Lest Darkness Fall

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.

Denial Is Doom

“No, it’s fine. Everything is fine”

AntiDem

Thirty years ago, I sat inside a classroom in a hangar at a small airport, taking the ground school course required for my Private Pilot license. The air smelled of strong black coffee and jet exhaust; from beyond the walls of the classroom were the high whining sounds of the mechanics’ pneumatic wrenches and the rumble of the engines of Learjets and Gulfstreams. Our instructor was an old-timer, retired from flying the line, but with a thousand old hangar stories to tell, and much to the relief of all, he frequently interrupted the dry, FAA-approved curriculum with them. One of them in particular has stuck with me these many years, and seems worth retelling just now. In this age of the internet, I could look up the exact details of the story, but I’d prefer not to, and to repeat it to you exactly as I remember him telling it…

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Blacklists Are…(spins wheel)…

Looks like blacklists are back in style. AOC and others have been calling for them for awhile. I see today there are a group of publishers and authors that are saying they will refuse to publish anything by Trump. All I can say is, nice of them to create a list of people/businesses that I don’t want to have contact with. It really cuts down on the work I’d need to do to figure out if these people and businesses are moral and/or want to actually do business with me. Of course, Tor has been out since the Sad Puppies campaigns as they tried to ostracize everyone who wanted a story rather than just woke preaching.

Of course black lists were considered horrible things back in the 60s after McCarthyism and the House UnAmerican Activities Commission. HUAC disbanded in the early 80s. I’m sure we’ll see something similar come back around. The wheel of stupidity just keeps on turning after all.

“Have you now, or have you ever been…”

Antifa: Won’t Hear This On CNN!! — Freedom Is Just Another Word…

Or any other leftist propaganda machine.. Analysis concludes Antifa provoked shooting of Ashli Babbitt at Capitol

Antifa: Won’t Hear This On CNN!! — Freedom Is Just Another Word…

For He Is An Honorable Man — Head Noises

Some say that the Democrats cheated. Biden would no more do that than he would plagiarize another politician’s campaign speech, for Biden is an honorable man. Biden would no more cheat in an election than he would plagiarize papers in law school, for he is an honorable man. Biden would no more slander the president […]

For He Is An Honorable Man — Head Noises

Tuesday Memes .. — Freedom Is Just Another Word…

Tuesday Memes .. — Freedom Is Just Another Word…

Why it doesn’t matter what Parler allowed by Synova

My friend, Synova, is a very bright woman. Check out the who thing here.

For me this is the money quote, “Short of simply killing everyone of a certain mindset, ideology, religion, or culture, it’s impossible to make them go away by forcing them to keep their scary ideas quiet. 

Killing a few simply creates martyrs, not converts.”

It’s something I’ve agreed with since I was in junior high and was really just becoming aware of politics. Making people keep their mouth’s shut in public about their ideas doesn’t remove the ideas, it just makes it harder to determine who the dangerous idiots are. Political Correctness is a cancer on society.

A Lesson That Needs To Be Remembered .. — Freedom Is Just Another Word…

Paul Revere’s Lesson for America

A Lesson That Needs To Be Remembered .. — Freedom Is Just Another Word…

In Memoriam: Ashli Babbit

Ashli Babbit, we will try to do our best to remember you.