Dies the Fire by SM Stirling

This is May's Scifi bookgroup selection and this is the second SM Stirling book we've read. The first In the Court of Crimson Kings - you can follow the link to my review.
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I made it to page 263 or thereabouts (Chapter 16 I believe) before throwing in the towel. It wasn't that I had a problem with the writing, because I thought the writing style in and of itself was just fine. SM Stirling does have a way of pulling the reader along in an engaging fashion.

No, my issue was with the subject matter - the end of the world as we know it. Electricity ceases to work. Gunpowder ceases to work. Engines cease to work. Satellites cease to work. Planes fall out of the sky, trains stop working, and everything literally turns off. Society is plunged back to the Dark Ages but nobody knows why.

Okay. Fine. EXCEPT - why would gunpowder stop working but yet gasoline can still be ignited and used as a way to cremate the dead bodies? Gun powder is less refined than gasoline. There were other little items like that that had me scratching my head - which means I was pulled out of the story.

Another issue was that the members of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)/Wiccan/Ren Faire group would be the ones to save the world (exaggerating a bit here - but not by much). If you are not familiar with the premise of the SCA, it is a middle ages re-creationist group. I participated in this Society for a number of years before bailing. I know for a fact that probably 95% of the people in this outfit could not save the world because they know how to make chain mail. Nope, not going to save the world with two horses and a lute either.

Which brings us to the SCA fellow who was taking over Portland as if he was Caesar himself. Complete with a hall full of torches and gladiator rings. Riighhtttt....

And then there was the outdoorsy pilot guy. He might have been plausible if it wasn't for the Tolkien loving, bow toting, rich chick that just happened to be in the plane he was flying when they went down and Lo! They picked up a smithy type person and Lo! soon they all had tabards and helms and spears and crossbows and were taking archery lessons from Tolkien chick.

Too much fantasy for my taste...and I LIKE Tolkien. I also found this to be eerily similar to Lucifer's Hammer by Niven/Pournelle which was putting me off.

If you like post-apoplectic stories, this series is for you.