Dies the Fire

Enjoyable origin story for a "swords and horses" fantasy. This series pushes suspension of disbelief by including more and more functioning wicca "magic" into what is otherwise realistic "alternate future." However, that is a minimal factor in this book, which also includes the least filler of the series. "And then they were hungry. And then they sat down. And then they ate dandelions. And then they were still hungry. And then they sang this song. And now let's listen to them talk about how they are hungry and like to sing. And now let's talk about how wonderful wicca are, again." This book is about a third filler, meaning you still get a good 400 pages of story. After the first three books though, the series changes to 90% filler, so don't get too hooked. Unless you really like wicca and reading about preindustrial food.

I couldn't finish this book, and that's rare. It feels like the author needs to impress us with his knowledge of bowcraft, Wicca and camping. Imagine a story where each character's shoes are described in painstaking detail ... what color, what materials, how worn they were, how they were laced, how high they went, what their footprint looked like.... and you'll have an inkling of what reading this book is like.

The first time I picked up these books I fell in love with them. The author did a good job in his research while writing these, and it shows. He did an especially good job with the Clan Mackenzie Old religion. well though out post-apocalyptic scenario. I highly recommend this series.