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Summary: How did this fall out of print?
Review: As evidenced by masters such as Patricia McKillip, often worthy and original fantasies slip out of print under the wave of Tolkien ripoffs. Sylvia Engdahl's books are in that class, and thank God Meisha Merlin is reprinting them! May they keep on doing so.The main character is Noren, a guy who knows that the world is unjust. The Scholars and Technicians are the only people allowed to use machinery and metals, and enter the City (which, of course, he also craves to enter). They also control the knowledge meted out to the lower caste systems, into which you are born and can never hope to rise from. The High Law is why these rules are there, but a prophecy promises that knowledge and machinery will be accessible to everyone, not just the Scholars. Noren, however, doesn't care about High Law or the Prophecy, believing that High Law is simply oppression and the Prophecy untrue. But freeing his people to equality will be a strange and hard task... Once again, Engdahl creates a believable and thought-provoking piece of SF/fantasy that doesn't fall to the usual ray-guns-or-dragons cliches. The questions raised about freedom in this book kept making me pause in the middle of a page, thinking deeply about what was being shown in the story. For fans of action: There isn't much. For fans of originality/intelligence: There's plenty. Noren, the idealistic rebel, is a particularly endearing character. Like the characters in "Enchantress from the Stars" he is complex and multifaceted, and grows as characters should through his trials. His relentless search for truth is fascinating to the reader, and there are entire pages where you may forget you are reading a story. Faith, truth, and knowledge are the cornerstones of this book, in my eyes. Yet they are not heavy-handed in their presentation, rather they are subtlely woven into the plot. Engdahl's writing style is, if possible, even more captivating than in "Enchantress," descriptive without getting too overwordy. I'm not certain if this will appeal to the younger readers of "Enchantress," as this has topics in it that may bore them. (If your kids have read Tolkien, though, they will like this). I recommend it to fans of Tolkien, Lewis, McKillip, and readers of "Enchantress" who can appreciate this multilayered tale.
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Summary: This is an omnibus edition.
Review: CHILDREN OF THE STAR contains my out-of-print science fiction trilogy THIS STAR SHALL ABIDE (aka HERITAGE OF THE STAR), BEYOND THE TOMORROW MOUNTAINS and THE DOORS OF THE UNIVERSE. Please see the listings of those titles for some excerpts from the original reviews. And please contact me or visit my website if you would like to be on my mailing list for information about my writing
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Summary: Favorite book of my teens
Review: Engdahl combines honor, duty and romance into heartfelt volumes that were my favorites as a teenager. I loved the fact that her values were strong, her charactors intelligent, and her worlds exciting and finely felt. Definitely enjoyable reading without being overly fluffy
Rating:
Summary: Favorite book of my teens
Review: Engdahl combines honor, duty and romance into heartfelt volumes that were my favorites as a teenager. I loved the fact that her values were strong, her charactors intelligent, and her worlds exciting and finely felt. Definitely enjoyable reading without being overly fluffy
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Summary: Children of the Star
Review: Everything Ms. Engdahl writes is gold. Not only does this book have a great storyline and characters, it also is thought provoking. She centers around themes about the importance of spacetravel and innovations in science. Even if you aren't usually a fan of science fiction, you will love this book!
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Summary: Children of the Star
Review: Everything Ms. Engdahl writes is gold. Not only does this book have a great storyline and characters, it also is thought provoking. She centers around themes about the importance of spacetravel and innovations in science. Even if you aren't usually a fan of science fiction, you will love this book!
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Summary: A welcome end to a long-loved story
Review: I bought "Heritage of the Star" (UK title) when I was 11, more or less at random from the Puffin Book Club, and it remained my favourite book for years and was lent to everyone I know. It was one of the first science fiction books I had ever read that made me THINK (and wasn't just Boys Stuff in Space), and its outcome surprised and amazed me. It had never occurred to me that there could be sequels, so I was delighted to find this trilogy at Amazon and finally read the rest of the story. Science (and Science Fiction) may have moved on, but this remains one of the best stories for teenagers (and everyone else) I've ever read; it deserves a much higher profile - buy it for yourself and every young person you know who likes to daydream and think about the bigger things in life.
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Summary: Yeah, it's back in print!
Review: I first discovered Engdahl's trilogy about 15 years ago. Her work is thought provoking and intelligent. I'm really glad that more readers are going to have a chance to discover her with the reissue of Children of the Star. This is what science fiction is all about--fascinating commentary on humanity using other worlds and societies.
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Summary: Cannot recommend this highly enough!
Review: I first read "This Star Shall Abide" when I was 11 or 12, but it wasn't until I was 26 that I managed to locate and read "Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains" and "The Doors of the Universe." The rerelease of all three books in a single omnibus edition is fantastic news for anyone interested in intelligent science fiction. The narrative follows one enormously sympathetic character who is notable for his overriding, unflinching honesty. As a young man, he gradually comes to resist the limitations of the caste system into which he has been born-- but this is just the beginning of a long and tortuous road to maturity. The other characters whom he encounters along the way, while rather modest in number, are also memorably and movingly drawn. Ms. Engdahl's work does not rely on flashy technology, kooky aliens, or gory battles to keep her reader's interest. Instead, she has conceived a world where abstract issues of faith, truth, knowledge, love, loyalty, and obligation have uniformly concrete consequences for its people's continued existence. To have such high stakes riding on individuals' morality and resourcefulness is what makes this such a gripping read.
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Summary: Thought-provoking and deeply moving
Review: I first read "This Star Shall Abide" while in high school, and was stirred by the powerful and profound questions posed by this book, its psychological and moral depth, and its ability to create a consistent world that's very different from our own. I found out a few years ago that there were more books in the series, but wasn't able to track them down, as they were out of print. But finally I've been able to read Ms. Engdahl's full series, and the wait was worth it. The second and third books in this volume surpass the first -- they raise issues of faith and perseverance, self-sacrifice, vision and hope. This new omnibus edition is essential reading not only for science-fiction fans, but for anyone who's thought seriously about ecological issues, the future of humanity, hope, faith or courage. Most highly recommended!
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