Enchantress from the Stars
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A new hardcover edition of the 1971 Newbery Honor book by Sylvia Louise
Engdahl was published in April, 2001 by Walker & Co. (ISBN 0-8027-8764-
9). The book has a jacket and interior vignettes by the award-winning
artists Leo and Diane Dillon and a new introduction by Newbery medalist Lois
Lowry. A paperback edition with the same cover art was published by Firebird
Books in February 2003 (ISBN 0-14-250037-2).
It is also available from Walker as an If you have read the book please read the detailed FAQ about it -- especially if you're writing a book report or are a teacher leading classroom discussions. A Newbery Honor Book ~ Winner of the 1990 Phoenix Award, given by the Children's Literature Association "from the perspective of time" ~ Finalist for the 2002 Book Sense Book of the Year Award in the Rediscovery category. | ||
Ursula LeGuin, New York Times Book Review |
Terri Schmitz, Horn Book |
John Grant, Infinity Plus |
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See more excerpts from reviews of the book (With links to full reviews if they are online)  Order paperback from amazon.com (or add reader review) Order signed, personalized hardcover from author E-book versions available from Fictionwise and eReader Audio version available on CD or cassettes from Recorded Books and as a download from Audible.com | ||
The Federation Anthropological Service would never officially have allowed Elana to be on this mission to the medieval planet Andrecia. If Youngling peoples found out that a supremely advanced and enlightened society like the Federation existed, it would irreparably damage their evolution. Stowing away aboard her father's ship, Elana suddenly becomes the key to a dangerous plan to turn back the invasion of Andrecia by an aggressive, space-faring Youngling civilization. How can she possibly help the Andrecians, who still believe in magic and superstition, against a force armed with advanced technology -- without revealing her alien powers?
Apprentice medical officer Jarel wishes that the planet the Imperial Exploration Corps has chosen to colonize didn't have a "humanoid" population already living on it. The invaders don't consider the Andrecians to be human, and Jarel has seen the atrocious treatment the natives get from his people. How can he make a difference, when he alone regrets the destruction that his people bring?
Georyn, youngest son of a poor Andrecian woodcutter, knows only that
there is a terrible dragon on the other side of the enchanted forest, and
he is prepared to do whatever it takes to defeat it. In his mind, Elana
is the Enchantress from the Stars who has come to test him, to prove he
is worthy of defeating the dragon and its powerful minions. Despite both
Elana's and Jarel's inner turmoil, Georyn's burden is by far the
heaviest. Ultimately, he must pit his innocent faith in the magic of his
Enchantress from the Stars against foes who have come from a world
beyond his comprehension.
A short excerpt from the book
Georyn talked further with the woodcutter, asking, "Why should it be death to enter the Forest, when the King and his followers have hunted there since before I was born?"
"As I have often told you," replied the woodcutter, "the Enchanted Forest is the home of evil spirits, who have laid a curse on all who go there, though they dare not touch the King's companions. This was true even before the Dragon appeared to ravage our land."
"Then if the King should send us, they would not touch us either."
"Perhaps not. But how could you hope to slay the Dragon, you who have never before held a sword? It is impossible, Georyn."
Now Georyn knew this, for though he was quite as brave as his brothers, he was not so foolish as to consider himself abler than the King's huntsmen at killing. But these men had failed, and if they had failed then perhaps the Dragon could not be killed with a sword at all. "There may be a way to overcome the monster, Father," he said. "But it will not be found by those who fear it! I can have no happiness until I have at least tried."
And so at last, seeing that he could not dissuade them, the woodcutter allowed his sons to seek the aid of the King. They set forth the next morning, following the river that circled the wood. When they had gone but a short distance, they came to a fork in the path: one way kept to the course of the stream, while the other led to the King's castle by a shorter route, through the forest.
"Let us take the quickest way," said the eldest brother.
"That would not be wise," protested Georyn. "That way leads directly into the Enchanted Forest."
His brothers laughed, saying, "What, do you believe such foolishness? Do you fear that we will be bewitched?"
"Not all tales of enchantment are foolish ones," replied Georyn. "There will be a time when we must challenge that which lies within the Forest, but to do so now, unnecessarily, would be no better than folly. We have no knowledge of what we face."
Thereupon the brothers stopped and debated; for they remembered that they had indeed heard fearsome tales of the Enchanted Forest, and they were not anxious to test the truth of them. So at length they were persuaded to take the familiar way, and for the rest of that day they continued along the river bank. It was a bright, springtime morning; the leaves were young and green, the water sparkled in the sunlight, and as the young men walked, they whistled.
When the sun had sunk low behind the dark profiles of the fir trees, however, the Forest beyond the river loomed larger, both in the brothers' eyes and in their thoughts. The foaming roar of the water seemed less cheering, and upon the opposite shore a faint trace of mist began to form. And then it was that the brothers came upon a small stone hut, which surprised them greatly, for it had not been there in the past when they had cut wood near that place. As they were wondering at this, a tall, dark-haired maiden stepped forth from the hut; and the woodcutter's sons stood silent in amazement and awe, for she was unlike any mortal maiden they had ever seen, and they knew at once that she was an enchantress.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Imperial Exploration Corps had founded many colonies, but this one was better situated than most. It was in the northern hemisphere of a rich new planet, near the coast of a large and fertile continent; moreover, it lay at the western edge of an impressive stand of timber. Not that the trees were in themselves of any value, since they must eventually be cleared. But the area served as a temporary buffer between the base camp and the nearest native village. Most natives, it had been learned, were afraid of this forest. They believed it to be haunted.
On a spring afternoon when the building of the colony had barely begun, the apprentice medical officer, Jarel, stood in the clearing and watched the rockchewer charge again and again at the stubborn perimeter of the woods. It was still being used to burn off surface growth; excavation wouldn't be started for some days yet. The racket was muffled by his pressure suit's helmet, and the cold flames darting from the nose of the big land-clearing machine looked incongruously fierce. It wasn't normal for anything so lethal to seem so quiet! A rockchewer was a monstrous piece of equipment shaped rather like some huge prehistoric beast, and it generated an ear-shattering noise.
So this is how it feels, Jarel thought. This is how it feels to be on a new, untouched planet, light-years from our own star; a planet that will soon be an outpost of the Empire because of our work here. All through medical school, this is what I wanted; I never even considered any other sort of internship. Well, now I've got it.
It was too bad that the land must be cleared. This was kind of a nice planet, green trees and grass and stuff. It was the third planet of a yellow sun, even: in that, as in other ways, it seemed just like home. But the place was crawling with alien bacteria; not only must pressure suits and helmets be worn until immunity was established, but every inch of ground must be sterilized before any construction could be started. Burn off the trees, level the ground--how else could you take over a hostile world?
There was no other safe way. The first load of colonists had already arrived: a dozen couples, plus their kids, in addition to the fifty or so Corpsmen in the original survey party. They had plenty of hard work ahead of them, and no time to waste regretting the destruction of the native vegetation. But it did seem a pity.
It was a pity about the native population, too.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"You might as well know," Father said. "There's another ship here, a ship from a quite powerful young Empire. They're clearing land for a colony."
"And we're going to stop them?"
"We hope so. There are plenty of uninhabited worlds they can colonize. But they're a formidable people, Elana."
"But still Youngling," I said. They were at a high level, I knew, if they had achieved the stardrive--not too far below us technologically. There could be no other Younglings significantly superior to them. Still...
"Yes, Youngling--of course," Ilura told me. "And they have no command of psychic powers at all; their gods are machines. All the same they're dangerous, and there are nearly a hundred of them here, I'd say."
"Come on, let's get busy," Father interrupted. "Elana, you can help us to set up camp, but when I send the ship back you'll be in it."
We crossed the meadow and selected a place near the river, among tall, majestic trees, for the base camp. Naturally we couldn't put up any sort of shelter that would not seem indigenous to the surroundings. But there were plenty of fair-sized stones strewn around nearby--apparently the river was sometimes higher than at present-and from them Father and Evrek erected a small, windowless stone hut. This was done quickly and silently, and, I believe, psychokinetically, though the stones rarely left anyone's hands and conventional plastics were used for cementing them. I know that Father has more ability along these lines than most of us; I could not, with my own mind, save moved one of those stones two feet without emotional stimulus. Perhaps, of course, the urgency was more apparent to him. The fact remains that the hut went up much more rapidly than it should have, if there had been anyone there to watch.
While the hut was taking shape, Ilura and I unloaded the supplies and carried them to the edge of the woodsy clearing. When we were almost finished Father said to me, "Go aboard now, Elana. Leave the last few things in the meadow, and we'll pick them up. I've got to get that ship out of here."
A breeze rippled the new spring leaves of the trees; I took a deep breath, and the air seemed alive with a faintly alien scent. A Youngling world: a lush, green world full of mystery and promise. What might lie hidden in this unearthly forest? I'd had a look at it, anyway--that was something, though perhaps it was only tantalizing. I started reluctantly toward the meadow and the waiting ship. And then, in one brief instant, the first real turning point of my life came; and now nothing will ever be the same as it was before.
There was no warning until, just as I was about to step out from the shelter of the trees, Father grabbed me and pulled me back. Directly across the clearing from us I saw a flash of metal. Two men were emerging from the forest, and they could not be Andrecians. They wore pressure suits and helmets; Andrecia's atmosphere--or its bacteria--must be poisonous to them.
"The ship!" Evrek cried out.
Father must have been aware of what was happening before the rest of us were, for the ship had already begun its swift, soundless lift from the meadow. The invaders couldn't have spotted it as they came into the clearing; a large clump of thick-foliaged trees had kept it out of their direct line of sight. They now had their backs to it, but if they turned within the next thirty seconds they could not fail to see.
"A clear disclosure!" murmured Ilura. "They'll know what an alien ship means! It's the worst thing that could happen, for the Imperials to--"
I understood her. A spherical, noiseless ship--a ship without visible
means of propulsion--they'd know it for the earmark of a civilization
more advanced than their own. So the danger wasn't just to this
world. It could change the course of their Empire's history if those
men saw and were believed.
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