The Emberverse series—or Change World—is a series of post-apocalyptic alternate history novels written by S. M. Stirling.
The novels depict the events following a mysterious—yet sudden—worldwide event called "The Change" that occurs at 6:15 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, March 17, 1998. The Change alters both the course of history and all physical laws when it causes all the electricity, firearms, explosives, internal combustion engines, steam power and most forms of high-energy-density technology on Earth to permanently no longer work. Most of the action in the series takes place in the Willamette Valley of Oregon in the United States. The series primarily focuses on how the characters survive the loss of 600 years of technological progress. The first book, Dies the Fire, concerns the conflicts between a Portland-based neo-feudalist dictatorship and the free communities of the Willamette Valley, primarily the Bearkillers and the Wiccan Clan Mackenzie. The later series, The Change, focuses on the now-adult children of the original trilogy's major characters. A third sub-series, beginning with The Golden Princess, features the grandchildren of the original survivors as the central characters, and concluded with 2018's The Sky-Blue Wolves. The Emberverse is closely related to the preceding Stirling Nantucket series. Both deal with the aftermath of The Change, though its effect is radically different in the two series.
Novels and short stories
Novels Book # Title UK release US/Canadian release Dies the Fire (Emberverse I) 1 Dies the Fire July 1, 2004Books by S.M. Stirling on Amazon UK. Retrieved on July 9, 2011 July 1, 2004Books by S.M. Stirling on Amazon US. Retrieved on July 9, 2011 At 6:15 pm Pacific Standard Time, March 17, 1998, a sudden worldwide event known as the "Change" alters physical laws so that electricity, gunpowder, steam power, and most forms of high-energy-density technology no longer work. Two groups of people try to survive in Oregon's Willamette Valley, while a history professor starts a neo-feudal empire in the ruins of Portland. 2 The Protector's War September 6, 2005 September 6, 2005 Eight years after the Change, the Portland Protective Association prepares for a war of conquest against the other communities of the Willamette Valley, but the arrival of a group of English refugees changes things for everyone. 3 A Meeting at Corvallis September 5, 2006 September 5, 2006 The war between the Portland Protective Association and the other communities of the Willamette Valley begins. The Change (Emberverse II) 4 The Sunrise Lands September 30, 2007 September 4, 2007 Twenty-two years after the Change, Rudi Mackenzie leads a quest to Nantucket, while an expanding power threatens the Willamette Valley. 5 The Scourge of God September 2, 2008 September 2, 2008 Rudi's quest continues while the nations of the Meeting prepare for war. 6 The Sword of the Lady August 25, 2009 August 25, 2009 Rudi finally reaches Nantucket, seeking the Sword of the Lady. 7 The High King of Montival September 7, 2010 September 7, 2010 Rudi, now hailed as Artos, the High King of Montival, returns with the Sword, forming a coalition against the Prophet. 8 The Tears of the Sun September 6, 2011September 6, 2011 Important events that occurred in the years when Rudi and the questers were away on their search for the Sword are explained, and preparations for the final battles against the Prophet and Boise are described, providing a set-up for the concluding volumes. 9 Lord of Mountains September 4, 2012 September 4, 2012 The forces of Montival and its allies fight the penultimate battle against the Prophet and Artos experiences a life changing event with the Sword near a mountain lake. 10 The Given Sacrifice September 3, 2013 September 3, 2013 Montival and its allies have won the final battle in the war against the CUT, but as peace settles across Montival and its borders spread toward San Francisco, a new enemy emerges from across the seas, and a hero falls. The Change (Emberverse III) 11 The Golden Princess September 2, 2014 September 2, 2014 A new monarch of Montival must forge her own future, and protect it from the forces of evil that reemerge a generation after CUT was eliminated. 12 The Desert and the Blade September 2015 September 1, 2015 Continuing their quest that began in The Golden Princess, two future rulers of a world without technology risk their lives seeking a fabled blade... 13 Prince of Outcasts September 6, 2016 September 6, 2016 (Previously announced as Prince John) Prince John Arminger Mackenzie, younger brother of Crown Princess Órlaith, takes center stage as the children born after the Change and their children battle against powers that are not sympathetic to humans and human concerns. 14 The Sea Peoples October 2017 October 10, 2017 Prince John falls captive to the power of the Yellow Raja while his sister, the Crown Princess Órlaith, leads a mostly Montivallian sea-borne expeditionary force across the Pacific in search of the malignant forces behind the attack of her father. (The author acknowledged Robert W. Chambers and his book The King in Yellow for inspiring this particular book.) 15 The Sky-Blue Wolves November 6, 2018 November 6, 2018The author announced that this novel is the final book in the series and that he has already started work on a new series.
Short stories Most of the short stories so far are set 50 years after the Change, except for "Pronouncing Doom," which is set in 1999. Some in the Collection The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth are set throughout the Emberverse series.
Story Author Published in Publication date "A Murder in Eddsford" S.M. Stirling Sideways in Crime June 2008 A murder mystery set in post-Change Great Britain in late August 2049AD, 51 years after the Change, featuring the characters of Rutherston and Bramble. "Something for Yew" S.M. Stirling Ice, Iron and Gold October 2007 A mystery featuring Rutherston and Bramble set in January 2050AD, almost 52 years after the Change. "Ancient Ways" S.M. Stirling Warriors March 2010A Don Cossack and two Kalmyks have an adventure near the Volga and the Don Rivers set 57 years after the Change. "Pronouncing Doom" S.M. Stirling Dangerous Women December 2013 A short story set in Mackenzie territory in 1999. "Introduction: The Change as Setting and Secondary World" S.M. Stirling The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 Not a story, but an essay on the world of the Change as a shared world. "Hot Night at the Hopping Toad" S.M. Stirling The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 A detective story starring Princess Órlaith Arminger Mackenzie in Year 41 After Change. "Rate of Exchange" A. M. Dellamonica The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 The PPA and Council of Troops send diplomats to the Cree Alliance. Takes place soon after book 10, The Given Sacrifice. "Tight Spot" Kier Salmon The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 A story set in the McClintock territory, southern Oregon CY 46. "Against the Wind" Lauren C. Teffeau The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 A family of ship salvagers must escape Haida pirates in Alaska, CY 0. "The Demons of Witmer Hall" M. T. Reiten The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 Two scientists, named Krik Vandermeer and Murali Rao at the University of North Dakota test the limits of the Change just after it happens. "Bernie, Lord of the Apes" John Jos. Miller The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 Zookeepers outside of Miami confront a mob in CY 2. A self-referential spoof of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan series. "The Seeker: A Poison in the Blood" Victor Milán The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 A desperado in the Chihuahuan Desert has a Hyborian adventure in CY 26. "Grandpa's Gift" Terry D. England The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 Scholars fight to save books in Louisiana, CY 46. "Fortune and Glory" John Birmingham The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 Three of Birmingham's favorite characters from the John Birmingham novel Without Warning are transported to Stirling's Emberverse. They take on a commission from the King of Darwin to salvage in Sydney. (The characters reappear in Stirling's own novel Prince of Outcasts subsequently.) "The Venetian Dialectic" Walter Jon Williams The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 A Venetian Admiral must out-smart all others in a cruel game played at Rhodes, CY 46. "The Soul Remembers Uncouth Noises" John Barnes The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 A story, told by extensive use of flashbacks, about a group of children with disabilities on the night of the Change and the adults they grow into in CY 26. "Topanga and the Chatsworth Lancers" Harry Turtledove The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 A group of California hippies fights off bigger city expansionists in CY 46. (Stirling revisits Topanga and Chatsworth in the main-sequence novel The Desert and the Blade "The Hermit and the Jackalopes" Jane Lindskold The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 A loner must put aside past hurts in order to save a family outside the ruins of Albuquerque, New Mexico. "The New Normal" Jody Lynn Nye The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 A story inspired by a mention in The Protector's War of a coven who survived in the New Forest of England. "A Missed Connection" Emily Mah The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 A recently returned LDS missionary tries to wait out the Change in order to get news of his love. CY 0. "Deor" Diana Paxson The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth June 2015 Paxson brings two characters inspired by her Westria novels into Stirling's Emberverse, setting them in Mendocino County, California. (The characters Deor Wide-Faring and Thora Garwood become prominent characters in the series proper from The Desert and the Blade onward.)
Post-Change Oregon
Though the Change caused a large loss of life everywhere, Oregon suffered less than most places of similar population density. Although the region lost over 95 percent of its population, it was spared being turned into a "death zone" with no survivors except bands of cannibals—the usual fate for areas around large cities—for several reasons.
First, much of the population of Portland—the largest city in the region—was forced out by the Portland Protective Association (PPA) and either died en masse or joined the tens of thousands congregated in large refugee camps around Salem. Second, the Oregon state government prevented refugees from foraging in the rural areas without government approval. This protected the rural areas from losing their food and supplies, especially since rural citizens tended to fight off the foragers successfully. Third, large numbers of people living in refugee camps with limited medical supplies became susceptible to disease, including the bubonic plague. Thanks to strict quarantine methods, the rural communities in Oregon were spared the worst effects of the plague.
Post-Change Oregon history is then marked with the PPA's attempts to conquer the entire Willamette Valley, but the southern communities—led by the Bearkillers and Clan Mackenzie—successfully opposed them. The last attempt was called the War of the Eye, or the Protector's War, and ended with the mutual deaths of Lord Protector Arminger at the hands of Lord Bear Havel, who died shortly thereafter from his own wounds from the duel. The end of the war saw the end of the PPA's attempts at southern conquest, and the creation of "The Meeting", a United Nations–like organization dedicated to keeping the peace among the different factions in the valley. A decade later, the nations of the Meeting became embroiled in a war with the combined forces of the Church Universal and Triumphant and the United States of Boise.
Portland Protective Association (PPA)