Dies the Fire

In *Dies the Fire* (2004), Canadian-American author S. M. Stirling launches the Emberverse series, a spin-off from his Nantucket books. The story follows two survivor groups after "The Change," a global event that suddenly renders electricity, gunpowder, and most high-energy-density technology useless, collapsing modern civilization.

The book takes place in post-apocalyptic Oregon and Idaho. When the Change disables everything from computers and cars to batteries and firearms, people turn to swords and bows. Many starve, others continue looting and raping, and some resort to cannibalism. Rural survivors form isolated farming communities, while city dwellers are enslaved by warlords. The narrative tracks the Bearkiller Outfit and the Clan Mackenzie as they struggle to survive and try to understand what caused the lights to go out.

The Bearkillers begin with Mike Havel, a former Marine and Gulf War veteran who works as a bush pilot. On March 17, 1998, at 6:15 pm MST, he is flying over Idaho’s Bitterroot Mountains when the Change hits. His passengers—business owners Kenneth and Mary Larsson and their two children, Kenneth Jr. and Mary—survive the emergency landing, though Mary is injured. After hiking to a ranger cabin, Mike and Erik Larsson head for the highway, where they encounter white separatist survivalists holding a black man named Will Hutton and his family prisoner. A tense conversation leads to a fight; Mike and Erik draw the survivalists away, but the attackers track them back to the cabin. There, the survivalists murder Mary and nearly rape Astrid and Signe before Mike and Erik kill all three attackers.

Will Hutton, a horse breeder and trainer, joins Mike’s band. The group elects Mike leader and decides to travel to the Larsson estate in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. On the way, a stressed Astrid shoots a black bear with an arrow, provoking it to attack Mike. He is injured but the group kills the bear, earning them the name Bearkillers. Along the journey, they recruit survivors with useful skills, producing chainmail, swords, shields, and lances. One new member is Billy Waters, an alcoholic who beats his family; they accept him for his bowmaking experience, but Mike warns him that drinking or abuse will result in a beating and expulsion. Mike receives a hauberk and a helmet adorned with the bear’s head.