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5.0 out of 5 stars
the case for the stars, May 24 2004
Fiction doesn't have to be profound, just entertaining. But every once in a long while, a novel comes along that is both. Here, Sylvia Engdahl presents her "Critical Stage" argument for space exploration -- to wit, if we do not get out into space now, much further and longer than we have heretofore, then we may never get the opportunity again. As an advocate of space exploration and human life in the cosmos, I have explored this theme in my own non-fiction writings, noting how many cultures invented many things, only to see them languish (the Aztecs invented the wheel, to give but one example -- but they confined its use to just the toys of children). Engdahl had developed this idea years earlier, in The Far Side of Evil, but with all the tender flourishes and haunting interludes and personal verve of science fiction at its very best. The heroine, Elana (last seen in Enchantress from the Stars) is not very old. But the challenges she encounters echo from the very beginning to the ends of time, and speak to the very place of humanity in the universe, and what we need to do to attain and claim it. In age in which terrorism has threatened our ways of life in unexpected ways, Engdahl's probing story, and the recommendation it contains, are especially relevant. Originally published some three decades ago, this new edition, revised by the author's deft hand, is even better.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A dark but uplifting story, May 10 2004
Elana has just graduated from the Federation Anthropological Service, a program run by a highly advanced civilization that is designed to observe 'Youngling' planets and possibly intervene (without the citizens of the planet knowing they are doing so) if there is no other way to save its people. Immediately given an assignment to observe a planet on the brink of nuclear disaster, her fellow agent, Randil, is convinced he can save its people by doing the very thing Elana is sure will destroy it. Can she simply watch the planet destroy itself, or should she turn renegade like Randil, whose emotions have started controlling his head, and attempt to prevent disaster...or possibly make things worse?This is a very mature book, with some rather dark sections in it that will make you cringe- and not only because it seems like those things could easily happen in our world. However, the reasons for what Elana does are well thought out, and the setting is described so that it feels like you're there. A wonderfully original plot, I'd give it four and half stars.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
dull, drawn out, Oct 17 2003
By A Customer
This book should be compressed to a short story. Not bad, overall, but the basic ideas are repeated over and over again, drawn out interminably. Hard to stay awake through it all.
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