti storici confondono specie se non si palleggia il VI secolo D.C....

[Charles Watson]

I thought "Least Darkness Fall" was one of the greatest time travel books ever. The one by Drake was not.

[Erika Vernizzi]

Carino ma risente molto l'età

[Paulo "paper books only"]

Another book I think it was completing uninteresting was To Bring the Light by David Drake. This was a supposedly a second part from one of the first books depicting time travel called Lest Darkness Fall by L Sprague de Camp. This one was a very good. I don't know why they join the stories. It just didn't work for me.

In Lest Darkness Fall, twentieth-century academic Martin Padway travels through time to prevent the fall of the Roman Empire, while in To Bring the Light, Herosilla must forge the birth of Roman civilization.
Martin Padway, mild-mannered archaeologist, is visiting Rome when he is thrust backwards in time... all the way back to the sixth century A.D. The Roman Empire is fading fast... facing foes on all sides... with the thousand-year blight we now know as the Dark Ages fast approaching. Can a single man -- Padway --change history and prevent the fall of Rome? Nothing less than the 'Age of Enlightenment' hangs in the balance.
The literary descendent of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court', de Camp lets Padway grapple with raw issues. I found these areas the story's most interesting sections: how to make a living, having arrived with only modern currency in hand... how to avoid the authorities, given their proclivity to brand any new technology 'witchcraft'... how to assemble allies, fend off enemies and stay healthy in an environment not conducive to outsiders.

Because it was written in 1939, there is a level of 'political incorrectness' that is entertainingly fresh. Italian women, Muslims, the French and others are insulted with broad brush-strokes. Nonetheless, it is historically informative, important from a literary standpoint and makes for interesting reading. Despite its age, it is a fluid, fast read. de Camp had a lot of interesting things to say... and said them well.

[Jamie]

This book is definitely for fans of time travel, alternate history, as well as Ancient Roman history. In fact, this book is almost the exact opposite of the short story "The Man Who Came Early".

It isn't just good for the "what if?" nature of the concept, but for how it expands your own imagination into "what if *this happened to me*?" It has good characterization, so you can truly picture yourself around these people in this time - makes it fun to imagine, while also making you thankful for living in modern times.

Really, the only weak point of it is how the hero is able to understand the ancient languages. This is handled much better in "The Doomsday Book", but, granted, the time travelers in that book were prepared for their journey. The hero in this book is just assumed to be intelligent enough to get by.

Still a fun read.

[Jonathan Palfrey]

The last time I read Lest Darkness Fall (in 2010), I noted that it may have been a pretty good effort for 1939, but it seems half-baked and incredible by now. It’s hard to believe that this guy even managed to survive in 535 AD. It doesn’t even finish well, just peters out.

I’ve read To Bring the Light only once, in 2007, and noted that it’s less ambitious but better written than Lest Darkness Fall.

I still don’t feel the urge to read either of them again, but I’ve kept the book, just in case.

[Jefferson]

I had read Lest Darkness Fall before, and that I have rated a 4. This edition, I only read the David Drake short story/novella attached to the de Camp at the end. Nice, but not very nice. Not as good as Lest Darkness Fall.

[Jane]

It's no literary masterpiece, it's really a time-travel gary stu story, but it launched the time travel genre.

[Boyd]

A world where Rome never fell? Read on...

[Catburglar]

Both stories are enjoyable reading, but somewhat inconclusive.

[Robert]

De Camp's 4+ star story offset by Drake's 2 star story.