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Book Detail
Promise of the Flame
Sylvia Engdahl
A sequel to Stewards of the Flame, Promise of the Flame begins with three hundred people isolated on a raw, new planet, hoping that their psi powers (from the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet; an informal abbreviation for "psychic phenomena") will become the foundation of a culture that will shape the future of humankind. That is, if they don't starve first.
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, who must stake his life to ensure their survival.
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IR Staff Review
by Peggy LaVake
Sylvia Engdahl's latest novel is a sequel (to Stewards of the Flame). However, it is not necessary to read the first in order to be enthralled by the second, which takes us on an arduous journey through space to a future world with an advanced, free and evolved civilization.
Captain Jesse Sanders hijacks a starship from the tyrannical planet Undine. His passengers are destined to shape an emotionally and physically superior human race. Finding a new world that will support human life and allow them to build new colonies is a challenge in itself. Once the passengers are transported safely and standing on the arid surface of their new home, they are faced with obstacles that will endanger their very survival. Unlike Undine, a water world, planet Maclairn is dry with limited resources, making it difficult for the growth of crops and proper irrigation... let alone the propagation of new generations. It is Sanders' hope that this civilization will use it's metaphysical training and manage to thrive despite the adversity. His ultimate goal is to be discovered in two hundred years by space travelers looking for an evolved and peaceful human species.
Engdahl's gift is to make her characters seem comfortable and familiar to the reader, even though their circumstances are not. Although clearly a work of science fiction, the ideas and futuristic possibilities are disturbingly real and will remain with the reader long after they've finished the book.