Children of the Star

An omnibus edition containing the complete trilogy This Star Shall Abide (known in the UK as Heritage of the Star, Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains, and The Doors of the Universe.

Noren can see that his world is not as it should be--it is wrong that only the Scholars, and their representatives the Technicians, can use metal tools and Machines. It's wrong that only those few have access to the impenetrable City, which he has always longed to enter. Above all, it is wrong for the Scholars to have sole power over the distribution of knowledge. Unable to believe in the Prophecy that promises these restrictions will someday end, he declares it to be a fraud and defies the High Lew under which they are enforced. His family and the girl to whom he is betrothed reject him. Yet he cannot turn back from the path that leads him to the mysterious fate awaiting heretics.

But the more he learns of the grim truth about his people's deprivations, the less possible it seems that their world can be changed. And once he discovers what really happened in their past, he becomes convinced that it is up to him to restore their rightful heritage. To do so, however, will mean giving up all else that matters to him, for it will demand more drastic steps than anyone has imagined.

Of the hardover editions of these novels Kirkus Reviews said, "The fascination of both [the first two] volumes 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." The three were "originally marketed as young adult books, but there is nothing juvenile about them," said the San Jose Mercury News when they were republished in one volume as adult science fiction. "Engdahl tells an important and pertinent story,"