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Here We Go Again

Customer Rating:

Stirling is off yet again with another series based on his post-apocalyptic world where guns won't go boom, high-compression engines won't turn, and electricity only works inside bodies. This time, Stirling holds out the possibility that the answer to what befell mankind is to be found on the island of Nantucket. An island that shows no sign of ever having been occupied in modern times. Readers of other Stirling series will know where our version of the island went, and where the "current" version must have come from. The focus this time is on the new generation of players, mostly born after the fall of civilization. Interestingly, the major characters from the Dies The Fire series are seen here only in cameo appearances. This story is about young Rudy and his companions as they set off from Oregon for Nantucket, facing evil governments, assassins, blizzards, and all the usual hazards you would expect. Stirling's skill with characters and narrative stand up well here, which is why I gave the book three stars. But this is really just more of what he has done before repeatedly. It's a pleasant time waster, but there is nothing new here. Maybe, if he ever gets to the point of wrapping up this whole thread....

Very interesting.	Customer Rating:
This book was a fitting transition from "Meeting at Corvalis". I got a little bogged down in Corvalis. The book is a nice beginning to your typical go destroy the big bad guy story. Well worn but still interesting. The only problem I had with this book was that the author took several hundred pages to cover only about a hundred miles or so of a transcontinental journey.

Fantastic: The book I was hoping "Dies The Fire" would be

Customer Rating:

*WARNING - Minor Spoilers* The Sunrise lands is a fantastic read, far better then the first three "Change" novels. When I first bought "Dies the Fire", I was hoping for something along the lines of Stephen King's "The Stand", where you get to read the adventures of the last few survivors of a dying world. What I (and you, probably) got was a goofy world where Dungeons & Dragons fans were able to create a new world order, in part because of a change in the laws of physics. Silly as it was, I cared about the characters and did enjoy the original trilogy. The Sunrise Lands picks up 22 years after "Dies the Fire". Rudi, Matti, and Mike Havel's twin daughters are young adults who start a trip toward Nantucket (where The Change is believed to have begun). This is the novel I had hoped for when I first started reading this series. We're let in on whats been happening in the rest of the country. From the children of "Dies the Fire"'s cannibles (now just known as Savages), to the "Provisional U.S. Capital" in Boise, Idaho and more. The Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT) are much more interesting bad guys than Portland ever was, and their war with New Deseret (The Mormons) makes for a great backdrop to the main story. Readers of the original trilogy may be dissapointed that we don't get to visit with the Bearkillers, but the long, drawn out descriptions of Mackenzie rituals or characters' ethnic backgrounds are left out of this book, (almost a fair trade). I didn't really mean to bash the originals, I like them, but The Sunrise Lands just does a great job of adding everything that was missing from the original trilogy and not bringing the negatives with it. As a last note, and the minor spoiler, I really, really liked that the U.S. government is "kind of" still around. I love the idea Capt Thurston (Sr, not Jr.) kept his oath to support and defend the constitution, and that he managed to keep a part of the country going (with plans of re-unification) even amid the craziness that came with The Change. If you haven't read the first three novels, I reccomend reading this one first. Sure, you'll know how the originals ended in just a few pages, but you'll be less likely to be put off by the weird direction "Dies the Fire" takes. If you have read the first three, this is the book you've been waiting for....

another stellar outing by stirling

Customer Rating:

For fans of the change series, Sunrise Lands will open up new doors of discovery and exploration. For fans new to the series, your imagination will be taken on a 5 star cruise through one of the most thrilling, yet human, science fiction series on the market right now. Sunrise Land works well on many levels, however, where it excels the most is the development of its characters and the evolution of its protagonist. Rudi and his friends and family are carefully brought to life with equal attention and carefully crafted elements where they each have their own moments to shine. Their dangers are made real as well as their problems both human and political. I can go on and on for my love of this series, however, you owe it to yourself to give it a whirl. If you are just starting out, remember that the unreal is made real and there maybe forces out there that want humanity to be humbled before the face of god.

slow

Customer Rating:

The "change" books by S. M. Stirling started off pretty good. I liked Dies The Fire a lot. But since then these books have gotten slower and slower. In The Sunrise Lands, practically nothing happens that advances the plot. It's like an episode of a sitcom that has been running for ten years and all the characters are still stuck in senior year at high-school. I would actually like to know what was the cause of the Change, but I am afraid that it's going to take another eighteen books to get there. Pick up the pace!