Before the Dawn

by John Taine (Pseudonym), Eric Temple Bell

This fascinating story revolves around an invention that lets people view history by accessing the light absorbed by stones throughout history. Using this time viewer, the book's characters witness the extinction of dinosaurs, and they particularly follow one dinosaur, named Belshazzar, who is a huge flesh eater.

Genres: Time Travel

247 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

Eric Temple Bell (February 7, 1883, Peterhead, Scotland - December 21, 1960, Watsonville, California) was a mathematician and science fiction author born in Scotland who lived in the U.S. for most of his life. He published his non-fiction under his given name and his fiction as John Taine.

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following the release of John Taine's four-part, serialized novel "The Time Stream," which wrapped up in the March 1932 issue of "Wonder Stories," fans of the Scottish-born author would have to wait a good 27 months for any more sci-fi product from him. But this is not to say that Taine was idle during that time, his "day job" as a mathematician and professor--under his given name Eric Temple Bell--keeping him more than busy, and indeed, in 1933, Bell even came out with a nonfiction book entitled "Numerology." But fans of the Taine alter ego, and the wondrous nine novels that had thus far been the product of his abundant imagination, were eventually rewarded in June '34, with the release of Taine's 10th novel (out of an eventual 16), "Before the Dawn."

The book, unlike its predecessor, was initially released as a $2 hardcover from the publisher Williams & Wilkins Co., copping itself a featured review in the "New York Times" of September 9th. It would go on to see three reissues: first, as part of a 1945 sci-fi omnibus volume from Viking Press; next, as an offering in the February '46 issue of "Famous Fantastic Mysteries" (which, despite its name, reprinted reams of sci-fi as well); and lastly, as a 1975 reprint from Arno Press. So yes, the book has been OOPS (out of prints) for 46 years as of this writing, and that strikes this reader as a shame, as a recent perusal has shown the book to be both fascinating and highly intelligent (both qualities being quite typical of Taine's work), written in the author's highly readable and lucid style. And if not one of Taine's best works, "Before the Dawn," released when its author was 51, yet demonstrates what a proficient entertainer Taine could be during the pre-Golden Age era of science fiction.

The front cover of the 1934 edition, which I was fortunate enough to acquire at a very reasonable price online, describes the book's intent: "A narrative of the revelations of the Langtry televisor concerning the frightful terrestrial upheavals and the losing struggle for existence of the great saurians, by an eyewitness of those stirring events." The novel is related to us by a nameless narrator, who, strangely enough, never reveals his or her connection to the unfolding story. His/her tale only contains three other characters...of the human variety, that is: Langtry, the inventor of the televisor that sets the story in motion; Bronson, the president of the American Television Corp., which has financed Langtry's work; and Sellar, an archeologist. Langtry, it seems, had discovered that when light impinges on a metallic surface, some of that surface's electrons are knocked off, and that by measuring the degree of degradation, a precise estimate of the age of the affected material may be deduced. He is able to correctly date a Mayan calendar stone as well as a Mayan statuette using this technique, and in time refines his methods to a remarkable degree. Eventually, using a special beam of projected light, Langtry actually becomes able to view the history that these inanimate objects had witnessed. His device "does for light what a phonograph does for sound," enabling him and his team to study "that history [that] has been recorded on the unaging records of light itself stored up in the ultimate particles of matter." I realize that I am explaining this concept clumsily; trust me, Taine does a much better job than I! Long story short: Langtry's televisor enables him to study an object--a rock, a fossil, a bird’s feather--and view everything that had transpired around it. To be succinct, he can view the past, and in great detail...especially after his team constructs an outdoor viewer and magnifier on the floor of a 20-acre arena, in which to regard the events of history. (And you thought your 50-inch smart TV was impressive!) As Langtry's device comes to fruition, you might be reminded of two different constructs from two "Star Trek" eras. The televisor, which allows scientists to rapidly comb through history to examine a particular moment, is at times reminiscent of the Guardian in the wonderful 1967 episode "The City on the Edge of Forever." At other times, such as when the scientists walk through the seemingly realistic world of projected light on the floor of the arena, the device comes off more like the holodeck of later "Star Trek" incarnations.

Anyway, with all of history to explore, our scientists, studying rocks and meteorites and fossils, decide on the prehistoric era. Thus, we witness some protomarsupials stealing the eggs from the nest of what appears to be a T. rex (no dinosaurs are ever identified in Taine's book, only described). We view some gigantic marsh feeders (brontos?) and their battles with the meat eaters. We see a prehistoric sandstorm, the change of flow of a river, and the decimation of entire dinosaur herds by enormous flies. In the book's later sections, we visit a northern continent, soon to be rendered unliveable, and meet the book's four other main characters: Belshazzar, an enormous T. rex type, and two others of his ilk, who the scientists assume to be his parents and who are dubbed Bartholomew and Jezebel; and Satan, another, smaller carnivore, possibly a raptor type, and the hereditary enemy of Belshazzar's group. We watch these four, and thousands of other creatures, migrate across the 20-mile-long, 5-mile-wide, 600-foot-high land bridge connecting the cold, untenable continent to a warmer, more hospitable continent farther south. And finally, we witness the quartet's struggles with the other dinosaurs, with each other, and with their new environment. As "The Science Fiction Encyclopedia" once mentioned, Taine "loved to do things on a grand scale, and most of his novels end with catastrophes which overwhelm whole continents." And in "Before the Dawn," we get to see not one, but two continents undergo cataclysms: the northern one, racked by seismic upheavals and resultant cold, and the southern, which, 50 years after Belshazzar & Co. arrive on the scene, is torn by a quadruple volcanic eruption. Life surely wasn't easy 65 million years back, that's for sure!

"Before the Dawn" did not mark the first time that Taine broached the subject of dinosaurs. In his fifth novel, 1929's "The Greatest Adventure," a team of scientists had discovered a whole passel of living, prehistoric beasties in a hidden valley in Antarctica, of all places. But in the 1934 offering, his discussion of the great saurians is much more in depth. Our narrator maintains an aloof, clinical tone throughout, giving the impression that he/she is also a scientist, or perhaps a science reporter, and yet still manages to conjure up any number of vivid descriptions as regards fauna and environment. The resultant work is both elegant and consistently intelligent, which makes it all the more surprising that the ultimate fate of some of these bloodthirsty carnivores whom we get to know can actually prove emotionally moving to the reader, as well. But the four named dinosaurs are never anthropomorphized, a fact that becomes abundantly clear when Belshazzar kills and eats his own mother to secure a decent meal! As our narrator concedes, despite the scientists' great admiration for the killer, he is, at bottom, a reptile. So yes, "Before the Dawn," despite the far-out nature of its central conceit, ultimately comes off as credible and captivating. It is a book of science as well as a tale of violent action, and ultimately is as fun as can be. Still, there remain some problems that compel me to admit that this work is only minor Taine, or at least, not one of his best.

For one thing, the book somehow feels a bit inconsequential. Sure, it's fun to peer back in time and watch dinosaurs attack one another, and this reader surely is always up for some good, epoch-shaking, cataclysmic destruction, but many readers, I have a feeling, will come away from Taine's book thinking "So what? What's the point?" And truth to tell, I'm really not sure what Taine's point was here, other than offering up some mind-blowing spectacle. Does he draw any conclusions from what he shows us? Well, not really, other than the theory that Belshazzar might have been Earth's first scientist, having discovered the principle of the lever some 65 million years before Archimedes. The reader may also come away from "Before the Dawn" with the thought that much more might have been made of Langtry's televisor, a remarkable invention that indeed could have been the linchpin of an entire series of Taine novels. But Taine was, generally speaking, never one to repeat himself in that manner. The reader may also regret Taine never taking the trouble to identify his dinosaurs here, so that even by the novel's end, I was not certain if Belshazzar was supposed to be a T. rex or not. He is shown making a 50-foot leap at one point, though; was the T. rex capable of doing that? Somehow, I think not. And oh...some of the viewed sequences will surely make the reader a tad suspicious. I mean, does it seem likely that a rock or fossil, being read by the Langtry analyzer, could possibly offer up clear depictions of its journey through a volcanic upheaval and resultant tidal wave? Many of the viewed sequences are remarkably clear; unbelievably so, considering what the analyzed specimens have been through. Finally, to end this nitpicking, that matter of the unidentified narrator really did begin to bother me by the book's end. I kept waiting to find out who this person was, but in vain. Have you ever read a book narrated by someone who doesn't bother to mention who he/she is, or what his/her connection with the story is? Very strange.

Still, these are quibbles. "Before the Dawn," despite these complaints, is an entertaining book and I do give it a qualified recommendation. Taine, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, just might be one of the pre-Golden Age sci-fi authors most deserving of a critical reappraisal, and I find myself now eager to experience him for the seventh time. His next two novels after "Before the Dawn"--1935's "Twelve Eighty-Seven" and 1939's "Tomorrow"--have never been reprinted in book form since their initial publication in the pulp magazines back in the day (a real pity!), but I have been able to get my hands on the first-edition hardcover of Taine's "The Forbidden Garden" (1947), and that is where I hope to be heading next. Stay tuned....

(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of John Taine....)

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before the Dawn by Eric Temple Bell (using the pseudonym John Taine), was published originally in 1934. In 1949, it appeared on August Derleth's Arkham Survey of `Basic SF Titles', tied for 13th. Time has not been very kind to this book, and it remains largely unnoticed today.
The story centers on an invention that allows people to view history by extracting the light which was absorbed by stones throughout history. In using the time viewer, the characters in the book watch the extinction of the dinosaurs, and in particular they follow one dinosaur which they name Belshazzar, who is a massive flesh eater.

The reasons this book is not mentioned with the greats today are clear; the science part of the book doesn't really make much sense, nor would it have even when the book was written. Likewise science has shown that the species of dinosaurs that interact in this story, almost certainly were not alive during the same periods of time. On the positive side, this is perhaps the first science fiction story to use the concept of a time viewer. Also, the story itself is fairly well written, and is enjoyable to read.

[George Lysy · Rating 3 out of 5]

For this review I will be splitting the summary into chapters and write quick summaries of each. I think it might streamline the summarizing process as well as act as a convenient resource; furthermore, the immediate accessibility for further context on all I write about will probably allow me to summarize a little more concisely than I would otherwise.

I - The Claw - The televisor and its function is introduced. The televisor produces an image of a claw snatching an egg.
II - The Calcite Woman - The discovery of the televisor's abilities are explained. A small statue from ancient Mayan times is scanned, and a brief clip of a burning Mayan city is seen. For some reason, the researchers focus only on dinosaurs the rest of the book.
III - The Little Folk - The researchers witness small dinosaurs terrorizing a clutch of eggs warded by a careless and absentee mother. Also, the problem of nighttime on the televisor is introduced.
IV - Strong Runners - The researchers encounter problems walking around the televisor's projection, leading me to wonder how the floor of the projection aligns with the concrete floor of the projection arena. Surely, their feet are going through the ground? Surely, they are hopeless against hills? Also, a race of dinosaurs is described, with vestigial thumbs, and who are good at running.
V - The Lotus Eaters - In this chapter, a new species of dinosaur is described which will be followed more throughout the book, the thick-shelled plant-eaters, who at this point are not as adapted. They are big, lumbering beasts, which are so stupid they practically don't have any survival instincts and are easy to pick off. A frustratingly hateful paragraph is spent beating up on an innocent animal. I know it's fictional, but it's just so harsh.
VI - Smoking Waters - A massive extinction event via volcano destroys a huge amount of dinosaurs.
VII - Sand - Mostly focused on the geological changes which turn a desert into a lake.
VIII - Invasion - This chapter was confusing to me, seeming to narrating both the lake's bursting from the mountain ridges and filling a floodplain, as well as the struggle between a species of plant eaters and meat eater species, and also introducing the species of Belshazzar with a T-rex-like creature, which menaces two harmless plant-eaters performing a mating dance.
IX - Revolution - This chapter is where it starts to get interesting. It starts at sea, where bird-reptile-types are terrorizing the horny-backed plant eaters, which are pushed onto land. Unfortunately, this land is turning from warm to cold; an ice bridge forms between this land and the next, but with no food on the bridge, only a few dinos wander aimlessly onto it. On the mainland, a volcano erupts, creating some short-lived warmth which the plant-eaters huddle around, unaware of their impending extinction, while their "unlucky" brethren brave the ice bridge.
X - Pursuit - Finally we are introduced to Belshazzar, who silly me thought was going to be in chapter I or II. He is a T-rex type, who together with his strange herd, formed of Jezebel, his aging mother, and Bartholemew. There is also a rival who appears, who will later be named Satan, and he comes into a fight with Belshazzar, who chases him for many days before giving up. Oh well, they'll see each other again later.
XI - The Bridge - This chapter introduces the concept that Belshazzar and his gang discover the ice bridge as a source of food. As plant eaters are funnelled through it, the meat eaters make easy picking of them all the way down, ensuring travel to the new continent for the meat eaters as well as some sustenance for plant eaters (via the plant eaters' corpses; starvation renders one not as picky). Belshazzar is referred to as deeply intellectual, and having more wit than Aristotle, for he uses his head as a lever at one point to flip over one of the plant eaters and eat his soft underbelly. However, they don't reach the other continent for nearly fifty years.
XII - Jezebel's Folly - This chapter is packed with drama. (Or, maybe is the leadup to the drama. I can't exactly remember.) At any rate, here is where the real drama of Belshazzar's story begins. The dinosaurs now make it to the continent after 50 years of poaching on the ice bridge. Satan now joins their group, famished and angry. He finds Bartholemew and Jezebel together, and kills Bartholomew with a view to possibly take Jezebel for himself, though she outruns him. But while Belshazzar fights Satan, Jezebel is too distracted eating Bartholomew's corpse to help. (They’re hungry.)
XIII - The Scientist - In this chapter, Belshazzar is supposedly referred to as a scientist again because he uses a floating horn-backed plant eater to jump out of the water and onto a ledge of a nearby body of land, thereby fleeing Satan. Thus, says the novel, intelligence was born. Jezebel also suffers from starvation, and, as she lays dying, tries to kill Belshazzar. These two have had tension for a long time, which here explodes, resulting in Belshazzar's victory, and prompt devouring of his own mother.
XIV - Sunset and Evening Star - This chapter finishes out the book with a climactic duel between Satan and Belshazzar on the face of the obliterating continent, which Belshazzar sadly loses. As Satan rears his jaws triumphantly to the sky, the book ends with no denouement. A little abrupt and disappointing.

This book is really a bit more like Paleo fiction than science fiction. As paleo fiction, there is a good deal of interest here, at least when Belshazzar's story kicks in. I actually felt something for these vicious and brutish reptiles which did nothing but lumber around and eat whatever they could find. The drama between the dinosaurs was engrossing, disturbing, eventful, and well done. The earlier chapters where dino species are described on a much larger level are much harder to wrap my brain around-- some of it is confusing, and obliquely told. The dinosaurs are only described, not named, which is interesting as well as realistic (I imagine scientists would have a bit of a tough time identifying even the most recognizable dinosaurs if they could travel back in time), but it also makes the chapters confusing as hell if you don't remember the exact descriptions of every dino the first time they are spoken, and John Taine's trademark evocative, easy-to-read-yet-difficult-to-understand prose style makes things worse. In addition, I think some of the places the researchers visit in the televisor are actually reverse continuations of previous chapters-- meaning the story of some of these species and landmasses are told in reverse. Just stick to reading Belshazzar's chapters. All in all, however, when it was entertaining, it was very entertaining, it just needed a long time to get there. The scientific device is just overwhelmingly crazy; even if atomic differences in light levels in rocks could be extracted, de-interlaced, and turned into pictures-- I would only ever buy that they would make grainy, black-and-white Loch-Ness-Monster style photographic plates. Not whole videos, in 360 degrees, projected in full color like the holodeck over several acres! At least John Taine did not have the audacity to say it captured sound as well. All in all, however, it does make an intriguing framing device for an intriguing paleo-fiction.

[Ron Me]

A splendid masterpiece! Must read! Some of the details are off by modern understanding, but that doesn't influence the enjoyment of this outstanding work much at all. I found it on Gutenberg.