Enchantress from the Stars (Elana, #1) in Sylvia Engdahl Discussion and Q&A

Dec 19, 2007 Sylvia marked it as written · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

This is my best-known novel. Though often given to children as young as the 6th grade because it was a Newbery Honor book, it is really intended for teens and is also enjoyed by many adults.

Since I see that long ago I posted a statment here about my book as a "review." i guess I will update it with a couple of facts I wish people knew.

First, for the reviewers who say they disagree with the idea that some cultures are more "advanced" than others, well, so do I, if we are thinking of different cul This is my best-known novel. Though often given to children as young as the 6th grade because it was a Newbery Honor book, it is really intended for teens and is also enjoyed by many adults.

Since I see that long ago I posted a statment here about my book as a "review." i guess I will update it with a couple of facts I wish people knew.

First, for the reviewers who say they disagree with the idea that some cultures are more "advanced" than others, well, so do I, if we are thinking of different cultures on Earth. I have said repeatedly at my website and elsewhere that the book is NOT meant to be an allegory about relationships between cultures on Earth, because everybody on Earth is a member of the same species. It is about the evolutionary advance of entire species, not mere differences among cultures of the same one. Sentient species that evolved on different worlds, if there are any, have existed for different lengths of time; they are separated by many centuries, or millennia, of evolution. Most people would agree that we are more advanced than Stone Age cavemen--and I think someday we may meet species as far ahead of us as we are ahead of humans who lived that long ago. Of course the time frame in the book is shorter to make a story, but the principle applies.

Second, I didn't base the story on Star Trek -- I established the non-interference policy of the Service in portions of the story I wrote in 1957, long before StarTrek existed. But I don't claim to have created it. The main reason I hate to see the Prime Directive spoken of as if Star Trek invented it is that this ties it too closely to science fiction. I believe advanced species really do have such a policy, because if they didn't, the worlds of all the sentient species in the universe would end up as mere copies of the oldest one, without a chance to mature on their own. The Prime Directive ahouldn't be considered a part of any fictional universe, but rather as a theory of why SETI hasn't detected any messages from superciviilzations and why there aren't any aliens here in UFOs.
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Nov 25, 2017 Paul rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A beautifully rendered novel with high intelligence, captivating character, and cosmic soul. In many ways, Sylvia Engdahl's writings are the logical successors to Heinlein's derring-do tales of gifted individuals making a difference in human exploration of other worlds. But Engdahl's pace is more leisurely, reflective, and the tapestry she weaves may well outlast Heinlein's. Here, she introduces Elana, with a very special mission.... (For further exploits of Elana, and a crucially important argu ...more

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Sep 19, 2007 elissa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sciencefiction, my_00s_reads, youngadult

Even though this is a Newbery Honor from the 70's, I'd never seen it until I found the reissue by chance at my local library. Absolutely loved it! I love thinking about humans naturally developing psychic powers, as an evolutionary step, and this is an idea that Engdahl has explored in a lot of depth. ENCHANTRESS is the first book of hers that I read, but I like the CHILDREN OF THE STAR trilogy even better. Fascinating ideas! ...more

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