I was initially intrigued by the premise: a tale that was both science fiction and fantasy, fairy tale and space exploration.

But I got tired of Elana's constant self-doubt, and her father's endless moralizing. It was worsened by the fact that every time he had to explain something to her about their plan, or about her commitment to their service, or basically any moral choice she made, she then spent a few pages whining or agonizing about it. And then, sometimes, she also had to "explain" it again in vague, magical terms to Georyn, because his native/uncivilized status meant they couldn't reveal themselves as alien.

The actual plot got lost for me in the psychological rigamarole. Too much introspection and not enough actually happening.

What a very cool and excellent concept! And what a let down to realise I really would have preferred it to be three separate books, lol. The whole point of it is you see the same events through three different characters' eyes (with vastly different viewpoints and worlds) but really I mostly was thinking how good it would be to just...expand those into totally different but interconnected series.

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

This was definitely a more mixed reading than the elation that came with the first one. I thought I had a coherent review in my head, but I think instead I have a scattering of points, centered on each POV:

1) Georyn is by far the highlight of this book, and the style and voice of his sections are my favourite. What I was so excited about in 2014 was a book that gave so much dignity and respect to someone from a roughly medieval situation--this is sadly lacking in a lot of public understanding and even historical fiction. Engdahl allows Georyn to be fully medieval and fully human, admirable, intelligent, even wise. It is still wonderful to see, and it really elevates the book.

2) Elana's POV is more mixed. For one thing, she sounds overly young to me a lot of the time. She is very into her exclamation points and dramatic statements. A lot of her emotions are directly told to the reader, instead of being show by her actions. She also creates a number of plot problems by being quite stupid.

Her POV also contains most of the philosophizing of the book: mainly around the very Prime Directive-esque rules Elana's advanced civilization has about their interactions with less advanced civilizations. If you like Star Trek: Next Gen. episodes where Picard gets to wax poetic about the Prime Directive (which I happen to), that's essentially what you get from Elana's father. He's always right, succinct, and philosophical. It's neat but not incredibly engaging if you're not as into the concepts holding the story together or you happen to have read it before.

(Or perhaps heard Picard give a lot of the same arguments.)

I do like the books whole idea about belief and truth, and the use of symbols to understand a truth--how they vary by culture. Lack of knowledge =/= lack of wisdom. "Progress" and technological advancement does not always mean the civilization is better. It's fascinating and, again, gives medieval people a lot more respect than I'm used to encountering.

3) Then there's Jarel. Oh, Jarel. As I started this reread, I had a bit of an "oh no" when I got to his sections, because even in the first go-round they are irritatingly obvious as a Point. We need to understand his POV for the climax to work, but nothing about his thoughts surprises us, and none of it is very nuanced. It's interesting, in a book focused on giving so much humanity to Georyn that it paints Jarel and his comrades as more black-and-white.

The main thing that stuck with me from 2014 until now was a moment of the climax, and the climax is still gorgeous and wonderfully thematic, and the closing of the book a tantalizing mixture of uplifting and melancholy.

It's not the perfect book my euphoric experience in 2014 had led me to believe. But it still wonderful, and I appreciate what it offers the world.

Also, <3 <3 Georyn.

"There are worse fates than to see beyond your grasp."

This was a fairly interesting story, though a bit slow for me. There were some gaps in the story for me, or pieces that didn't seem realistic within the storyline. It has thoughtful bits of wisdom sprinkled throughout it, which I liked. It's one I would recommend to my kids and believe they might ponder a little more about than many other books in this genre.

This took quite a few pages to catch my interest, but once it did, I really enjoyed it. I liked knowing the story from the viewpoint of three different characters. The story as told from the "Youngling" planet native point-of-view felt like a fairy tale quest type of story, yet was more of a science fiction adventure story from the technologically advanced visitor-from-space "Enchantress" point-of-view. That made me think about other stories I've read that were fairy tale quest-types and how it would be interesting if there was also a science fiction adventure story to go along with them. What one character thinks of as magic might be thought of by another character as science or technology. Does that make sense? Anyhow, I liked thinking about the concept and how a familiar story could be very different when told from the point-of-view of another character who has a very different interpretation of events, objects, etc., because of their advanced knowledge.

I give this book two stars, because the writing was amazing. I couldn't stand the plot. It wasn't even bad, just terribly conflicting and completely frustrating. I would not reccomend this book.

When Elena sneaked on board her father's ship for a glance at another world, she could have hardly imagined what she’d find. A medieval world being threatened by another invading world. But how could she help protect an entire world from alien invaders when they can’t even know what they’re facing? Jarel, a disillusioned medic in the imperial forces, regrets the damage his people are doing and would do anything to stop it. And Georyn, a woodcutter’s son, who only knows he must slay the dragon that has been ravaging his home.
The idea that these three individuals could stop an alien invasion may seem impossible. But through the belief in a mere river rock’s power, they manage to stop the encroachment of the empire, by showing them something they couldn’t understand.
I would recommend this for middle or high schoolers looking for something thought-provoking to chew on. While I don’t doubt there are gifted elementary students who read on this level, some of the themes that are presented can be difficult subjects for younger children to grasp or enjoy. The semi-romance between Georyn and Elena, in particular, might be harder to understand than the actual vocabulary. However, the philosophical ideas presented here are certain to leave an impression on anyone reading.
This is an amazing story, and I understand why it’s so acclaimed. The philosophical ideas explored alone would make this book worth reading. One aspect I loved was how each character reflected their time so well. Georyn was young and eager, willing to put his faith in things he couldn’t understand. Jarel was disillusioned with reality, regretful of the cruelty he saw committed around him, and felt powerless to stop it. And Elena, the enchantress, was wise, and yet innocent of the horrors of the world. The romantic aspect of the story didn’t appeal to me, even though it was more developed than others I’ve read.
I also disliked how Elena’s character was portrayed. She seemed too innocent and childish for me, and never dealt with any lasting consequences from her rash actions. Compared to the other two main characters, who sacrificed so much to succeed, she just doesn’t seem to measure up.
But overall, this was an enjoyable read for me.

This novel is an intriguing look at how different civilizations, at different stages of advancement, might see each other, and themselves relative to those others. We have Elana who is from a pretty far advanced civilization who has taken on the task of making sure that as many species as possible are able to advance as far as they are able. Jarel is from a civilization that is slightly ahead of where we are, able to travel to other planets and star systems but not as advanced as the first. Finally there is Georyn, who is the son of a wood cutter in a civilization that still believes in magic and bewitchment.

Each of these three persons come into account as one of three civilizations is trying to settle the planet that Georyn lives on. Jarel's culture sees it as their duty to expand and to so are willing to annex new planets they discover without paying much attention to those beings that might already be living there.

As a result of this encounter, each of the three main characters have to look at their own assessment of the situation. Is magic real? What if the faith is strong enough? And how about the rules, the most advanced culture has as an ideal? Are the rules to be kept absolutely, or is there wiggle room when times call for it.

All of these individuals are also in a stage of their own lives when they are open to learning, and grasping at bigger truths, and as a result they open a variety of thoughts potentially in the minds of the reader as well.

I recommend this book to anybody who lives science fiction, especially if that includes "human interest" type pieces of work.

I really liked the mix of different genres and registers but woooooooffff, some of the real-life implications are NOT GREAT. I can see why it’s a classic that people always bring up but I was uneasy with lots of it.

4.5

Elana is from an advanced society that has created an interstellar society that helps protect younger worlds from being invaded by other, not quite as advanced, civilizations. When she sneaks onto a mission to a medieval world on the brink of a disastrous colonization, her presence creates the kind of turmoil that is hard to undue. But try to undo it she does, along with two other agents, and together they create a plan involving the native man Georyn, whose real belief in magic and superstition might just be the key to everything.

OH my goodness this was a surprisingly great read. There is so much depth beneath the story, which is interesting in and of itself. Teens are introduced to some pretty intriguing topics in a way that's really accessible - the idea of colonizers viewing native populations as "lesser than" or that anyone who is less technologically advanced is somehow beneath you. I loved how often Elana is forced to recognize that one individual's choice, even just ONE choice, can have implications for better - or especially worse - that you could've never imagined. There is a sweet romantic plot and I liked how we got to see the story from both Elana and Georyn's points of view. The way that the author took a situation and could show it from both of their perspectives, which are so very different (i.e. magic vs science), was masterfully done. I loved the father-daughter relationship here and I loved the idea of there being endless worlds to explore. Just a lot of stuff I liked, apparently :)

I would love to hand this to a teen and see what they can take away from it - and it would be a great introduction to science fiction for teens who think they don't like the genre.

I thought this book was very good theoretically, but somehow was missing something in actuality. The concepts about fairy tales, science, and how civilization moves from myth to science to something else beyond- in this particular story telepathic powers- were really fabulous as well as the rigor, rationalization, and practice of leaving less developed civilizations alone. Perhaps it is that the love story seems more of a literary fairy tale while the rest of the book could be a beautifully rendered science fiction tale. I liked the character of perspectives from characters within each level of civilization, but would have liked the language and thought processes to feel more distinct in comparison to the others. However, the author has chosen to make it a fictional account of what the others might have been thinking by the main character, rationalizing the homogenization, yet taking the easy way out. The themes of self sacrifice for the sake of

The Imperial Exploration Corps has arrived at the planet Andrecia where they intend to expand their population. The Corps believes only in material technology and sees the primitive natives as subhuman. Jarel, a doctor assigned to the colonizers, is appalled to see the mistreatment of the indigenous people.

The colonizers are using a dragonlike machine to sterilize the environment so it will be safe for settlement. Georyn, a woodcutter's son, has heard of the dragon and is determined to kill it. On the way he meets an enchantress from the stars (Elana) who teaches him magic that should improve his chances to win.

Elana belongs to an advanced interstellar civilization that hides from those cultures less advanced. In secret her civilization sends agents to rescue planets from exploitation. Elena hadn't completed her training as a secret guardian. Overcome with eagerness she leapt ahead of her readiness and found herself tasked with the seemingly impossible goal of saving a medieval culture from the invasion of a colonizing force. Using psychic and scientific knowledge, she hides her identity as she plays along with Georyn's superstitions and belief in magic.

We follow the viewpoint of three characters. Elana speaks in first person, so we know she's the main protagonist. Jarel's story is told in a straight forward fashion but in third person. Georyn's story is also in third person but in a poetic way that gives us a sense of the medieval.

All three persons are novices, unsure of their futures but passionate to do what's right. And we wonder how Georyn can succeed with the so-called spell Elana has taught him. How will he, in his innocence, convince the Corps to pull out their machinery, their colonists, and leave? How can all this occur without Elana giving herself away?

The charm, the discreetness, and integrity--as well as the novice state of our heroes--marks this as a young adult novel. We don't know how the king of the medieval society discovers a "dragon" exists and needs to be killed. And the author has a tendency to talk down to the reader or over explain a positive philosophy, as if reducing the reader to the middle grade.

There is a feel of magic in this story, the feel of a fairy tale, a simplicity that adds great charm. I love this and the sense of compassion not found in so many novels. Our heroes are changed as they face different futures with the strength of understanding and willingness to sacrifice.