The Man Who Came Early
How rarely science-fiction writers succeed in creating a wholly alien culture may be judged from any adequate study of an earthly culture of a time or place which does not form part of our direct heritage. S.F's aliens may have pseudopods or supersdentific gadgets, but rarely so wholly different a frame of reference as man himself has achieved in other eras. Here F&SFs favorite Scandinavian skald takes us to Iceland near the end of the tenth century and convincingly depicts a truly "alien" way of life and teaches us the tragic truth that the role of a twentieth-century timetraveler to a "primitive" culture need not necessarily be that of Prometheus the Fire-Bringer.
his head and gave her the look of a hurt dog that someone has patted. It was dim in the hall, enough light coming in by the loft windows so no candles were lit, but not enough to see well by. Nevertheless, I marked a reddening in both their faces.
Gerald drew a long breath and fumbled about; his clothes were made with pockets. He brought out a small parchment box and from it took a little white stick that he put in his mouth. Then he took out another box, and a wooden stick from it which burst into flame when scratched. With the fire he kindled the stick in his mouth, and sucked in the smoke.
We all stared "Is that a Christian rite?" asked Helgi.
"No... not just so." A wry, disappointed smile twisted his lips. "I'd have thought you'd be more surprised, even terrified."
"It's something new," I admitted, "but we're a sober folk on Iceland. Those fire sticks could be useful. Did you come to trade in them?"
"Hardly." He sighed. The smoke he breathed in seemed to steady him, whi
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Poul Anderson's answer to "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court", and not only an excellent description of tenth century Iceland, but one of the best descriptions of how time travel is likely to turn out.
Quick and entertaining reading. Not really deep in terms of issues, still you have to feel pity on the protagonist.
well if nothing else i was left thinking how useless the average male would be in similar throwback circumstances, more-so without language skills.
an interesting view of a popular theme and a quick read.
Good SF time travel story about an American soldier stationed in Iceland. He's accidentally transported back to pre-Leif Erickson Iceland and tries to survive using his skills from his own time. Excellent characterization and description of that culture.
