The Emberverse series, or the Change World,^[1] is a set of alternate history, post-apocalyptic novels written by S. M. Stirling. The novels focus on the events after "The Change", which caused electricity, guns, explosives, internal combustion engines and steam power to stop working. Most of the action in the series takes place in the Willamette Valley of the U.S. state of Oregon.

The primary focus of the first three books of the series is how people survive the loss of 500 years of technological progress. Meanwhile, a conflict escalates between the Portland-based neo-feudal dictatorship created by a sociopathic former history professor, and the free communities of the Willamette Valley. The most notable are the Wiccan Clan Mackenzie and a group led by a former Marine, called the Bearkillers. The current books focus on the now adult children of the major characters of the original trilogy.

• The High King of Montival (2010)^[4]
• The Blood of the Sun (TBA)
• The Given Sacrifice (TBA)

All the short stories so far are set 50 years after the Change. ^[5]

• A Murder in Eddsford - a murder mystery set in Post-Change Britain, in the anthology Sideways in Crime.
• Something for Yew - another Rutherston and Bramble mystery, in the anthology Ice, Iron and Gold.
• Ancient Ways - a Don Cossack, and a couple of Kalmyks have an adventure near the Volga and the Don Rivers, in the anthology Warriors.^[6]

Stirling has also hinted that there may be a shared-world anthology set in the Emberverse.^[7]

Though the Change caused a large loss of life everywhere, Oregon suffered rather less than most places of similar population density. Though losing over 95% of its population, it was spared being turned into a 'death zone' with no survivors at all except the more successful cannibal bands. This is what usually happened in areas around large cities, like Portland.

There were several reasons for this. First much of the population of Portland, the largest city, 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 the refugees from foraging in the rural areas, except for government approved groups mounted on bicycles, This protected the rural areas from losing their food and supplies, especially since the citizens of small towns and farmers tended to fight the foraging groups successfully. Third, the large amount of people living in refugee camps with limited medical supplies became susceptible to disease. Thanks to strict quarantine methods, the rural communities in Oregon were spared the worst effects of the plague.^[8]

Post-Change Oregon history is then marked with attempts by the PPA to conquer the entire Willamette Valley, but the southern communities led by the Bearkillers and Clan Mackenzie successfully oppose them. ^[9][10] The last attempt is called the War of the Eye or the Protector’s War, and ended with the death of Lord Protector Arminger at the hands of Lord Bear Havel. The end of the war saw the PPA ending their attempts at conquest south and the creation of “The Meeting”, a United Nations like organization dedicated to keeping the peace among the different factions in the valley. ^[11] A decade later the nations of the Meeting have become embroiled in a war with the combined forces of the Church Universal and Triumphant and the United States of Boise.

Information released by Stirling stated that “Montival”, from the title of the upcoming novel High King of Montival, will mean the area of Oregon where most of the series is set.^{[citation needed]}

Portland Protective Association (PPA): A neo-feudal dictatorship founded by history professor and Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) member Norman Arminger, and his wife Sandra, aided by former urban gang-members and members of the SCA. The nation follows medieval Norman customs and practices. They build castles to protect the farming communities and are the centers of regional government where barons and other nobles sit. The PPA aristocracy often refers to its members as Associates.

Jousting and baseball are popular sports. For a time the PPA had a self-appointed Pope and operated an Inquisition, but this ended after contact was again made with the real Pope in Italy. Knights are the strength of the PPA military, who are trained from childbirth to fight on armored horseback. Sandra Arminger rules for her daughter Mathilda as a regent ever since the death of Norman at the end of the War of the Eye. The national heraldic symbol adopted by the PPA is the 'Lidless Eye,' an allusion to the Eye of Sauron from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. ^[12] The PPA is centered on Portland and stretches from Astoria to Pendleton. The Protector's Palace used to be the Portland Central Library.

Bearkillers: A military organization founded by former Marine Mike Havel. Made up of refugees from the Change, the group emigrated from its beginnings in Idaho to its current base at Larsdalen, the former Larsson family ranch, in Oregon. Havel saved the wealthy Larsson family from death after crash-landing their light airplane in the mountains of Idaho; they later formed the nucleus of the Bearkiller Outfit. The lands held by the Bearkillers are divided into outlying farms centering upon a fortified settlement, with a smithy, mill and other utilitarian buildings. The Bearkillers military elite are the “A Listers”, who become part of the brotherhood of the Bearkillers after completing an apprenticeship program. Membership in the "A List" is open to both men and women who are able to meet the rigorous physical requirements and have passed the requisite training regimen. The Bearkillers' military is noted for its use of pikes and horse archers. The “Lord Bear” leads them but they have a democratic council that also helps govern. The heraldic symbol of the Bearkillers is a red or crimson snarling bear's head on brown.^[12] The Bearkillers main base of Larsdalen is centered west of Salem and northeast of Rickreall.

Bearkillers celebrate the day of the Change (March 17) as holiday known as "Gunpowder Day." Festivities include the Lord Bear setting a bowl of gunpowder on fire in order to see if the laws of physics have been restored to their original condition, a feast with representatives from local nations attending, and at night the induction of new members into the Brotherhood of the Bearkillers. The Bearkillers venerate the Aesir as well as the Christian God.

Clan Mackenzie: A Georgian Wiccan clan^[13] founded by folk-singer and High Priestess Juniper Mackenzie and members of her Singing Moon coven who fled to her country home.^[14] The place was renamed “Dun Juniper” after it was rebuilt into a fortified homestead. The Clan includes several other Duns, that were built as the population expanded, and the walled city of Sutterdown, which is based on the town of Brownsville. Dun Juniper remains the capital of the faction. Mackenzie’s weapon of choice is the longbow, but in hand-to-hand fighting they use the gladius and shield, though not in the Roman style. The Clan practices religious freedom but there are few non-Wiccans in the population. The heraldic symbol of the clan is a crescent moons above silver elk horns on green. The Mackenzie tartan is colored green, brown and black, with thin orange piping.^[12] This is not the color of the historical Clan Mackenzie whose tartan is white, red, green and blue.^[15]

Mount Angel: After the Change, the Benedictine monks of Mount Angel Abbey aided the local town and refugees get through the worse of the crisis. Similar to organizations like the Knights Templar, the monks and sisters of the Abbey now maintain martial skills to protect their nation. Mount Angel Abbey itself was rebuilt into a large fortress that is considered the strongest in the area. The head of the Abbey is also the most influential leader of Mount Angel, though the town elects a mayor to govern it in secular matters. The Mount Angel banner carries the image of Virgin and Child.^[12]

Corvallis: Corvallis is a city-state at the southern end of the Willamette Valley. The former faculty of Oregon State University governs the city. The Faculty Senate, as they call themselves, holds public assemblies in the Gill Coliseum. The traditions of the university have been adopted by the new nation with the school fight song acting as the national anthem and the school mascot as their flag.^[12] It is a very wealthy state that also controls the town of Newport as a port. The Corvallis military prefers pikes as their weapon of choice, wielded by well-trained citizen levies rather than professionals, bolstered by catapults and other siege engines. It is currently the headquarters of The Meeting.

Dúnedain Rangers: Founded by Astrid Larsson of the Bearkiller Larsson family, the Rangers are a semi-mercenary military organization that protects caravans and fights brigands in the Willamette Valley. Ranger lifestyle is based largely on the The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, even requiring all members to learn Sindarin (Elvish). Rangers are also required to learn sign language as part of their training. The Rangers operate out of Mithrilwood, which is located in the old Silver Falls State Park, centered upon the settlement they have named Stardell Hall. The Rangers' flag features a silver tree and seven stars, similar to the royal standard of Gondor. ^[12]

Central Oregon Ranchers Association (CORA): A confederation of independent ranchers and farmers located in eastern Oregon. The ranchers and farmers of the area took in refugees after the Change who now work for the men who allowed them to settle on their land. Warriors of CORA prefer to ride horseback using bows, sabres and javelins. The capital is located at Bend.

Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs: A confederation of Native American tribes originally confined to the Warm Springs Indian Reservation but expanded after the Change. Warm Springs accepted refugees from the Change to settle in their territory and help farm. Many of these refugees even adopted the local customs and traditions of the tribes. They stayed neutral during the War of the Eye, but did allow CORA forces to pass through their territory.

Pendleton: Shortly after the Change, this area of Oregon became embroiled in a civil war between the town of Pendleton and the local ranchers against a nearby Native American reservation. For a short time the area was a duchy of the PPA but they were forced to leave after the end of the War of the Eye. By 2020 there is a nominal government located at Pendleton, however the local ranchers continue to exercise influence during the annual Pendleton Round-up. The area is quite lawless and slavery (or registered refugees as they are called) is still practiced.

After the Change happened, millions of North Americans were denied the technology they had been dependent on. The Eastern United States and California were some of the worst hit as starving urbanites ate the remaining food in the area before resorting to cannibalism. Pockets of civilization, mostly around the Great Plains, survived if there were no large cities around. Several new nations sprang up to keep order in the changed world. ^[16]

The new governments were organized along a feudal structure with American terms adapting to describe Medieval concepts (cowboys for knights, sheriffs for barons, etc.). Memory of the United States continues to affect the culture of these nations. Many of these nations fly the US flag and several leaders take the term "President of the United States" along with their other titles.

The Sioux and Haida have also carved out sizable nations in North America. The Haida have returned to practicing slavery, raiding the Oregon coast for new slaves. The Sioux live a nomadic lifestyle, taking care of their herds and hunting buffalo, while also raiding their neighbors unless they pay them protection money. The Sioux made an unsuccessful attempt to conquer Fargo and Marshall, and fought a war with the CUT that led to a somewhat unfavorable (to the Sioux) peace treaty.

In Hawaiʻi, the population of Oʻahu wiped itself out, but civilization still exists on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. The island produces coffee, which has become a rare commodity in North America. Prince Edward Island also survived relatively intact and is now a part of the British Empire. No information has been given involving the fates of Mexico or Central America, although there appear to be nascent trade routes connecting the PPA with what are referred to as the "Latin Countries," which may refer to either Central America or South America. Chocolate is also imported from the Caribbean Sea, suggesting that there are survivors in that area.

By the year 2050, Britain lays claim to the east coast of North America and Jamaican merchants trade in British ports. ^[17]

Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT): Located in Paradise Valley, Montana, the religious organization has built an empire controlling most of Montana and Wyoming. Under the leadership of the Prophet, the CUT is aggressively spreading their religion, often resorting to conquest to do so. Soldiers of CUT are commonly called “Cutters.”

United States of America (Boise): Founded by President Thurston, the country claims all of the territory of the old United States, vowing to once again reunite the country. Though they call themselves the United States of America, most of their neighbors only refer them as the “United States of Boise.” The nation follows the military practices of the Roman Empire. Though technically a democracy, elections haven’t been held for some time. When President Thurston attempted to hold elections finally he was assassinated and replaced by his son Martin Thurston.

New Deseret: Mormon theocracy covering northern Utah and southern Idaho. At the beginning of The Sunrise Lands the nation is in a losing war with CUT. By the end of Scourge they have been occupied by CUT but bands of rebels continue to offer resistance.

Provisional Republic of Iowa: Iowa managed to weather the Change thanks to its rural economy, low population, and the fact that the Governor closed the bridges across the Mississippi River so starving refugees from the eastern states could not enter. By the time of Scourge it is one of the largest and wealthiest nations in North America. Farmers act as landed gentry in Iowa society with "Vakis" (short for the "evacuees" from the cities who were resettled as unskilled labor on farms) serving the same role as serfs. The position of Governor is also hereditary despite the nation being called a republic. Iowa has also established a small presence in the former territories of Illinois.

Iowa is surrounded by a number of smaller states: Nebraska, Marshall, Fargo, Richland, Kirksville and Concordia. Marshall and Fargo received aid from some of the others, especially Richland and Iowa, during their war with the Sioux.

Due to the difficulties in communicating across the world caused by the Change, information on the rest of the world is scant. Some information, however, has been revealed.

In Great Britain the royal family and others were evacuated to the Isle of Wight to protect them from the starving rioters of the cities. A couple years later resettlement began from Wight and other islands and farmland was once again reestablished in England and continental Europe. Contact was made with other parts of the world, including Iceland, which removed a substantial portion of its population to Britain in order to survive. Gibraltar (which had started to colonize southern Spain and Morocco), Ulster, and Prince Edward Island all survived and swore loyalty to the British government and along with the new territories being colonized in Europe and North Africa, leading to a rebirth of the British Empire. Tasmania and New Zealand also recognized British sovereignty over them, but due to distance this is only a symbolic gesture.

Other parts of Europe also survived the Change and prospered. Parts of Scandinavia that survived formed the nation of "Norrland" and divided Western Europe with Britain along the old German border. Parts of Ireland besides Ulster survived including the Republic of the Shannon and, in the north, the Republic of Ireland (Provisional), called "Provoland," a fanatical Republican entity to the immediate west and south of the Principality of Ulster. In Italy two nations arose out of the Change: Sicily and the Umbrian League. Not much has been revealed of Eastern Europe, though it has been reported it had a better survival rate than Western Europe.

The Pope died in the Vatican at the time of the Change but Cardinal Ratzinger fled to Umbria where the connections with the worldwide Roman Catholic church were reestablished in time for his election as the new Pope. Probably the greatest post-Change success of the Roman Catholic Church was reunification with the Church of England and the crowning of the British monarch as Emperor of the West.

For a time Europe was threatened by raids from pirates out of the Canary Islands, supported by the Emir of Dakar. A coalition of European nations joined together to retake the Canary Islands and then destroy their bases on mainland Africa.^[18]

Information on the rest of the world is scanty. Merchants from Astoria and Newport have been trading at several ports in Asia, including one named New Singapore. Parts of South America apparently survived, given that Cardinals from there participated in the election of the new Pope. Sicily has colonized Libya while a scattering of African city-states have survived along the coast of the continent including Cape Town.

Stirling has confirmed that the Emberverse series is linked to the Nantucket series.^[19] Evidence of this can be found throughout the novels:

• The Change occurs at the same time (6:15 pm PST, March 17 1998) as the Event which propels Nantucket back in time.^[20]
• Pamela Arnstein is possibly related to Ian Arnstein.^{[citation needed]}
• The Mackenzie Dennis Martins' brother John, a blacksmith, is an important secondary character in the Nantucket series.^[21]
• The Larssons bought their Montana property from the family of William Walker, the principal antagonist of the Nantucket series, and Signe dated him briefly.^[22]
• A general in the Church Universal and Triumphant is named Walker and may be related to William Walker.^{[citation needed]}
• Ingolf has a vision of Nantucket where he sees a picture of Swindapa.^[23]
• Two of the protagonists of the Nantucket Series, Marion Alston and Swindapa, appear at the end of The Sword of the Lady as aspects of the Maiden/Mother/Crone trinary during a vision sequence.^{[citation needed]}

The Emberverse series connection to the Nantucket series has led to some confusion by readers. Science fiction writer Paul Di Filippo appeared to miss the connection entirely when he was quoted as saying:

I'm a little baffled as to why Stirling set this book in 1998. It seems to me that it requires more suspension of disbelief to pretend the world ended in the past when we know it didn't.^[24]

Another reviewer also missed the connection:

Curiously, Stirling has set this novel in 1998 placing us firmly within the realms of alternative history. The reason for the use of this device is not clear, as it doesn't really impact upon the progress of the narrative. Perhaps the author sought after a sense of immediacy garnered by making the events take place in our past rather than our future. Perhaps he sought to avoid the work being viewed as a prediction of things to come - an obvious trap for many speculative works.^[25]

Stirling explores the imprint a leader makes on an organization. Havel's small group organizes along military lines, brought on by Mike's time in the Marines, as they travel from the site of their plane crash in Idaho to the Larsson homestead in Oregon. The Mackenzie group adopts a Celtic clan structure to farm and fortify Juniper Mackenzie's family homestead, influenced by Wicca and Juniper's Celtic heritage.^[24]

Stirling also explores how dependent humanity has become upon its technology and to what conditions we might be forced to regress to if we are denied our advanced technology. One reviewer of Dies the Fire said the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has given the novel "a degree of gravitas stronger than it would have had otherwise."^[26] Another reviewer also agreed that Stirling is using the Emberverse to examine just how thin the veneer we call "civilization" actually is.^[27]

Another theme of the series is that the First World is more likely to survive the Change better than the Third World. Stirling speculates that the developed world is a larger repository of handicraft lore than the undeveloped world, because the latter group heavily relies on First World castoffs and too busy on a day-to-day basis to keep up the old ways. Meanwhile people in the First World have the leisure to become expert horse riders or bow makers.^[24]

Often it appears in the novels that since the Change occurred magic now exists in the world. When asked whether he was leaving room for magic in the Emberverse, Stirling replied that he could not answer that since he did not wish to give away any plot points, but admitted that by Scourge people will begin to decide whether or not "magic" is possible in the series.^[19] One reviewer described Scourge as being like a Greek tragedy due to certain characters receiving visions from "gods", incidents of demonic possessions, cursed arrows, and other uses of magic.^[28] As Father Ignatius notes, however, there is always a rational explanation available when he remarked that Ingolf's capture by Kuttner when he simply spoke a word at the end of The Sunrise Lands was probably done by the use of post-hypnotic suggestion.^[29] One reviewer, however, suggests that magic is real in the Emberverse only because the characters are willing to make it real in terms of their behavior.^[30]

• Alien space bats

• World of Dies the Fire - Google Map listing places mentioned in Dies the Fire, The Protector's War and A Meeting at Corvallis.
• World of The Sunrise Lands - Google Map listing places mentioned in The Sunrise Lands and sequels.
• Speculative map showing the dead zones of the Emberverse books
• Emberverse fan fiction
• Emberverse at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Emberverse on LibraryThing

• Stirling Studies 3: What Does Remain if Steam Engines Stop? by B. Lukács
• S. M. Stirling’s Strange World of Alternate History by Fredric Smoler - article on American Heritage discussing various titles by Stirling, including the Emberverse series.