"Dies the Fire" Derivative of Boyett?

Cafe Society
1

God, that’s a clumsy thread title, but I’m sticking with it.

My question is about the recent novel Dies the Fire, by S.M. Stirling. I haven’t read it, but when I looked at the book jacket blurb, it sounded like it had almost exactly the same premise as Stephen Boyett’s book Ariel, published back in 1981. Specifically: one day, all electronic and electrical devices, and also firearms and explosives, stop working, so that modern society immediately collapses. In both books, this event is called “the Change”. In Ariel, the loss of modern technology was mirrored by the sudden appearance of mythical animals such as unicorns, and magic suddenly started working; otherwise, same deal.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with using an idea that’s appeared before; you can’t expect every new science fiction or fantasy book to have a completely new premise. But it would have been nice to have some acknowledgement to Boyett. I couldn’t find one, and haven’t been able to find any mention of the connection on the Internet.

So, for those who have both books, am I completely wrong about this? And is Dies the Fire any good? Thanks.

2

I noticed that too, although Boyett added magic and a shitload of magical creatures along with modern stuff not working. It seemed pretty obvious in Boyett’s Ariel that the Change was a product of magic, whereas in Dies the Fire it’s made clear it’s a function of highly advanced alien technology.

3

Oh, and having read it, Dies the Fire is pretty entertaining, if a bit implausible in the luck of the main characters.

4

Dies The Fire is a very good book, although it suffers from “first book of a trilogy” -itis. Lots to set up, lots of characters to introduce.

There is a similarity to Boyett, but it wasn’t an original idea by Boyett. Authors have written in the general area of Dies The Fire for years upon years.

5

Thanks, guys. Maybe I’ll pick up the Stirling book. Might reread Ariel first; not a great book, but quite enjoyable, especially considering that Boyett wrote it when he was all of twenty or twenty-one. (So was I at the time.)