Author of Enchantress from the Stars
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Click on the BOOKS tab from anywhere on the site to get back to this page.
Click on the AUTHOR tab for details about Sylvia Engdahl's work, including a long FAQ page and an autobiography.
Click on the REVIEWS tab for links to the review quotes for all her books.
Click on the WRITNG tab for her essays about her novels, writing and publishing.
Click on the SPACE tab for her space advocacy essays and other pages about the human outlook toward space.
Click on the OPINION tab for her essays about human mind powers, healthcare policy, and other controversial topics.
Click on the MISCELLANY tab for pages about her cats, her mother, and more. On a desktop or laptop computer you can get a printable list of all her books at the Ad Stellae Books link there.
Click on the CONTACT tab to send her a personal message or inquire about the svailability of rights to her books.
All Sylvia Engdahl's novels and essay samplers are now available as audiobooks. Recordings of Enchantress from the Stars and This Star Shall Abide been available for many years. The rest were produced by AI in March 2024 using Virtual Voice narration, which sounds like a real person reading the book aloud, and are priced at $3.99 (or $1.99 if you ever bought the Kindle or priit edition at Amazon). They can be obtained at Amazon and Audible.
Except where otherwise indicated, all her books are available in Kindle, epub, pdf, audio and trade-size paperback editions. The ebook editions (except Enchantress from the Stars and the omnibus editions) are currently priced at $2.99. You don't need an ereader to read ebooks! You can read them on your computer screen, mobile device or phone.
Collected Essays ebooks, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 are permafree at most retailers. (Amazon generally prices them at its normal minimum of 99 cents--if this happens you can get a free Kindle format file at Smashwords.com.) Paperback and audiobook samplers containg a few of the essays are available.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The original edition of Envoy of the Flame has been withdrawn. If you purchased a copy with a woman's face on the cover, please use the coupon code ZX97X to get a free copy of the new ebook edition at Smashwords.com.
A Young Adult science fiction novel best liked by readers in the 8th frade and older
A Newbery Honor Book.
"Original and charming." --Ursula LeGuin, New York Times Book Review
"Not just a novel for young adults but also one of the finest sf novels ever written--a classic of the genre." --InfinityPlus
A Young Adult science fiction novel
Though this novel has the same heroine as Enchantress from the Stars it is not a "sequel" but an independent and much darker story unsuitable for middle-school readers. Older readers can read them in either order.
"Gripping psychological science fiction." --London Times Literary Supplement
"Forceful style ... sparks the reader's imagination." --Publisher's Weekly
A Young Adult romance novel about the colonizaion of Mars
"Beautifully-written, heartwarming, and scientifically plausible." --Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show
"A fun read for younger audiences and an inspiring, hopeful and entertaining tale for older readers as well." --ScifiDimensions
"A thought-provoking read... Will give readers much to ponder long after they've finished reading." --Teens Read Too
A Young adult science fiction novel
Winner of a Christopher Award for "affirmation of the highest values of the human spirit."
"Both logically and consistently suspenseful... This Star will Abide a good deal longer than most here today, gone tomorrow sci-fi." --Kirkus Reviews
"Highly satisfying and thought-provoking." --ALA
Children of the Star, Book Two
A Young Adult science fiction novel reissued as adult sf.
"Wrestles with deeply adult problems." >--Psychology Today
"The fascination . . . lies in Engdahl's ability to create a many-layered society with a tragic past and a doubtful future that depends on its ability to cope with a harsh, brutal environment." --Kirkus Reviews,
Children of the Star, Book Three
A Young Adult science fiction novel reissued as adult sf
"More than stands on its own as an exquisite story of the lonely quest for knowledge and the burden of unsought leadership." --Voice of Youth Advocates
"Haunts the reader long after it is finished." --Journal of Reading
Issued as adult science fiction
"[The novels were first] marketed as young adult books, but there is nothing juvenile about them.... Engdahl tells an important and pertinent story." --San Jose Mercury News
"You will almost certainly come away enriched from Children of the Star . . . an extremely good book." --InfinityPlus
An adult science fiction novel that may also be enjoyed by mature high school readers.
"Reaches back to the brio and speculation of Engdahl's classic books of the Seventies." --Literary critic Nicholas Birns
"Profits from Engdahl’s long experience as a professional writer, assuring an engaging
read."
An adult science fiction novel that
may also be enjoyed by mature high school readers.
"A futuristic ride that has many parallels in today’s society. A ‘thinking man’s’ scoience fiction book--the type we need more of today!" --The Feathered Quill
"Engdahl's books are torches that light a flame of hope that we may have a future beyond the clouded one on Earth." --Reader review, Amazon
An adult science fiction novel that
may also be enjoyed by mature high school readers.
"Furthers the discourse on how the capacity to love defines humanity, regardless of the bodily appearance." --Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Goodreads
"An optimistic view of humanity's future. A very good read!” --Reader review, Amazon
An adult science fiction trilogy that may also be enjoyed by mature high school readers.
The novels in this trilogy have been retitled in the omnibus to make plain that they are a separate, and quite different, story from the other novelw that have "Flame" in their titles.
“These novels are not so much genre . . . ‘Science Fiction’ as they are Literature. These are novels about life.” --Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Alien Romances: Reviews 14
The Founders of Maclairn duology, Book One
An adult sf novel containing some material inappropriate for YA readers.
More controversial than the other "Flame" novels and not typical of them.
“The story is compelling ... a thought provoking novel that may make you question the authority and direction of modern Western medical practices." --Blogcritics
"A brave book. . . . it can’t be faulted for challenging our comfort zone, when after all, that is one sure measure of worthwhile fiction." --ScifiDimensions
The Founders of Maclairn duology, Book Two
An adult sf novel containing some material inappropriate for YA readers.
Though a sequel to Stewards of the Flame, this novel is quite different and can be read independently.
"The ideas and futuristic possibilities are disturbingly real and will remain with the reader long after they’ve finished the book.” --IndieReader Staff Review
"Outsoars its predecessor. . . . This is one of [Engdahl's] finest achievements." --Literary critic Nicholas Birns
Formerly subtitled The Long History of Belief in Exoplaanets
About the little-known fact that most educated people in the 18th and 19th centuries believed planets of other suns are inhabited.
"Engdahl has marshalled an impressive and fascinating selection of primary sources and . . . reminded us that our ancestors entertained a view of the universe that was larger and more imaginative than the history books lead us to believe." --Kirkus Reviews
Collected Essays, Vol. One
FREE from most ebook retailers (usually 99 cents at Amazon)..
Essays about Engdahl's booka and about her life, including two autobiographies illustrated with photos--the one from Contemporary Authors plus a newer one.
Collected Essays, Vol. Two
FREE from most ebook sellers (usually 99 cents at Amazon).
Essays about the importance of space colonization and related topics, including some arguing that the public's reluctance to support space is due to apprehension rather than apathy.
Collected Essays, Vol. Three
FREE from nost ebook retailers (usually 99 cents at Amazon).
Essays about what life will be like in the future, artificial intelligence, psi powers, healthcare policy, and more.
"Those interested in the future of sentient life, as well as one's personal life, will enjoy this book" --Reader Review, Amazon
A short paperback and audiobook sampler of essays from Engdahl's ebook essay collections, which are too long to be issued in paperback at reasonable prices. It contains no new essays.
Expanded Edition
Stories about the future for teens who rarely read science fiction.
Includes all of Engdahl's short fiction as well as original stories by other authors.
"The stories are well-written, deeply thought out and a pleasure to read." --Sunday Advocate, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
You may see other nonfiction books listed under Sylvia Engdahl's name in library or bookstore catalogs. They are textbooks she compiled for Greenhaven Press as a freelance editor. She did not write anything in them except the introductions, which do not express her personal opinions about the topics covered.
The paperback editions of Engdahl's novels can now be obtained at retailers in addition to Amazon. but at higher prices. (This is because copies sold at Amazon are printed there; having copies printed elsewhere and made widely available involves substantial distribution costs,) Unfortunately, you will not find print copies of her adult novels, or in-print editions of her YA novels, in libraries, as most do not buy indie editions -- but they can get FREE copies of all her ebooks (except Enchantress from the Stars) from Overdrive and several other library ebook systems. Please let your librarian know.
If the paperbacks are too expensive but you prefer a fixed page format to ebook format, you can get PDF editions for $2.99 or less at Google Play that are the exact image of the paperback pages.
Ad Stellae Books is Sylvia Engdahl's personal imprint, used on the ebook and print-on-demand editions of her books and those written by her mother. It is not a publishing company. The name means "To the Stars" in Latin according to Google Translate, though that doesn't apply to all Latin sentence structures. You can see all the book covers on one printable web page at www.sylviaengdahl.com/adstellae (The site www.adstellae.com no longer exists.)
All Ad Stellae ebooks are DRM-free (except for five Kindle books that were published before Amazon offered authors a choice. DRM-free MOBI editions of them are available in the Children of the Star omnibus and/or at Smashwords.com). Sylvia Engdahl says, ''DRM--so-called copy protection--does nothing to prevent piracy. It simply restricts the rights of honest users with a legitimate need to copy, such as reading on an uncommon device or for backup if a consistent Internet connection is unavailable, while acting as no more than a minor inconvenience to dishonest ones. Free copy-protection removal sottware can be easily obtained. The honor system is in effect whether or not publishers respect it."
Which of the Novels Should Be Read First?
Sylvia Engdahl's novels are very different from each other and people sometimes don't realize that they might not have begun with the one they would be most likely to enjoy. Below are her suggestions for where to start. Although many of the books are conncted, each is a complete story in itself; she wrote (and in most case published) them one at a time without expecting to write sequels.
If you are in 5th or 6th grade you should start with Enchantress from the Stars, and you probably won't like any of the others until you are older.
If you are in 7th or 8th grade you should start with Enchantress from the Stars, This Star Shall Abide, or -- if you are a girl who likes romance -- Journey Between Worlds. The Far Side of Evil is rarely enjoyed by readers below high school age.
If you are in 9th or 10th grade, you will want to read Enchantress from the Stars if you enjoy stories told in the style of fantasy, but you don't need to read it first. If you prefer books that aren't at all like fantasy, you should start with This Star Shall Abide, The Far Side of Evil, or Journey Beween Worlds.
If you are an adult or a high school junior or senior, you can start with any of the above, but may prefer to read Children of the Star or Defender of the Flame first (or Journey Between Worlds if you like romance).
Although Defender of the Flame is less well known than the YA novels, it and its sequels will be of special interest to adults who like Enchantress from the Stars and The Far Side of Evil, as the second and third volumes of the Captain of Estel trilogy deal in detail with the Anthropological Service that appears in those earlier books. The third voiume, Envoy of the Flame (revised edition published in September 2022), can be read by itself but includes major spoilers for the first and second volumes. All three contain some material unsuitable for children.
If you are an adult and the controversial medical theme of Stewards of the Flame (expressed in its epigraphs) appeals to you, then read it before Promise of the Flame.If it doesn't, you can skip it, as Promise can stand alone. Neither of these is appropriate for YA readers, and neither needs to be read before Defender of the Flame unless you plan to read all five and want to avoid the spoilers in Defender's backstory.
Titles not mentioned above are sequels and though they can be read independently, they contain backstory that includes spoilers for the books that precede them.
Young adult books about imaginary worlds
Books about colonizing Mars of interest to young adults
Also, another author has recommeded Sylvia's book Enchantress from the Stars,
Entire site copyright 1997-2024 by Sylvia Engdahl except where earlier text copyright indicated.
This website has been online since March 1997. Last updated in March 2024.