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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 9646206" data-attributes="member: 8461">I just finished another classic bit of fantasy that I picked up years ago but only recently made time for, that being <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lest_Darkness_Fall_and_To_Bring_the_Light" target="_blank">Lest Darkness Fall [and] To Bring the Light</a>.Some quick explanation is in order for those who (correctly) recognize that as two different titles. When I was looking to purchase a copy of L. Sprague de Camp's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lest_Darkness_Fall" target="_blank">Lest Darkness Fall</a>, I ended up locating this 1996 Baen Books reprint of the story, which in addition to an introduction by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove" target="_blank">Harry Turtledove</a> also included (the debut publication of) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Drake" target="_blank">David Drake</a>'s short story "To Bring the Light."The latter isn't any sort of sequel to de Camp's story, having none of the same characters nor being directly (or even indirectly) related to his tale. Rather, it's a story in the same vein, involving a noblewoman living in Rome circa 250 AD who finds herself sent back in time one thousand years after being struck by a lightning bolt, where she meets Romulus and Remus.It is, in other words, an homage to de Camp's story, which has an American archeologist named Martin Padway visiting Rome in 1938 sent back to 535 by a freak lightning strike. Once there, Padway (who just so happened to be discussing the "many worlds" theory of time travel, albeit not by that name) realizes that Rome is about to be devastated by the Gothic War, heralding the Dark Ages, and (with no way home and no better prospects anywhere else) elects that he'll alter history for the better, hence the title of the book.When I was younger, I looked askance at de Camp as a person, mostly for his unflattering biographical presentation of Robert E. Howard, which struck me as especially shameless given de Camp's "posthumous collaborations" regarding Howard's character of Conan (I know some people say that helped maintain the popularity of Howard's work, keeping it alive; that's not wrong, but I found it more of an excuse than an acquittal). I've since mellowed out on that stance (albeit mostly because Howard seems to have since been given a much fairer shake, and his "un-collaborated" stories made much more available), and elected to try some of de Camp's other work, beginning with what Gary Gygax recommended in his famous Appendix N. Hence my having picked this up.I'm quite happy to say that my decision to give de Camp a chance was well worth it. There's a lot to like about this story, largely (to me) due to how relatable (for lack of a better term) the main character is. While Martin Padway doesn't stand in as a proxy for the reader per se, he's nevertheless very easy to empathize with in terms of being a man with modern sensibilities in a world where those sensibilities are shared by almost no one. de Camp does a shockingly good job of presenting the characters of 6th century Rome as having very different values from a 20th century American.But what makes the story more than just a thinly-veiled exposition on life in Rome at that time is Martin himself, who undergoes a subtle but fascinating change as he acclimates to his surroundings. Initially confused and repulsed by everything from the living conditions to the pervasive superstitious ignorance, we see Martin grow more and more adept at navigating Roman society, using his (rather impressive) knowledge of future events and his familiarity with modern technology (some of which he's able to recreate, while others don't quite follow through), both of which he leverages to pursue his goals.While this may be a time travel tale, in many ways it's an isekai story before isekai stories were a thing. (Obligatory shout-out to Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee here.)On a somewhat more tangential note, I'll also mention that this story was the subject of two different reviews which I found fascinating to compare. One, written by an individual whose political, economic, religious, and social beliefs I disagree with strongly was nevertheless both <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190709131754/http://www.castaliahouse.com/retrospective-lest-darkness-fall-by-l-sprague-de-camp/" target="_blank">fun and inspirational</a> to read, whereas the review from an outlet whose beliefs are more in line with my own nevertheless <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130815092257/https://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/08/advanced-readings-in-dad-l-sprague-de-camp" target="_blank">left me cold</a> in how it seemed to not only find nothing worthwhile in the book, but couldn't seem to get past how it clashed with the reviewers' sensibilities. If nothing else, it was a good reminder that even the people you don't agree with can have worthwhile things to say, while the people whom you do may not.As for David Drake's tale, it wasn't bad, but honestly came across as being too short for what it wants to do. This is somewhat ameliorated by the story hinging on a much more specific change to history (and if you know the story of Romulus and Remus, you know what that is), but while it ends once the pivotal moment is reached, the lack of anything subsequent feels detrimental. We know that Martin Padway is fighting to stop, but the main character in "To Bring the Light" seems to have less of a clear goal, despite the more specific change she's intent on.Overall, de Camp's tale is deserving of its accolades, and definitely showcases his strengths as a writer. In that regard, Drake's story doesn't shine as brightly in the comparison, but wasn't bad overall.</blockquote>

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