Finished "Dies The Fire"

Before I jump into my review of the book, i wanted to apologize for my lack of updates. Ive never been a quick reader...i prefer to enjoy and savor every word of a story. It actually took me by surprise to learn a few years ago that most people skim through a page when they read it...not bothering to read every word. I do have that skill, however when reading for enjoyment, I'd like to enjoy, not speed. Secondly, summer classes have been kicking my butt, alot of reading to do there and not much time to recreationally read. On top of that, i have a 5 page paper due soon for a class and so will probably not even start the next book for a week. Not like i have a large readership (hell, i dont even read this, i just write it)...just thought id get that out of the way.

First, Id like to get out of the way the problems regarding editing and proofreading this book. No editor is perfect and flaws always sneak through to the finished product, however as has been the case with every Stirling book ive read so far, an abnormally large number of flaws slip through the cracks to make the final copy. Normally this isnt a problem in the slightest, but the shear number of them, as well as some of them being a bit difficult to puzzle out the author's intended meaning make them noteoworthy.

"Dies the Fire" is the beginning of a series of novels set in the Emberverse of S.M. Stirling. My first exposure to the emberverse were the 'nantucket' series of novels. "Dies the Fire" is set in the same world as the nantucket novels...however with a twist. Dies the Fire deals with the land that was left behind when nantucket was flung 2000 some odd years into the past.

This book deals with two separate, but increasingly joining sets of survivors after an apocalyptic event that changes the laws of physics and kills off many of the people living in the world at the time. The first set are Havel's bearkillers, who tend to be a mercenary group. The second are Clan Mackenzie, who are establishing their own Wiccan commune. The novel's primary focus are the bearkillers and their journey to Larsdalen, where they have decided to set up permanent residence.

As always with Stirling, it seems from description that this book is a snoozer. Indeed there are long descriptions of crop yields and overly descriptive sections of text regarding wiccan rites and phrases. However there is something about Stirling's style that begs that you continue to read until the end. You just HAVE to know what happens next in these books. Ideally, I'd like to see a bit more character evolution. The changes in the characters personalities tend to be broad and sweeping. There is very little motivation for the changes.

I give this book a 7/10. There is that nagging feeling of 'what the crap is this in the book for?'...but there is also that unexplained feeling of 'i need to know!'. I couldnt put this book down when i did find time to read it. As a side note...ive heard from others that the world gets to be a bit more 'magicky' down the road. For one, im glad. I'm very interested in knowing just what caused the change...and i think anything short of vampire space bats, or a higher deity becoming involved in our daily lives would be a disappointment.

For my next book, im going to take on 'Reliquary' the second book in the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Having recently re-read Relic (the first in that series) and having it fresh in my mind, i think will be a good thing. The style of these two authors is incredible. I had forgotten how interesting they are. I'm also sort of working on Final Fantasy II, which i will write a review of when i get the chance.