Customer Reviews

Years In The Making: The Time-Travel Stories Of L. Sprague De Camp

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

L. Sprague de Camp is one of the Grand Masters of Science Fiction. He was the second person to be named to a Grand Master by SFWA. His writing is very much like that of a Big Three, and he started writing before Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, or Arthur C. Clarke. If you read the work of the Big Three, then de Camp is something right up your alley.

Although de Camp did not invent the idea of the Alternate History story, he was most probably the best writer of that sub-genre of SF. This book contains some of his best stories ever in "The Wheels of If", "Aristotle and the Gun", "A Gun for Dinosaur" and "Lest Darkness Fall". Each are among the classics of SF.

De Camp pretty much founded the Alternate History literary genre. These stories were groundbreaking in their time, and their wit and originality has not been surpassed.
De Camp was a learned man and his research is exhaustive. I recommend "Balsamo's Mirror" to anyone who attends Renaissance festivals, and "The Wheels of If" to anyone who worships their Celtic roots.

L. Sprague de Camp should need no introduciton, as one of the most influential Sci Fi/Fantasy authors of the 20th century. Most of the material here is available elsewhere, but usually in poor quality mass market editions. I particularly appreciate the inclusion of that alternate history classic of classics, "Lest Darkness Fall". This is a very high quality edition that could well grace any bookshelf, and is worth every penny.