In this sequel Sylvia has abandoned the fairy-tale feel she performed so well in the first book in favor of a full sci-fi style. But just like [I]Enchantress From the Stars[/I], this is not just an action story. It raises questions and ideas about humanity's future, delving into questions of ethics, history, and philosophy with a compelling story and thoughtful characters.

This was such a thought-provoking book, while still being full of plenty of action.

A good short science fiction stry that raises questions on where human civilization will lead. It depresses that we are still in the critical stage.

I was glad that Elana's adventure continued from "Enchantress from the Stars." That was probably the first SF book I'd ever read as a young teen, and it was my "gateway" (as in gateway drug) into a genre I've loved all my life. I was even happier to find out that all of her books were reissued in print and no longer solely available in libraries. I own them all, including an autographed copy of the "Children of the Star" trilogy, which was released in an omnibus format.

Read this on Kij's reccomendation. Learned a lot about revealing a story that takes place in several different time frames and a very gentle way to handle some ugly material. An absolute pleasure to read another Elana book. So glad I found it.

3.5 stars

I didn’t enjoy this one nearly as much as Enchantress From the Stars, but it was still a good read. You can tell this was written in the 70s when the nuclear arms race and the space race were a big deal. The author’s assertion (through the main character Elana) that every planet reaches a Critical Stage where they will either destroy themselves through nuclear war fare or launch out to conquer space was an interesting theory. And just like in Enchantress From the Stars, the author explores what it would be like for an entire civilization to truly live out the dictum of others before self. In many ways, it’s a hopeful story, despite the bleak picture of human existence on Toris (presented as a planet comparable to earth).

Hm. I came to read this because I very much enjoyed *Enchantress from the Stars* and was looking forward to a similar romp through mythology and sci-fi. However, this book is very different in tone. It is a philosophical argument about the importance of traveling to space.

I did not enjoy the book for most of the book. In fact, I would say that I did not enjoy the book until the last few chapters. Once I read the author's note to this 2003 edition, I am happy I read the book - but I did not enjoy it.

It is somewhat boring. The frame is that Elana is imprisoned and being tortured and then she is telling you the backstory while in prison to occupy herself. I did like the descriptions (again) of the psychic powers that let her release herself from pain, etc. Then the backstory is somewhat boring until the frame and the story join together. I was waiting the whole time for some incredible climax to have happened, and it didn't really.

The book is set in a Cold War sort of planet and all about the risk of nuclear war vs. space travel. Here is where the author's notes adds depth to the book - she started writing it in the 50's and published it in the 70's. Clearly there has been a lot of change since then. The author noted that she used the trappings of politics to explore space travel. In that context, the book makes a lot more sense and is a lot more interesting.

I think this would be a good book to read in correlation with other books about the Space Race and the Cold War and ruminations about nuclear arms. Not a pleasure book, though.

My favorite Engdahl ad one of my favorite books ever. the main character is a very strong and independent girl and I loved her when I was 12 and still do.

Rather interesting 1970s scifi. Concerned as 70s era fiction often is with questions of nation-state war and societal self-destruction as well as totalitarian government, the book feels strongest in its ideas. Its characterization reminding me at times of LeGuin, a little distant, occasionally forced, but effective in conveying the author's point of view.

ANOTHER ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I felt this was more of a 3.5, but couldn't give it a 4. I enjoyed it but not as much as the first book. It was by far a more dark book, but still very interesting.

Sequel to ENCHANTRESS FROM THE STARS (1970). Both YA space operas are set in the same cosmos: humanoids, similar physiologically but in different stages of cultural/technological development, are found on countless far-flung planets. Culturally mature peoples belong to the Federation, which oversees the maturation and continued existence of “Youngling” races. Agents to Youngling worlds are highly trained anthropologists, who risk their lives to assist struggling peoples, hiding the existence of advanced extra-terrestrial societies until Younglings are ready. Federation peoples have solved the social problems that drive less advanced peoples to violence. They have fully developed the latent psi powers possessed by all humanoids, communicating both verbally and telepathically and practicing psychokinesis.” Readers of Engdahl’s two novels observe societies much like out own through characters that are kinder, wiser, and more historically informed than ourselves.

In ENCHANTRESS, the protagonist, Elana, though still a student, helps to save Andrecia, a Youngling world in a feudal stage of development, threatened by a society that has mastered space flight but not yet an altruistic social order. In FAR SIDE, Elana is about to begin her first mission as a certified anthropologist. She and a classmate, Randil, are sent to Toris, a planet on the brink of nuclear annihilation. Elana and Randil are charged with a task that would be nearly intolerable for any compassionate being: they must not try to avert the impending nuclear holocaust, merely record Toris’s political and cultural developments. For reasons that make dramatic—not logical—sense, the two novice agents are prohibited from communicating with one another. Periodically, a senior Federation agent, Varned, posing as a carnival fortune-teller, advises and debriefs them. The two young agents, however, are left on their own when the dictatorial, war-mongering Neo-Statests kill Varned because he resembles a Toresian racial minority.

Both Elana and Randil are committed to a young Toresian woman, Kari, Elana’s roommate. Deeply in love with Kari, idealistic Randil defies Federation strictures by publishing technical articles, designed to push Toresian society toward space exploration. Randil’s academic studies have convinced him that the Toresians may be diverted from nuclear war if they throw their energies into space exploration. Attempting to stop Randil’s rash, short-sighted intervention, Elana ends up in a grim Neo-Statist prison. She uses the mental disciplines learned at the Academy to resist torture. When the frustrated torturers attempt to break Elana’s will by torturing Kari, Elana teachers her young friend to communicate telepathically and to block pain, under the pretext of giving her a mind-altering drug—actually a fragment of bread. Of course, the reader knows that the young Federation agents save Toris. The suspense of FAR SIDE lies in how.

FAR SIDE has a fascinating premise. Having observed the development of countless Youngling cultures, Federation anthropologists conclude that each reaches a “Critical Stage”: Younglings either annihilate themselves with nuclear war, or they devote their energies to space flight. If they choose to conquer space, they continue to develop technologically and to progress toward an equitable social order. On Toris, Elana finds a culture disturbingly close to the reader’s own. With systematic suppression of dissident speech and the killing of minorities, the Neo-Statists recall the Nazis. The book, however, hits closer to home. The Neo-Statists are engaged in an arms race that resembles the Cold War from which we have emerged (if at all) only recently. In an “Afterword” to the 1989 edition, Engdahl states that Americans “are still in the Critical Stage. . . . The only way out of it is to make a greater commitment to the exploration and humanization of space” (293).

The idealism and courage displayed by the young Federation agents and their Toresian friend are exceedingly moving. As the novel progresses, Elana, Randil, and Kari, grow in wisdom and self-confidence. While Elana’s constant soul-searching occasionally wearied me, I was utterly engaged by Kari. When we first meet her, Kari lacks the confidence to act on her “Liberationist” sympathies. After triumphantly resisting torture, Kari has the courage to join the “Liberationist” underground.

According to amazon.com, Engdahl has written many interplanetary adventures for young adults. I look forward to reading other books.