Author Description

Product Description Please note: Although this book has the same heroine as the author's Newbery Honor book Enchantress from the Stars, it is completely independent and is intended for older readers, high school age and adults. The 2003 reissue is an updated edition and should be read in preference to earlier editions.On completion of her training as an agent of the interstellar federation's Anthropological Service, Elana is sent to a world whose people may soon destroy their civilization. Since not enough is understood about the situation to justify any interference with their evolution, the Service has no power to act; its agents must go as helpless observers, posing as natives, in the hope of gaining knowledge that may help to save other worlds. This passive role proves intolerable to the young, inexperienced agent assigned to the same city as Elana, a city under totalitarian rule. After falling in love with a local girl who has become Elana's closest friend, he identifies too completely with the natives and unwittingly endangers the entire world by a well-meant but ill-advised attempt to intervene. Forced to assume responsibility for undoing the damage, Elana finds that only she--at great cost--can prevent an immediate war of annihilation. Review "A surprising, haunting, poetic book... full of provocative philosophical and psychological questions as well as tense adventure and romance." --Commonweal"An intriguing, provocative story relevant to situations in today's world." --ALA Booklist"Gripping psychological science fiction... the relationship between the heroine and her sophisticated, unbrutish interrogator is beautifully balanced and adds another dimension to a story which is already multi-faceted." --Times Literary Supplement, London"The author has a direct, forceful style of writing that sparks the reader's imagination." --Publisher's Weekly"Contains good characterizations and some thoughtful concepts about our own world, set in a skillfully written SF plot." --School Library Journal From the Author A new hardcover edition of this novel was published in 2003, with a paperback in 2005. Though it's related to Enchantress from the Stars because it has the same heroine, it's a completely different story and is not intended for readers below teenage. Some minor revisions were made, mainly to bring its comments about space up to date, and these have a significant effect on its timeliness--so if you want to read it be sure to get the new edition. About the Author Sylvia Louise Engdahl is the author of six novels published between 1970 and 1981, of which Enchantress from the Stars was the first. It was awarded a Newbery Honor in 1971, and the "Phoenix Award" in 1990. Ms. Engdahl currently resides in Eugene, Oregon.