Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[JReynolds]

This is getting play in the WCT, but I thought this could use a thread of its own here.

I read a Poul Anderson story many years ago called "The Man Who Came Early", about an American serviceman stationed in Reykjavík, Iceland who gets mysteriously transported 1000 years back into Reykjavík of the 10th century. He knew modern Icelandic, so he was able to talk to the 10th century locals (Icelandic hasn't changed much in the past 1000 years). Unfortunately, his 20th century skills don't translate well. Probably like most of us here, he knew how to use technology, but not how to make it.

Any thoughts from other people out there? Any times in the past you'd like to visit? If you were forced to live there, could you cope?

[Roberticvs]

I immediately thought Pen was reading a Casca novel; it's a series about the Roman soldier who allegedly killed Christ on the cross, and was cursed to live forever as a mercenary soldier. It's like a romance novel for guys, but with killing and sex. 

[LittleKey]

I'm actually going to check out "The Man Who Came Early". It seems interesting, thanks for the inadvertent recommendation  .

[Border Reiver]

And some really bad history.

I'll admit to having read the Casca series when I was in my teens (twenty years ago).  I then tried to re-read them a year ago.  After throwing up my hands in frustration at the egregious historical errors that abound and the absolutely horrid writing, I turned back to historical fiction that was actually well written and researched.  Then I quietly sold the Casca novels to hide my shame....

[emilycat27]

I was riding the bus and they have these "Book Trailers" and one of them was for:

Searching for his little boy, 11thcentury Viking Thorfinn lands in modern times, where he stumbles upon a dead wringer for his cheating ex-wife. Single mom Lydia Denton mourns the loss of her SEAL husband. Then she meets a man who resembles him. Despite Thorfinn’s strange accusations, Lydia finds it impossible to ignore the chemistry between them. And as she gets to know this handsome Viking, she can’t help but wonder whether two souls, separated by time, have found their way back together.

[BrilliantEraser]

"The Man Who Came Early"

Call me immature, but I cannot take a book seriously when it has a title that I consistently lol at.

[est]

So that's what that book is about.  I'd seen it before and thought "what the fuck is that shit?" - now I know!

[G.I. JOE]

and knowing is half the battle!

[est]

GEEE

[G.I. JOE]

EYEE

[est]

JOEEE

[G.I. JOE]

I love it when a plan comes together

[est]

WRONG SHOW, YOU IDIOT

[BrilliantEraser]

Est, did you have someone create a profile -just- so you could do that?

[est]

Obviously I have no idea what you are talking about.

[Usopp]

/slowclap
Exellent references est and g.i. Mad props

[Rafe]

Bloemfontein has a beautiful song called "Farewell Sgt. Viking".  COINCIDENCE?

By the way, hi! ^_^

[Tybalt]

We must never forget this thread.

Surely no one doubts that est is worthy of mod-ship.

[NanoCell]

and knowing is half the battle!

The other half is shooting someone.

[Bunnyspatial]

This actually reminds me of the Crosstime Engineer series by Leo Frankowski.  From the amazon description:

THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB

One moment Conrad Schwartz was a hungover hiker in the mountains of modern Poland, the next he was running for his life from an angry Teutonic knight.

At first Conrad just thought he'd stumbled across a mad hermit. But several days of ever stranger events convinced him that he had somehow been stranded in A.D 1231.

And that meant Conrad had to turn Medieval Poland into the most powerful country in the world. Otherwise the Mongols were destined to destroy it--in just ten years!

[Surgoshan]

I'm curious...  how did he overcome the language barrier?  Presumably as an engineer his knowledge of medieval Polish would be somewhat spotty.

[CarrionMan]

Made a universal translator out of some trees and metal.

[JReynolds]

Frankinowski got around the language problem by stating that the Polish language has changed a lot less since the 13th century than the English language has in the same time.