The Sunrise Lands

THE SUNRISE LANDS is S.M. Stirling's continuation of his "Dies the Fire" series (known online as the Emberverse). The original books were a sort of spin-off from his "Nantucket" series whereby Nantucket and the surrounding waters get pulled three thousand years into the past. The effects of this are that technology based on electrical, chemical and nuclear reactions no longer work. Society is changed back to a mechanical technological state and people must survive without the modern comforts of today.

The three books surrounding DIES THE FIRE depict the fall and rebuilding of society in Oregon and Washington State. THE SUNRISE LANDS pick up about 20 years after the final book in that series. Our heroes are aged and their children are now the protagonists - particularly Rudi, son of Mike Havel and Juniper MacKenzie - leaders of the Bearkillers and Clan MacKenzie respectively. The book depicts how society has evolved and begins to give more clues about the Change.

I started this book knowing that three books in the series were on the street and figured I would power through the entire series. However, I found out there is a fourth book due and so put off the rest after finishing this one. More and more, I prefer to read a series as a whole novel rather than as a serialized product.

That is not to say this was a bad book. I enjoyed it immensely. The reader is updated on familiar characters while being introduced to new heroes. Additionally, Stirling begins to fill in what has happened elsewhere and how people have survived. And the book promises a solution to the Change. I look forward to reading the rest following the release of the fourth book.