This book was a funky thing. I liked it. I'm trying to find anything remotely similar to it, but I can't. It's an apocalypse novel where all electricity and combustion laws of nature are changed. Gunpowder is slow-burning instead of explosive. High gas pressures cannot be reached. Pretty much anything more complicated than a water wheel doesn't work.
The explanation? Alien Space Bats. Cute, but I won't put up with that forever. There's like 6 or 8 books in this series. I think Dies the Fire can be stand alone since it has a decent ending, but if you want to keep reading about the characters, you'll probably pick up the next book.
Speaking of the characters, they were pretty awesome. There were two main ones that kept the plot moving. One was a Celtic singer, wiccan, and single mom - Juniper Mackenzie. The other was a ex-soldier, wilderness boy, and small aircraft pilot - Mike Havel. Juniper and Mike only crossed paths once or twice, but their separate stories were pretty interesting. At the time of the power loss, Juniper looked around her at the riots and devastation and got the hell out. She grabbed supplies, horses, weapons, food, and headed to her cabin in the middle of nowhere. She knew she had a group of friends (her coven) that would meet her there and they could survive whatever happened next. Lucky shit.
Mike was flying a rich family to their ranch in Montana when his small plane went down. He had to get the family and their three teenagers to safety. He eventually realizes there is nowhere safe.
At first, the book is absolutely brutal. I thought it was going to be one of those apocalypse novels that show the worst of mankind (The Road). I prefer the apocalypse stories that show humans banding together, fighting back (Falling Skies). Dies the Fire is a little bit of both. Absolutely horrific at times, and completely uplifting in others. You just have to read through it all.
The strangest thing about this book, and this is the reason I can't quite compare it to other stories, is the extreme luck and coincidence surrounding the characters. At one point, both Juniper and Mike are compared to deities because of how things always work out in their favor. Actually, if the supporting characters weren't reacting to this weird luck, I might have put down the book.
For example, one of Mike's teenagers was a Tolkien-loving archer. She had her own wooden bow and arrows and could make more. Helpful. He also came across a highly respected ferrier with great blacksmith skills, and had his own horses. Very helpful. He also finds a veterinarian who volunteered at the Renaissance festival and taught them all sword skills. Extremely helpful.
Then there's Juniper. She not only had a cabin, but hundreds of acres of farmland and woods, with natural springs and waterfalls, with seasoned logs for building, that happened to be in the one perfect spot in the USA where it doesn't get too hot or too cold and there's never droughts. And she had a group of people and horses and seeds and tons of supplies to get them started. She finds an ex-soldier and talented archer in the woods. He makes them all weapons and teaches them to use it. Within 8 months of the blackout, she and her people have livestock, crops, bread, and BLT sandwiches.
So yeah, this luck is flipping odd. I can't think of another story or novel where the main characters were blessed, for lack of a better word. I'm not sure where it is going. It's weird to find a unique plot device, and I'm oddly discomforted by it. So were the supporting characters though.
Especially since I can't help to think about what I'd do in that circumstance. Living on the East Coast in a HIGHLY populated area, I think I probably would have been killed in the second week when the neighbors raid our house for food. I have to think 95% of the population, or more, were killed before the first winter. Then there's Juniper and Mike who have luck blasting out of their butts like mini rocket ships.
I want to read the second book to see what the heck that is about.
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