S. M. Stirling

Perhaps this is more appropriate for the Sci-Fi group, but the book isn't especially sci-fish to me.

I've seen on some reviews statements that there are more books to the series than Dies the Fire, The Protector's War, Meeting at Corvallis, Sunrise Lands and The Scourge of God. However, I looked at the books on indigo.ca, and they don't seem connected to me. They did look good though, so I bought them.

Are there other books in the series?

I think the plans are for two trilogies here on this side of the event.

There is also the original trilogy, that takes place on Nantucket. This is where people of our time are transported back becuase of an event. I am not sure having only read the Nantucket series and the first four books in Dies the Fire if the plan of keeping the event as a central theme continued

ISLAND IN THE SEA OF TIME SERIES

Island in the Sea of Time (Penguin/Roc, 0-451-45675-0, Mar '98)
Against the Tide of Years (Penguin/Roc, 0-451-45743-9, May '99)
On the Oceans of Eternity (Penguin/Roc, 0-451-45780-3, May 2000)
"Blood Wolf" in The First Heroes: New Tales of the Bronze Age, ed. Harry Turtledove and Noreen Doyle, (Tor, 0-765-30286-1, May 2004) Short story set about 15 years after On the Oceans of Eternity.

Stirling had some material about the brits on his website at one time explaining more of his universe. Don't know if it is till around.

The question then is, how could that event change the laws of physics the way it did for the Change books?

In Science Fiction or Fantasy one does not need the laws of physics. In Science Fiction, the Aliens did it. They obviously have a much more advanced science then we do and greater understanding of how to bend physics to there will.

In Fantasy, the gods or magic does it.

In Dies the Fire, I can understand an EMP stopping everything for a moment, and plunging us into chaos, but then the chemical reaction of the basic process of gunpowder does not work, so it is obviously many different things stopping.

I think in Nantucket they try to figure it out, and in Dies the Fire, they just go with the flow

If you are really interested there is an extremely active yahoo group (Appropriately named stirling) where ideas and issues from his books and everywhere else are talked about. Basically "the event" that changes the world in both the Nantucket series and Dies the Fire is the same: the transference of the island of Nantucket into the far past.

In the Nantucket series you end up with a "lost in time" scenario as modern people try to cope with their changed circumstances.

In Dies the Fire things get really nasty. The event causes our physical reality to change stopping all higher level chemical reactions, changing laws of pressure, etc. The characters in the books think that some higher power caused it (whether God, gods, aliens or something else) is a point of contention. The newer books are about the second generation who don't really care why things changed, its the only world they know.

The new books also have a lot more references to extra powerful entities who help or hinder the various factions. Online debate continues over the nature of the entities.

I truly enjoy these series and recommend all of Stirling's books (the Draka series is different than the others, good, but different).

I've bought the Nantucket books as well, but haven't gotten around to reading them, although they do look good.

Thanks for the explanation, and I might look into the group as well.

The Nantucket series kinda merges with the Change in The Sword Of The Lady, I think.

For those in Chicagoland S. M. Stirling will be Guest of Honor at Capricon February 6th - 9th.