Enchantress from the Stars

Elana is a young woman from an advanced civilization, in training to be part of the anthropology service. She looks forward to a life of traveling the universe, studying younger civilizations, seeing uncharted planets, and having grand adventures. However, when her impulsive nature lands her in the middle of a delicate mission for which she is unprepared, she discovers that the life she's chosen may not be as glamorous as she was imagining. As she, her father, and her fiance try to save one "youngling" culture from another, she finds that it's not possible to remain detached from the people she meets, particularly one young man who may be his planet's best hope for survival.

I found this a quick, enjoyable read, as long as I made an show more effort to suspend disbelief at some of the tenets of the storyline. (All alien civilizations are basically humanoid and follow the same developmental stages? Hmm...) This book was written 45 years ago, and taking that into consideration, it's an impressive piece of science fiction. Plus, the character development is really good, and the plot (so long as one doesn't spend too much time picking it to pieces) is also fairly good. I'd recommend it. show less

I first read this book when I was in the sixth grade, and it changed my life. Not only was this the first science fiction story I'd ever read, it was my introduction to the idea that where you come from shapes how you see and interpret the world.

The story is presented as an intersection of fairy tale and sci-fi adventure, with the medieval residents of the planet Andrecia interpreting the high tech tools of an advanced civilization as a "dragon".

Elana, the story's heroine, is a somewhat rash but deeply principled young woman who accepts the consequences for all her actions and who faces the conflicts between heart and duty with a clear vision. The two other two p.o.v. characters share her idealistic qualities, each expressing them show more through the lense of his own unique background. show less

Enchantress to the Stars first appeared in 1970, won a Newbury Honor in 1971, and is today still considered to be a shining jewel in the crown of juvenile science fiction--so it's odd that I'd never heard of this book until just last year. Me, a child of the late-seventies/early-eighties who devoured any book in our public library with a blue spaceship sticker on the spine. Me, an author in the field of speculative fiction for children, who continues to read as many genre books as time will allow. Me, who apparently still has a whole lot of classic literature left to discover.

Arthur C. Clarke famously observed that any sufficiently developed technology is indistinguishable from magic. EftS is a graphic example of this principle in show more action. To the medieval natives on Planet Andrecia, spacesuited scouts from the expanding interstellar Empire are demons and their groundmoving equipment is a dragon to be slain. But to the science-minded Imperials, the New Age psychic abilities of the Federationites (Federationalists? Federationians?) are equally beyond their understanding. In fact, the mere disclosure of the Federation's existence would permanently impair the development of the entire Empire, which means that the benevolent and highly ethical Federation agents are obliged to die rather than divulge their secrets.

This makes their society the ultimate high-tech conspiracy theory!

Engdahl uses three points of view to present the intersection of three planetary cultures--a clever device marred slightly by the framing explanation that one character, Elana of the Federation, is enhancing her own narrative with imagined accounts of the events from two other points of view in a book-length missive to a younger relative. As a reader I constantly found myself jarred out of the story with questions like: How does she know that? Why would she think that? And is this something she'd really be telling to someone other than the judges at her upcoming mission inquest?

But if the frame is ignored--perhaps with the use of "Start reading here" and "Stop reading here" tape flags--the three intertwining story strands represent the best traditions of epic fantasy, space cowboy heroics, and sentimental coming-of-age romance. Okay, so maybe I'm not the world's biggest fan of coming-of-age romance, but even I can appreciate a well-done interplanetary love triangle gone wrong. In this case, it goes something like this…



INTERIOR - STONE HUT FURNISHED IN SPARSE MEDIEVAL STYLE

Elana and Georyn stand gazing deeply into each other's eyes.

ELANA: Oh, Georyn!

GEORYN: Oh, Lady of the Enchanted Realms, I have placed you upon such a pedestal in my mind that no mere mortal of flesh and bone, such as myself, could ever dare to deem himself worthy of your notice, let alone your interest, and each word you speak thrills me with a million unspoken desires, such that I can hardly maintain any semblance of control--however I know that I must because it would be improper to even think such thoughts in your pristine presence and if you were to but suspect me of such blasphemy there would surely be no reason for you to continue the charade of pretending to care for me at all.

ELANA (giggles): Oh, Georyn!

EVREK (peering in through a window): How strange that Elana seems to enjoy spending so much time with that Youngling. I might be jealous if not for the security of being Elana's fiancee and having a psychic bond that allows us to share our deepest thoughts and emotions on a level that immature cultures could never imagine.

ELANA (with a deep sigh): Oh, Georyn!

review theater>

EftS was first published soon after the original "Star Trek" series went off the air, at the height of the Space Race, just as mankind was still putting its first bootprints on the Moon. The book reflects the optimism and sense of wonder of its time, when it seemed inevitable that humans would march forward across the Solar System and out into the Galaxy. In the fashion of 50's and 60's sci-fi, the universe of EftS is crammed with inhabitable worlds with each planet inexplicably featuring Earthlike plants, Earthlike animals, and people who look and act just like us but maybe a tiny bit different. It made me wonder if, perhaps, some hidden force even above the Federation were seeding the planets with humanoid life, which of course there was and it's called an author.

Otherwise, the story has stood the test of time and continues to provide ethical thought-food on the natural course of societal development, the power of belief, and the value of allowing aboriginal cultures to find their own paths. It's also notable that the most intelligent and intuitive character in the story by far is a member of the least developed society, and that the Andrecians and Imperials are both on their way to someday becoming the equals of the Federation, whose only advantage over the others is that "they got there first."

Bottom line: Readers 9 and up will appreciate the blending of familiar fantasy and science fiction tropes, and might widen their own worlds in the process. Older readers who have somehow missed this book should make an effort to go back and look for it. show less

I was young when I read this, I had not had training as a critical theorist or on postcolonialism and I still picked up on all the problematic issues this book chooses to romanticize.

A young woman defies the rules of her space travelling culture to help the people of a world they are visiting (as far as I remember for "benevolent" observation). She does this because she falls in love with one of the locals. Not this young man or any other of the natives are presented as intelligent capable human beings, since their level of technology does not allow them to participate in what is really going on and even the brave lady does not think she should treat her beloved as an equal and let him know what is going on. Instead she wisens up and show more decides to paternalistically protect his little head from the shock of an advanced civilization, also abandoning him in the process. Not like you can EXPLAIN interstellar travel!

So... all in all, left a terrible taste in my brain and it's been more than a decade since I read it. show less

I really enjoyed this older YA SF, and will again when it comes up in the Newbery club in the Children's Books group. Sure, there was an awful lot of discussion and not a whole heck of a lot of action, but that's fine by me because I do read SF for the 'what if' exploration of ideas.

Definitely a good fit, as it happens, for fans of Star Trek, with its exploration of a 'prime directive' and for fans of Star Wars, with a mysterious 'force' (in this case, telepathy and psychokinesis). But more than that. Also, it's appropriate that Lois Lowry, author of [b:The Giver|3636|The Giver (The Giver, #1)|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1342493368l/3636._SY75_.jpg|2543234], would write the intro. to show more the reprint - Engdahl's perspective & voice have much in common with Lowry's.... and fans of her Newbery winning SF would probably like this, too.

Should generate a good discussion in the club... would probably lead to even richer conversations in a teen reading group.

Only a couple of quotes, because most of the book isn't pithy. This first can be read as defense of faith, or of belief in magic, or even as encouragement to do science... what context will you enjoy?

"Why, if nobody believed anything except what they understood, how limited we'd be!"

And consider, do you agree with Georyn?

"For it is better to know of what exists than not to know. I would rather be helpless than blind...."

Discussion is this month so I have reread it. I think I appreciated it more, but enjoyed it a tiny bit less, this time. No matter; I still recommend it. And the sequel, too! show less

I got halfway through this before I gave up (I'm 53 now, life is too short to keep reading books one's not enjoying!)

It could have been titled "Ode to Mansplaining" as the all-knowing father goes on for pages, chapter after chapter, hectoring his daughter about stuff that she ought to know (to be fair, she doesn't seem to know the stuff she ought to know, but that's another issue!) The viewpoint is split for the most part between the characters who think they're in a fantasy, and the characters who know they're in a sci-fi novel, but you get nothing added from the other viewpoint--the SF characters know exactly what the fantasy characters are thinking, so reading their viewpoint is redundant.

Other nits: I'm sure a "higher" civilization show more (itself an outmoded concept) can come up with better ways to save a planet than this screwy plan, the main protagonist is apparently of marriageable/university age, but acts/thinks/feels about 10, nobody's actually interesting (apparently they find each other interesting, but for no clear reason), and an early death is dispensed with / accepted so casually as to put one off our supposed heroes right away (and was also stupid).

So mostly, I found it annoying, although I imagine it seemed radical in its day "Hey, kids, other people's cultures are valuable and you shouldn't colonize them!")

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s) show less

Bogged down by simplistic ideas of evolution and preposterous "if this, then that" plotting, but all in all, I found this to be an engaging story that feels very fresh considering its age.