Topic: S. M. Stirling

[MagicalPen]

I am not sure how many of you are familiar with S. M. Stirling but i picked up a book of his yesterday called Dies the Fire. Its part of triology set during 1999. Its post-apocalyptic in setting, but is not what you are thinking. Some unexplainable thing happens that renders anything electronic useless. Engines, electronics, pumps, everything! Gunpowder and explosives dont work either. What ensues is utter chaos. 747 fall out of the sky, causing widespread damage and death especially over major cities. Everything taken for granted is gone. People in cities suffer the most, people turn to canabalism. Some people start to form their own communities. Small farming towns are the best off, but millions of people are going hungry. A few people take iniative. Gangs are consolidated into armies using medieval aged weapons and armor. They steal from those that have it. etc etc.

I read about 200 pages of the book yesterday and its inspired me to tinker with the idea of running a game along those general lines. Any takers?

[OldSchoolGamer]

Damn fine read, that book, and the sequel.

[slavetomydesire]

Both sequels were great. He's working on a followup trilogy set 15 years later with the children of the suvivors as the main characters I think.

Stirling writes a great yarn and has good strong female characters. I've loved all of his stuff.

[MagicalPen]

Yeah, i found him by luck the other day. Looking for something to read and my local bookstore is pretty small. Luckily they have the first two of the series, and wikipedia filled me in on the rest! I just really like that sort of setting...modern, right after a world wide catastrophy. I've got a book called World War Z...about a Zombie virus break out. Author also wrote a book called The Zombie Survival Kit or something. Interesting read. WWZ is 'survivor' accounts of what happened. I read a few chapters but got side tracked with school work at the time.

[Xerial]

This is too eerie... I just started re-reading Dies the Fire last night, and five minutes after I put the book down I read this post.

[slavetomydesire]

My favorite is still Island in the Sea of Time. But all of his stuff is good.

[MagicalPen]

Yeah, i like what i've read so far. Already 200+ pages into the second book.I could never write a female character as strongly as he can either. I find it amusing who he hangs out with (the Thanks page)...Harry Turtledove is also a very good alternate-history author.

But to slide this thread back on track  anyone maybe interested in a game run in that sort of setting?

[Stevej101]

I have not read the books (yet) having just heard of them here.  But as I look at the title and first paragraph of a story I was toying with I guess I'll have to delete it as it sounds almost word for word stolen :(  always late with the good ideas.

Anyway, if this will be not so much by the book it sounds interesting to me.  There is always a place in the post apocalypic world for an evil overlord. 

[OldSchoolGamer]

Anything ever come out of this idea?

[Seereous]

Never read the books, but I'm a sucker for post apocalypse stuff. 

[Xerial]

I finally picked up the Protector's War... the whole chapter on the Brits at the start seemed odd, but I know it'll fit...

This be a genre rife with possibilities...

[MagicalPen]

Yeah, seemed odd to me, but you'll have to keep reading to find out why its important!

So yeah, stirring this up again, any interest in getting a game running in such a setting?

[Seereous]

I'm always interested in post apocalypse.  Bought the first book today.  Going to start it either tonight or tomorrow.  I already have a character concept in my head. 

[MagicalPen]

Doesnt look like any interest in this though.

[OldSchoolGamer]

Well, I'd be interested.

[KeyOfTwilight]

To me it sounds a lot like a book I read called "Magic Time."  Same idea where the technology doesnt work anymore, but now add in people 'becoming' other creatures, things you might see out of fantasy novels, or gaining powers or knowledge they did not have previously.  I'd be interested in any type of story that has the zero-tech idea incorporated in it (Thats what I like to call the idea of no technology working)