The Scourge of God

A Novel of the Change

By: S. M. Stirling

Narrated by: Todd McLaren

Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Rudi MacKenzie continues his trek across the land that was once the United States of America. His destination: Nantucket, where he hopes to learn the truth behind the Change that rendered technology across the globe inoperable.

During his travels, Rudi forges ties with new allies in the continuing war against the Prophet, who teaches his followers that God has punished humanity by destroying technological civilization. And one fanatical officer in the Sword of the Prophet has been dispatched on a mission: to stop Rudi from reaching his destination by any means necessary.

©2008 S.M. Stirling (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Stirling...eloquently describes a devastated, mystical world that will appeal to fans of traditional fantasy as well as post-apocalyptic SF." ( Pubilshers Weekly)

visions for err'body round here

worthy addition to the series. action packed, new characters, and even the nonpagans get religious-foreshadowing-visions.

A bit better than The Sunrise Lands

but still jolted by Mr. McLaren's mispronounciations. How about sluff for slough and rimpoch for rimpoche? Oh, and folks are still barring their teeth.

A superb story by a superb author

I read the Island in the Sea of Time trilogy and loved it. I was delighted when my son found Dies the Fire (first in this series) and gave it to me as a surprise birthday present. If anything the Dies the Fire series is even better than the Island series. Both have superbly developed characters, strong story lines, and are very captivating. Each year since the first I've devoured each new book in the series in a day or three, and then wait impatiently for the next one to come along.

The Audible treatment is, IMHO, also superb. I found the narrator to be better than most others on most audio books, and he does a very good job with voice changes, inflection, and accents - even doing a creditable job for the women.

I would highly recommend the series - both hard copy and Audible version to anyone who has imagination, enjoys strong characters, the struggle between good and evil (there are a few VERY evil ones in here!), and an epic adventure that stands with the very best in modern storytelling.

Outstanding!!

scourge of god

great story. gets better and better. this one had an abrupt turn of events, hopefully it's just a side quest. and doesn't take the whole next book.

Well Done!

I just finished listening to this book today. For the past month or so I have been listening to the series and, as usual, was disappointed to reach the end. The characters are easy to like or hate. There is plenty of action in all the books and this is no exception. I recommend that you not read the books out of sequence.
I don't want to write more because I might give hints about the plot and how it develops. So I will end by saying If you enjoy RR Martin's and Robert Jordan's books you cannot go wrong with this series.

Extremely captivating

Open reading this series for a couple years now at this point I'm Re listening to books I've already read And they're even better the 2nd time around.

Always a good read

This line of stories is my favorite series. The only dislike I have is the pronunciation of some of the locations, and that is just because of my proximity to a large portion of this story’s geographical location.

Excellent Story w/ a few mispronunciations

This series is set in Oregon, and main characters are witches (among others). I am from Oregon (Eastern Oregon), and I'm a witch. So this book had opportunity to offend and/or alienate me in two separate arenas. It didn't. I've been hooked since the first few pages of the first book.

I am very impressed that S.M. Stirling's stories can transport me the 2600 miles that currently lies between me and my native soil. I've been mesmerized since Dies the Fire, and have faithfully waited as each new book was released.

The one thing that will bother listeners who know the state well is the continued & blatant mispronunciation by Todd McLaren of places such as Gervais (pro: "JER viss", not "ger VIGH us"), and Umatilla (pro: "you ma TILL uh" not "oo ma TEE uh". There are other smatterings of mispronunciation that make me giggle or wince, but those are the 2 biggies. :)

All in all it's a magickal, and fascinating book and I can't wait to see what's in store for Rudy and company next year.

McLaren still can't pronounce Northwest place name

Would you listen to The Scourge of God again? Why?

Perhaps, there is a great deal of detail to absorb in one listening.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Love the strong female characters, but Rudy is the star of this book

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Todd McLaren?

McLaren does a fine job until he comes to a place name such as Umatilla which any local could tell you is pronounced you- ma -till - a and murders the name by calling it um - ma -tee -a Good Grief!!! He also murders Palouse. It is understandable that he did not know these names, but I do not understand why he didn't ask. In the last 2 books, he did get more of the names right than in the first books.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I likes the Sioux camp and the monastery is quite interesting. Battles are a bit to graphic for my taste, but it was probably necessary to describe them in detail.

A fun ride

I'm sad to see this series coming to a close. The narrator does a good job with the diffrent accents and speech patterns. Probly my second favorite in the series as a whole, second only to "Dies of the Fire."