Enchantress From the Stars

By Sylvia Engdahl
Newbery Honor Award
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Noelle

Georyn is a woodcutter's son who yearns for wisdom. He sets out with his brothers to try and slay a dragon that has been terrorizing the other side of the Enchanted Forest. If they succeed in this quest from which no one has yet returned, the brothers will receive whatever they desire from the king. But enroute to the dragon, they come upon an Enchantress who they instantly recognize as being from another world. The Enchantress keeps Georyn and his brother Terwyn to teach them how to defeat the dragon. What Georyn doesn't know is this dragon is just a machine, brought to his planet by the Empire, a more advanced race that is looking to colonize Andrecia and dispose of the "natives" on the planet. He also doesn't know that the Enchantress whom he begins to adore is a member of an even more advanced race who are there on Andrecia as field agents, attempting to stop the Empire from taking over an inhabited planet. Elana is just learning to become an agent, but she knows that they cannot directly intervene with these "Youngling" races--they must try to give the Andrecians something that will cause the Empire to back off. But as she trains Georyn and his brother in the method they think might work, Elana finds herself drawn to Georyn more and more. When Georyn is finally ready to face the "dragon," Elana disobeys orders and goes with him. Her choice will lead to disaster for herself and for the quest...or does it? Fans of any of the Star Trek television series will find much to like here, as will anyone who enjoys science fiction, fantasy and moral dilemmas. For however advanced our societies may get, magic and miracles may still exist. A fantastic story that mixes the viewpoints of three characters and makes the reader really think about what we are doing on our own world, nevermind what we could do in outer space. Readers will never guess how it will all end!