Mists of Dawn is a juvenile
science fiction novel by science fiction writer and
anthropologist Chad Oliver first published in 1952 by John C. Winston, Co. as a part of the
Winston Science Fiction series of juvenile novels. The story follows the adventures of adolescent Mark Nye when he is accidentally transported to the
stone age by his uncle's
time machine. It includes a factual foreword on the science of
anthropology and how Oliver uses this science in the telling of his story.Chad Oliver,
Mists of Dawn (Philadelphia: John C. Winston, 1952)
Plot introduction
Dr. Robert Nye, a
nuclear physicist working at
White Sands Missile Range has finally finished his space-time travel machine after 20 years of research. On the eve of its maiden voyage to
Ancient Rome, Dr. Nye's nephew Mark is trapped inside and sent back in time to the year 50,000 BC when a nearby rocket test explosion sends him careening into the controls. When Mark arrives at his destination he must survive the two weeks it takes the space-time machine to recharge for the return trip with nothing but a few matches, a pocket knife, and a 6-shot .45 revolver.
Plot summary
Upon his arrival in the stone age, Mark ventures out of the space-time machine in search of food and water. He is soon accosted by a group of
Neanderthals who drag him back to their cave lair. Mark...
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