The Scourge of God: A Novel of the Change

The literary trend these days is series. Series are wonderful for the true fans because they enable the reader to get ever deeper into an alternate world and experience it in all its richness. However they present an entry problem for new readers. Pick up a random volume to start with and either nothing makes sense or there are so many flashbacks the novel is double the length required to actually tell the story. Now to multiply the difficulty this is a middle book in a middle series in an extremely complex multitextured world such as this author excels at. Almost a 'can you top this' trick. Stirling pulls it off. The story works on its own as a stand alone novel. The few flashbacks definitely give the new reader everything they need to follow a complex story with multiple characters all happening near simultaneously. He gives you a vivid and unlikely post-apocalypse world where electricity, steam and gunpowder no longer function and some magic has returned. It sounds bizarre but he makes it work in all its picaresque glory. This book chronicles a pseudo-Ring quest by a party who all know their Tolkein and can argue who is which character. There is fighting, daring do, romance, intrigue and action enough to satisfy everyone. However for those who know the series there is a whole deeper level of high politics, fates and clashing cultures. Enough to make you want to go back and read/reread it all from the beginning. Many creative try for this double level. A few series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer succeed. Add Stirling's Emberverse to that list of successes.

I LOVE the first 3 books of this series (I am referring to the "Dies the Fire" trilogy, not the "Island in the Sea of Time" trilogy, which is related but not about the same characters.) So I was very excited to learn that there were books about the children of the Change. Well... yeah. No.Apparently, aside from the changes to technology, the Change also made people insufferably affected and one-dimensional. Immediately. (Because this book occurs less than 25 years after the Change.) After so little time, everybody is now a caricature of something - Scots/Irish highlander, medieval feudal stereotype, Tolkein character, cowboy, indian, wild-eyed cult member. And they are either completely good - meaning utterly without flaw - or completely bad.The main character, Rudi Mackenzie, is so perfect that it's honestly jarring when he alludes to the fact that he actually has bodily functions. I am dead serious - as I read that part, I actually thought, "Huh? Oh, yeah, he's supposed to be a normal human." I mean, please - the buffalo escape? COME ON. There's suspending disbelief and then there is farce.This kind of hero quest story only works when you love and care about the hero. Rudi Mackenzie is impossible to care about because a.) everyone (including him) loves him passionately, b.) he is a cardboard cut-out, and c.) he is a selfish idiot. He gleefully puts everyone around him (friends, strangers, entire civilizations) in danger and lets them die for him (without a qualm by him or them, mind you) rather than use a little forethought (duh - you decide to take a little vacation, you think the people chasing you will take one?) and a little bit of discretion.I struggled through this book hoping it would get better. I don't see that happening. I wanted to stay with this out of respect for the greatness of the first 3 books. But I might very well pretend the Change series ended there.

I love S. M. Stirling's Change series. It's a post-apocalyptic world where electricity, engines, and gunpowder have ceased to function. The Scourge of God is in the middle of the series, so don't begin with it. If you haven't read any of the series yet, start with the first one, which is called Dies the Fire. Then you'll get the background for how dreamy romantic hero Rudi Mackenzie came to be on his quest across the wilds of North America, pursued by a crazy cult whose priests can channel the Devil when you fight them.Warning: after reading the series you will feel very ill-equipped to face the world. You may feel an urge to play mad catch-up by teaching yourself archery, horsemanship, martial arts, and farming.

Rudi and his companions travel across the former United States, a generation after "The Change" killed off technology and plunged the world into a new Dark Age, on his vision-quest to Nantucket for the "Sword of the Lady".

Yet another excellent read from author S.M. Stirling. S.M. has clearly done a lot of homework and fact-gathering in order to write these captivating and palatable novels.Since reading the first novel of this series, "Dies the Fire", I immediately began seeking out all subsequent novels in the series. I can't get enough! My only issue with the series is the forethought that it will eventually come to an end and I'll be left wanting more of these stories, without another to read. I look forward to continuing through this journey with well-depicted and relate-able characters in a world reborn.Although each book can be read independently of the preceding novels, I highly recommend starting from the beginning. It provides more in-depth background to the characters and their stories, and each is thought-provoking and notable.Have YOU ever thought about what would happen if the lights suddenly went out... for good?

I have read the entire series and was actually mildly distraught when I came to the end of the currently-published books. A great series can become like a friend or companion and I was sad to see this one go. I normally would never even consider re-reading a series (because there are always so many books out there waiting to be read!!) but I am genuinely tempted by this one. I will gladly come back and read any subsequent books the author might add, and will definitely be recommending this series highly to my book worm peers <3

Excellent series.

in good condition as descrobed

Bought this as a Christmas present froma wish list. Asked receiver and he is very happy with it.