This one only just misses getting 2 stars by virtue of the fact that Stirling is a good writer. The individual sentences and descriptions and scenes are fun to read. But all together? Well it deserves 2 stars because he has absolutely no idea when to STOP writing. There is *at least* one more book in this series, and I'm hoping I'll be able to get through it. And that getting through it doesn't prove to be a test of will power.

The fifth installment weighs in at just over 500 pages, and with an editor willing to say "Stop! Enough!" probably could have been at most 1/2 that. When the last book left off Rudi, Matti, Ingolf and their merry band had just escaped from the Cutters in Idaho. By the end of Scourge Of God they've mad it to Des Moines by way of South Dakota. At a guess, that works out to about 3 miles per page, so there are probably another 500 pages to go just for Rudi to get to Nantucket and the sword, and who know how many to get back.

**spoilers ahead**

All of this might not be so bad if such an incredibly large amount of time weren't spent on elaborate descriptions of daring do, followed by or as part of, a battle with the CUT and its allies in which Rudi's band picks up another cast-away child-heir to the thrown of the part of the country they are in at the moment who will join them on their quest to find the holy grail. I mean sword. Only to get to Des Moines where all of them are taken hostage by the local bossman to send Rudi on alone to find the sword.

Ok - that wasn't all that happened. For the first 1/3 of the book the adventures of the savior of the world are alternated with the members of the Compact gearing up to defend against the united might of the US of Idaho and the CUT just in time for it to turn into an actual battle or war or something, the purpose of which is to show that major supporting characters can actually be killed and everyone will be proud of how they died. Or something.

Really? Five hundred pages of this? We couldn't have skipped the long winter with the Buddhist monks where Rudi learns the ancient eastern wisdom of the middle way and armed and unarmed combat from a cardboard stereotype? Or meeting the ancient and noble Sioux warriors and getting adopted into their clan while getting a discourse on how to hunt the noble buffalo and use every part of it except the grunt? Or rescue a bunch of Mormon women so they can suicide-charge a bunch of CUT militia and slaver-cowboys? Or the repeated skirmish and escape from the terminator-like pursuit of the CUT mixed with detailed horse descriptions? Or the extended battle where Rudi and Mary (or was it Ritva) are injured to prove they aren't invulnerable and Rudi has a vision where he learns he will die in battle? (There might have been something there about him not being allowed to enter the promised land with everyone else, too.) I think pretty much every major religion except Hindi and Islam has been trotted out and shown to be just and good and equal representations of the magical pagan spirits. And of course the CUT are essentially worshiping the Devil. Maybe what this universe needs is some atheists for everyone else to gang up on. Maybe that's what we'll get in the next book instead of more set-piece battles and characters that don't really further the development of the main characters or add any depth to the world of the Change.

I'll read the next one in the hopes that it will be the last, but good grief. SM Stirling now holds my personal award for author most in need of an editor with an red pen and the guts to use it. ( )

The more books I read in the series, the more I appreciate Stirling's vision of a world after technology fails. Grim, realistic and more than a bit frightening. ( )

This is the 5th book in Stirling's "Emberverse" and the second book of the second grouping of books in that world. I enjoyed it as I do the series (with lots of handwaving about the change). Striling's strength is really the interesting characters and how they cope growing up in the same world as us with completely different rules.

I like watching the changelings grow up and come into their own in this part of the series, though I have the same complaint with this book as I did with the last. The ending is a big cliffhanger and I like a little more resolution. This second series in the emberverse really is starting to feel like one huge book rather than the four(?) planned ones- and I'm sure I like where the author decided to leave us hanging at each entry so far.

If you've read the other books then pick this one up- otherwise you're definitely starting in the wrong place. ( )

The second is Stirling's latest Emberverse series, this book follows up on The Sunrise Lands. I like the way this series is shaping up.

I understand it's to be a four book series following Rudi and his fellow adventurers as they quest eastward. It's unusual for Stirling to cover such a short amount of time in each book; usually it's all sweeping epics. I think he writes well either way, and I appreciate the change of pace.

Although I didn't feel as though the plot moved a ton, the characters are becoming well developed and delightful. (I especially love Alyward's kid.) The cliffhanger at the end was an "oh drat" moment, but it wasn't absolutely obnoxious, the way some can be.

My biggest complaint is that it was so short. I felt a little ripped-off. Maybe I shouldn't have read the chapters Stirling released on his website. It was practically half the book! I tried to re-read those when I got the hardcopy, but ended up skimming until I got to the point where they left off.

Maybe the next one will be longer. ( )

Over all a good follow on novel - it made me laugh, it made me cry - but it basically serves as a set up for the next novel. Something I personally dislike, as I believe that each book in a series should stand alone. That said - it is still an excellent read and I would recommend it - just be ready for the "to be continued..."