Dies the Fire starts with a completely ridiculously-science-fictional event*: in an instant, electricity and explosives all over the world stop working. Millions die in car crashes, planes, etc. Cities become death-traps of starvation and disease. The novel mainly follows two small bands of survivors in the Pacific Northwest. It's a grand adventure and a good read, but also kind of freaked me out. It really made me think about our modern lives, how far our food comes from, and so on.

I do have to give the book props for avoiding a specific pet peeve of mine: it's a first book of a trilogy, but comes to a very satisfying conclusion instead of a cliffhanger.

FuzzyCo grade: A

* Or maybe actually "fantasy", as it's never really explained, it's just the launching-off point for the rest of the novel.