Book Log 2007 #14: Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling

The first book in a series that's spun off from the Island in the Sea of Time series, the same event that sends Nantucket a couple of millenia back in time impacts the present day by eliminating electricity (and lessening the effects of combustion on things like explosives). As you can imagine, things go downhill pretty quickly as people realize that the juice isn't coming back.

It does help, apparently, to be a Wiccan, a former Marine, or an academic who has studied the Middle Ages. Communities form around characters who are all three, and their formation, growth, and interaction makes up the bulk of the book.

I was a little dubious going into the book, fearing kind of a nerd utopia vision, but enjoyed it more as it went along. I'm still not clear on what can burn and what can't - gasoline seems to work in bonfires, but steam engines can't get up the requisite pressure to function properly. There are other little bits along the way that I found odd, but overall it's a decent book if you're into this sort of thing.