On March 17, 1998, a wave of blinding light seared across the Pacific Northwest, and destroyed all electronics and changed fundamental physics as we know it. Planes fell from the sky and cities burned without fire engines to rescue them; soon residences realized that the Change—as it came to be called—was not temporary. Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling is the story of life after the Change, in a world where cars won’t start, guns don’t work, and even steam power has somehow been knocked out.
Through 573 pages, Dies the Fire passes narration between two major characters: Mike Havel, an ex-marine leading a gung-hoe band of warriors to find a place they can call home, and Juniper Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed witch leading a commune of farmers in rural Oregon. Supporting characters are plentiful, but the reader is never rewarded with their narrations, except a third-rate villain picking up that responsibility on occasion.
When I picked up the book at Borders, the back cover mentioned nothing about the changing physics, which prevents explosives from detonating and makes steam power disappear by some magical means. By taking away all scientific discoveries since the 17th century, Stirling recreates feudalistic Europe in the Pacific Northwest. Even barring my disapproval of Stirling for changing the natural laws of chemistry and physics to further a plot, I was intrigued to see how Dies the Fire would incorporate modern life with the medieval. What I got was one eye-rolling scene of ironclad warriors paragliding into a castle, and a lot of sword-wielding skirmishes that could have come straight from the historical fiction genre.
The entire book is written like a week-long game of World of Warcraft, with Havel and his gang going from town to town solving the locals’ problems of bandits, murders, and cannibals. Castles inhabited by violent groups littered the central Oregon countryside, with only Havel’s group of warriors, nicknamed the Bearkillers, to defend the hapless farmers.
Within a month of the Change, seemingly everyone had already learned the trades of the 1600’s, including blacksmithing, archery, farming, and carpentry. Sure, some people would already know these trades and would adjust perfectly to this new world, but the amount of characters who happened to be horse wranglers, blacksmiths, or bow makers is astounding, especially when the reader does not meet any lawyers or businessmen who are out of luck in the post-Change era.
One of the most frustrating elements of the novel is the lack of any explanation for the Change. Sure, there are theories from major characters—the most popular being “alien space bats” changing everything—but apparently no one cares after the fifth chapter. This is only the first installment of a trilogy—the next two novels are Protector’s War and A Meeting at Corvallis, both of which have been released as hardbacks—so answers may be provided in the later installments.
Dies the Fire is not entirely bad, despite the things I disagree with. Stirling is a master with the written word, making the scenes vivid and the emotions real. He doesn’t just tell a story, he creates a world, and I can see how he needs a full trilogy to encompass all the world has to offer.
Lacking a fondness for historical reenactments or the desire to play in a world of swords and kings, I can safely say this book was not written with me in mind. I could not find myself believing the change in natural laws, which kept me from engrossing myself into the story, greatly handicapping my experience with Stirling’s world. I find myself giving this novel a two out of five, only saved by the author’s skill as a writer. I hope that someone picks up Dies the Fire and enjoys it enough to continue reading, but for me, the plot was too obtuse.
