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Emberverse #6
The Sword of the Lady (Change Series) 1st (first) edition Text Only
The New York Times bestselling author continues his “epic of survival and rebirth” (Library Journal), chronicling a modern world without technology.
Rudi Mackenzie has journeyed far across the land that was once the United States of America, hoping to find the source of the world-altering event that has come to be known as The Change. His final destination is Nantucket, an island overrun with forest, inhabited by a mere two hundred people who claim to have been transported there from out of time.
Only one odd stone house remains standing. Within it, Rudi finds a beautifully made sword waiting for him—and once he takes it up, nothing will ever be the same…
Rudi Mackenzie has journeyed far across the land that was once the United States of America, hoping to find the source of the world-altering event that has come to be known as The Change. His final destination is Nantucket, an island overrun with forest, inhabited by a mere two hundred people who claim to have been transported there from out of time.
Only one odd stone house remains standing. Within it, Rudi finds a beautifully made sword waiting for him—and once he takes it up, nothing will ever be the same…
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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About the author
S.M. Stirling
172 books1,638 followersStephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.
MINI AUTO-BIOGRAPHY:
(personal website: source)
I’m a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft. I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.
MINI AUTO-BIOGRAPHY:
(personal website: source)
I’m a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft. I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 201 reviews
August 4, 2014
The third in a six book series about the quest of Rudi McKenzie and company to retrieve the Sword of the Lady from Nantucket Island, and then somehow use it to defeat the Cutters (Church Universal and Triumphant). I liked it better than the first two installments, but not anywhere near as much as i liked the original Change trilogy, or the Nantucket series.
Things are moving along fairly nicely. We get some very cool glimpses of struggling new societies in a wrecked United States. But I find myself not caring that much about Rudi or any of his compatriots. As a hero, for me, he is simply too heroic and wonderful to be very likable. I found myself actually more interested in the military leader of the Cutters, and we only get a few glimpses of him. But he felt more real to me than anyone in the hero's party.
From here on out, there are going to be spoilers. So beware.
I had some problems with the way Stirling dealt with his narrative here. He tended to have major events come offscreen. Two main characters die in battle, but the fight that kills them is off-screen. I was very disappointed that Jake died. He was a promising new character, with some true flaws, and he had already shown signs of growth and had the potential to develop into an interesting character. I was more disappointed that we simply learn of his death after the action of the battle occurred.
Stirling does a similar thing with Odard, who has been a running character, and is the first hint that the main party actually is in danger. We don't see Odard get wounded. He dashes off in the battle, and then in the aftermath he is mortally wounded, but gets to have a lingering death scene. I could understand these cut-aways if we had to stick to a single point of view. Or if it was for the sake of realism. But it doesn't feel like the elisions serve much purpose at all.
Rudi's retrieval of the sword seemed similar to me. He goes into a room that is the heart of magic on Nantucket and sees the shape of the sword. Then there's a long vision where he gets to talk to God, in the form of his mother and two characters from the Nantucket books, and hears some nonsense about what caused the change and what his purpose is. (More on the nonsense later.) Then his followers see him emerging from the room, bloodied, holding the sheathed sword in his hand. So, the crucial moment that we have built up to for three books actually occurs offscreen. It's not that big a gap, and it might not even be important, but it still bothered me.
Now, for the nonsense. In the Nantucket series, Nantucket Island gets popped into prehistoric times in some alternate world timeline. It's a very cool series, and there's never much of an explanation of what happened to the island or why. But the characters do very cool things by introducing modern technology into a world where, for instance, Odysseus is a real person. In the Change series, electricity and explosions no longer work, basically killing off all technology, and almost all humanity as a result. The rumors are that the change occurred at Nantucket, and it occurred at the same time as the event occurred in the Nantucket series. So it looks like the two series are related.
Here, Rudy gets to Nantucket and has a vision where he sees something that is like the Universal mind. It appears to him as his own mom, and two characters from the Nantucket series. The vision explains to Rudy that it has appeared to him in a form that he can understand. So why the Nantucket characters? Its not like they add anything to Rudy's understanding. That's just a bone for readers and fans of the Nantucket series, but it doesn't seem to have any genuine purpose here.
Moreover, the god/mind/women tell Rudy that the Cutters are basically also a product of the gods, and result from god arguing with itself. That's fine, but then why am I rooting for Rudy? I'm uncomfortable with the idea that people have to put up with all of this shit simply because God is having a bad day and can't make up his mind. It sounds like a bad explanation with me, and it leaves me with many more questions than I had before.
And the God figure also explains that the Change occurred because man was in too much danger of destroying himself with technology, and so the god/mind decided to give man a do-over. I guess 95-99% destruction of humanity is better than total destruction. But there's a suggestion that the second chance is in the hope that man will do it better the second time around. But that makes me wonder how they will do it better, since the means of doing much of anything at all have been taken away. I did not see this, in any way, as a promise that electric and explosive power would be restored. So the suggestion that men would learn better the second time around rings hollow to me.
There were a few moving scenes toward the end. I actually liked Odard's death scene. Even more, I liked the scene in Maine where they had a big oath giving ritual. As much as I'm cold to Rudy, I found the oaths his followers gave to be touching. I also loved the introduction of another new, and promising character, in Asgerd. She's a woman who lost her betrothed and gave solemn oath that she would give ten-fold vengeance for the death. Her character is still just a sketch, but she is wounded, deeply flawed, and likable.
I really liked the first three books in the Emberverse, and to a certain extent, the strength of them keeps me going in this series. I like Stirling's vision of a ruined United States, and I think he's done a very good job showing a multitude of different societies growing out of the ashes. I don't much like the quest/fantasy basis of this second series. It's fun to encounter each new society, but it would be more fun if Rudy were less perfect. I'm sure that I will continue to at least the end of this series, and maybe even into the new trilogy to come. But I'm doing that more because I'm interested in Clan McKenzie, the Bearkillers, and the Portland Protection Association, and less because I have any real attachment to any of the heroes in this series.
Things are moving along fairly nicely. We get some very cool glimpses of struggling new societies in a wrecked United States. But I find myself not caring that much about Rudi or any of his compatriots. As a hero, for me, he is simply too heroic and wonderful to be very likable. I found myself actually more interested in the military leader of the Cutters, and we only get a few glimpses of him. But he felt more real to me than anyone in the hero's party.
From here on out, there are going to be spoilers. So beware.
I had some problems with the way Stirling dealt with his narrative here. He tended to have major events come offscreen. Two main characters die in battle, but the fight that kills them is off-screen. I was very disappointed that Jake died. He was a promising new character, with some true flaws, and he had already shown signs of growth and had the potential to develop into an interesting character. I was more disappointed that we simply learn of his death after the action of the battle occurred.
Stirling does a similar thing with Odard, who has been a running character, and is the first hint that the main party actually is in danger. We don't see Odard get wounded. He dashes off in the battle, and then in the aftermath he is mortally wounded, but gets to have a lingering death scene. I could understand these cut-aways if we had to stick to a single point of view. Or if it was for the sake of realism. But it doesn't feel like the elisions serve much purpose at all.
Rudi's retrieval of the sword seemed similar to me. He goes into a room that is the heart of magic on Nantucket and sees the shape of the sword. Then there's a long vision where he gets to talk to God, in the form of his mother and two characters from the Nantucket books, and hears some nonsense about what caused the change and what his purpose is. (More on the nonsense later.) Then his followers see him emerging from the room, bloodied, holding the sheathed sword in his hand. So, the crucial moment that we have built up to for three books actually occurs offscreen. It's not that big a gap, and it might not even be important, but it still bothered me.
Now, for the nonsense. In the Nantucket series, Nantucket Island gets popped into prehistoric times in some alternate world timeline. It's a very cool series, and there's never much of an explanation of what happened to the island or why. But the characters do very cool things by introducing modern technology into a world where, for instance, Odysseus is a real person. In the Change series, electricity and explosions no longer work, basically killing off all technology, and almost all humanity as a result. The rumors are that the change occurred at Nantucket, and it occurred at the same time as the event occurred in the Nantucket series. So it looks like the two series are related.
Here, Rudy gets to Nantucket and has a vision where he sees something that is like the Universal mind. It appears to him as his own mom, and two characters from the Nantucket series. The vision explains to Rudy that it has appeared to him in a form that he can understand. So why the Nantucket characters? Its not like they add anything to Rudy's understanding. That's just a bone for readers and fans of the Nantucket series, but it doesn't seem to have any genuine purpose here.
Moreover, the god/mind/women tell Rudy that the Cutters are basically also a product of the gods, and result from god arguing with itself. That's fine, but then why am I rooting for Rudy? I'm uncomfortable with the idea that people have to put up with all of this shit simply because God is having a bad day and can't make up his mind. It sounds like a bad explanation with me, and it leaves me with many more questions than I had before.
And the God figure also explains that the Change occurred because man was in too much danger of destroying himself with technology, and so the god/mind decided to give man a do-over. I guess 95-99% destruction of humanity is better than total destruction. But there's a suggestion that the second chance is in the hope that man will do it better the second time around. But that makes me wonder how they will do it better, since the means of doing much of anything at all have been taken away. I did not see this, in any way, as a promise that electric and explosive power would be restored. So the suggestion that men would learn better the second time around rings hollow to me.
There were a few moving scenes toward the end. I actually liked Odard's death scene. Even more, I liked the scene in Maine where they had a big oath giving ritual. As much as I'm cold to Rudy, I found the oaths his followers gave to be touching. I also loved the introduction of another new, and promising character, in Asgerd. She's a woman who lost her betrothed and gave solemn oath that she would give ten-fold vengeance for the death. Her character is still just a sketch, but she is wounded, deeply flawed, and likable.
I really liked the first three books in the Emberverse, and to a certain extent, the strength of them keeps me going in this series. I like Stirling's vision of a ruined United States, and I think he's done a very good job showing a multitude of different societies growing out of the ashes. I don't much like the quest/fantasy basis of this second series. It's fun to encounter each new society, but it would be more fun if Rudy were less perfect. I'm sure that I will continue to at least the end of this series, and maybe even into the new trilogy to come. But I'm doing that more because I'm interested in Clan McKenzie, the Bearkillers, and the Portland Protection Association, and less because I have any real attachment to any of the heroes in this series.
December 11, 2009
This book was exactly like the last one. I feel like the author found something that worked with the first change trilogy, and then, added on, yet, never really progressed. It is predictable, and often times, boring. All of the battle scenes are the same. I kind of felt like, I'd make it two chapters, and there hadn't been a battle, so, a battle there would be, nameless people get hurt, and the good guys always win. I'll probly read the next book, just because I've invested some time in this series... But, my advice is, stop at the first trilogy.
June 22, 2015
This is the sixth book in the change series, and the last one I am going to read. It started out pretty great, with an interesting premise (advanced technology doesn't work anymore, there is even some technobabble explaining the details of what kinda works). The survivors, which are not many, have to make do in the new world.
Starting in book 4, the series deals less with the communities and more with a quest reminiscent of the search for the grail. An evil organization in league with the devil threatens all that is well and good, and Rudy, the protagonist, and his friends must find the holy sword to make everything better.
Also starting in book 4, the series enters its decline. Actual magic enters the picture, as does fate and prophecy, fundamentally changing the premise of the series. Additionally, we spent books 5 and 6 traveling over the USA and visiting different communities. Unfortunately, those visits are INCREDIBLY repetitive, always following the same pattern, often reusing similar formulations. No less than a quarter of book six is spent on rehashing events of previous books. I hate that.
There are a few other details I dislike - a whole region praying to the northern pantheon? - but the most important point is that I found myself skipping whole pages, with thoughts of "ehh, that again" and waiting for the book to end. I do recommend the series, but do yourselves a favour and stop with book three.
Starting in book 4, the series deals less with the communities and more with a quest reminiscent of the search for the grail. An evil organization in league with the devil threatens all that is well and good, and Rudy, the protagonist, and his friends must find the holy sword to make everything better.
Also starting in book 4, the series enters its decline. Actual magic enters the picture, as does fate and prophecy, fundamentally changing the premise of the series. Additionally, we spent books 5 and 6 traveling over the USA and visiting different communities. Unfortunately, those visits are INCREDIBLY repetitive, always following the same pattern, often reusing similar formulations. No less than a quarter of book six is spent on rehashing events of previous books. I hate that.
There are a few other details I dislike - a whole region praying to the northern pantheon? - but the most important point is that I found myself skipping whole pages, with thoughts of "ehh, that again" and waiting for the book to end. I do recommend the series, but do yourselves a favour and stop with book three.
May 17, 2015
Sixth in the overall Emberverse apocalyptic science fiction series and revolving around Rudi Mackenzie. It's also the third novel of Emberverse II: The Change. If you're interested, there is a chronological listing of the Emberverse books on my website.
It's August of Change Year 24 (2022 AD), and the expedition has reached Des Moines while Rudi and Edain are heading into the Wild Lands, formerly known as Illinois.
My Take
The story revolves between the "states" that have allied as the Meeting of Corvallis, the battles they fight against the CUT, but most of the story is about Rudi and his company.
This is a journey with purpose — besides getting that sword that is supposed to save their world — as Rudi makes alliances every step of the way to Nantucket with Matti's help in Iowa. The trip has also made him appreciate Matti's mother, Sandra, more. The reasons for her policies and how they differ from his mother's. Wisdom he could never have learned otherwise, and it makes him more aware that wisdom comes in many shapes and from many people.
It's this journey and the time it allows for reflection that solves the problem of who will rule in the future. It also gives Odard time to come to his own conclusions and beliefs while the lessons learned from Master Hao in The Scourge of God , 5, crop up throughout The Sword of the Lady.
It's an interesting conversation between Rudi and Colonel Heuisink about the differences between those who were alive before the Change and the Changelings. The colonel notes that the young ones are living the legends while Rudi says that the older ones spent more time living in their heads, contemplating life instead of living it.
It's a bit chilling when Rudi and company encounter the bear. One that was pushed by outside forces into being more combative than usual. I suspect it's Rudi's ritual that soothes the bear gods and sends bears to slow down the Corwinites chasing them. More chilling is the wrecked ship wedged onshore, the –mund Fitz–, Matti and the Southsiders come upon.
I do like Ritva's curiosity about the Lord of the Rings and wondering how those Rangers managed to take care of their weapons and clothes, how they paid their bar tab and for their beds at night. It's something I've always been curious about too.
One of the Mackenzie customs is diametrically opposed to the Catholic Protectorate, that of lying with a consenting partner outside of marriage. Rudi makes an interesting point toward the end about the Catholic concern about sins, that "in his experience they also broke their taboos more often than his clansfolk did, and were more likely to practice hypocrisy, and also to wrack themselves with guilt." Too true.
It took me weeks to read The Sword of the Lady because I kept setting it down. My heart raced, I worried about who would die next, what direction the next battle would take. And I had to read on, if only because I love the warmth of Rudi and his care for the people who follow him, his honor in taking on such a task while knowing what lies ahead for him, that he dwells on how others rule their own, and especially that he is willing to learn.
This story is particularly interesting as Stirling provides us with a tour across the northern border of the United States, of groups of people who have survived and their customs. I'm looking forward to, with trepidation, reading The High King of Montival .
The Story
Rudi and Edain must retrieve the wagons Ingold had to abandon and get them back to Des Moines to save Matti, Ingolf, and the rest.
Nor is it easy for those they left back home in Oregon, for the Cutters are allied with Boise and Pendleton and coming after the Mackenzies, Portland, Corvallis, and the rest.
It's Heidhveig's vision that tells the Bjornings to aid Rudi, for if he fails, Ragnarök will come.
The Characters
The expedition is focused on…
…reaching Nantucket and retrieving the sword. Rudi "Artos" Mackenzie is their leader and Juniper's son. He's still riding Epona. Edain Aylward Mackenzie is his childhood friend, blade-brother, sworn man, and a champion archer. Garbh is Edain's half-mastiff bitch. Princess Mathilda, Matti, is the heir to the Portland Association and a good fighter herself. Father Ignatius is of the Shield of St. Benedict at Mount Angel and has been chosen by the Virgin Mary in The Scourge of God . Sir Odard Liu, Baron Gervais, is falling in love with Matti, although it won't interfere with his plans for her. Ingolf Vogeler is a mercenary originally from Wisconsin; now he's a prisoner in Heasleroad's jail. Mary (she still has Rochael) and Ritva Havel are twins and Rudi's half-sisters. They're also excellent scouts. Mary is engaged to Ingolf. Fred Thurston is the youngest son of the assassinated president of Boise and getting cozy with Virginia Kane, a rancher's daughter who fled the CUT.
Des Moines is…
…Bossman Anthony Heasleroad's turf. And he's a madman. Kate Heasleroad is Anthony's wife, and she actually loves him?! Tommie is their son. Annette is his nursemaid. The State Police are his household troops, a.k.a., the Brute Squad. Captain Edgar Denson is their leader. Captain Butler is one of the guardsmen. Farmers and Sheriffs are titles much like count and baron are in the Protectorate. Vaki is short for evacuee; think peasant and you've got it. They have a Cardinal-Archbishop.
Colonel Abel Heuisink is a landholder and part of the Progressive party, the opposition to Heasleroad. His son Jack served with Ingolf and they're friends. Tancredo is a smuggler and a friend of Ingolf's.
The Southside Freedom Fighters are…
…some of the wild-men Rudi and company have met along the way. This particular group is much more civilized. Well, at least they don't eat their victims. Jake sunna Jake is the big man, chief, of the Fighters. His brothers are Murdy, Tuk, and Samuel.
Their enemies include the Knifers.
Readstown, Wisconsin is…
…part of the Free Republic of Richland and where Ingolf came from. His brother, Ed, is the Sheriff and head of the local National Guard. It's a toss-up as to whether Ingolf will be welcome. Mark, Dave, Melly, young Ingolf, Sue, and Jenny are Ed and Wanda's kids. Kathy and Alice are Ingolf and Ed's sisters, both married. Aunt Cindy.
Pierre Walks Quiet is Ojibwa and their chief forester and game warden. Weiss is one of the young men with whom Rudi trains. Al Clements was the bossman back in Ingolf's youth; now his son Bill is the leader. Harry is the cousin-in-law of Ed's sister, and he's married to Janet.
Norrheim, Maine used to be…
…Aroostook County. Now its residents follow viking ways and its religion. Heidhveig is their leading seer who communes with spirits. Seems she knew Juniper before the Change. She also knew Sandra and Norman Arminger. Thorlind Williamsdottir is a godwoman, a seer who now leads the seidh group. Sven Jacobsson and Ingmar Marcellesson are part of Kalk the Shipwright's garth and seeing Heidhveig safe to Eriksson's.
The steading of Godhi Bjarni Eriksson is…
…also known as Eriksgarth and is the senior chiftainship, head of the Bjornings, and home of the Althing's meeting ground. Harberga Janetsdottir is Bjarni's wife. Swanhild is one of their children. Gudrun is his sister. Roderic Karlsson, Thorolf Pierresson, and Olaf Davesson are some of his men. Hrolf Homersson thinks he can best Mary. *snicker* He'll accompany them to Nantucket as well. Ranulf Waltersson is Bjarni's uncle and will be the thul of the sumbel, a winter feast and time of oath taking. Sigurd Jeansson was Asgerd Karlsdottir's betrothed out on a viking trip. Rudi will name her Ulfhild Swift-sword. Now she'll take oath to accompany Rudi and company to Nantucket.
Erik Waltersson, Bjarni's father, was the man who pulled the Bjornings together and ensured their survival. A godhi is a chief.
The steading of Kalk the Shipwright is…
…located in what was formerly Washington County in Maine. Olaf Knutsson is Thorlind's nephew. Thorleif Heidhveigsson is the man who will seize one enemy ship along with Odinleif, Thorvin, and Freyjadis.
Clan Mackenzie is…
…led by Juniper Mackenzie of Dun Juniper. Sir Nigel Loring is her husband. Their daughters are Maude and Fiorbhinn (she's the one who's inherited her mother's music). Chuck Barstow died at Pendleton in The Scourge of God . Judy Barstow is Chuck's widow. His son, Oak, has taken over. Timmy Martins Mackenzie is their brewmaster these days.
Dun Laurel
Sam Aylward is its lord, Edain's father. In his sixties, he's retired from being First Armsman. Melissa is his wife. Richard is a younger son.
The Dúnedain Rangers are…
…led by Astrid Larsson who is married to Alleyne Loring, Sir Nigel's son. Little John Hordle is his childhood friend and married to the other leader of the Rangers, Eilir Mackenzie, Juniper's deaf daughter. They have two children: Beregond and Iorlas.
It's hard to believe that Sir Nigel, Alleyne, and Little John have been here for 16 years.
The Bearkillers were…
…created by Mike Havel and are now led by Signe Larsson Havel, his widow. Mike Jr. is the heir. Eric Larsson is Signe's twin brother. Dr. Aaron Rothman is the chief doctor still.
Mount Angel is…
…a military monastery led by Abbot-Bishop Dmwoski. Friar Matthew is a Church courier. Brother Jerome has been assigned as a liaison to the PPA forces in the northeast.
The Central Oregon Ranchers' Association is…
…referred to as CORA and are a loose-knit organization of ranchers who have allied with Clan Mackenzie and the Bearkillers. John Brown of Seffridge Ranch is one of its leading members.
Corvallis is…
…a university town that has held onto its educational roots. Edward Finney, Luther's son, has allied himself and his supporters with Clan Mackenzie.
Kyklos is…
…a "scatter of independent villages around Silverton". Beatriz "BD" Dorothea is part of the imbolc working to raise power, asking for help to see into peoples' hearts.
Portland Protectorate Association (PPA)
Lady Sandra Arminger is Matti's mother and a wise and wicked ruler. Jehane is her confidential secretary. The Lord High Chancellor is Conrad Renfrew, the Count of Odell. The Grand Constable Tiphaine d'Ath, Baroness d'Ath, had been a gymnast who had hoped to participate in the Olympics before the Change. Count Piotr Alexevitch Stavarov is one of the vassals they expect to switch sides. Sir Ivo Marks is one of Tiphaine's protégés and in command of Castle Campscapell.
Barony of Ath
Sir Lothair is the Guard captain. Father Mendoza is their priest. Lady Delia de Stafford is Tiphaine's lover, but also a witch and High Priestess of a coven. Lionel and Diomede are Delia's sons and pages to Tiphaine. Heuradys is Delia's latest babe.
Pendleton is…
…an association of ranchers. Their former bossman, Carl Peters, was kidnapped by the Rangers in The Scourge of God . The association has now allied itself with Boise and the Cutters.
The United States of Boise is…
…led by their first president's assassin, his son, President-General Martin Thurston.
The Moors are…
…a general term for blaumenn, a.k.a., blue-men. Abdou al-Naari is the part-owner and captain of the Bou el-Mogdad, and he doesn't trust these men of the Prophet. His family is of the Tidjiane brotherhood. Ahmed is his son. Jawara is his subordinate, brother-in-law, and captain of her sister ship, Gisandu which means "Shark". Falilu is his bosun. Dia is another of his men, a younger cousin. The Marabout, Cheik Ibra, is a holy man supposedly in favor with the Grand Khalif of the Mourides, another brotherhood which was founded by Cheik Bamba.
The Corwinites are…
…also known as the Cutters or the CUT and are based in Montana. It's a demon that has infested them, made some of them invulnerable and farseeing. They intend to conquer the world and force all to their way of worship. Major Graber leads the Sword of the Prophet, a military troop, hunting for Rudi and company. The High Seeker Dalan is the man, thing really, in charge. Vender and Roberts are two of his remaining lieutenants. The Bekwa are an Indian tribe who will do scouting for the Corwinites.
Montival is a Changeling name, one created from all the different populations in Oregon. Changelings are those who were born after the Change.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a white background on top. On the bottom half, it's a smudgy brown with the golden light of the sunset creating a halo around a black vest and pant-clad Rudi, sword over his shoulder, his scabbard at his thigh, and a determined look on his face, standing on the shore of his destination: Nantucket. The origin of the EMP that took down the world.
The title is the object of Rudi's quest: The Sword of the Lady. Yeah, I don't think it's any accident that Rudi was also named Artos at his birth.
It's August of Change Year 24 (2022 AD), and the expedition has reached Des Moines while Rudi and Edain are heading into the Wild Lands, formerly known as Illinois.
My Take
The story revolves between the "states" that have allied as the Meeting of Corvallis, the battles they fight against the CUT, but most of the story is about Rudi and his company.
This is a journey with purpose — besides getting that sword that is supposed to save their world — as Rudi makes alliances every step of the way to Nantucket with Matti's help in Iowa. The trip has also made him appreciate Matti's mother, Sandra, more. The reasons for her policies and how they differ from his mother's. Wisdom he could never have learned otherwise, and it makes him more aware that wisdom comes in many shapes and from many people.
It's this journey and the time it allows for reflection that solves the problem of who will rule in the future. It also gives Odard time to come to his own conclusions and beliefs while the lessons learned from Master Hao in The Scourge of God , 5, crop up throughout The Sword of the Lady.
"…by following Rudi, I've found enemies worth fighting, and a man…a King…worth following. I will follow him and raise my sons to follow his."Lol, someone is reading Piers Anthony.
It's an interesting conversation between Rudi and Colonel Heuisink about the differences between those who were alive before the Change and the Changelings. The colonel notes that the young ones are living the legends while Rudi says that the older ones spent more time living in their heads, contemplating life instead of living it.
"We do not ever know ourselves completely. How can we know another?"Lady Sandra's reaction to Matti's news about the new name for Oregon and their pledges to Rudi is most unexpected. Fred intends for Boise to be part of Montival.
It's a bit chilling when Rudi and company encounter the bear. One that was pushed by outside forces into being more combative than usual. I suspect it's Rudi's ritual that soothes the bear gods and sends bears to slow down the Corwinites chasing them. More chilling is the wrecked ship wedged onshore, the –mund Fitz–, Matti and the Southsiders come upon.
I do like Ritva's curiosity about the Lord of the Rings and wondering how those Rangers managed to take care of their weapons and clothes, how they paid their bar tab and for their beds at night. It's something I've always been curious about too.
One of the Mackenzie customs is diametrically opposed to the Catholic Protectorate, that of lying with a consenting partner outside of marriage. Rudi makes an interesting point toward the end about the Catholic concern about sins, that "in his experience they also broke their taboos more often than his clansfolk did, and were more likely to practice hypocrisy, and also to wrack themselves with guilt." Too true.
It took me weeks to read The Sword of the Lady because I kept setting it down. My heart raced, I worried about who would die next, what direction the next battle would take. And I had to read on, if only because I love the warmth of Rudi and his care for the people who follow him, his honor in taking on such a task while knowing what lies ahead for him, that he dwells on how others rule their own, and especially that he is willing to learn.
This story is particularly interesting as Stirling provides us with a tour across the northern border of the United States, of groups of people who have survived and their customs. I'm looking forward to, with trepidation, reading The High King of Montival .
"…where you are, home is. For there my heart dwells."
The Story
Rudi and Edain must retrieve the wagons Ingold had to abandon and get them back to Des Moines to save Matti, Ingolf, and the rest.
Nor is it easy for those they left back home in Oregon, for the Cutters are allied with Boise and Pendleton and coming after the Mackenzies, Portland, Corvallis, and the rest.
It's Heidhveig's vision that tells the Bjornings to aid Rudi, for if he fails, Ragnarök will come.
The Characters
The expedition is focused on…
…reaching Nantucket and retrieving the sword. Rudi "Artos" Mackenzie is their leader and Juniper's son. He's still riding Epona. Edain Aylward Mackenzie is his childhood friend, blade-brother, sworn man, and a champion archer. Garbh is Edain's half-mastiff bitch. Princess Mathilda, Matti, is the heir to the Portland Association and a good fighter herself. Father Ignatius is of the Shield of St. Benedict at Mount Angel and has been chosen by the Virgin Mary in The Scourge of God . Sir Odard Liu, Baron Gervais, is falling in love with Matti, although it won't interfere with his plans for her. Ingolf Vogeler is a mercenary originally from Wisconsin; now he's a prisoner in Heasleroad's jail. Mary (she still has Rochael) and Ritva Havel are twins and Rudi's half-sisters. They're also excellent scouts. Mary is engaged to Ingolf. Fred Thurston is the youngest son of the assassinated president of Boise and getting cozy with Virginia Kane, a rancher's daughter who fled the CUT.
Des Moines is…
…Bossman Anthony Heasleroad's turf. And he's a madman. Kate Heasleroad is Anthony's wife, and she actually loves him?! Tommie is their son. Annette is his nursemaid. The State Police are his household troops, a.k.a., the Brute Squad. Captain Edgar Denson is their leader. Captain Butler is one of the guardsmen. Farmers and Sheriffs are titles much like count and baron are in the Protectorate. Vaki is short for evacuee; think peasant and you've got it. They have a Cardinal-Archbishop.
Colonel Abel Heuisink is a landholder and part of the Progressive party, the opposition to Heasleroad. His son Jack served with Ingolf and they're friends. Tancredo is a smuggler and a friend of Ingolf's.
The Southside Freedom Fighters are…
…some of the wild-men Rudi and company have met along the way. This particular group is much more civilized. Well, at least they don't eat their victims. Jake sunna Jake is the big man, chief, of the Fighters. His brothers are Murdy, Tuk, and Samuel.
Their enemies include the Knifers.
Readstown, Wisconsin is…
…part of the Free Republic of Richland and where Ingolf came from. His brother, Ed, is the Sheriff and head of the local National Guard. It's a toss-up as to whether Ingolf will be welcome. Mark, Dave, Melly, young Ingolf, Sue, and Jenny are Ed and Wanda's kids. Kathy and Alice are Ingolf and Ed's sisters, both married. Aunt Cindy.
Pierre Walks Quiet is Ojibwa and their chief forester and game warden. Weiss is one of the young men with whom Rudi trains. Al Clements was the bossman back in Ingolf's youth; now his son Bill is the leader. Harry is the cousin-in-law of Ed's sister, and he's married to Janet.
Norrheim, Maine used to be…
…Aroostook County. Now its residents follow viking ways and its religion. Heidhveig is their leading seer who communes with spirits. Seems she knew Juniper before the Change. She also knew Sandra and Norman Arminger. Thorlind Williamsdottir is a godwoman, a seer who now leads the seidh group. Sven Jacobsson and Ingmar Marcellesson are part of Kalk the Shipwright's garth and seeing Heidhveig safe to Eriksson's.
The steading of Godhi Bjarni Eriksson is…
…also known as Eriksgarth and is the senior chiftainship, head of the Bjornings, and home of the Althing's meeting ground. Harberga Janetsdottir is Bjarni's wife. Swanhild is one of their children. Gudrun is his sister. Roderic Karlsson, Thorolf Pierresson, and Olaf Davesson are some of his men. Hrolf Homersson thinks he can best Mary. *snicker* He'll accompany them to Nantucket as well. Ranulf Waltersson is Bjarni's uncle and will be the thul of the sumbel, a winter feast and time of oath taking. Sigurd Jeansson was Asgerd Karlsdottir's betrothed out on a viking trip. Rudi will name her Ulfhild Swift-sword. Now she'll take oath to accompany Rudi and company to Nantucket.
Erik Waltersson, Bjarni's father, was the man who pulled the Bjornings together and ensured their survival. A godhi is a chief.
The steading of Kalk the Shipwright is…
…located in what was formerly Washington County in Maine. Olaf Knutsson is Thorlind's nephew. Thorleif Heidhveigsson is the man who will seize one enemy ship along with Odinleif, Thorvin, and Freyjadis.
Clan Mackenzie is…
…led by Juniper Mackenzie of Dun Juniper. Sir Nigel Loring is her husband. Their daughters are Maude and Fiorbhinn (she's the one who's inherited her mother's music). Chuck Barstow died at Pendleton in The Scourge of God . Judy Barstow is Chuck's widow. His son, Oak, has taken over. Timmy Martins Mackenzie is their brewmaster these days.
Dun Laurel
Sam Aylward is its lord, Edain's father. In his sixties, he's retired from being First Armsman. Melissa is his wife. Richard is a younger son.
The Dúnedain Rangers are…
…led by Astrid Larsson who is married to Alleyne Loring, Sir Nigel's son. Little John Hordle is his childhood friend and married to the other leader of the Rangers, Eilir Mackenzie, Juniper's deaf daughter. They have two children: Beregond and Iorlas.
It's hard to believe that Sir Nigel, Alleyne, and Little John have been here for 16 years.
The Bearkillers were…
…created by Mike Havel and are now led by Signe Larsson Havel, his widow. Mike Jr. is the heir. Eric Larsson is Signe's twin brother. Dr. Aaron Rothman is the chief doctor still.
Mount Angel is…
…a military monastery led by Abbot-Bishop Dmwoski. Friar Matthew is a Church courier. Brother Jerome has been assigned as a liaison to the PPA forces in the northeast.
The Central Oregon Ranchers' Association is…
…referred to as CORA and are a loose-knit organization of ranchers who have allied with Clan Mackenzie and the Bearkillers. John Brown of Seffridge Ranch is one of its leading members.
Corvallis is…
…a university town that has held onto its educational roots. Edward Finney, Luther's son, has allied himself and his supporters with Clan Mackenzie.
Kyklos is…
…a "scatter of independent villages around Silverton". Beatriz "BD" Dorothea is part of the imbolc working to raise power, asking for help to see into peoples' hearts.
Portland Protectorate Association (PPA)
Lady Sandra Arminger is Matti's mother and a wise and wicked ruler. Jehane is her confidential secretary. The Lord High Chancellor is Conrad Renfrew, the Count of Odell. The Grand Constable Tiphaine d'Ath, Baroness d'Ath, had been a gymnast who had hoped to participate in the Olympics before the Change. Count Piotr Alexevitch Stavarov is one of the vassals they expect to switch sides. Sir Ivo Marks is one of Tiphaine's protégés and in command of Castle Campscapell.
Barony of Ath
Sir Lothair is the Guard captain. Father Mendoza is their priest. Lady Delia de Stafford is Tiphaine's lover, but also a witch and High Priestess of a coven. Lionel and Diomede are Delia's sons and pages to Tiphaine. Heuradys is Delia's latest babe.
Pendleton is…
…an association of ranchers. Their former bossman, Carl Peters, was kidnapped by the Rangers in The Scourge of God . The association has now allied itself with Boise and the Cutters.
The United States of Boise is…
…led by their first president's assassin, his son, President-General Martin Thurston.
The Moors are…
…a general term for blaumenn, a.k.a., blue-men. Abdou al-Naari is the part-owner and captain of the Bou el-Mogdad, and he doesn't trust these men of the Prophet. His family is of the Tidjiane brotherhood. Ahmed is his son. Jawara is his subordinate, brother-in-law, and captain of her sister ship, Gisandu which means "Shark". Falilu is his bosun. Dia is another of his men, a younger cousin. The Marabout, Cheik Ibra, is a holy man supposedly in favor with the Grand Khalif of the Mourides, another brotherhood which was founded by Cheik Bamba.
The Corwinites are…
…also known as the Cutters or the CUT and are based in Montana. It's a demon that has infested them, made some of them invulnerable and farseeing. They intend to conquer the world and force all to their way of worship. Major Graber leads the Sword of the Prophet, a military troop, hunting for Rudi and company. The High Seeker Dalan is the man, thing really, in charge. Vender and Roberts are two of his remaining lieutenants. The Bekwa are an Indian tribe who will do scouting for the Corwinites.
Montival is a Changeling name, one created from all the different populations in Oregon. Changelings are those who were born after the Change.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a white background on top. On the bottom half, it's a smudgy brown with the golden light of the sunset creating a halo around a black vest and pant-clad Rudi, sword over his shoulder, his scabbard at his thigh, and a determined look on his face, standing on the shore of his destination: Nantucket. The origin of the EMP that took down the world.
The title is the object of Rudi's quest: The Sword of the Lady. Yeah, I don't think it's any accident that Rudi was also named Artos at his birth.
November 7, 2009
The continuing sage of Rudi MacKenzie as he makes his way to the Isle of Nantucket to claim the Sword of the Lady. It's a good story in this series by S.M. Stirling, but he is perilously close to falling into that category of author who can write book after book that just continues the plot, never really getting anywhere with it.
Still, there are enough interesting tidbits to keep me reading. Seeing the northeast United States in the post-Change years is fascinating, especially that Asatru seems to have taken hold as the primary religion in the old states of Maine and such. There is a lot more fantasy here than in previous books, and the Tolkein-parallel is really hammered, sometimes annoyingly so. There's also an unfortunate line near the end that foreshadows what is to come, which I'm not entirely sure I'm happy about. I fear the dreaded 'reset button.'
Rumor has it that there is only one other book in this immediate series. I hope that's the case as it is definitely time to wrap this up.
Still, there are enough interesting tidbits to keep me reading. Seeing the northeast United States in the post-Change years is fascinating, especially that Asatru seems to have taken hold as the primary religion in the old states of Maine and such. There is a lot more fantasy here than in previous books, and the Tolkein-parallel is really hammered, sometimes annoyingly so. There's also an unfortunate line near the end that foreshadows what is to come, which I'm not entirely sure I'm happy about. I fear the dreaded 'reset button.'
Rumor has it that there is only one other book in this immediate series. I hope that's the case as it is definitely time to wrap this up.
December 19, 2014
Fabulous!The intertwinings of relationships and politics was riveting!
March 25, 2018
I liked this book more than the second one. But it ended with me going "and?!?!?! Now what?!?"
November 6, 2009
Love this series! In this installment, Rudy and the gang fight their way across the Eastern half of the continent for their preordained appointment at Nantucket. As in the last two books, the "CUT" (Church Universal and Triumphant, an organization my husband tells me actually exists - although it is not, to his knowledge, in direct league with the devil) is hot on the group's heels the whole way, with their posessed "seekers" getting creepier and creepier.
David (who read this just before me) also told me how much he was enjoying Father Ignatius's character. It reminded him of a popular old TV series called "The Green Hornet." The title character had a Chinese sidekick named "Kato" who was so popular in Hong Kong that the show was actually known as "The Kato Show" rather than its domestic name. Similar, he suggested, Christians may find themselves even more interested in Ignatius's experiences, exploits, and character development than (pagan) Rudy's. After reading the book, I had to agree. Rudy gets central billing in practically every scene, but when the camera makes one of its rare shifts to Ignatius - who we can almost forget is there half of the time - we see some pretty spectacular good vs. evil action.
Here's a quote to illustrate:
'They came staggering out of the smoke anyway, and the first was a man in a tattered red robe the color of dried blood. His hands were held out before him like claws, and his eyes were windows into negation.
"Nooooooo!"
The endless wail was as much shriek as word, and less a protest than a single long scream of what he *was,* or what the thing that wore the man like a glove was. Ignatius raised his sword and brought up his shield, but behind the visor of his helm he shouted for joy as his gaze met those wells of night without end.
"Yes!" he cried. "Eternally, *yes*!" '
David (who read this just before me) also told me how much he was enjoying Father Ignatius's character. It reminded him of a popular old TV series called "The Green Hornet." The title character had a Chinese sidekick named "Kato" who was so popular in Hong Kong that the show was actually known as "The Kato Show" rather than its domestic name. Similar, he suggested, Christians may find themselves even more interested in Ignatius's experiences, exploits, and character development than (pagan) Rudy's. After reading the book, I had to agree. Rudy gets central billing in practically every scene, but when the camera makes one of its rare shifts to Ignatius - who we can almost forget is there half of the time - we see some pretty spectacular good vs. evil action.
Here's a quote to illustrate:
'They came staggering out of the smoke anyway, and the first was a man in a tattered red robe the color of dried blood. His hands were held out before him like claws, and his eyes were windows into negation.
"Nooooooo!"
The endless wail was as much shriek as word, and less a protest than a single long scream of what he *was,* or what the thing that wore the man like a glove was. Ignatius raised his sword and brought up his shield, but behind the visor of his helm he shouted for joy as his gaze met those wells of night without end.
"Yes!" he cried. "Eternally, *yes*!" '
March 8, 2011
This is the sixth book in the 'Emberverse' series. What is there to say? Once I have read three or four books in a series, some mechanism kicks in, propelling me towards a (hopefully satisfactory) closing. Rudi has finally succeeded in reaching the island of Nantucket and has obtained the sword of the lady. What will help him in the coming battle between the forces of good and evil of course. Characters have become puppets of the gods. Sometimes I get fed up with 'the Powers that be' : the reasoning behind their actions is mostly a load of warbled omniscient codswallop. As is the case here.
The books have steadily taken a turn towards the fantasy element. So I'm reading this mainly for the still superbly sketched post-acopalyptic landscape and societies rebuild on the basis of questionable concepts (dictatorships, feudalism, etc..) The world is beautifully drawn, the battle scenes are a horror to witness. You can practically feel the sweat running down your neck into your gambeson during the fight scenes. The ladies wear beautiful 'cotte hardies'. (Yes, you do pick up some new words with Stirling) Also, the food is mouthwatering, although this is not a cookbook. Always a bonus.
But anyway, Rudi will now be hailed as the high king of Montival and is going to form a coalition against the Bad Guys. (Heavens! I thought there was only one more to go, but a quick check on Wikipedia informs me of an additional two books in the pipeline!)
So, the sad part being, Stirling has done it all before. And with considerably more verve and skill. . .and also more concisely. The three part 'Nantucket' series is a small work of art: exciting, based on extensive historic research and without the fantasy haha. Start there and be amazed and entertained.
The books have steadily taken a turn towards the fantasy element. So I'm reading this mainly for the still superbly sketched post-acopalyptic landscape and societies rebuild on the basis of questionable concepts (dictatorships, feudalism, etc..) The world is beautifully drawn, the battle scenes are a horror to witness. You can practically feel the sweat running down your neck into your gambeson during the fight scenes. The ladies wear beautiful 'cotte hardies'. (Yes, you do pick up some new words with Stirling) Also, the food is mouthwatering, although this is not a cookbook. Always a bonus.
But anyway, Rudi will now be hailed as the high king of Montival and is going to form a coalition against the Bad Guys. (Heavens! I thought there was only one more to go, but a quick check on Wikipedia informs me of an additional two books in the pipeline!)
So, the sad part being, Stirling has done it all before. And with considerably more verve and skill. . .and also more concisely. The three part 'Nantucket' series is a small work of art: exciting, based on extensive historic research and without the fantasy haha. Start there and be amazed and entertained.
August 22, 2010
I don't know whether this was objectively a better-written story than Scourge of God, or whether I was just more in the mood for it, but I found myself enjoying this instalment far more than I did Book 6... and I'm itching to get on with the next one and see how Stirling resolves what he's set up in the last chapter or so of this book.
There were so many things I enjoyed about this instalment - the character development, the descriptions, the sense of *rightness* about the way some of the events play out, the fact that certain characters I like from the Sea of Time set actually put in a cameo (sort of)... which all meant that I basically just inhaled the book and it was suddenly over and I was left wanting more.
When I read Book 5, I wasn't quite sure if I liked the way the series was clearly taking a turn from being pure "alternate present", with the only real mystical influences being whoever or whatever caused the Change in the first place. Now that we've got more of an understanding of that, however, I have to say that I *like* the direction Stirling's taking the series in, and I'm totally game to come along for the ride and follow it to its conclusion...
A definite 9/10 for this one.
There were so many things I enjoyed about this instalment - the character development, the descriptions, the sense of *rightness* about the way some of the events play out, the fact that certain characters I like from the Sea of Time set actually put in a cameo (sort of)... which all meant that I basically just inhaled the book and it was suddenly over and I was left wanting more.
When I read Book 5, I wasn't quite sure if I liked the way the series was clearly taking a turn from being pure "alternate present", with the only real mystical influences being whoever or whatever caused the Change in the first place. Now that we've got more of an understanding of that, however, I have to say that I *like* the direction Stirling's taking the series in, and I'm totally game to come along for the ride and follow it to its conclusion...
A definite 9/10 for this one.
July 27, 2011
Emberverse #6 is more of what I like about this series. The action is consistent and moves the plot along, there some surprises with what happens to the characters, and some of the questions about where the story is going is answered. This is a great set up for the last book where the final action brings all the plot elements to a close. The fantasy elements step up a bit with the sword making an appearance and the evil doer's powers as well. Good stuff!
Edit: did some googling and found out that Stirling is doing at least 2 more books in this series and the next is out in September this year and it is called Tears of the Sun.
Edit: did some googling and found out that Stirling is doing at least 2 more books in this series and the next is out in September this year and it is called Tears of the Sun.
March 17, 2017
I think this series is deteriorating as it goes along but I am liking over half of what I read so I will keep going. The characters have become less important - so much so that one cowgirl character that could be interesting is basically limited to saying "yippi-Ki-ay motherfucker" twice and a brief mention that she has been married off to someone and changed her surname . The focus has shifted to religious and political development which I find a bit tedious and wanky. Some of the descriptive language is downright laughable - the "velvet sausages" of cattails growing in a marsh are apt but silly. I do want to see how this world develops so I will keep going.
August 19, 2020
I wanted to like this book. And I did like it enough to finish it.
The good: the overall plot, the world building. I wanted to find out what happened next to the characters.
The bad: the actual writing, which was... well, let's just say the author could have used an editor. And many of the speeches & declarations we simplistic and sometimes bombastic. Also, I was having trouble with how the various post-catastrophe cultures developed, in less than one generation.
I read the book before this in the series & then I read this one. I don't think I'll read the rest of them.
The good: the overall plot, the world building. I wanted to find out what happened next to the characters.
The bad: the actual writing, which was... well, let's just say the author could have used an editor. And many of the speeches & declarations we simplistic and sometimes bombastic. Also, I was having trouble with how the various post-catastrophe cultures developed, in less than one generation.
I read the book before this in the series & then I read this one. I don't think I'll read the rest of them.
October 26, 2009
Solid continuation of the now six book series. 2500+ pages I'd strongly recommend this series, but start with Dies the Fire or you'll be confused by the missing history.
This series is unique in SF as it is based on a 'new idea'.
No author beast Stirling in his ability to generate Kiplingesque narrative.
This series is unique in SF as it is based on a 'new idea'.
No author beast Stirling in his ability to generate Kiplingesque narrative.
January 18, 2024
Repetitive and a little sloppy. The peril is more of the same. Character aside from Rudy have really stalled. I liked the fellowship but the story is muddled.
The sixth book and the mystery of why and who caused the change is not revealed. This is the central core of the story, not right & wrong or a quest for a sword. Ok technology is gone and magic is back, gotcha. Rather simple….What really happened, why, who did it? Stirling really took his eye off the ball.
The sixth book and the mystery of why and who caused the change is not revealed. This is the central core of the story, not right & wrong or a quest for a sword. Ok technology is gone and magic is back, gotcha. Rather simple….What really happened, why, who did it? Stirling really took his eye off the ball.
January 26, 2018
I realized there was no way the series was going to end with this book and the thought of reading 4 (?) more books makes me less than excited. Certain things wear thin after a time. Yes, this is an interesting story! However: the level of perfection of Rudi is a bit much, and the elaborately detailed aspects of that perfection get tedious. It's amazing how the main characters are all beautiful and have genetically-unique results from their children, like dark-skinned kids with fair hair and blue eyes from Luanne and Eric Larssson's marriage. It's not impossible, but when each pairing results in unique looks, well, that in itself beats the odds of happening that often in a small population. And the main characters always triumph, with occasional characters killed off to break the spell of invulnerability around the central characters. I may eventually read more but for now, I need a break.
May 7, 2013
At this point I'm just forced to give up on the series. This book was somehow so long and boring I couldn't bring myself to finish. And so I spoiled the ending for myself and I didn't like that either (because it totally didn't seem right at all; the abrupt shift to high fantasy/mythology was too sudden for me.)
March 15, 2012
I really enjoyed the first book of this series, and the second and third were really good too. This particular one was good, but I don't really like the Cutters and the High Seeker and the religious aspect of it. I'll continue on though becasuse I want to see what happens to Rudi and the others.
October 3, 2020
I hate when an author writes themselves into a corner and have to turn to cheaterly supernatural monsters and other high fantasy tropes in order to up the stakes of their story. At this rate, I fully expect Rudi to be riding dragons and fighting the white walkers in book 7.
September 29, 2023
Nantucket. We're finally here after what has sometime felt like a slow motion journey that should be one of great urgency especially as it becomes clear in the west that the CUT and USB are winning the war and spreading deep into Washington and Oregon, with the Portland Protective Association's extensive (and at the time seemingly wasteful and pointless) castle-building project begun decades earlier under Norman Arminger seemingly the only thing preventing a CUT victory.
Meanwhile, we get to add some more color to the eastern parts of the post-apocalyptic post-gun United States. Rudi goes on a side quest to help the Bossman of Iowa in order to secure safe travel east. In the process he meets and basically recruits an entire tribe of "wild men", the children of refugees out of Chicago who did not thrive the way all our main characters have. As a result, they are all in very poor health, still wielding makeshift weapons, eating mostly meat, dying mostly young, and speaking an emerging Chicago-heavy dialect that is almost incomprehensible. Sometimes they come across too much like a stereotypical "noble savage" tribe, and other times they seem to not have much agency at all beyond adding some more numbers to Rudi MacKenzie's party as it heads further east.
Some of the new "factions" that appear become a bit too fantastical or exaggerated, even after nearly 25 years to have passed to allow for people to develop, naturally or artificially, entirely new identities not just for them but for their tribes and nation-states. While places like the Provisional Republic of Iowa and the Republic of Freeland in Wisconsin remain fairly "regular", standard midwesterners, while on the far east coast, a straight up Scandinavian Viking-style kingdom in Maine has emerged, Norrheim, with the constant threat of barbarian incursion from the jibbering "Bekwa" (former Quebecois) raiding them from the north.
As an interesting aside, the audiobook narrator, emphasizing that despite their Viking aesthetic and cultural choice, they are still new englanders, gives most of the Norrheim characters Maine-heavy New England accents.
At one point, some "Moorish" pirates appear, providing an even further glimpse into the world of the Change, showing that there are not just surviving but thriving Muslim nationstates in Africa engaged in trade and raid as far afield as the former US.
But the key point and highlight of the book is the conclusion of the quest. Nantucket, where the Change began. And some spoilers ensue.
While continuing onward with the more existential and scifi elements would have been immensely satisfying to some, the necessities of ordinary life must always take precedent, so much like with Ken Larsson's inquests 10 years earlier, we only get this teasing suggestion before being dropped back into the 25 year old reality, where the CUT are on the brink of victory out west and the alleged key to beating them is over 3,100 miles away.
Meanwhile, we get to add some more color to the eastern parts of the post-apocalyptic post-gun United States. Rudi goes on a side quest to help the Bossman of Iowa in order to secure safe travel east. In the process he meets and basically recruits an entire tribe of "wild men", the children of refugees out of Chicago who did not thrive the way all our main characters have. As a result, they are all in very poor health, still wielding makeshift weapons, eating mostly meat, dying mostly young, and speaking an emerging Chicago-heavy dialect that is almost incomprehensible. Sometimes they come across too much like a stereotypical "noble savage" tribe, and other times they seem to not have much agency at all beyond adding some more numbers to Rudi MacKenzie's party as it heads further east.
Some of the new "factions" that appear become a bit too fantastical or exaggerated, even after nearly 25 years to have passed to allow for people to develop, naturally or artificially, entirely new identities not just for them but for their tribes and nation-states. While places like the Provisional Republic of Iowa and the Republic of Freeland in Wisconsin remain fairly "regular", standard midwesterners, while on the far east coast, a straight up Scandinavian Viking-style kingdom in Maine has emerged, Norrheim, with the constant threat of barbarian incursion from the jibbering "Bekwa" (former Quebecois) raiding them from the north.
As an interesting aside, the audiobook narrator, emphasizing that despite their Viking aesthetic and cultural choice, they are still new englanders, gives most of the Norrheim characters Maine-heavy New England accents.
At one point, some "Moorish" pirates appear, providing an even further glimpse into the world of the Change, showing that there are not just surviving but thriving Muslim nationstates in Africa engaged in trade and raid as far afield as the former US.
But the key point and highlight of the book is the conclusion of the quest. Nantucket, where the Change began. And some spoilers ensue.
While continuing onward with the more existential and scifi elements would have been immensely satisfying to some, the necessities of ordinary life must always take precedent, so much like with Ken Larsson's inquests 10 years earlier, we only get this teasing suggestion before being dropped back into the 25 year old reality, where the CUT are on the brink of victory out west and the alleged key to beating them is over 3,100 miles away.
July 4, 2017
Considering that I listened to the 22-hour audio version of this book, I finished it remarkably quickly. That's because this stellar series is a remarkably-quick-reading story. In this sixth installment, Rudy MacKenzie and his varied and ever-changing troupe continue to wend their way across post-Change (read: post-apocalyptic) America, from Portland Oregon eastward. The beginning of the story finds them in the midwest, still being harried by their arch enemies, the CUT. (Church Universal and Triumphant) Rudy is on a quest to Nantucket Island to retrieve The Sword of the Lady, which he needs to defeat the evil entity behind the CUT, at least according to several prophecies and seer's visions.
It may be 2022 in "real time" but it may as well be 1800's, because since The Change occurred 24 years previously, there are no engines, no electricity, nothing left of our modern-day world except rusting metal hulks and crumbling and rotting buildings. The reader does a wonderful job with a host of different accents, and as always, the author's storytelling ability makes the book very difficult to put down.
It may be 2022 in "real time" but it may as well be 1800's, because since The Change occurred 24 years previously, there are no engines, no electricity, nothing left of our modern-day world except rusting metal hulks and crumbling and rotting buildings. The reader does a wonderful job with a host of different accents, and as always, the author's storytelling ability makes the book very difficult to put down.
March 22, 2024
At this point in the series, the story has taken a bit of a left turn from the original book. In fact, if you were to skip books 2-5, you'd have no idea that they were part of the same series except for a few characters that are still present. Book #6 itself isn't terrible, but if fantasy isn't your jam, which it is most certainly mine, you may decide to quit the series before getting to this point altogether.
I am looking forward to seeing where Stirling goes from here, but for those who don't care for the fantasy genre, you may be better off ending the series after book 3, which is in itself a sort of trilogy and perhaps should have been given it's own series name such as The Change #1-3, Emberverse #1-3 with the remaining (???) books continuing with the series name.
At this point in the Emberverse series, I am interested in exploring Stirling's Nantucket series, which has been alluded to since book 1 of the Emberverse series with an even stronger presence/connection in the series by this point. I guess we'll see where my reading whims take me...
I am looking forward to seeing where Stirling goes from here, but for those who don't care for the fantasy genre, you may be better off ending the series after book 3, which is in itself a sort of trilogy and perhaps should have been given it's own series name such as The Change #1-3, Emberverse #1-3 with the remaining (???) books continuing with the series name.
At this point in the Emberverse series, I am interested in exploring Stirling's Nantucket series, which has been alluded to since book 1 of the Emberverse series with an even stronger presence/connection in the series by this point. I guess we'll see where my reading whims take me...
June 29, 2017
At this point in the series, we're 20-odd years past the Change, and the main characters are the children of the main characters we started out with. And they are on A Quest from formerly-Oregon to Nantucket to find The Sword. (If you're not feeling vibes of King Arthur and LotR from that, then I don't know what to tell you because YES, Hero's Journey archetypes all over the damned place. ALL OVER.) This is the second (third? third.) book about their journey and lemme tell you, I despaired of them ever actually getting there to the point of calling it NONtucket. They spent the last book(s!) traipsing across the formerly-USA, being hunted by the Evil Cultists and gathering friends along the way.
So of course, where does the book end? When they get to the island. Of course. Next book, which I DO NOT HAVE, is prolly gonna cover them getting back home and hopefully regathering those aforementioned allies into a proper army to defeat the Evil Cultists. Clearly I am going to go slowly insane until my digital library loan of the next book comes through.
So of course, where does the book end? When they get to the island. Of course. Next book, which I DO NOT HAVE, is prolly gonna cover them getting back home and hopefully regathering those aforementioned allies into a proper army to defeat the Evil Cultists. Clearly I am going to go slowly insane until my digital library loan of the next book comes through.
April 29, 2022
This is not the first time I have read the series, so I know what comes next. In my opinion, this is the last good book out fo the 15 that end up being written. The further into the series you go, the more mystical gunk gets mixed in. The first trilogy had almost no mysticism mixed in. Books 4-9 have some mysticism, with a bad guy that is explicitly possessed. There are also a couple books that are written about a single battle that takes place. The last set of books go really deep into the mysticism, and I really don't care for it. That said, I still read all 15 books when I read the series. Books 1-3 are the best though.
May 31, 2022
I made it about 3/4 of the way before this one before I figured out that I had really just stopped caring. In the first trilogy, I was able to ignore a lot of the issues I had with characterization and writing style because I was invested in the world and the story. And I started to feel the same with Rudi's story... I was willing to overlook certain things because I was invested.
But this book became a slog, and the plot points became less and less believable as the story went on. It also became clear at some point that scenes were being added to pad the length of this book, to delay Rudi getting to Nantucket for as long as possible. I'm ready to give up on this series.
But this book became a slog, and the plot points became less and less believable as the story went on. It also became clear at some point that scenes were being added to pad the length of this book, to delay Rudi getting to Nantucket for as long as possible. I'm ready to give up on this series.
September 27, 2025
The adventure continues! I never how to review these sorts of books in a series that I just plow through one after another. Clearly I am enjoying these books but there's nothing particularly to note about this book by itself. I suppose one thing that's interesting about this and the previous one is how Rudi and his crew have been moving across the US and ended up in the very north of New England bordering on Quebec (and the savage "Bekwah" people).
There's also a bit more magic and supernatural mystery to the series now and it feels like it's going to continue, which I am ambivalent about.
There's also a bit more magic and supernatural mystery to the series now and it feels like it's going to continue, which I am ambivalent about.
March 23, 2021
Still enjoying this series immensely and the look at what different people around the continent have done in the post-change world. The novel is still a bit cis/het/euro/white-centric for my tastes, but less ham-fisted than earlier books in the series. I cringed that the first time we see a non-European culture represented they're evil, this is the same trap Tolkien fell into. The quasi-explanation for the Change near the end was fascinating, and I look forward to reading the next installment.
May 9, 2019
A re-read. Picked up this book at a second-hand bookstore as something familiar and engaging. I enjoyed it more this read than perhaps in past readings (as I raced to get to the end to find out what happened!). Stirling is amazingly talented in stringing this story along. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this read for the interesting sociology and characters. (I wish there were some more stories about the development immediately post-change of some of the outlying cities!)
January 18, 2022
It was Ok. The fantasy narrative is really taking over in this one. There's very little speculative fiction and a lot of LotR lite content. And the climax is all magicky, not what I signed up for in this series. Now we go back across the country and have a climactic battle and save the world. Blah, blah, blah.
July 10, 2018
Another hit in the continuing saga of the Emberverse series. Humor, tears, action and suspense all wrap together nicely in this world of the Change. I look forward to reading the next in the series. Perhaps we'll finally find out what caused the Change to the world.
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