The Emberverse series

Most of the short stories so far are set 50 years after the Change,[14] except for "Pronouncing Doom," which is set in 1999. Some in the Collection The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth are set throughout the Emberverse series.

At the 2009 DragonCon, Stirling said Sony has expressed interest in a television series based on Dies the Fire, with each season being one year. His agent was also discussing a Dies the Fire webcomic that would eventually be published as a graphic novel.

The Portland Protective Association is a neo-feudal absolute monarchy founded by history professor and Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) member Norman Arminger and his wife Sandra, aided by former urban gang members and members of the SCA. The nation follows medieval Norman customs and practices. The nation builds castles to protect its farming communities and serve as the centers of regional government. The PPA aristocracy often refers to its members as Associates. For a time, the PPA had an antipope, Leo XIV, and operated an Inquisition, but this ended after contact was re-established with the real Pope in Badia, Italy.

Knights are the strength of the PPA military, and are trained from childhood to fight as armored horsemen, often on barded horses. Since the death of Norman Arminger at the end of the War of the Eye, Sandra rules for her daughter Mathilda as a regent. The national heraldic symbol adopted by the PPA is the Lidless Eye, an allusion to the Eye of Sauron from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.[20]

The PPA is ruled from Portland, and stretches from Astoria to Pendleton. The Protector's Palace was once the Portland Central Library.

A military organization founded by former Marine Mike Havel, the Bearkillers is composed of refugees from the Change. The group emigrated from its beginnings in Idaho to a base at Larsdalen (the former Larsson family ranch) in Oregon. Havel saved the wealthy Larsson family from death after crash-landing their light airplane in the mountains of Idaho; they later formed the nucleus of the Bearkillers.

The lands held by the Bearkillers are divided into thorps, outlying farms centering upon a fortified settlement with a smithy, mill, and other utilitarian buildings. These thorps are usually the estates of "A Listers", on which live an "A Lister" family and those families and individuals who are under their protection.

The Bearkillers military élite are the A Listers, who become part of the brotherhood of the Bearkillers after completing an apprenticeship program. Membership in the A List is open to men and women who are able to meet the rigorous physical requirements and have passed the requisite training regimen. At their graduation, new "A Listers" are sworn onto the rolls, and branded between the eyebrows with a small vertical line. The Bearkillers' military is noted for its use of pikes and horse archers, but are most feared for their skill with the backsword.

The Bearkillers are governed by a leader, titled Lord Bear, and a democratic council. The heraldic symbol of the Bearkillers is a red or crimson snarling bear's head on brown.[20]

Bearkillers celebrate the day of the Change (March 17) as a holiday known as Gunpowder Day. Festivities include the Lord Bear setting a bowl of gunpowder on fire to test whether the laws of physics have been restored to their original condition, a feast with representatives from local nations attending, and the induction of new members into the Brotherhood of the Bearkillers.

The Bearkillers do not have a uniform religion, with some members venerating the Norse Æsir, some Wiccan and others worshipping the Christian God in various ways.

Clan Mackenzie is a Georgian Wiccan clan founded by folk-singer and High Priestess Juniper Mackenzie and members of her Singing Moon coven who fled to her country home.[21][22] After being rebuilt into a fortified homestead, the home was renamed Dun Juniper and became the capital of the faction. The Clan includes several other Duns that were built as the population expanded, as well as the walled city of Sutterdown, which is based on the town of Brownsville.

Clan Mackenzie's weapon of choice is the longbow, but in hand-to-hand fighting they use the gladius and buckler.

The Clan practices religious freedom, but there are few non-Wiccans in the population, mostly due to mass conversions after the Change. The heraldic symbol of the clan is a crescent moon above silver elk horns on green. The Mackenzie tartan is colored green, brown, and black, with thin orange piping.[20] This is not the color of the historical Clan Mackenzie, whose tartan is white, red, green, and blue.[23]

After the Change, the Benedictine monks of Mount Angel Abbey aided the local town and refugees through the worst of the crisis. Similar to organizations like the Knights Templar, the monks and sisters of the Abbey now maintain martial skills to protect their nation. Mount Angel Abbey itself was rebuilt into a large fortress that is considered the strongest in the area. The head of the Abbey is also the most influential leader of Mount Angel, though the town elects a mayor to govern it in secular matters. The Mount Angel banner carries the image of Virgin and Child.[20]

Corvallis is a city-state at the southern end of the Willamette Valley. The former faculty of Oregon State University governs the city as the Faculty Senate, which holds public assemblies in the Gill Coliseum. The traditions of the university have been adopted by the new nation, with the school fight song acting as the national anthem and the school mascot as their flag.[20] It is a very wealthy state that also controls the port town of Newport. It serves as the headquarters of The Meeting.

The Corvallis military prefers jointed pikes as their weapon of choice, bolstered by catapults, ballistae, and other siege engines.

Founded by Astrid Larsson (of the Bearkiller-Larsson family) and Eilir Mackenzie, the Dúnedain Rangers are a semi-mercenary military organization that protects caravans and fights brigands in the Willamette Valley. The Ranger lifestyle is based largely on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien—which they refer to as "the Histories"—even to the point of requiring all members to learn the Elvish language. Rangers are also required to learn sign language as part of their training. The Rangers operate out of Mithrilwood, which is located in the old Silver Falls State Park, centered upon their settlement, Stardell Hall. The Rangers' flag features a silver tree and seven stars, similar to the royal standard of Gondor as depicted in The Lord of the Rings.[20]

The Central Oregon Ranchers Association is a confederation of independent ranchers and farmers located in Central Oregon. After the Change, the ranchers and farmers of the area took in refugees who now work in exchange for settlement land. CORA's warriors prefer to ride horseback and wield bows, sabres, and javelins. The capital is located at Bend.

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs are a confederation of Native American tribes, originally confined to the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, which expanded after the Change. Warm Springs accepted refugees from the Change to settle in their territory and help with farming. Many of these refugees adopted the local customs and traditions of the tribes. They remained neutral during the War of the Eye, but did allow CORA forces to pass through their territory.

Shortly after the Change, the town of Pendleton and the local ranchers became embroiled in a civil war against a nearby Native American reservation. For a short time the area was a duchy of the PPA, but the PPA was forced to withdraw after the end of the War of the Eye. By 2020, there was a nominal government located at Pendleton, but the local ranchers continue to exercise influence during the annual Pendleton Round-Up. The area is lawless and slavery is still practiced.

Located in Paradise Valley, Montana, the Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT) built a theocratic empire controlling most of Montana and Wyoming. Under the leadership of a mysterious madman, known as the Prophet, the CUT aggressively spread their religion, often resorting to conquest to do so. The Prophet has since died, leaving his son Sethaz to continue as Prophet. Soldiers of CUT are commonly called "Cutters".

Founded by President Thurston in Boise, the United States of America claimed all of the territory of the old United States, vowing to once again reunite the country. Although they called themselves the United States of America, they were commonly referred to by their neighbors as the "United States of Boise". The nation follows the military practices of the Roman Empire. It is nominally a democracy, though elections have not been held; President Thurston promised to hold elections after a battle with the CUT. He was purposely killed late during said battle by his eldest son, Martin Thurston, who assumed leadership of the country.

A Mormon theocracy, New Deseret covers northern Utah and southern Idaho. At the beginning of the Change series, the nation was in a losing war with the CUT. By the end of The Scourge of God, they were occupied by the CUT, although bands of rebels continued to offer resistance.

Iowa managed to weather the Change, thanks to its rural economy, low population, and the fact that the Governor closed the bridges across the Mississippi River so starving refugees from the eastern states could not enter. By the Change tetralogy, the Provisional Republic of Iowa was one of the largest and wealthiest nations in North America. Farmers acted as landed gentry in Iowa society, with city evacuees serving as serfs. The position of Governor is hereditary, despite the nation's nominal status as a republic. Iowa also established a small presence in the former territories of Illinois and Nebraska. The nation aided Fargo and Marshall in their war with the Sioux.

Most of the New England area did not survive the Change. However a few small towns in Northern Maine did and like the Clan Mackenzie came under the influence of one person's spiritual views. Using Asatru this area became home to a group that began to think of themselves as Vikings.

Stirling explores a leader's impact on an organization. Havel's small group organizes along military lines, brought on by Havel's time in the Marines, as they travel from the site of their plane crash in Idaho to the Larsson homestead in Oregon. The Mackenzie group adopts a Celtic clan structure to farm and fortify Juniper Mackenzie's family homestead, influenced by Wicca and Mackenzie's Celtic heritage.[33]

Stirling also explores humanity's dependence on modern technology and to what conditions we might be forced to regress if we were denied our advanced technology. Thomas Wagner, reviewing Dies the Fire, said the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina gave the novel "a degree of gravitas stronger than it would have had otherwise."[36] Fredric Smoler, writing for American Heritage, notes that "reason still allows men and women the (sadly reduced) power to manipulate their environment", but "it is not obvious how a scientific (or feminist) worldview will survive in a newly feudalized, increasingly religious, and fundamentally agrarian world."[37]

Another theme of the series is that First World countries are likely to survive the Change better than Third World countries. Stirling speculates that the developed world is a larger repository of handicraft lore than the undeveloped world, because the latter group heavily relies on First World castoffs and is too busy on a day-to-day basis to keep up the old ways, while people in the First World have the leisure to become expert horse riders or bow makers.[33] This idea is originally expressed in-character by people in former First World areas, and later in the series other characters remark that the assumption is unfounded based on exploration many years post-Change.

In the novels, it often appears that magic exists in the world since the Change. When asked whether he was leaving room for magic in the Emberverse, Stirling replied that he could not answer that since he did not wish to give away any plot points, but admitted that by The Scourge of God, people will begin to decide whether or not "magic" is possible in the series.[27] Critic Harriet Klausner described Scourge as being like a Greek tragedy due to certain characters receiving visions from "gods", incidents of demonic possessions, cursed arrows, and other uses of magic.[38] As the character of Father Ignatius says, however, there is always a rational explanation available: he notes that Ingolf's capture by Kuttner when Kuttner simply spoke a word at the end of The Sunrise Lands was probably the result of a post-hypnotic suggestion.[39] Reviewer Dale Arnold of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society suggests that magic has real political and societal impact in the Emberverse, whether or not it is actually the result of supernatural force or merely religious delusions, because the characters act as if it were real.[40]

As of "The Sea Peoples" (2017), "magic" is increasingly evident, yet still remains deniable by those of a rationalist mind who do not directly experience it. In particular, approximately half the action of this work takes place in alternate realms which are experienced only through the agency of shamanic magic.[41]