Lest Darkness Fall
by L. Sprague De Camp · first published 1941
72% recommend28% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Time-travel adventure in which a 1938 archaeologist lands in 6th-century Rome and uses modern knowledge like printing and semaphore to change history; suits readers who enjoy rebuild-civilization premises.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Archeologist Martin Padway is visiting Rome in Italy. He is struck by lightning and catapulted back to Rome of the sixth century A.D. The Western Roman Empire has fallen to the Goths, and civilization teetering on the brink of falling into the Dark Ages. As Mysterious Martinus, can Martin win through the life and death perils of religious controversy, political intrigue and international diplomacy to twist the course of history and avoid that fall into darkness? This is a science fiction classic.
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There's a great little story by L. Sprague de Camp called "Lest Darkness Fall" that is almost exactly this. An archaeologist from the 1930s gets stuck back in the 6th century A.D., and "invents" the printing press (among other things).
on “Ask HN: Back in time to 100 BC, what knowledge would you impart to the people?” ↗Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp which appears to recently have received a reprinting, my copy is from the 40s. Deathworld by Harry Harrison. I've been waiting for some screenplay writer to stumble across this…
on “Ask HN: What are the best unknown books you have read?” ↗…Early" by Poul Anderson touches on that theme as well. A soldier is transported back to Iceland of about the year 900 AD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Came_Early Another classic one is "Lest Darkness Fall" by L. Sprague de Camp in which an archaeologist is transported to Rome in the year 535 AD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lest_Darkness_Fall
on “1632 by Eric Flint (2000)” ↗read Lest Darkness Fall for a MUCH more interesting account.
on “Survival tips if you find yourself in the Middle Ages?” ↗There's a great early science fiction novel about the possible effect of semaphore communication technology on the Roman empire — L. Sprague de Camp's "Lest Darkness Fall", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lest_Darkness_Fall. In the novel, de Camp argues that a time traveler with this technology (and foreknowledge of history) could have prevented the Dark Ages.
on “Why didn't the Romans invent the Internet?” ↗Fortunately there are plenty of old books to read if you prefer. Anything from Appendix N for example. Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp is a personal favorite.
on “Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)” ↗For some reason introductory history doesn’t much cover the Visigothic Roman Kingdom, but it’s quite interesting. L. Sprague de Camp set his marvelous Lest Darkness Fall in that time period.
on “The Queen’s Latin or Who Were the Romans, Part II: Citizens and Allies” ↗Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp would be a classic answer (though it is also scifi so maybe not quite what you are asking for).
on “Ancient lead pollution in a Roman harbor (2017)” ↗You may enjoy the novel "Lest Darkness Fall" by L. Sprague de Camp, who explored this idea back in 1939.
on “It’s an age of marvels” ↗'lest darkness fall' by L Sprague De Camp..1939
on “Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been” ↗…that time. For those who find the general idea enticing, there was a book written about 80 years ago on this idea. What if a time traveller got sent back to Ancient Rome? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lest_Darkness_Fall A couple friends and I are big fans of the book, and premise. We always figured it was far too optimistic. Most likely you'd die of dysentery or be sold off into slavery. But assuming not, I figure…
on “How much did a tunic cost in the Roman Empire? (2021)” ↗…favourite (and slightly insane) measures of all around knowledge is what you would do if you suddenly found yourself living in the Roman empire circa 200AD (a question largely inspired by the wonderful book: Lest Darkness Fall). In this case what would you do in 1975 using only the knowledge contained in your brain. I'd probably try to jump start work on internet so that networking would be fully integrated from the start and…
on “If you traveled back in time to 1975 equipped with a modern laptop...” ↗For anyone interested in industrial revolutions in fantasy or medieval settings, I'd recommend checking out de Camp's "Lest Darkness Fall" and Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is a pretty great CRPG in that setting as well, with fantastic writing and worldbuilding--even if…
on “Game of Thrones: why hasn’t Westeros had an industrial revolution? ” ↗Not 4 sentences, but if this topic interests you, this is a good read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lest_Darkness_Fall American archaeologist Martin Padway is visiting the Pantheon in Rome in 1938. A thunderstorm arrives, lightning cracks, and he finds himself transported to Rome in the year 535 AD. At this time, the…
on “What 4 sentences that I could send to Ancient Rome which could prevent collapse?” ↗I know Lest Darkness Fall. It’s great. Someone recommended it in the Hacker News thread when I posted the first volume, so I read it after that.
on “Show HN: The Roman Industrial Revolution that could have been (Vol 2)” ↗