Lest Darkness Fall (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: L. Sprague de Camp
- First Published: 1939
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Science fiction—time travel
- Time of Work: 535 and shortly after
- Setting: Rome and various other locations in Italy
- Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction
- Subjects: Time travel, Italy or Italians, Greek or Roman times, Sixth century, Archaeology or archaeologists, Rome
- Locales: Rome, Italy, Italy
The Plot
After being struck by lightning in 1938, Martin Padway, an archaeologist, wakes to the sight of toga-clad figures and conversations held in what sounds like Latin vulgate and Italian. Padway struggles through a series of conflicts that range from such basic problems as surviving day-to-day life in ancient Rome to ones as intricate as playing power politics with two warring kingdoms.
Rome has a diminishing, fractious population and is ruled by a lethargic Gothic kingdom that encourages religious factionalism and discourages innovation. In this world, Padway uses...
[The entire page is 981 words long]
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