I didn't finish this one. The story was fairly interesting at the start--a compelling scenario, a number of potentially interesting characters--but it fizzled fairly quickly. It comes off mostly as an adolescent male fantasy where D&D geeks rule with their sword mastery. I actually laughed at the main bad guy, who had assembled gang leaders from across the city, dazzled them by killing four men at once with his awesome sword skills, and had scantily-clad (and very frightened) women serving them. Seriously funny stuff.

Ultimately, though, _Dies_The_Fire_ commits the worst of all offenses: it's boring. After the initial few chapters of people adjusting to the new world, in which electricity and guns no longer work, it turns into a snoozefest. So after making it a little under half way through, I'm putting this one down. With so many other books to read, I can't see trudging through one that doesn't offer any real enjoyment.