Capt JT Kohonez Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 There’s a book called Dies The Fire by S.M. Stirling tells the story of people thrust into a post-apocalyptic setting where everything invented after the 17th century just stops working. Needless to say although the premise and setting are interesting it does have some holes in the plotline which I’m sure any good GM should be able to fill up. I was wondering if anyone knew about it and what they thought of the background for gaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJackBrass Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Re: What's wrong with the electricity....? Funnily enough I'm about halfway through that book at the moment. It's decent stuff, even though Stirling does seem to enjoy assembling a pretty unlikely crew in his books. Following his advice, whenever there's a major upheaval in the world you should immediately seek out an SCA member, because they seem to be the ones who'll survive. The book ties into his earlier series where Nantucket is whisked back through time, which is also a good read (and has the same unlikely mix of characters; indeed, there's a loose connection between the blacksmith from that series and one of the characters in Dies the Fire.) Importantly it's not just electricity that stops (and not all electrical activity, or else everyone would simply die): gunpowder now burns slowly, so the guys with the guns are no longer the ones with an easy threat to hand. So far it has some interesting ideas for gaming, although I think I'll use it as an alternate Earth in my coming-soon-I-kid-you-not-I-mean-it-this-time Sliders rip-off, Slideways, rather than a campaign world for any length of time. Sliding into a world where anything electrical you're carrying suddenly dies has a nice feel of Fringeworthy about it, too. Nothing really in-depth to say until I've finished the novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenixcrest Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Re: What's wrong with the electricity....? Sliding into a world where anything electrical you're carrying suddenly dies has a nice feel of Fringeworthy about it, too. How would you slide out? Wouldn't the Timer die, too? Or would that be the puzzle of the day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJackBrass Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Re: What's wrong with the electricity....? How would you slide out? Wouldn't the Timer die' date=' too? Or would that be the puzzle of the day?[/quote'] Definitely the puzzle of the day. Possibly longer if they couldn't find the answer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Frisbee Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Re: What's wrong with the electricity....? I have the aforementioned book on order from the Science Fiction Book Club -- is it a good read? Or just a good setting? Matt "Just-curious" Frisbee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinanju Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Re: What's wrong with the electricity....? Funnily enough I'm about halfway through that book at the moment. It's decent stuff, even though Stirling does seem to enjoy assembling a pretty unlikely crew in his books. Following his advice, whenever there's a major upheaval in the world you should immediately seek out an SCA member, because they seem to be the ones who'll survive. The book ties into his earlier series where Nantucket is whisked back through time, which is also a good read (and has the same unlikely mix of characters; indeed, there's a loose connection between the blacksmith from that series and one of the characters in Dies the Fire.) It's also linked to his Draka novels. Specifically, to DRAKON, in which the Draka of 400 years hence, having conquered the world, are experimenting with wormholes...on Nantucket. Something Goes Terribly Wrong, and the protagonist gets sent back in time (and to a parallel dimension), where she immeidately starts plotting the conquest of a whole new world. I'm pretty sure, though, that the disappearance of Nantucket in Island in the Sea of Time, and the change in Dies the Fire are all side effects of this event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armitage Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Re: What's wrong with the electricity....? Following his advice' date=' whenever there's a major upheaval in the world you should immediately seek out an SCA member, because they seem to be the ones who'll survive.[/quote'] Until they die from their first encounters with filth, disease and vermin, since they don't exist in the SCA version of the Middle Ages. Same goes for Renaissance Fair attendees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted February 18, 2006 Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 Re: What's wrong with the electricity....? Ren Faire attendees are vermin. What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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