Example:
Mark Twain: A Connecticut Yankee..., Premise:
A twentieth century man is mysteriously transported to an earlier period.
Twain
Applying modern knowledge, he made big changes which were not recorded in the Dark Ages.
de Camp
Applying modern knowledge, he made big changes and changed the course of history.
Anderson
Lacking knowledge and skills appropriate to the period, he did not survive.
A debate in three stages.
(Other reading: I bought Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business. It's good.)
7 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
"The Man Who Came Early" made a very necessary point: SF writers should not too blithely assume all time travelers stranded in the past will be as successful as de Camp's Martin Padway in LEST DARKNESS FALL.
In his Antonine books Stirling has the Americans stranded in the Rome of Marcus Aurelius mentioning LEST DARKNESS FALL as something of a model to follow. Anderson's "The Man Who Came Early" could have been mentioned as a warning on the need to avoid overconfidence.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: yes. Tho' they demonstrably avoid overconfidence -- they're experts on that period, and they have a ton of "stuff".
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree--but I'm still a bit uneasy. The pessimist in me wonders if Artorius and his grad students are, just possibly, a little too successful. Having one or two setbacks or mentioning Anderson's story would add more realism.
No offense is meant!
Ad astra! Sean
They are shown as taking a *lot* of tinkering to get eg: papermaking and the threshing machine to work. Though a mention of "The Man Who Came Early" as well as Martin Padway might have been good.
Kaor, Jim!
You made good points. Even with all that "stuff" Herr Doktor Fuchs hoped to take back with him to the past, Jeremy and Mark had great difficulty reinventing the mechanical thresher and paper. Their struggles added realistic touches to the story. Also, being such a fan of Anderson, I would have relished mention of "The Man Who Came Early."
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: well, the circumstances are completely different. THE MAN WHO CAME EARLY had one, not particularly knowledgeable guy transported to the past. I'm using five specialist scholars with a lot of books and equipment.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree with you. I'm just being Andersonian. (Smiles)
Ad astra! Sean
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