I have to admit, I was more than pleasantly surprised by this book. Having been disappointed from other various forays into the “pre-Golden Age” Science Fiction literature, and seeing that the plot was not Science Fiction per se but Alternative History, I was a little fearful that I might be wasting my time. But I was wrong.
The story concerns Martin Padway, a 30-ish grad student in Rome who is somehow transported instantly back to Rome circa 570 AD. How or why this happened is never explained, nor does Martin dwell on it after an initial shock (a shock that ends once his belly gets hungry). By page 5 in the novel he’s inexplicably in the Roman Empire, and faces several questions. How to get food and shelter with only modern currency in his pockets? How to survive, to make a living? How not to get himself killed in this brutal world?These problems intrigued me. I found myself fascinated with the proposition, “What would I do in those circumstances?” I think most of us would entertain that speculation with a little bit of fear, a little bit of resourcefulness, and more than a little bit of, “I’m glad that’s not going to ever happen.” But after Martin gets food and shelter and makes a few acquaintances, he begins to think beyond these questions. And that is exactly what is interesting and quite noble, to be totally honest, with the story. Martin realizes that the fall of the Roman Empire is only decades away … and a thousand years of the Dark Ages.
So Martin sets about on a course to change history, to prevent the fall of darkness. He obtains an income making and selling brandy (okay, I wouldn’t know how to do that, but there’s probably something I could “invent” and market – how ’bout you?). A printing press and regular newspaper follow. Martin then devises a telecommunications system – a semaphore telegraph – and introduces the concept of publicly-held corporations to Rome to fund it.
These innovations get him into scrapes with the local religious and political authorities. Eventually he is before the Emperor, a pseudo-intellectual named Thiudahad, and wins him over by promising to ghostwrite Copernicus’ heliocentric theory under the King’s name. Martin’s 20th century political acumen is far beyond that of the 6th century, despite the political violence of the times, and soon he is the Emperor’s quaester, or chief-of-staff.
The rest of the book involves Martin’s attempt to stave off attacks from the Franks, the Imperial Army of the Byzantine Empire, and his own mutinous ranks (especially Thiudahad’s own son). By the end “Mysterious Martinus” has revolutionized warfare by introducing ring mail and crossbows, begun experimenting with cannons and gunpowder, freed the slaves of Rome, introduced a constitution, and sent ships over to the lands on the other side of the Atlantic.
I found the story well-written, and by this I mean: it held my attention, the pages flew by, the characters were three-dimensional and often humorous. De Camp didn’t dwell too long on exposition, which is a huge plus. I enjoyed the dialogue, both spoken and interior. There were some suspenseful parts, such as Martin’s internment in a prison camp and his subsequent escape. A memorable funny scene was how Martin cools on a Goth princess after hearing how innocently bloodthirsty she is (really just a product of the times). And the scene of the day-after Martin “inadvertently” sleeps with his slave girl and is horrified by contemporary Roman hygiene, or lack thereof, is perhaps one of the most laughably disgusting thing I’ve ever read.
Grade: A-
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