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Children of the Star #1-3
Children of the Star
This is the trilogy consisting of This Star Shall Abide, Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains, and The Doors of the Universe in one volume. This edition is out of print but a new paperback edition, with identical text except for the Afterword, is available as of April 2012.
Noren knew that his world was not as it should be--it was wrong that only the Scholars, and their representatives the Technicians, could use metal tools and Machines. It was wrong that only they had access to the mysterious City, which he had always longed to enter. Above all, it was wrong for the Scholars to have sole power over the distribution of knowledge. The High Law imposed these restrictions and many others, though the Prophecy promised that someday knowledge and Machines would be available to everyone. Noren was a heretic. He defied the High Law and had no faith in the Prophecy's fulfillment. But the more he learned of the grim truth about his people's deprivations, the less possible it seemed that their world could ever be changed. It would take more drastic steps than anyone imagined to restore their rightful heritage.
Noren knew that his world was not as it should be--it was wrong that only the Scholars, and their representatives the Technicians, could use metal tools and Machines. It was wrong that only they had access to the mysterious City, which he had always longed to enter. Above all, it was wrong for the Scholars to have sole power over the distribution of knowledge. The High Law imposed these restrictions and many others, though the Prophecy promised that someday knowledge and Machines would be available to everyone. Noren was a heretic. He defied the High Law and had no faith in the Prophecy's fulfillment. But the more he learned of the grim truth about his people's deprivations, the less possible it seemed that their world could ever be changed. It would take more drastic steps than anyone imagined to restore their rightful heritage.
728 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
14 people are currently reading
241 people want to read
About the author
Sylvia Engdahl
93Ìýbooks264ÌýfollowersSylvia Engdahl is the author of eleven science fiction novels, six of which, including the Newbery Honor book Enchantress from the Stars, are YA books also enjoyed by many adults. Although she is best known as an author for Young Adults, her most recent novels, the Founders of Maclairn duology (Stewards of the Flame and Promise of the Flame) and the Captain of Estel trilogy (Defender of the Flame, Herald of the Flame, and Envoy of the Flame) are adult science fiction and are not appropriate for readers below high school age. For FAQs about them and more, visit her website.
She has also written a nonfiction book, The Planet-Girded Suns: Our Forebears' Firm Belief in Inhabited Exoplanets, of which updated and expanded paperback and ebook editions were published in 2012, and three collections of her essays. Most of the nonfiction books listed under her name were edited, rather than written, by her as a freelance editor of anthologies for high schools.
Engdahl says, "I never listed more than a few of the books I read here and now the list is so outdated that i have removed all but a very few that are still among my favorites, plus ebooks I produced for my mother and for my friend Shirley Rousseau Murphy. For current lists of good books on the subjects I care about, please visit the Opinion section of my website."
She has also written a nonfiction book, The Planet-Girded Suns: Our Forebears' Firm Belief in Inhabited Exoplanets, of which updated and expanded paperback and ebook editions were published in 2012, and three collections of her essays. Most of the nonfiction books listed under her name were edited, rather than written, by her as a freelance editor of anthologies for high schools.
Engdahl says, "I never listed more than a few of the books I read here and now the list is so outdated that i have removed all but a very few that are still among my favorites, plus ebooks I produced for my mother and for my friend Shirley Rousseau Murphy. For current lists of good books on the subjects I care about, please visit the Opinion section of my website."
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 25, 2010
First, the bad news: the writing style of this book was frequently a bit on the indulgent side. It also had many semi-transparent plot issues in which I predicted the outcomes partially because the characters focused so fiercely on anything but. Essentially, she sometimes gave so much attention and depth to her red herrings that it seemed incongruous when her very cerebral characters never even considered certain possible outcomes until they were presented as revelations. Bit of a dead giveaway sometimes, which did help create the slight "directed written-ness" I sometimes sensed.
But the good news is that even though the story sometimes functions as a frame story for what is apparently the author's partial manifesto (and is liberally spiced with almost unreal idealism), I enjoyed the ideas presented. I thought the main character, Noren, was a spectacular example of a multi-layered character. He questions what he perceives to be an evil system of religious belief and social inequality, challenges it expecting the worst, finds (of course) many answers and even more questions, and ends up having to acknowledge that the rewards often come to people who don't want them anymore. I enjoyed the incredible reverence with which knowledge is handled, and how preservation of human life and accomplishments were considered so vital that keeping them justified some terrible moral contradictions. This is also one of the only books I've ever read in which faith is relentlessly explored, found to not always essentially mean "belief without reason," and found to have positive value without demanding the surrender of the intellectual mind . . . all WITHOUT frequently sounding preachy. I really enjoyed Noren's honest exploration of questions, faith crises, his own and others' psychology, his ability to love and be loved, facing the unknown and unknowable, and ability to self-sacrifice without acting like it didn't hurt.
But the good news is that even though the story sometimes functions as a frame story for what is apparently the author's partial manifesto (and is liberally spiced with almost unreal idealism), I enjoyed the ideas presented. I thought the main character, Noren, was a spectacular example of a multi-layered character. He questions what he perceives to be an evil system of religious belief and social inequality, challenges it expecting the worst, finds (of course) many answers and even more questions, and ends up having to acknowledge that the rewards often come to people who don't want them anymore. I enjoyed the incredible reverence with which knowledge is handled, and how preservation of human life and accomplishments were considered so vital that keeping them justified some terrible moral contradictions. This is also one of the only books I've ever read in which faith is relentlessly explored, found to not always essentially mean "belief without reason," and found to have positive value without demanding the surrender of the intellectual mind . . . all WITHOUT frequently sounding preachy. I really enjoyed Noren's honest exploration of questions, faith crises, his own and others' psychology, his ability to love and be loved, facing the unknown and unknowable, and ability to self-sacrifice without acting like it didn't hurt.
written
July 20, 2022This is the omnibus edition of my trilogy composed of This Star Shall Abide (known in the UK as Heritage of the Star), Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains, and The Doors of the Universe. It was first published in 2000 by Meisha Merlin, and because Meisha Merlin went out of business, a new edition was published by me in 2012 under my personal imprint Ad Stellae Books. (The cover of my edition was changed in 2015 without any change in the book itself or its ISBN, so its former cover is not displayed here; the new cover is not a separate edition.)
October 21, 2020
I first read This Star Shall Abide while still in early middle school in the 1970s. The river of time carried me on, and in later secondary school years, I found Beyond The Tomorrow Mountains and was thrilled to find that story of Noren and Stefred and the survivors of the Six Planets continued.
Many years have passed since that time in my life. Barnes and Noble, and later Amazon, worked the magic of transformation on me from library patron to Constant Reader of my own library. There are so many books that I read in school libraries over the years, so many treasured and others forgotten. It was with real pleasure that I recently rediscovered Sylvia Engdahl's works that I so enjoyed earlier in life. And wonder of wonders, there has been a third book added to the first two, fulfilling the story of Noren and his people.
A timeless tale, well written and brilliantly imagined.
Many years have passed since that time in my life. Barnes and Noble, and later Amazon, worked the magic of transformation on me from library patron to Constant Reader of my own library. There are so many books that I read in school libraries over the years, so many treasured and others forgotten. It was with real pleasure that I recently rediscovered Sylvia Engdahl's works that I so enjoyed earlier in life. And wonder of wonders, there has been a third book added to the first two, fulfilling the story of Noren and his people.
A timeless tale, well written and brilliantly imagined.
September 7, 2020
I picked up this book months ago at a free library. I didn't think much of it at first, it seemed kind of predictable.
However as I read more I was interested to know what was going to happen and how the characters would develop.
It became less predictable, too, as the story progressed. And interesting look into religion and it's uses alongside science.
However as I read more I was interested to know what was going to happen and how the characters would develop.
It became less predictable, too, as the story progressed. And interesting look into religion and it's uses alongside science.
November 16, 2018
Among the best books I've ever read.
December 24, 2017
I originally read the first 2 books in this trilogy when I was in middle school, and it changed my life and affected my concepts of integrity and power through my growing up years. I lost track of the title and author. (At that time, it wasn’t something I paid attention to.)
Now in my mid-40s, I’ve spent years trying to find these books, enlisting multiple librarians and internet searches. I finally found a teen librarian in the little town of Duvall, WA who knew this author and series. I bought this trilogy and re-read them and was amazed to find they were better than I remembered. I had never read the 3rd book. I think it was written after I had read the first 2. The ending is so satisfying and the growth in the characters is believable. I’m so glad I finally found this again.
Now in my mid-40s, I’ve spent years trying to find these books, enlisting multiple librarians and internet searches. I finally found a teen librarian in the little town of Duvall, WA who knew this author and series. I bought this trilogy and re-read them and was amazed to find they were better than I remembered. I had never read the 3rd book. I think it was written after I had read the first 2. The ending is so satisfying and the growth in the characters is believable. I’m so glad I finally found this again.
September 1, 2014
Noren resents being an everyday worker whose silly rituals and devotion to seemingly arbitrary principles are frustrating to him. But questioning the Technicians or the Scholars is heresy, and he risks his life if he disobeys. When Noren finally decides he can take it no longer, he embarks upon a search for truth that reveals more than he could ever have hoped to discover about the truth of the rituals, the importance of secrecy, and the horrifying plight his world is in. The future on their planet, along with all the knowledge of their people's history, rests on the shoulders of those who know the truth, and now, that includes him. . . .
I loved this book, but sometimes the storytelling was REALLY indulgent, especially at the start. The beginning of the book was the most awkwardly told part of this whole thing. I think the author was kind of trying to throw us into the mix and explain the culture to us by having the sheep repeat the Prophecy lines to us in their blind devotion, but it felt staged and forced. I was also kind of disappointed in that I got no understanding really of what Noren did in school, what his relationship with his family was like (besides that he was the black sheep who hated farm work and thought too much), or how he came to love Talyra. Some of those beginnings of his story felt very stitched on, and this is one of the hardest things about writing a book: making your audience feel like your character has in fact been alive all the years that he has. Sure his "real" story starts on page one, but it shouldn't feel like he started living on page one, and it largely felt that way to me since so many of the first interactions between him and other people seemed to be thrown around strategically placed to help the reader digest the world he lived in in the right order. There was enough (more than enough) description and discussion of the Prophecy and the High Law later in the book that I feel I could have absorbed it from context if she'd presented it more naturally. I was pretty frustrated with it at the beginning, so that would have really concerned me if the book hadn't been recommended to me by a friend whose taste I trust.
As mentioned, the amount of detail Ms. Engdahl goes into regarding Noren's thoughts is very indulgent. However, if I were writing letters to him to find out what he thought, I'd like it to be something like what was presented. I felt that for a book it made the story very very mental/cerebral and slow, and sometimes the thoughts weren't connected to the emotions (though they frequently WERE too, so I know she can do it). I decided to just accept early on that it was not a conventionally written book, and I know I have more patience for cerebral characters than most, so I figured I'd just let him talk to me without expecting him to entertain me. I find thoughts very entertaining, after all.
I thought she did an excellent job really making it seem like Noren proved the High Law and some aspects of the Prophecy false through some of his heretical acts. I was totally cheering for him when he drank impure water, and when he challenged the mob and the officiator during his trial. I of course was expecting Technicians and Scholars to turn out to be ordinary humans (though I didn't presume to know what they knew or what they represented before Noren did), so I could see he was right about that, but it was interesting how much like myth-based folklore the local customs could be made to sound even though they turned out to just be symbolic dress-up clothes for actual events and principles (Founding Day actually being a date they did descend from the skies; metal actually being so precious it might as well be holy; impure water, quickening needed for fields, controlled weather).
I liked that even though Noren did many, many very courageous/brave things, he suffered personally because of them and had so, so much doubt and fear and just plain physical discomfort. People forget about that part being attached to denouncing your culture's most precious beliefs--which he did several times in his life. People usually write stories about heroes going to jail or being tortured over their beliefs, but they rarely discuss the fear and loss they contemplate during the lonely times, or the dread they must feel when meeting their fate. Ms. Engdahl did what a writer is supposed to do there: she went WITH her character into the bowels of despair, and she didn't gloss over it to make Noren seem like a fearless hero. It helped with the process of identifying with him.
Another thing I liked is how the complexity and trials just kept growing. There was always a new level. More and more to find out and experience, and there was always foreshadowing during scenes like whenever Stefred (in various states of his relationship with Noren) would tell him that he was going to encounter setbacks or have difficulty or (most prophetic of all) be like the First Scholar because of the similarity of their minds. Whenever Noren blew off or disregarded or downplayed something Stefred said, it always seemed to revisit him later.
I LOVED the purity of Noren's longing for truth and knowledge. He had so much desperate curiosity . . . to understand everything, have nothing kept from him, be allowed to treasure and nurture knowledge . . . but unlike most people, that quest for possession of knowledge was never as a means toward power, because he treasured it so much for its own sake. I could really see and share the ache there, especially when he was confronted with the idea of the Six Worlds' collective knowledge all perishing if they didn't find a way to assure long-term storage of the computer data.
I understood all of the explanations of how faith works in the book, but agreed with the underlying message of maybe half of it. I think my least favorite part of the books was when Noren assumed priesthood after acknowledging that he "must have known" there would be more tomorrows if he still abstained from drinking impure water despite logically thinking he was going to die. I thought it was a bit of a cop-out that he obtained faith because his underlying refusal to accept death was rewarded by something apparently miraculous. It does seem incredibly convenient that an alien communication device would be RIGHT there where they crashed in the second book when Noren was taking Talyra and Brek out to go disillusion a bunch of villagers. And in a book, you can always blame deus ex machina. There isn't a universal application of that situation, I don't think. If you survive--"miraculously"--you can attribute it to coincidence or divine intervention or whatever, but the truth is that if you don't get a miracle in a situation like that, you don't live to tell about it.
I think that some of what that aspect of the book said about faith was useful, though. Because in that situation, what could that shipwrecked group have done BETTER by accepting that they were going to die? Acting as if you EXPECT to live--perhaps an act of faith--is an expression of self-preservation, and truly enacting desperate measures because you BELIEVE you will survive is, evolutionarily, a very good thing. I don't believe behaving that way has to involve faith, trust, any of that conceptual stuff really. I also see that in a lot of people, human nature IS such that if they do not believe they are "meant" to succeed (or assured of success), they will not do so.
The ending of the third book did have some discussions of faith that I wasn't sure about . . . I was very satisfied with the ending, but it did kind of bother me how Noren often made decisions about the surety of his mission based on what he thought the aliens observing them might do if there was no hope of survival. I respect that he wanted his species to attain "Federation status," whatever that ends up being (and it kinda annoyed me how elitist it was, but clearly I would just be irritated like Noren to know that it's out there and I can't have it). I got the point that he was being encouraged, subtly, to avoid "giving up" and expecting rescue, but if those aliens thought that they did not interfere in the evolution of Noren's species, I think they're way off.
I guess this is a small and silly thing, but I'm surprised that a society like the Six Worlds had no way to predict their sun going nova until it was nearly too late to save anyone. I know they're not us, but with today's non-spacefaring society, we can detect solar flares and warn people about their possible effects. I would think there'd be a lot more "signs" of an unstable star that could be detected. Especially since to my knowledge it's not normal for a star to explode without warning in the prime of its life, so I'd have thought it would have been leeching hydrogen from a companion star over the course of millions of years before showing signs of instability, or something like that. Though I'm not an astronomer.
I loved this book, but sometimes the storytelling was REALLY indulgent, especially at the start. The beginning of the book was the most awkwardly told part of this whole thing. I think the author was kind of trying to throw us into the mix and explain the culture to us by having the sheep repeat the Prophecy lines to us in their blind devotion, but it felt staged and forced. I was also kind of disappointed in that I got no understanding really of what Noren did in school, what his relationship with his family was like (besides that he was the black sheep who hated farm work and thought too much), or how he came to love Talyra. Some of those beginnings of his story felt very stitched on, and this is one of the hardest things about writing a book: making your audience feel like your character has in fact been alive all the years that he has. Sure his "real" story starts on page one, but it shouldn't feel like he started living on page one, and it largely felt that way to me since so many of the first interactions between him and other people seemed to be thrown around strategically placed to help the reader digest the world he lived in in the right order. There was enough (more than enough) description and discussion of the Prophecy and the High Law later in the book that I feel I could have absorbed it from context if she'd presented it more naturally. I was pretty frustrated with it at the beginning, so that would have really concerned me if the book hadn't been recommended to me by a friend whose taste I trust.
As mentioned, the amount of detail Ms. Engdahl goes into regarding Noren's thoughts is very indulgent. However, if I were writing letters to him to find out what he thought, I'd like it to be something like what was presented. I felt that for a book it made the story very very mental/cerebral and slow, and sometimes the thoughts weren't connected to the emotions (though they frequently WERE too, so I know she can do it). I decided to just accept early on that it was not a conventionally written book, and I know I have more patience for cerebral characters than most, so I figured I'd just let him talk to me without expecting him to entertain me. I find thoughts very entertaining, after all.
I thought she did an excellent job really making it seem like Noren proved the High Law and some aspects of the Prophecy false through some of his heretical acts. I was totally cheering for him when he drank impure water, and when he challenged the mob and the officiator during his trial. I of course was expecting Technicians and Scholars to turn out to be ordinary humans (though I didn't presume to know what they knew or what they represented before Noren did), so I could see he was right about that, but it was interesting how much like myth-based folklore the local customs could be made to sound even though they turned out to just be symbolic dress-up clothes for actual events and principles (Founding Day actually being a date they did descend from the skies; metal actually being so precious it might as well be holy; impure water, quickening needed for fields, controlled weather).
I liked that even though Noren did many, many very courageous/brave things, he suffered personally because of them and had so, so much doubt and fear and just plain physical discomfort. People forget about that part being attached to denouncing your culture's most precious beliefs--which he did several times in his life. People usually write stories about heroes going to jail or being tortured over their beliefs, but they rarely discuss the fear and loss they contemplate during the lonely times, or the dread they must feel when meeting their fate. Ms. Engdahl did what a writer is supposed to do there: she went WITH her character into the bowels of despair, and she didn't gloss over it to make Noren seem like a fearless hero. It helped with the process of identifying with him.
Another thing I liked is how the complexity and trials just kept growing. There was always a new level. More and more to find out and experience, and there was always foreshadowing during scenes like whenever Stefred (in various states of his relationship with Noren) would tell him that he was going to encounter setbacks or have difficulty or (most prophetic of all) be like the First Scholar because of the similarity of their minds. Whenever Noren blew off or disregarded or downplayed something Stefred said, it always seemed to revisit him later.
I LOVED the purity of Noren's longing for truth and knowledge. He had so much desperate curiosity . . . to understand everything, have nothing kept from him, be allowed to treasure and nurture knowledge . . . but unlike most people, that quest for possession of knowledge was never as a means toward power, because he treasured it so much for its own sake. I could really see and share the ache there, especially when he was confronted with the idea of the Six Worlds' collective knowledge all perishing if they didn't find a way to assure long-term storage of the computer data.
I understood all of the explanations of how faith works in the book, but agreed with the underlying message of maybe half of it. I think my least favorite part of the books was when Noren assumed priesthood after acknowledging that he "must have known" there would be more tomorrows if he still abstained from drinking impure water despite logically thinking he was going to die. I thought it was a bit of a cop-out that he obtained faith because his underlying refusal to accept death was rewarded by something apparently miraculous. It does seem incredibly convenient that an alien communication device would be RIGHT there where they crashed in the second book when Noren was taking Talyra and Brek out to go disillusion a bunch of villagers. And in a book, you can always blame deus ex machina. There isn't a universal application of that situation, I don't think. If you survive--"miraculously"--you can attribute it to coincidence or divine intervention or whatever, but the truth is that if you don't get a miracle in a situation like that, you don't live to tell about it.
I think that some of what that aspect of the book said about faith was useful, though. Because in that situation, what could that shipwrecked group have done BETTER by accepting that they were going to die? Acting as if you EXPECT to live--perhaps an act of faith--is an expression of self-preservation, and truly enacting desperate measures because you BELIEVE you will survive is, evolutionarily, a very good thing. I don't believe behaving that way has to involve faith, trust, any of that conceptual stuff really. I also see that in a lot of people, human nature IS such that if they do not believe they are "meant" to succeed (or assured of success), they will not do so.
The ending of the third book did have some discussions of faith that I wasn't sure about . . . I was very satisfied with the ending, but it did kind of bother me how Noren often made decisions about the surety of his mission based on what he thought the aliens observing them might do if there was no hope of survival. I respect that he wanted his species to attain "Federation status," whatever that ends up being (and it kinda annoyed me how elitist it was, but clearly I would just be irritated like Noren to know that it's out there and I can't have it). I got the point that he was being encouraged, subtly, to avoid "giving up" and expecting rescue, but if those aliens thought that they did not interfere in the evolution of Noren's species, I think they're way off.
I guess this is a small and silly thing, but I'm surprised that a society like the Six Worlds had no way to predict their sun going nova until it was nearly too late to save anyone. I know they're not us, but with today's non-spacefaring society, we can detect solar flares and warn people about their possible effects. I would think there'd be a lot more "signs" of an unstable star that could be detected. Especially since to my knowledge it's not normal for a star to explode without warning in the prime of its life, so I'd have thought it would have been leeching hydrogen from a companion star over the course of millions of years before showing signs of instability, or something like that. Though I'm not an astronomer.
May 28, 2018
I'm at the third book and ready to give up - which is normal for me and trilogies. Mostly, trilogies fail at a certain point. I actually quite liked the first book. However, this writer is a bit repetitive and, while the book is idea-driven, the ideas just aren't as significant as the writer thinks they are. There's actually too much machinating in these books, too much deliberating. When action finally happens, it's either telegraphed or somehow trite, like, not worth the effort. What I liked about the beginning was that the author kind of has the same aims as Ursula Le Guin: they're sci-fi books without the battles; they focus on ideas of humanity and human struggle. Ultimately, she just isn't nearly as talented or deep as Le Guin.
April 2, 2024
A colony of human refugees, the last remnants of their species, struggles to survive and retain semblance of their technological civilization on a planet without usable metals. This trilogy is an impressive work of social science fiction, a speculative work that explores social sciences (e.g. sociology, psychology, cultural anthropology, etc. rather than physical sciences such as physics, chemistry, etc.). I can't say it's an easy read. The prose can be verbose and repetitive, the protagonist is often annoyingly moody and prone to seemingly juvenile introspective angst, but if you can skim past those bits, the story has a lot to say about timeless issues such as science & religion, democracy & totalitarianism, hope & despair, and knowledge & belief. It's a good read.
November 19, 2017
This was preachier than I remembered, but still a very good story. This is an omnibus of three books. The first one tells of Noren's story as a heretic who is intent on confronting the Scholars' control of society. The second is set among the Scholars. The third is Noren as an adult and also connects with some of Sylvia Engdahl's other books, although it is definitely not necessary to have read any of the others.
March 6, 2019
Its hard to find a book that challenges the way you view things. Books mainly about the way one thinks, and the action only compliments the story...well, sometimes they are hard to get through. I have to say i fully enjoyed this book. It has made me look at things in a new light. It challenges you to think about what you would do if faced with the same circumstances. I look forward to reading it again.
June 16, 2025
There's some good stuff in here, but it felt half a book too long.
All the philosphizing about faith and religion failed to interest me, but I realize it's an important part of the book and Norens arc, so not having it there would have lessened the experience. I still would rather have read more about the path to saving his world and species, so cutting down some of the crisis of faith and expanding the epilogue would have been more my speed.
All the philosphizing about faith and religion failed to interest me, but I realize it's an important part of the book and Norens arc, so not having it there would have lessened the experience. I still would rather have read more about the path to saving his world and species, so cutting down some of the crisis of faith and expanding the epilogue would have been more my speed.
August 14, 2023
very good story
I enjoyed the story very much, but not the writing style, that is just a personal opinion, I tendent to bypass a lot of the paragraphs to be able to finish the 3 books, otherwise I would have stopped after a few chapters. It is worth reading, but if like me you don't like the style, just use a speed reading method.
I enjoyed the story very much, but not the writing style, that is just a personal opinion, I tendent to bypass a lot of the paragraphs to be able to finish the 3 books, otherwise I would have stopped after a few chapters. It is worth reading, but if like me you don't like the style, just use a speed reading method.
January 3, 2021
Sylvia Engdahl, author of the plot twist! This book is my favorite book EVER.
October 8, 2022
Written as YA but the ideas are very important to citizens of today's world. Worth the time. Pretty easy read overall.
December 9, 2024
It's a book I read as a teenager and could never forget. I recently reread it and it was only better as an adult.
April 21, 2020
This book is a trilogy published as a single volume, consisting of "The Star Shall Abide", "Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains" and "The Door to the Universe". I read the original first book under the title "Heritage of the Star" - that was how it was published in the UK, and its sequel was never published here. I had no idea there were sequels of this, one of the most memorable books I read in childhood, until I discovered the author on the web. I quickly ordered this book, because Heritage of the Star was such a profound work that I have never forgotten it and often wished I could read more like it.
The trilogy does not disappoint. I knew the first book well (I re-read it at least twice in the past). That follows a young man who becomes a heretic for challenging the religion of the mysterious scholars who rule their world. The first part of the book follows his scepticism and attempts to persuade others. The second part is all about enlightenment (and I will say no more to avoid spoilers).
The second book of the trilogy was supposed to complete the story originally, but it feels vey much like a link book. It seems to me that it asks more questions than it resolves, and frankly I see why this was not published originally in the UK. Nevertheless it is a vital key to the third book - which only cam about some years later as real world science set the author thinking in a most interesting and, indeed, compelling way. The third book is easily the equal of the first, and looks at all kinds of issues around the struggle for a race of people to survive.
These books only show their age in a few minor and forgivable ways. Again I will not be explicit about these ways to avoid spoilers - but if not perfect science fiction, these books are certainly profound and intelligently written. This is not humdrum space opera. This is true science fiction, to engross you, make you yearn for the people and to ultimately make you think. This book is already doing the "loan" rounds amongst friends who like good science fiction.
The trilogy does not disappoint. I knew the first book well (I re-read it at least twice in the past). That follows a young man who becomes a heretic for challenging the religion of the mysterious scholars who rule their world. The first part of the book follows his scepticism and attempts to persuade others. The second part is all about enlightenment (and I will say no more to avoid spoilers).
The second book of the trilogy was supposed to complete the story originally, but it feels vey much like a link book. It seems to me that it asks more questions than it resolves, and frankly I see why this was not published originally in the UK. Nevertheless it is a vital key to the third book - which only cam about some years later as real world science set the author thinking in a most interesting and, indeed, compelling way. The third book is easily the equal of the first, and looks at all kinds of issues around the struggle for a race of people to survive.
These books only show their age in a few minor and forgivable ways. Again I will not be explicit about these ways to avoid spoilers - but if not perfect science fiction, these books are certainly profound and intelligently written. This is not humdrum space opera. This is true science fiction, to engross you, make you yearn for the people and to ultimately make you think. This book is already doing the "loan" rounds amongst friends who like good science fiction.
January 6, 2015
Star Rating: 5 Stars, BUY IT!!
Self purchase for Kindle. Kindle Single.
Very funny and amusing. This is the first kindle single I’ve actually gotten around to reading. And oh my god it was soo good. It’s the story of how Zuzanna finally gets together with her love interest. Highly recommended. Beautifully written, hysterical in parts, a bit emotional and all around just freaking awesome. ÌýI think I may have to read the 3rd book next as this was such a tease!!!"
January 15, 2017
This book is so unique and so good that I searched high and low for it for years as an adult (I read it when I was 12, but it was part of a circulating library so I didn't get to read it a second time). One day I happened to remember the name of the main character and bought it on Kindle and was really enchanted once again by a fantastically well-thought out science fiction novel like no other. It's the only sci-fi novel I have read that is really discursive and yet has a fantastic storyline. I can really recommend for young adults; it's one of those books that makes you think and stays with you. Still on my list of best sci-fi novels of all time - and I've read a few. It's similar to Arthur C. Clarke's challenging short stories.
September 5, 2012
Sylvia Engdahl was my favorite author when I was about 10-12. On rereading this, I was pleasantly surprised that it hadn't lost any of its charm. The books (this is a compilation of 3) tend to wander a bit - but it never gets boring. She manages to explore themes about faith and freedom, while maintaining a great story, and fascinating characters.
November 16, 2020
This is a book that actually takes some thinking when you read it; I very much enjoy it for that reason, as well as the fact that it has a wonderful story with its ups and downs that kept me reading as I went.
September 20, 2007
I obsessively read this entire trilogy. It's not that easy to find, but well worth it! I love her whole idea about psychic abilities being the natural next evolutionary step for people.
February 28, 2008
This is yet another amazing book by this author. Or amazing trilogy I should say.
November 8, 2012
I found it insightful on societies and hopeful when dealing with the nature of men.
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