Enchantress from the Stars

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Summary: "Enchantress From the Stars" is one of my all-time favorites
Review: I have always been an avid reader. When I was a young teenager I discovered an old copy of "Enchantress From the Stars" on a bookshelf in our house and devoured it within a few hours. I have since read it several times and just finished it again last week. I find it one of the finest, most well crafted, intriguing books I have read, and it occupies a place of honor on the shelves that house "my favorite books." I love Science Fiction as well as Fantasy, and this book combines both of them in a fascinating, compelling way that makes the reader not want to put it down till it is done, and come back to it again later like an old friend. Ms. Engdahl intertwined the three viewpoints/cultures of Elana, Georyn, and Jarel in a highly talented, fascinating way that I have never come across in any other book. The plot is very original, exciting, and thought-provoking.

Now that I am married and have a baby of my own, I am very excited to share this book with my own children and husband. I wish I knew why it isn't more widely circulated/well-known, and I think it should still be in print. Hats off to Ms. Engdahl. I hope she has great success with her work and I think it would be wonderful to see another book about Elana (the only other one I know about is "The Far Side of Evil").

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Summary: An enthralling, wondrous adventure and coming of age story.
Review: I picked up "Enchantress From the Stars" in the library, in one of my routine sweeps of the childrens books. I'd never hear of it, or Sylvia Lousie Engdahl before, but it was an intriguing looking science fiction/fantasy, and even though I don't have much time for casual reading these days, I decided to try it.

I'm so glad I did.

Enchantress From the Stars is the story of three people from three civilizations at various points of development: Elana, from a futuristic society, part of an order that helps protect "Youngling" societies, as they call the cultures and civilizations far elow their level of development. Jarel, a medic for an Imperial colony that has come to take over the planet Andrecia for the Empire, even if it means neutralizing its "less than human" population, and Georyn, a native Andrecian, facing a danger that he knows only as "the Dragon".

The book takes the point of view of each of these characters at various points, switching points of view and styles smoothly and easily, drawing the reader further into the minds of the three main characters. The story is engaging and compelling; Elana's development, and her team's struggle to protect Andrecia without violating thier version of something akin to Star Trek's Prime Directive pulls the reader in and doesn't let go, and Georyn's intelligence and yearnings for something greater make him a character you'll never forget.

Enchantress From the Stars is a wonderful books that combines the best qualities of wonder of both science fiction and fantasy. You'll never forget it, or its characters; thier story, their coming of age, their insights, will hold your mind for a long, long time after you close the book.

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Summary: New way of history
Review: I was expecting to read some kind of Star Wars but I was surprised. Begin with the idea based from the much-talked-about alien, Ms. Engdahl turned it into a concept that what if the ancient things, such as magic, dragon, wizards, witch, beyond our capability to understand, was things from another planet, another world, with civilization higher than ours?

This book really made me think and even helped me in someway to add to my understanding about human, life and alien. A deep thoughtful science fiction story about human civilization evolution.

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Summary: This was the most awesome, best book I've EVER read!
Review: I was reshelving my grade 6 class library when I noticed this book. At first, because of the plain cover (I know, I know, book-cover, judging) I thought it might have been kinda boring. Interested by the title, however, I opened the book and began to read. I signed the book out right away and started reading. Being in grade 6 at the time, it took me about 3 months to read (took me 3 years to read 'Flowers for Algernon') but I enjoyed every second. I am a huge sci-fi fan - Star Trek mostly - and it takes a lot to thoroughly impress me, and I can say that there was not a boring part in this book. I spent most of my time reading this book outside in the sun under a tree. All I can say is that I have never read a better book, and I don't think that a better one could be written.

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Summary: You don't have to be a sci-fi fan to love this book!
Review: I was somewhat reluctant to read this book because I am not a big fan of science fiction. However, I am so glad I read it! This is a very captivating story full of excitement and adventure, but also full of so much more. I found this book to be loaded with very deep meaning about life, humanity, and faith. The author was definitely trying to convey some interesting ideas about humanity and society, and I found those ideas to be fascinating and full of some important truths. This book opened my mind and really got me thinking about a lot of things.

This book will grab you right from the beginning, but I did find it to get just a little confusing in some places towards the end. However, overall I would definitely say it is a page-turner and well worth your time, not just for the entertainment value but also for the ideas that it contains. I highly recommend this book, even if you are not a fan of science fiction. Read it -- I feel confident that you will be glad you did!

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Summary: One of the Most Influential Books of my Life
Review: I'm delighted to see how many others have been moved by this very special book! I was a 12 year-old sixth grader in 1977 when this exciting story and its wonderful heroine initiated me into several paradigm shifts.

Elana is both girl and woman, and her integrity, intelligence and courage inspired me. She was the first literary heroine I truly took to my heart and cherished as a role model. She lived in a world previously unimaginable to me (this was my first science fiction book), but her challenges and the way she faced them were immediate and real. Like Noren, the central character of Engdahl's "Children of the Star" trilogy, she wrestles with issues of truth, integrity, courage, love, and responsibility, because she cares so very deeply about them.

This was my first clue that science fiction could be about something besides ray guns and bug-eyed-monsters. Three cultures meet in this story, and the consequences of that impact held my attention and fired my imagination long after the last page. I'd always dreamed of adventures beyond the lovely but small town in which I was growing up. This book raised my eyes to the stars.

Finally, "Enchantress" taught me that the way a person perceives life and truth are inexorably bound up with their life experiences and references. Three people from different worlds meet in this book, and each has a completely different understanding of what's going on. From then on, I knew that my own perspective was necessarily limited, and I could never assume that another person automatically shared my understanding.

In the year 2001, I'm 36 years old, with a Masters Degree and a personal library of over 1000 volumes, and Elana and Georyn are still among my favorite characters of all time. "Enchantress from the Stars" stands among the few dozen on two special shelves of books that are set apart from the rest as being especially precious. When my now 5 year old daughter turns 12, I'm going to give her this book as a special gift.

Do yourself a favor: get it for yourself. And think seriously about getting it for a young woman of your acquaintance. Elana is an exceptional heroine and role model. And it's a great story.

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Summary: New edition coming!
Review: If you have been trying to obtain this book, you will be happy to know that a new hardcover edition will be issued by Walker & Company in 2001, with a paperback to follow later.

There is a lot more information about _Enchantress from the Stars,_ including my Phoenix Award acceptance speech, at my Web site. Please visit, or send me e-mail ........... if you'd like to be on my mailing list.

Rating:
Summary: A thrilling combination of science fiction and fantasy
Review: In her novel Enchantress from the Stars, Sylvia Louise Engdahl combines science fiction and fantasy to weave together an intricate plot and tell an entertaining and interesting story. The time in which this story takes place is not clear. When the book begins, it seems as if Engdahl is writing of the future. As the story progresses, it seems as if she is writing of the past. In the end of the book, the two times intertwine so that it seems as if time does not exist at all.

The plot is set on the planet of Andrecia, home to a poverty-stricken, primitive society in which the people live in small rural villages and are governed by a monarchy. In one of the poor Andrecian villages, at the edge of the dreaded Enchanted Forest, lives a woodcutter with his four sons, all of whom dream of better, brighter futures. While the three eldest brothers wish for power, gold, and treasure, the youngest, Georyn, wants only wisdom equal to that of his King. Thus, when word travels to them that the person who slays the dragon inhabiting the Enchanted Forest will receive from the King whatever reward he desires, all four brothers are eager to set out at once. However, the dragon is actually a giant machine, or rockchewer, built by a far more technologically-advanced society, the Imperials. The Imperials, who are planning to take over the planet, have created the rockchewer to clear the land so they can build a colony. As the Andrecians appear one by one to Òslay the dragon,Ó they are paralyzed by the ImperialÕs stun-guns, making them defenseless captives.

Another society of people, even more advanced than the Imperials, is determined to stop them from taking over the planet. Elana and Evrek, two teenagers, and ElanaÕs father journey to Andrecia to help the native Andrecians revolt against the Imperials and scare them off the planet. ElanaÕs people have the unique ability to move objects with their minds and to communicate telepathically. As a result, Georyn and his brothers believe Elana to be an Enchantress. Through many tests and a developing friendship, she teaches Georyn how to control the movement of objects and prepares him for his face-off with the dragon.

"Enchantress From the Stars" is an engrossing book that keeps the reader on their toes from the very first chapter. Weaving together two different genres allows Engdahl to interest readers of all kinds. "Enchantress" is not only a story about dragons and spaceships, it is also about testing the true strength of love. A definite must read!

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Summary: Riveting and engrossing
Review: Ms. Engdahl has a unique talent for presenting sympathetic characters who deal with life-changing ordeals and must make hard ethical choices. Enchantress from the Stars introduces us to Elana, a young girl from a highly advanced culture who has the opportunity to rescue a primitive culture from another somewhere in between. Set in a science fiction framework and filled with commentary on the nature of magic, the responsibilities of knowledge, and the joys and sorrows of love, this book will enthrall you from beginning to end. The sequel, The Far Side of Evil, is even better.

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Summary: A masterpiece of scifi-fantasy
Review: Only a very few people are capable of combining science fiction and fantasy, and even fewer can make it something that captures you as this book does.

The book starts off with a young woman on a planetary anthropological mission, on a world called Andrecia. Andrecia is medieval and primitive, and in no way capable of handling the knowledge that advanced, spacefaring societies exist beyond their world.

But the heroine, Elana, soon becomes involved in a plot concerning the potential invasion of Andrecia. But it is near-impossible for her to save the Andrecians, superstitious and magic-believers, from an invasion.

Nearby is also a medical guy, Jarel, who feels remorse at the intentions of the Exploration Corps. They do not consider the population of Andrecia to be sentient and worthy of their notice, and promise to bring destruction down on Andrecia. There is also the son of an Andrecian woodcutter named Georyn, who identifies Elana as the Enchantress of the Stars. He believes that she has come for the purpose of testing him, if he can defeat a fearsome dragon in the forests.

This clash of the sophisticated and the simple is well-drawn and almost saddening at times. Georyn's faith in Elana's "magic" is truly touching, without making him appear ignorant or dumb. Elana is an excellent, intelligent heroine who captures your sympathy and does not let go. Her struggles with integrity and truth do not transcend the reader, but are ones that you feel as much as she does.

Too often in books there is a clash between magic and science, but in this particular book there is no clash. Perhaps that is partly due to the writing style -- half the magic seems to be in the otherworldly descriptions, interspersed with more grounded prose in the right places. (And Engdahl definitely knows how to write a beginning that will suck you in) Though some things like "Imperial Corps" and "Federation" imply a pseudo-Star-Trekkian space opera, this is none of the kind. This is a thoughtful work, filled with intelligent questions that will stimulate as it entertains.

This goes on the shelf beside Tolkien and the Riddlemaster trilogy.