From her home in Eugene, Oregon, Engdahl has worked both as a copyeditor and as a freelance editor of nonfiction anthologies for high schools. Now retired, she welcomes email to [email protected] as well as visitors to her large website www.sylviaengdahl.com.
Books by Sylvia Engdahl
Available in Paperback and Ebook Editions
Under her Personal Imprint, Ad Stellae Books
The Hidden Flame duology, Book One:
Stewards of the Flame
When burned-out starship captain Jesse Sanders is seized by a dictatorial medical regime and detained on the colony planet Undine, he has no idea that he is about to be plunged into a bewildering new life that will involve ordeals and joys beyond anything he has ever imagined, as well as the love of a woman with powers that seem superhuman. Still less does he suspect that he must soon take responsibility for the lives of people he has come to care about and the preservation of their hopes for the future of humankind.
This controversial novel deals with government-imposed health care, with end-of-life issues, and with the so-called paranormal powers of the human mind. Despite being set in the distant future on another world, it appeals not just to science fiction fans but to a wide range of readers who question the dominant medical philosophy of today’s society, or who value personal freedom of choice. (An adult novel, not appropriate for middle-school readers. Available in paperback and mobi editions.)
The Hidden Flame duology, Book Two:
Promise of the Flame
Three hundred people, isolated on a raw new planet in the hope of fulfilling a dream, the dream that their psi powers will become the foundation of a culture that can someday shape the future of humankind. If they don’t starve first. If they don’t lose heart in the face of hardships beyond any they imagined. And if their kids can be reared to believe in the dream and advance both their technology and their psi powers from one generation to the next.
Starship captain Jesse Sanders hasn’t expected to be responsible for the settlement. Peter is the leader, the visionary on whose inspiration they all depend. But Peter has his hands full, not only with maintaining morale but with grueling ordeals of his own. So the job of ensuring the colony’s survival falls on Jesse. And in the end, he must stake his life in a desperate attempt to prevent the loss of all they have gained. (An adult novel, not appropriate for middle-school readers. Available in paperback and mobi editions.)
Omnibus Edition:
The Hidden Flame
The two books of the duology—Stewards of the Flame and Promise of the Flame—in a single volume. (Adult novels, not appropriate for middle-school readers. Available in paperback and mobi editions.)
The Rising Flame duology, Book One:
Defender of the Flame
Starship pilot Terry Radnor, involved in a secret mission after training that gives him extraordinary physical and psychic capabilities, finds fulfillment in love and in commitment to a cause—until an ironic twist of fate tears him away from everything he cares about. He is forced to build a whole new life, far from all that has previously mattered to him. Is there any hope that he can fulfill his pledge to protect the world whose safety is crucial to the future of humankind?
Although this novel follows Promise of the Flame, it begins an independent story set two hundred years later that can be read alone. (An adult novel, not appropriate for middle-school readers. Available in paperback and mobi editions.)
The Rising Flame duology, Book Two:
Herald of the Flame
Through a strange turn of fate Terry Steward, born Terry Radnor, was in the right place at the right time to save the secret colony Maclairn from terrorists who would have destroyed its plan to spread advanced mind powers to Earth and the other worlds of humankind. Now with his own starship Estel, he sets out to further that plan by journeying from world to world, heralding the hopeful future about which he alone knows the full truth. Yet he is all too aware that Maclairn’s enemies still pose a threat, and that on Earth the persecution of people who develop such powers is increasing. Soon targeted by bounty hunters, Terry can see no way to combat a planet-wide conspiracy—nor does he guess that if he lives long enough, he is destined for an even greater role in human history than he has played as a defender of Maclairn's cause.
Although this book is best read following Defender of the Flame, it can also be read alone. (An adult novel, not appropriate for middle-school readers. Available in paperback and mobi editions.)
Omnibus Edition:
The Rising Flame
The two books of the duology—Defender of the Flame and Herald of the Flame—in a single volume. (Adult novels, not appropriate for middle-school readers. Available in paperback and mobi editions.)
Children of the Star trilogy, Book One:
This Star Shall Abide
(Published in the UK as Heritage of the Star)
Noren knew that his world was not as it should be—it was wrong that only the Scholars and Technicians could use metal and Machines. It was wrong that only they had access to the knowledge hidden in the mysterious City. He was a heretic. He defied the High Law and had no faith in the Prophecy’s promised fulfillment. But was defiance enough, or could some way be found to make it come true?
A Young Adult novel. Winner of a Christopher Award, given for “affirmation of the highest values of the human spirit.” (Available in paperback, mobi, epub and pdf editions and as an audiobook.)
Children of the Star trilogy, Book Two:
Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains
Once Noren gained admission to the City where technology was hidden, he thought he had discovered how to make metal and Machines available to everyone and end the rule of the Scholars. But he soon learned it was not as simple as he had believed. Was it right to let people go on believing in the promises of a Prophecy that might not come true after all?
Originally published as a Young Adult novel, but of interest mainly to high school and adult readers. (Available in mobi, epub and pdf editions.)
Children of the Star trilogy, Book Three:
The Doors of the Universe
Noren had found faith in the Prophecy’s fulfillment in the face of overwhelming odds. Yet the more he learned of the grim truth about his people's situation, the less possible it seemed that their world could ever be changed. It would take more drastic steps than anyone imagined to restore their rightful heritage—and he alone could do what was needed.
Originally published as a Young Adult novel, but of interest mainly to high school and adult readers. (Available in mobi, epub and pdf editions.)
Omnibus Edition:
Children of the Star
The three books of the trilogy—This Star Shall Abide, Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains and The Doors of the Universe—in a single volume. (Available in paperback, mobi, epub and pdf editions.)
The Far Side of Evil
Assigned as a observer to a world whose people may soon destroy their civilization, Anthropological Service agent Elana expects merely to gain knowledge that may save other planets. When a young, inexperienced agent unwittingly endangers the entire world by a well-meant but ill-advised attempt to intervene, Elana finds that only she—at great cost—can prevent an immediate war of annihilation.
Originally published as a Young Adult novel. Although it has the same heroine as Enchantress from the Stars, it is a completely separate story intended for older readers. (Available in mobi, epub and pdf editions.)
Journey Between Worlds
(A romance about the colonization of Mars)
When Melinda Ashley receives a ticket to Mars as a high school graduation gift from her dad, she isn’t at all eager for the trip. But he is going himself, and because she hasn’t had much opportunity to get to know him in the past, she agrees to accompany him. She has little interest in the Martian colonies until, aboard the ship, she meets Alex Preston, a second-generation colonist who is going home. During her stay on Mars she finds herself more and more drawn
to Alex. She also enjoys the company of his family, and begins to understand why they believe so strongly in the future they are working toward. Ultimately, after she has faced tragedy and sorrow, a terrifying experience on the Martian moon Phobos shows Melinda what is really important to her. (Available in mobi, epub and pdf editions.)
Nonfiction:
The Planet-Girded Suns: The History of Human Thought About Extrasolar Worlds
(2012 Updated and Expanded Edition)
Interest in extrasolar worlds is not new. From the late 17th century until the end of the 19th, almost all educated people believed that the stars are suns surrounded by inhabited planets—a belief that was expressed not in science fiction, but in serious speculation, both scientific and religious, as well as in poetry. Only during the first half of the 20th century was it thought that life-bearing extrasolar planets are rare.
This is not a science book—rather, it belongs to the category known as History of Ideas. First published by Atheneum in 1974, it tells the story of the rise, fall, and eventual renewal of widespread conviction that we are not alone in the universe. In this updated edition the chapters dealing with modern views have been revised to reflect the progress science has made during the past 40 years, including the actual detection of planets orbiting other stars.
More poetry from past centuries, source notes, and an extensive bibliography have been added to this edition. In addition it contains a new Afterword, "Confronting the Universe in the Twenty-First Century," discussing the relevance of past upheavals in human thought to an understanding of the hiatus in space exploration that has followed the Apollo moon landings. (Available in paperback and mobi editions.)
Anthology:
Anywhere, Anywhen: Stories of Tomorrow
(2011 Expanded Edition)
This anthology of stories about the future, edited by Sylvia Engdahl, is intended not for science fiction fans but for teen readers who don’t ordinarily choose books from that genre. It focuses on the timeless aspects of being human, and aims to suggest ideas about the future in a way that those who prefer real-life settings to strange, “far-out” ones will enjoy. Contributors include Sylvia Engdahl, Shirley Rousseau Murphy, Mildred Butler, Carol Farley, Rick Roberson, and Robert Pierik.
In this expanded edition, two stories from Engdahl and Roberson’s previous anthology Universe Ahead are included, plus one never-before-published story by Engdahl. The book thus contains all her short fiction. (Available in mobi, epub and pdf editions.)
Available in Current Publishers’ Editions
Enchantress from the Stars
(A Newbery Honor Book)
Elana, a member of an interstellar civilization on a mission to a medieval planet, becomes the key to a dangerous plan to turn back an invasion. How can she help the Andrecians, who still believe in magic and superstition, without revealing her own alien powers? At the same time, Georyn, the son of an Andrecian woodcutter, knows only that there is a dragon in 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 prove he is worthy. 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. (Available from Firebird in paperback and from Recorded Books as an audiobook.)
The Far Side of Evil Page 29