Lest Darkness Fall and Related Stories

Lest Darkness Fall and Related Stories
Author: Lyon Sprague De Camp
Publisher: Arc Manor LLC
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2011
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781612420158

Rarely do books have such a great influence on a genre as Lest Darkness Fall has had on science fiction. Frequently quoted as one of the 'favorite' books of many of the masters of the field, this book by L. Sprague de Camp helped establish time-travel as a solid sub-genre of science fiction. ** An indication of the influence and longevity of the book is by the number of best-selling writers who have written stories in direct response to, or influenced by, Lest Darkness Fall. This new volume also includes three such stories by Frederik Pohl, David Drake and S. M. Stirling written over a period of forty-three years-a testament to the timelessness of the book. ** Similar, thematically, to Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, the book tells the tale of Martin Padway who, as he is walking around in modern Rome, is suddenly transported though time to 6th Century Rome. Once in ancient Rome, Padway (now Martinus Paduei Quastor) embarks on an ambitious project of single-handedly changing history. ** L. Sprague de Camp was a student of history (and the author of a number of popular works on the subject). In Lest Darkness Fall he combines his extensive knowledge of the workings of ancient Rome with his extraordinary imagination to create one of the best books of time travel ever written.

The Ancient Engineers

The Ancient Engineers
Author: L. Sprague De Camp
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Publishing
Total Pages: 436
Release: 1990
Genre: Engineering
ISBN: 9780880294560

Describes methods used by early irrigators, architects, and military engineers to build and maintain structures to serve their ruler's wants.

The Man Who Folded Himself

The Man Who Folded Himself
Author: David Gerrold
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2011-02-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1459610970

This classic work of science fiction is widely considered to be the ultimate time-travel novel. When Daniel Eakins inherits a time machine, he soon realizes that he has enormous power to shape the course of history. He can foil terrorists, prevent assassinations, or just make some fast money at the racetrack. And if he doesn't like the results of the change, he can simply go back in time and talk himself out of making it! But Dan soon finds that there are limits to his powers and forces beyond his control.

The Compleat Enchanter

The Compleat Enchanter
Author: Lyon Sprague De Camp
Publisher: Gollancz
Total Pages: 532
Release: 2000
Genre: Fantasy fiction, American
ISBN: 9781857987577

The Mathematics of Magic was probably the greatest discovery of the ages - at least Professor Harold Shea thought so. With the proper equations, he could instantly transport himself back in time to all the wondrous lands of ancient legend. But slips in time were a hazard, and Shea's magic did not always work - at least, not quite as he expected . . . This omnibus volume of all of the Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea contains The Incomplete Enchanter, The Wall of Serpents and Castle of Iron

Rome in Crisis

Rome in Crisis
Author: Plutarch
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 893
Release: 2010-09-02
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0141959738

Bringing together nine biographies from Plutarch's Parallel Lives series, this edition examines the lives of major figures in Roman history, from Lucullus (118-57 BC), an aristocratic politician and conqueror of Eastern kingdoms, to Otho (32-69 AD), a reckless young noble who consorted with the tyrannical, debauched emperor Nero before briefly becoming a dignified and gracious emperor himself. Ian Scott-Kilvert's and Christopher Pelling's translations are accompanied by a new introduction, and also includes a separate introduction for each biography, comparative essays of the major figures, suggested further reading, notes and maps.

All Other Nights: A Novel

All Other Nights: A Novel
Author: Dara Horn
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 491
Release: 2010-03-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0393074102

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice "Slam-bang.…superb." —Washington Post How is tonight different from all other nights? For Jacob Rappaport, a Jewish soldier in the Union army during the Civil War, it is a question his commanders have already answered for him—on Passover, 1862, he is ordered to murder his own uncle in New Orleans, who is plotting to assassinate President Lincoln. After this harrowing mission, Jacob is recruited to pursue another enemy agent, the daughter of a Virginia family friend. But this time, his assignment isn’t to murder the spy, but to marry her. Their marriage, with its riveting and horrifying consequences, reveals the deep divisions that still haunt American life today. Based on real personalities such as Judah Benjamin, the Confederacy’s Jewish secretary of state and spymaster, and on historical facts and events ranging from an African American spy network to the dramatic self-destruction of the city of Richmond, All Other Nights is a gripping and suspenseful story of men and women driven to the extreme limits of loyalty and betrayal. It is also a brilliant parable of the rift in America that lingers a century and a half later: between those who value family and tradition first, and those dedicated, at any cost, to social and racial justice for all. In this eagerly awaited third novel, award-winning author Dara Horn brings us page-turning storytelling at its best. Layered with meaning, All Other Nights reinvents the most American of subjects with originality and insight.

The Enchanter Completed

The Enchanter Completed
Author: Harry Turtledove
Publisher: Baen Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2005
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780743499040

Hugo Award winner and bestselling author Harry Turtledove gathers top SF and fantasy authors to write stories in the same humorous vein which de Camp practically invented. Includes tales by Poul Anderson, Frederik Pohl, and David Drake. Original.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
Author: Claire North
Publisher: Redhook
Total Pages: 391
Release: 2014-04-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0316399639

Wildly original, funny and moving, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is an extraordinary story of a life lived again and again from World Fantasy Award-winning author Claire North. Harry August is on his deathbed. Again. No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes. Until now. As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. "I nearly missed you, Doctor August," she says. "I need to send a message." This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.

The Best of L. Sprague de Camp

The Best of L. Sprague de Camp
Author: L. Sprague De Camp
Publisher:
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2014-12-16
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781612422480

"Triumphant collection from SF's best-educated humanist.""-The Washington Post" A science fiction collection by one of the all-time greats of science fiction, L. Sprague de Camp. These stories and poems exemplify de Camp's unique outlook on life and mankind and are told with a quiet but sharp irony that became his trademark. Bold, inventive and humorous, this collection is a must for fans of the writer. "De Camp's clever fusion of the droll and the sober is evident throughout.""-Booklist"