I expected as I drilled down further into 1951 science fiction novels to find a marked decrease in quality, but after reading Wellman's Twice in Time this is not the case. He claimed to be the author of some 500 stories of which over 80 were in the fantasy and science fiction genre. Many of his stories were originally published in the pulp magazines of the 1940's 50's and 60's and in 1956 his nonfiction historical work Rebel Boast was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize: with a legacy such as this, there is no doubt that he was a competent writer.

Twice in Time is a fantasy time travel novel. Leo Thrasher in 1957 has invented a time travel laser disc that he uses to transport himself back in time. He has a workshop just outside Florence in Italy and succeeds in transporting himself back to the mid 15th century at the time of Lorenzo de Medici the Magnificent. Leo unfortunately at once finds himself under the power of a sorcerer in the black arts, however his skills as an artist and fencing master enable him to adapt into the society of the high Italian renaissance. He rapidly becomes an adviser to Lorenzo the Magnificent being able to suggest and then detail in diagrams, practical examples of inventions from the 20th century that can aid the enlightened despot.

Manley Wade Wellman wrote many young adult stories and this novel soon turns into an adventure story that fits with the known historical events of that period, for example Leo finds himself involved in the Pazzi conspiracy of 1478. Leo's struggle with the sorcerer and his own knowledge of the future explains some of the mysteries of the advancement of science during the Medici reign. It is historical fantasy fiction, brought to life with some skilful writing and a reasonable feel for the period. It hasn't got the depth of a novel like Mark Twains much earlier 'A Yankee in King Arthur's Court', but it is a page turner of a story with some nice ideas. 3.5 stars ( )

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Title: Twice in Time
Series: ----------
Authors: Manly Wade Wellman
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 168
Words: 47K

Synopsis:

From FictionDB.com

While vacationing in Italy, 19-year-old Leo Thrasher rashly experiments with a radical new science. The result: he "reflects" himself 500 years back in time and must deal with life in the middle ages as he strives to return to the present. And in the 20th century, the memoirs of Leonardo da Vinci are unearthed.

My Thoughts:

This was my third foray into the works of Manly Wade Wellman and I have to admit, I've been nothing but disappointed. Unless I can get my hands on the Silver John series or the John Thunstone series, I'll not be reading anything else by Wellman.

This book was stupid. The main character, Leo Thrasher, goes back in time, without giving it any thought and turns into Leo da Vinci. Makes me wonder if Tim Powers read this story and if it influenced his Anubis Gates any? If not, it's a remarkable coincidence.

So, Leo. He descibes his time mirror and goes into detail of what went into the making of it (super rare elements, machined metal parts measured down to the micrometer, etc, etc) and he somehow expects to be able to make one to return, in Italy in the 1500's? What kind of idiot is he? A big ultra-stupid idiot, that's what kind. It was just one ridiculous situation after another that either had me rolling my eyes or shaking my fist. I realized what Wellman was doing (ie, Leo was Da Vinci) about halfway through and I probably should have seen it much sooner. But I was distracted by all the stupid idiotic stuff going on.

I had higher hopes from Wellman. But the three books I've read by him have all been juvenile, simplistic, stooooopid and not entertaining. Adios amigo and don't let my lightsaber hit you where the Good Lord split you.

★★☆☆☆ ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2562427.html

At last, another novel that I feel I can nominate for the Retro Hugos alongside The Ill-Made Knight and Kallocain. It's a short book about a time-traveller who goes back to Renaissance Italy and finds that he cannot return to his own time due to a combination of local politics, equipment constraints and fuzzy memory. Any reader who is actually awake will spot the eventual punchline by the end of the second chapter, but Wellman has fun taking us there and unashamedly invokes various cliches of the time-hopping subgenre. A shame that this isn't better known, and I'm nominating it for the Retro Hugos to try and fix that. ( )