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kathydavie's review
5.0
First in the Emberverse dystopian series and revolving around two primary sets of good guys and one horror of a man. These events occur throughout the Northwest in 1998. Phew, dodged that bullet…
My Take
It begins with one group's story and then segues into other individual stories as that EMP pulse hits the world and takes out every electronic device and modern weapon known to man. Humanity is reduced to whatever can be worked by hand: bows and arrows, swords, knives, hammers, handsaws, and the like while transport is via bike, horse, or afoot.
Dies the Fire shows all the types of mankind from raging idiocy to rampaging power-seeking to caring for others. Slowly, slowly, the stories begin to merge as these disparate groups encounter one another, having passed through a great many wide-ranging "adventures".
It's the politics, the survival, the making-do, the living from the land that intrigues me. And it creates drama, tension, and an increased heart rate!
I gotta say, it makes me want to get a place out of the way with some nice farmland. Someplace hidden that can be fortified, near a stream to generate power and access to water, and lots of weapons with plenty of how-to books since, horrors, I'd be without the Internet!! Eeek! Bring in a nice range of animals from chickens on up to horses.
It's a lesson in survival for all parties with each going about it in a different way. Some learn maturity along the way. Some have useful skills to share right away. Luckily for Juniper, she's been a Ren Faire participant for years and is better than halfway prepared to cope with the loss of tech.
Chuck makes an excellent argument for getting out of town now. He reckons only rats will be left to eat in a month. Juniper lays it out at Finney's farm. The truth about the land under cultivation around Corvallis and how many people there are that need to be fed. There's a lot of reasoning going on in Dies the Fire, which only makes it more fascinating to read. The products, food, and services, the methods of production we all take for granted.
Will Hutton has an interesting idea about this Pulse that hit the world. He reckons if it had happened before we got so much technology, no one would'a much noticed, but could explain the lack of advancement in some areas.
The Larssons initially come off as dilettantes, but they toughen up quick and prove their intellectual worth. It's surprising what you can find when you look beneath the surface of people. I like too that Mike is a take-charge kind of guy without being power-mad. He'll acknowledge his weaknesses and work on 'em.
It's a time when words mean less than nothing, and protection is everything. The Mckenzies turn out to help neighbors. Any of their neighbors. It's why the surviving Smith, Carsons, Georges, Mercers, and Brogies abandoned the Sutterdown group and switched to Mckenzie.
You can't help but appreciate Juniper's pragmatism: "We're Witches, Chuck. We are weird." Then she notes the "bizarre irony of someone wanting to become a Witch so they can fit in", lol.
Astrid has created the The Chronicles of Lord Bear and His Folk: The Red Book of Larsdalen in imitation of her favorite Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's a good therapy for her, working out the attack at the cabin.
They're interesting groups of people — the good ones, anyway — that you can't help but rush on, wanting to see them do well.
And she will name him Artos in the Craft.
The Story
It's a routine day, and Michael is booked to fly a family to their home in Bitterroot Valley. In Corvallis, Juniper is playing for a happy crowd.
Then it all comes tumbling down. Planes fall out of the sky, cars simply stop, guns don't fire, dynamite doesn't explode, electricity is gone, water pumps have stopped, and fires and gangs are out of control.
And a provisional government is sending out gangs to requisition people's cattle and foodstocks. Problem is, that government keeps changing hands and isn't planning for the future.
The Characters
The Idaho contingent will become the Bearkiller outfit
Michael Havel is a pilot, a hunter, and an ex-Marine. He may be the hired help, but he quickly puts Eric in his place. He'll be christened Lord Bear. Louhi is the pup he intends to train.
Steelhead Air Taxi is…
…a family-run service in Boise, Idaho, owned by Dan and Gerta Fogarty. Mellie Jones, their niece, is the company secretary. Eileen is the girl who dumped Michael.
The Larsson family — Kenneth and Mary, the twins Signe and Eric, and fourteen-year-old Astrid with her archery skills and a fascination for the Lord of the Rings — wants to visit their family ranch in Montana. Biltis is Astrid's orange kitty. Mr. Zeppelt has been protecting the old Larsson place west of the Williamette.
A Run-in with the Zionist Occupation Government (ZOG),
…a neo-Nazi group. Jimmie is the leader; Bob and Dan are his disgusting partners. Anjelica and Will Hutton, with their daughter Luanne, were transporting horses from their ranch in Texas where they wrangle and train. Gustav becomes Lord Bear's horse.
Pam Arnstein is a veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo. An outdoorswoman, she does Renaissance fencing with HACA and will become their swordmistress and historian. Josh Sanders is a lumberjack who's done some construction, a hunter, a fisherman, a former Seabee (combat engineers) who wants to sign on with his wife, Annie, and daughter, Megan. Makes a darn good scout too. Annie will become their schoolteacher. Then there's Billy Waters with his love for drink and abusing his beaten-down wife, Jane, and their three children which includes Reuben and Nancy. He claims to have worked for Red Wolf Bows. Gloria Stevens and Fred Naysmith are members as well.
Howard Reines is the mayor and Eddie Running Horse is with the reservation council. Aaron Rothman is a general practitioner the Bearkillers rescue in their first paid-for op. Bob Twofeather has good things say about the Bearkillers.
The Iron Rod is…
…an example of one of the Protector's vassals. Duke Iron Rod, the former Dave Mondarian, leads the Devil Dogs, his old gang from Seattle before the Change. Martha is his old lady from before the Change; she keeps the new bitches in line. Moose and Hitter are loyal. Feitman is the numbers man and good with his knives.
Robert? Hank? Woburn is the new county sheriff. Burt, Louie, and Henry are part of the posse from town. Kate Clarke is missing. Mother Superior Gertrude took refuge with the sheriff. Jeb Smith has his own plans in mind. Pete Sacket and his son, Randy, run a garage-cum-machine shop on the edge of Craigswood.
The Corvallis contingent
Juniper Mckenzie is a guitar-playing singer and a witch, the High Priestess, in her coven. Soon to be Lady Juniper, High Chief of the Clan Mckenzie. Elir is her deaf daughter. Rudy Starn, her boyfriend-cum-high-priest, is a systems analyst flying out of Eugene that night. Cuchalain is her Alastian. Rudi is what she'll initially name her baby. Dennie Martin is the host at the Hopping Toad Tavern in Corvallis that night with an interest in woodworking and tooling leather; he's also one of her best friends. Manuel is a cook there. John Martin is Dennis' brother, a blacksmith.
Frank and Joan Fairfax have a hobby farm just down the way from Juniper's farm, one she inherited from an uncle. Both the Fairfaxes need insulin, and they love their kids: Joseph, John, Dave, June, Kathleen, and all the kids.
Sally Quinn made a bad choice as part of a small gang that confronts Juniper and her friends. Sure, her son, Terry, was hungry, but it was still wrong. Her husband, Peter, was at work at HP when the world fell apart.
Juniper's coven, the Coven of the Singing Moon is coming out of Eugene
Judy Barstow is Evenstar, the Maiden of the coven; Chuck is her husband, not a pacifist, and a knight in the SCA. He will become the Dragonstar, the High Priest of the Craft. His day job is as a gardener for the Eugene Parks and Rec department. Their daughters are Mary (one of the children from the bus) and Tamsin, their three-year-old daughter. Andy Trethar is a friend. He and his wife, Diana, own an organic restaurant/bakery/food store, MoonDance. Diana is also a registered nurse and midwife. Greg is their son. Dorothy Rose who'll be playin' the bagpipes. Dave, Susan, and Karl are more members.
Once they join up at Juniper's farm, they start adding more: Uncle Jason, Alex is Chuck's younger brother. Barbara, Vince Torelli, and Steve Matucheck saved him from Eaters. Samuel "Samkin" Aylward, late sergeant in the SAS, fell into a ravine when he chased after a deer with his bow. He's a bowyer too. Cagney and Lacey are a couple of the plow horses.
A busload of kids are stranded and include Sanjay, Mary, and Daniel. Juney and a small crew find the rest of their coven with a little help from a scouting party of Bearkillers — Carmen, Muriel, and Jack — when they come up against Eaters.
John Carson and his kids Cynthia and Ray are farming neighbors. He knows his livestock. The Smiths were neighbors, until bandits hit. Now young Mark Smith has joined the Mckenzie Clan. The Hunters, Dowlingtons, and Johnsons have already joined, and now Rodger and Maisie MacFarlane want to join. But they'll have to throw their land into the communal pool.
Reverend Dixon of Sutterdown is a not-too-welcome neighbor; he preaches against witches. Reverend Jennings is not the same. Sheriff Laughton and Dr. Gianelli are co-leaders with the reverend. Tamar is one of the children and the sheriff's niece.
Luther Finney farms a patch south of Corvallis; Sarah is his wife. He has an Alastian. Eddie and Susan are their son and daughter who live in Salem.
Lieutenant Peter Jones is with the Committee militia along with what used to be the Corvallis agriculture and engineering faculties.
CORA…
…stands for the Central Oregon Ranchers' Association. John Brown will be the CORA delegate to the Bearkillers. Ellie Strang is a local girl with an in at the Protector's new castle. Dinkerman and Sergeant Harvey are some of the men at the castle.
Portland, Oregon
Emiliano is jefe of the Lords; Dolores is his woman. Marquez is his numbers man. The mayor and the chief of police are known as Cat and the Moose on the street, and they've invited Emiliano to a meeting with the Crips, Bloods, the Russians with Alexi Stavarov, The Tongs, the Koreans, the Angels, the Italians, and more.
They've already set up a government: The Lady Sandra and The Lord Protector, a.k.a., Norman Arminger, in chain mail carrying a sword, a former academic; he's a history professor who's gone power mad. He's gung-ho for old-fashioned, full-blown feudalism with his boilerplate contracts.
Eddie Liu and Mack are aiming for Portland; they hear there's stability there.
Eaters are cannibals.
The Cover
The cover is grim in a warm way. I know, it sounds contradictory… The colors are warm: a creamy sky and golden browns form the sky above a ragged skyline of browns. The foreground is more golden browns of flat land with a gray road emerging from the distance. It's a horse drawn pickup truck approaching a tire and a bicycle abandoned on the road while Mike stands, with sword slung over one shoulder, assessing the threat level around him.
I suspect the title is a metaphor for that fateful night when the "storm" struck and so Dies the Fire of the world.
My Take
It begins with one group's story and then segues into other individual stories as that EMP pulse hits the world and takes out every electronic device and modern weapon known to man. Humanity is reduced to whatever can be worked by hand: bows and arrows, swords, knives, hammers, handsaws, and the like while transport is via bike, horse, or afoot.
Dies the Fire shows all the types of mankind from raging idiocy to rampaging power-seeking to caring for others. Slowly, slowly, the stories begin to merge as these disparate groups encounter one another, having passed through a great many wide-ranging "adventures".
It's the politics, the survival, the making-do, the living from the land that intrigues me. And it creates drama, tension, and an increased heart rate!
I gotta say, it makes me want to get a place out of the way with some nice farmland. Someplace hidden that can be fortified, near a stream to generate power and access to water, and lots of weapons with plenty of how-to books since, horrors, I'd be without the Internet!! Eeek! Bring in a nice range of animals from chickens on up to horses.
It's a lesson in survival for all parties with each going about it in a different way. Some learn maturity along the way. Some have useful skills to share right away. Luckily for Juniper, she's been a Ren Faire participant for years and is better than halfway prepared to cope with the loss of tech.
"Everything that's been invented in the last 800 years is useless now."
Chuck makes an excellent argument for getting out of town now. He reckons only rats will be left to eat in a month. Juniper lays it out at Finney's farm. The truth about the land under cultivation around Corvallis and how many people there are that need to be fed. There's a lot of reasoning going on in Dies the Fire, which only makes it more fascinating to read. The products, food, and services, the methods of production we all take for granted.
Will Hutton has an interesting idea about this Pulse that hit the world. He reckons if it had happened before we got so much technology, no one would'a much noticed, but could explain the lack of advancement in some areas.
The Larssons initially come off as dilettantes, but they toughen up quick and prove their intellectual worth. It's surprising what you can find when you look beneath the surface of people. I like too that Mike is a take-charge kind of guy without being power-mad. He'll acknowledge his weaknesses and work on 'em.
Ken reckons they've "fallen out of history…"
It's a time when words mean less than nothing, and protection is everything. The Mckenzies turn out to help neighbors. Any of their neighbors. It's why the surviving Smith, Carsons, Georges, Mercers, and Brogies abandoned the Sutterdown group and switched to Mckenzie.
You can't help but appreciate Juniper's pragmatism: "We're Witches, Chuck. We are weird." Then she notes the "bizarre irony of someone wanting to become a Witch so they can fit in", lol.
Astrid has created the The Chronicles of Lord Bear and His Folk: The Red Book of Larsdalen in imitation of her favorite Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's a good therapy for her, working out the attack at the cabin.
They're interesting groups of people — the good ones, anyway — that you can't help but rush on, wanting to see them do well.
And she will name him Artos in the Craft.
The Story
It's a routine day, and Michael is booked to fly a family to their home in Bitterroot Valley. In Corvallis, Juniper is playing for a happy crowd.
Then it all comes tumbling down. Planes fall out of the sky, cars simply stop, guns don't fire, dynamite doesn't explode, electricity is gone, water pumps have stopped, and fires and gangs are out of control.
And a provisional government is sending out gangs to requisition people's cattle and foodstocks. Problem is, that government keeps changing hands and isn't planning for the future.
The Characters
The Idaho contingent will become the Bearkiller outfit
Michael Havel is a pilot, a hunter, and an ex-Marine. He may be the hired help, but he quickly puts Eric in his place. He'll be christened Lord Bear. Louhi is the pup he intends to train.
Steelhead Air Taxi is…
…a family-run service in Boise, Idaho, owned by Dan and Gerta Fogarty. Mellie Jones, their niece, is the company secretary. Eileen is the girl who dumped Michael.
The Larsson family — Kenneth and Mary, the twins Signe and Eric, and fourteen-year-old Astrid with her archery skills and a fascination for the Lord of the Rings — wants to visit their family ranch in Montana. Biltis is Astrid's orange kitty. Mr. Zeppelt has been protecting the old Larsson place west of the Williamette.
A Run-in with the Zionist Occupation Government (ZOG),
…a neo-Nazi group. Jimmie is the leader; Bob and Dan are his disgusting partners. Anjelica and Will Hutton, with their daughter Luanne, were transporting horses from their ranch in Texas where they wrangle and train. Gustav becomes Lord Bear's horse.
Pam Arnstein is a veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo. An outdoorswoman, she does Renaissance fencing with HACA and will become their swordmistress and historian. Josh Sanders is a lumberjack who's done some construction, a hunter, a fisherman, a former Seabee (combat engineers) who wants to sign on with his wife, Annie, and daughter, Megan. Makes a darn good scout too. Annie will become their schoolteacher. Then there's Billy Waters with his love for drink and abusing his beaten-down wife, Jane, and their three children which includes Reuben and Nancy. He claims to have worked for Red Wolf Bows. Gloria Stevens and Fred Naysmith are members as well.
Howard Reines is the mayor and Eddie Running Horse is with the reservation council. Aaron Rothman is a general practitioner the Bearkillers rescue in their first paid-for op. Bob Twofeather has good things say about the Bearkillers.
The Iron Rod is…
…an example of one of the Protector's vassals. Duke Iron Rod, the former Dave Mondarian, leads the Devil Dogs, his old gang from Seattle before the Change. Martha is his old lady from before the Change; she keeps the new bitches in line. Moose and Hitter are loyal. Feitman is the numbers man and good with his knives.
Robert? Hank? Woburn is the new county sheriff. Burt, Louie, and Henry are part of the posse from town. Kate Clarke is missing. Mother Superior Gertrude took refuge with the sheriff. Jeb Smith has his own plans in mind. Pete Sacket and his son, Randy, run a garage-cum-machine shop on the edge of Craigswood.
The Corvallis contingent
Juniper Mckenzie is a guitar-playing singer and a witch, the High Priestess, in her coven. Soon to be Lady Juniper, High Chief of the Clan Mckenzie. Elir is her deaf daughter. Rudy Starn, her boyfriend-cum-high-priest, is a systems analyst flying out of Eugene that night. Cuchalain is her Alastian. Rudi is what she'll initially name her baby. Dennie Martin is the host at the Hopping Toad Tavern in Corvallis that night with an interest in woodworking and tooling leather; he's also one of her best friends. Manuel is a cook there. John Martin is Dennis' brother, a blacksmith.
Frank and Joan Fairfax have a hobby farm just down the way from Juniper's farm, one she inherited from an uncle. Both the Fairfaxes need insulin, and they love their kids: Joseph, John, Dave, June, Kathleen, and all the kids.
Sally Quinn made a bad choice as part of a small gang that confronts Juniper and her friends. Sure, her son, Terry, was hungry, but it was still wrong. Her husband, Peter, was at work at HP when the world fell apart.
Juniper's coven, the Coven of the Singing Moon is coming out of Eugene
Judy Barstow is Evenstar, the Maiden of the coven; Chuck is her husband, not a pacifist, and a knight in the SCA. He will become the Dragonstar, the High Priest of the Craft. His day job is as a gardener for the Eugene Parks and Rec department. Their daughters are Mary (one of the children from the bus) and Tamsin, their three-year-old daughter. Andy Trethar is a friend. He and his wife, Diana, own an organic restaurant/bakery/food store, MoonDance. Diana is also a registered nurse and midwife. Greg is their son. Dorothy Rose who'll be playin' the bagpipes. Dave, Susan, and Karl are more members.
Once they join up at Juniper's farm, they start adding more: Uncle Jason, Alex is Chuck's younger brother. Barbara, Vince Torelli, and Steve Matucheck saved him from Eaters. Samuel "Samkin" Aylward, late sergeant in the SAS, fell into a ravine when he chased after a deer with his bow. He's a bowyer too. Cagney and Lacey are a couple of the plow horses.
A busload of kids are stranded and include Sanjay, Mary, and Daniel. Juney and a small crew find the rest of their coven with a little help from a scouting party of Bearkillers — Carmen, Muriel, and Jack — when they come up against Eaters.
John Carson and his kids Cynthia and Ray are farming neighbors. He knows his livestock. The Smiths were neighbors, until bandits hit. Now young Mark Smith has joined the Mckenzie Clan. The Hunters, Dowlingtons, and Johnsons have already joined, and now Rodger and Maisie MacFarlane want to join. But they'll have to throw their land into the communal pool.
Reverend Dixon of Sutterdown is a not-too-welcome neighbor; he preaches against witches. Reverend Jennings is not the same. Sheriff Laughton and Dr. Gianelli are co-leaders with the reverend. Tamar is one of the children and the sheriff's niece.
Luther Finney farms a patch south of Corvallis; Sarah is his wife. He has an Alastian. Eddie and Susan are their son and daughter who live in Salem.
Lieutenant Peter Jones is with the Committee militia along with what used to be the Corvallis agriculture and engineering faculties.
CORA…
…stands for the Central Oregon Ranchers' Association. John Brown will be the CORA delegate to the Bearkillers. Ellie Strang is a local girl with an in at the Protector's new castle. Dinkerman and Sergeant Harvey are some of the men at the castle.
Portland, Oregon
Emiliano is jefe of the Lords; Dolores is his woman. Marquez is his numbers man. The mayor and the chief of police are known as Cat and the Moose on the street, and they've invited Emiliano to a meeting with the Crips, Bloods, the Russians with Alexi Stavarov, The Tongs, the Koreans, the Angels, the Italians, and more.
They've already set up a government: The Lady Sandra and The Lord Protector, a.k.a., Norman Arminger, in chain mail carrying a sword, a former academic; he's a history professor who's gone power mad. He's gung-ho for old-fashioned, full-blown feudalism with his boilerplate contracts.
Eddie Liu and Mack are aiming for Portland; they hear there's stability there.
Eaters are cannibals.
The Cover
The cover is grim in a warm way. I know, it sounds contradictory… The colors are warm: a creamy sky and golden browns form the sky above a ragged skyline of browns. The foreground is more golden browns of flat land with a gray road emerging from the distance. It's a horse drawn pickup truck approaching a tire and a bicycle abandoned on the road while Mike stands, with sword slung over one shoulder, assessing the threat level around him.
I suspect the title is a metaphor for that fateful night when the "storm" struck and so Dies the Fire of the world.
klparmley's review
3.0
Spoiler! You will not find out what cause the Change in this book. It is about what happened after the Change. It's good post-apocalyptic fiction. I expect I'll continue the series.
wolfxx5's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
kame25's review
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
badseedgirl's review
4.0
What would happen if a Fan Boy, who also happened to be an author, were to write a love note to a beloved fantasy author? I’m not sure but I guessing it would look something like Dies The Fire by S.M. Stirling.
The story starts with all power being removed from the earth in a blinding flash of light, called “The Change”. Not just electrical, but internal combustion engines, gunpowder, steam engines, and all other 20th, heck 19th century power. Society is immediately thrown back into the Middle Ages, well maybe not immediately but within a month. Who could survive such a global disaster? The answer turns out to be people who are devotees of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Middle Earth” Series, Renaissance fanatic and reenacts, and/or people who are Wiccan, and the Scott Irish.
Although I grew up on a steady diet of Tolkien as a child, thanks to my mom (who still has the entire middle earth set that I just used to find out what the baddie from LOTR’s name was. I thought it was Saruman, but hey I should get some credit for knowing he was A LOTR baddie even if he wasn’t The LOTR baddie), I am not a huge fan of Tolkien type fantasy novel, preferring instead Urban Fantasy, but I do love a good (and not so good) Post-Apocalyptic novel. For me Dies The Fire fit this bill both ways.
It is clear the Mr. Stirling loves middle earth. The major baddie in the novel uses the unblinking eye of Sauron as his banner in his bid to become King of the North West, and one young character practically spend the entire novel in her own personal fantasy world of orcs and elves. But the wonderful part about the book is Mr. Stirling gives a nod and a wink to the absurdity of these characters without taking away for the skills this obsession brought to their lives. There are people like this, People who make swords and chain mail in their spare time and consider it a hobby. Anyone who has ever been to an international jousting tournament can attest to that, and yes there are such things. I myself have been working on developing my own “colonial arts” and am now able to grow my own food from heirloom seeds I collected, can and process the vegetables from my own garden, make my own bread from scratch using sourdough starter, make my own soap from oils, and crochet and knit my own clothes. I can also ride a horse, Does that make me a wack job, maybe, Would they be useful skills in a world where you would not be able to run down to the nearest big box store for supplies, undoubtedly.
Beyond that, the characters in the novel are interesting, and the plotting of the story is quick. There is plenty of action and swords fighting. There are several plot points in the novel that seem too coincidental, but the author does not ignore this fact and has characters discuss how some characters seem supernaturally lucky.
I am not going to go into much discussion about the entire Wiccan aspects of the novel. I freely admit that I do not know enough about this religion to voice any sort of opinion about the validity of the Wiccan practices found in Mr. Stirling’s novel. That is for someone who knows something about this religion. All I will say on the matter is that because I do not have a frame of reference to go from, the epilogue at the end of the book, where Lady Juniper blesses her child and all her coven are sighing and looking around in shocked wonder makes absolutely no sense to me. I felt like I should be concerned about what this foreshadows for the child and the community, but again without a frame of reference, I have no idea why.
All and all, this was a high spirited romp down Medieval Fantasy Land. I would give this novel a solid 4 stars, and am planning to read the next book in the series.
4 out of 5 stars
The story starts with all power being removed from the earth in a blinding flash of light, called “The Change”. Not just electrical, but internal combustion engines, gunpowder, steam engines, and all other 20th, heck 19th century power. Society is immediately thrown back into the Middle Ages, well maybe not immediately but within a month. Who could survive such a global disaster? The answer turns out to be people who are devotees of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Middle Earth” Series, Renaissance fanatic and reenacts, and/or people who are Wiccan, and the Scott Irish.
Although I grew up on a steady diet of Tolkien as a child, thanks to my mom (who still has the entire middle earth set that I just used to find out what the baddie from LOTR’s name was. I thought it was Saruman, but hey I should get some credit for knowing he was A LOTR baddie even if he wasn’t The LOTR baddie), I am not a huge fan of Tolkien type fantasy novel, preferring instead Urban Fantasy, but I do love a good (and not so good) Post-Apocalyptic novel. For me Dies The Fire fit this bill both ways.
It is clear the Mr. Stirling loves middle earth. The major baddie in the novel uses the unblinking eye of Sauron as his banner in his bid to become King of the North West, and one young character practically spend the entire novel in her own personal fantasy world of orcs and elves. But the wonderful part about the book is Mr. Stirling gives a nod and a wink to the absurdity of these characters without taking away for the skills this obsession brought to their lives. There are people like this, People who make swords and chain mail in their spare time and consider it a hobby. Anyone who has ever been to an international jousting tournament can attest to that, and yes there are such things. I myself have been working on developing my own “colonial arts” and am now able to grow my own food from heirloom seeds I collected, can and process the vegetables from my own garden, make my own bread from scratch using sourdough starter, make my own soap from oils, and crochet and knit my own clothes. I can also ride a horse, Does that make me a wack job, maybe, Would they be useful skills in a world where you would not be able to run down to the nearest big box store for supplies, undoubtedly.
Beyond that, the characters in the novel are interesting, and the plotting of the story is quick. There is plenty of action and swords fighting. There are several plot points in the novel that seem too coincidental, but the author does not ignore this fact and has characters discuss how some characters seem supernaturally lucky.
I am not going to go into much discussion about the entire Wiccan aspects of the novel. I freely admit that I do not know enough about this religion to voice any sort of opinion about the validity of the Wiccan practices found in Mr. Stirling’s novel. That is for someone who knows something about this religion. All I will say on the matter is that because I do not have a frame of reference to go from, the epilogue at the end of the book, where Lady Juniper blesses her child and all her coven are sighing and looking around in shocked wonder makes absolutely no sense to me. I felt like I should be concerned about what this foreshadows for the child and the community, but again without a frame of reference, I have no idea why.
All and all, this was a high spirited romp down Medieval Fantasy Land. I would give this novel a solid 4 stars, and am planning to read the next book in the series.
4 out of 5 stars
shawniebooks's review
4.0
I'm reading this book tonight thinking about how I'd get to my family in San Diego County while I'm in DC when my mom calls and tells me that Southern California, Arizona, and Baja Mexico are without power. Freaked me out.
I'm finally getting back to the book.
I'm finally getting back to the book.
robivy's review
3.0
Great premise, but not that well executed IMHO. The character development was very good, but the plot went flat about halfway through the book and never regained momentum. It failed to have me on the edge of my seat and became repetitive - the book could have been half as long and just as good. And it was a little annoying not to have more clues as to what caused the change. I will probably not be reading the other books in this series.
lanica's review
3.0
An interesting idea, but written in a very slow and dry style. I have not read the first three books - about Nantucket Island - but I like the idea of a world with no tech, but the story and characters suffer from a very dry hand at work. Very little of the action 'grabs' me, although there is a lot of action. The characters are full of interesting details, but little life. It's a good book that had the potential of being great...but never got there.
nation's review
2.0
Ok, so there are probably people who will like this book. It has an interesting premise which if you're reading this you probably already know, and don't need me to rehash. There are elements of it that I like: a history professor turned villainous warlord setting up shop in the Portland Central Library, the way each group of survivors coalesces around into communities around a different set of virtues, and especially the re-emergence of legend in a world bereft of mass media.
After the initial exposition of the world post-apocalypse, however, the plot is thin, the prose is atrocious, and the characters are so two-dimensional they might get blown over by an Oregon breeze. Stirling doesn't have a subtle bone in his body. By the end of this book I wanted to punch every Wiccan in the face; no matter how much Stirling tried to explain that Wiccans are way less judgmental than everyone else, he still portrayed the only priest as a mouth-frothing witch-hunter.
All in all, yeah, it was ok. If you're a post-apocalyptic geek like me I guess it's worth the time, but only if you're hard-up for a fix.
After the initial exposition of the world post-apocalypse, however, the plot is thin, the prose is atrocious, and the characters are so two-dimensional they might get blown over by an Oregon breeze. Stirling doesn't have a subtle bone in his body. By the end of this book I wanted to punch every Wiccan in the face; no matter how much Stirling tried to explain that Wiccans are way less judgmental than everyone else, he still portrayed the only priest as a mouth-frothing witch-hunter.
All in all, yeah, it was ok. If you're a post-apocalyptic geek like me I guess it's worth the time, but only if you're hard-up for a fix.
leigh_ann_15_deaf's review
2.5
Stirling makes no acknowledgment of deaf reader/consultant.
The profoundly deaf-since-birth character is 14 year old Eilir, daughter of a musician. Nurse told Juniper that Eilir would never speak. Eilir and her mother (along with her mother's friend, Dennis) use “Sign” together. (Presumably this is either ASL or a version of Signed English; it’s never explicitly stated.) The signed dialog is primarily between Eilir and Juniper when they want to share secrets or jokes.
The signed dialog is written out in fluent English as opposed to the broken English style, which is good. My only complaint about how the signing is formatted is that Stirling italicized both signed dialog and internal thoughts — this is sometimes confusing, especially when the author provides the thoughts near or embedded within a signed exchange. It makes it difficult to figure when someone is signing or just thinking.
One thing I don't like is that the author presents "Sign" as something incredibly easy to learn, potentially even as "English on the hands". Astrid studies “Sign” from a book all summer and is fluent enough to have a full conversation with Eilir when they meet. Given how realistic Stirling was with a lot of other stuff, I am especially disappointed in the author's lack of effort in portraying the signing realistically, too.
Unfortunately, we have another instance of the Echo Effect. Eilir reads lips well—perfectly, actually—in English and Gaelic, even during group conversations. She can speechread names of people and places and never requests interpretation or repeats. Juniper even tries to shield Eilir’s eyes at one point to protect her from a grim spoken discussion. While leaning under her mother’s arm, she can still perfectly speechread, even interrupts to correct her mother on a point.
What’s the point of signing if her speechreading skills essentially cancel out her deafness? Why does anyone sign to her if she can understand and perfectly follow everyone’s speech? Dennis and Juniper switch between speaking, signing, and both, and Eilir seems able to keep up with it all.
There's also a reveal (or mistake?) towards end of book that Eilir also speaks—She presses the backs of her wrists to Astrid’s as they chant a ritual spell. To be clear, there's nothing wrong with Eilir being able to speak. But she's presented throughout the novel as having no speech skills or even a desire to speak. It makes me wonder whether this is yet another case of a hearing character being turned deaf in later drafts and rewrites.
The children of the group learn Sign directly from Eilir, during downtime. As the only adolescent role model, Eilir has high status amongst them. She also serves as a school teacher. Eilir enjoys watching the audiences of music performances, since she can’t hear the tunes. She has very little “screentime”.
Eilir disappears from bathhouse scene. She tends to disappear and reappear at random, such as being at the bathhouse one moment and gone the next, or be mentioned here and there, like author forgets she exists and tries to wedge her in once in a while. But she does do things—teach, chores, etc. Just isn’t a major player.
Overall, definitely not the worst deaf representation I’ve seen. But it was disappointing to me personally since I can see how much research Stirling put into things like country living.
The profoundly deaf-since-birth character is 14 year old Eilir, daughter of a musician. Nurse told Juniper that Eilir would never speak. Eilir and her mother (along with her mother's friend, Dennis) use “Sign” together. (Presumably this is either ASL or a version of Signed English; it’s never explicitly stated.) The signed dialog is primarily between Eilir and Juniper when they want to share secrets or jokes.
The signed dialog is written out in fluent English as opposed to the broken English style, which is good. My only complaint about how the signing is formatted is that Stirling italicized both signed dialog and internal thoughts — this is sometimes confusing, especially when the author provides the thoughts near or embedded within a signed exchange. It makes it difficult to figure when someone is signing or just thinking.
One thing I don't like is that the author presents "Sign" as something incredibly easy to learn, potentially even as "English on the hands". Astrid studies “Sign” from a book all summer and is fluent enough to have a full conversation with Eilir when they meet. Given how realistic Stirling was with a lot of other stuff, I am especially disappointed in the author's lack of effort in portraying the signing realistically, too.
Unfortunately, we have another instance of the Echo Effect. Eilir reads lips well—perfectly, actually—in English and Gaelic, even during group conversations. She can speechread names of people and places and never requests interpretation or repeats. Juniper even tries to shield Eilir’s eyes at one point to protect her from a grim spoken discussion. While leaning under her mother’s arm, she can still perfectly speechread, even interrupts to correct her mother on a point.
What’s the point of signing if her speechreading skills essentially cancel out her deafness? Why does anyone sign to her if she can understand and perfectly follow everyone’s speech? Dennis and Juniper switch between speaking, signing, and both, and Eilir seems able to keep up with it all.
There's also a reveal (or mistake?) towards end of book that Eilir also speaks—She presses the backs of her wrists to Astrid’s as they chant a ritual spell. To be clear, there's nothing wrong with Eilir being able to speak. But she's presented throughout the novel as having no speech skills or even a desire to speak. It makes me wonder whether this is yet another case of a hearing character being turned deaf in later drafts and rewrites.
The children of the group learn Sign directly from Eilir, during downtime. As the only adolescent role model, Eilir has high status amongst them. She also serves as a school teacher. Eilir enjoys watching the audiences of music performances, since she can’t hear the tunes. She has very little “screentime”.
Eilir disappears from bathhouse scene. She tends to disappear and reappear at random, such as being at the bathhouse one moment and gone the next, or be mentioned here and there, like author forgets she exists and tries to wedge her in once in a while. But she does do things—teach, chores, etc. Just isn’t a major player.
Overall, definitely not the worst deaf representation I’ve seen. But it was disappointing to me personally since I can see how much research Stirling put into things like country living.
Deaf reader reviewing books with deaf characters. This book is listed on my ranked list of books with deaf characters: https://slacowan.com/2023/01/14/ranked-deaf-characters-in-fiction.