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The Founders of Maclairn #2
Promise of the Flame
Three hundred people in a starship low on life support--they must land fast, or they’ll run out of air. Captain Jesse Sanders is their only pilot. How can he choose where to locate their colony with no chance to explore the raw new world? How can he shuttle them all to the surface within a few short hours? And when the site proves less than adequate, how can he live with the knowledge that his own astrogation error was what got them into such a fix?
Isolated by choice on a world they have reached in secret, the colonists hope to establish a culture based on psi powers that can someday shape the future of humankind. If they don't starve first. And if they don't lose heart in the face of hardships beyond any they imagined. Jesse 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 a grueling ordeal 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.
Although this is the second book of the Founder of Maclairn duology, it is an independent and quite different story that can stand alone. However, reading them in reverse order will affect some of the earlier book's suspense. Please note that unlike some of Engdahl's earlier novels, this is not a Young Adult novel and it contains some material inappropriate for readers below high school age.
From the reviews:
“It is not necessary to read the first [book] in order to be enthralled by the second. . . . 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.” —IndieReader Staff Review
“Outsoars its predecessor. . . . This is a book written by somebody at once holding firm convictions as to the potential human life can have but with enough political intelligence to note that even a society far improved over its predecessor will have its own problems, will be only a half-utopia. But even a half-utopia equipped with freedom and the possibility for optimal human interconnection is better than a society that disciplines and denies these. . . . As with all of Engdahl’s work, science-fiction fans will recognize the tropes she uses, but it is not just ‘for’ them, no more than the work of a great artist who happens to work in, say, ceramics is just for adepts of that medium. Engdahl has produced high-quality work over a forty-year period, but this is one of her finest achievements.” —Literary critic Nicholas Birns
Isolated by choice on a world they have reached in secret, the colonists hope to establish a culture based on psi powers that can someday shape the future of humankind. If they don't starve first. And if they don't lose heart in the face of hardships beyond any they imagined. Jesse 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 a grueling ordeal 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.
Although this is the second book of the Founder of Maclairn duology, it is an independent and quite different story that can stand alone. However, reading them in reverse order will affect some of the earlier book's suspense. Please note that unlike some of Engdahl's earlier novels, this is not a Young Adult novel and it contains some material inappropriate for readers below high school age.
From the reviews:
“It is not necessary to read the first [book] in order to be enthralled by the second. . . . 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.” —IndieReader Staff Review
“Outsoars its predecessor. . . . This is a book written by somebody at once holding firm convictions as to the potential human life can have but with enough political intelligence to note that even a society far improved over its predecessor will have its own problems, will be only a half-utopia. But even a half-utopia equipped with freedom and the possibility for optimal human interconnection is better than a society that disciplines and denies these. . . . As with all of Engdahl’s work, science-fiction fans will recognize the tropes she uses, but it is not just ‘for’ them, no more than the work of a great artist who happens to work in, say, ceramics is just for adepts of that medium. Engdahl has produced high-quality work over a forty-year period, but this is one of her finest achievements.” —Literary critic Nicholas Birns
- GenresScience Fiction
496 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2009
4 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Sylvia Engdahl
92 books267 followersSylvia Engdahl is the author of eleven science fiction novels, six of which, including the Newbery Honor book Enchantress from the Stars, are YA books also enjoyed by many adults. Although she is best known as an author for Young Adults, her most recent novels, the Founders of Maclairn duology (Stewards of the Flame and Promise of the Flame) and the Captain of Estel trilogy (Defender of the Flame, Herald of the Flame, and Envoy of the Flame) are adult science fiction and are not appropriate for readers below high school age. For FAQs about them and more, visit her website.
She has also written a nonfiction book, The Planet-Girded Suns: Our Forebears' Firm Belief in Inhabited Exoplanets, of which updated and expanded paperback and ebook editions were published in 2012, and three collections of her essays. Most of the nonfiction books listed under her name were edited, rather than written, by her as a freelance editor of anthologies for high schools.
Engdahl says, "I never listed more than a few of the books I read here and now the list is so outdated that i have removed all but a very few that are still among my favorites, plus ebooks I produced for my mother and for my friend Shirley Rousseau Murphy. For current lists of good books on the subjects I care about, please visit the Opinion section of my website."
She has also written a nonfiction book, The Planet-Girded Suns: Our Forebears' Firm Belief in Inhabited Exoplanets, of which updated and expanded paperback and ebook editions were published in 2012, and three collections of her essays. Most of the nonfiction books listed under her name were edited, rather than written, by her as a freelance editor of anthologies for high schools.
Engdahl says, "I never listed more than a few of the books I read here and now the list is so outdated that i have removed all but a very few that are still among my favorites, plus ebooks I produced for my mother and for my friend Shirley Rousseau Murphy. For current lists of good books on the subjects I care about, please visit the Opinion section of my website."
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 29, 2014
So how do you start a society built around psychic powers given that they are essentially unknown? That's basically the idea behind this series. It is somewhat stilted and preachy at times, and takes some stance on modern medicine and society that I'm sure that some will found objectionable. I choose to believe that the author has the people of this series take these stances as being internally consistent with what they are trying to accomplish.
This book is also the story of the colonization of a raw planet. There are definite flaws here. Other reviewers have called out the handling of the ecology to be so bad as to make the book unreadable. Luckily I'm able to ignore those bits as well.
And as such, I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
So your mileage may vary. If you haven't read Sylvia Engdahl before, I'd suggest reading Enchantress from the Stars and especially The Far Side of Evil before trying this series.
This book is also the story of the colonization of a raw planet. There are definite flaws here. Other reviewers have called out the handling of the ecology to be so bad as to make the book unreadable. Luckily I'm able to ignore those bits as well.
And as such, I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
So your mileage may vary. If you haven't read Sylvia Engdahl before, I'd suggest reading Enchantress from the Stars and especially The Far Side of Evil before trying this series.
December 5, 2009
What makes a civilization successful? Is it just about reproduction of genes or specific characteristics? Is it about technological advances? What about social stability?
Promise of the Flame is the sequel to Stewards of the Flame. In the first book, we were introduced to a planet where no one died and even the slightest illness or deficiency was dealt with immediately. Although it might sound like utopia, it was all an illusion. It is for this reason that the Stewards of the Flame dreamed of a new life.
Promise of the Flames begins as the new colonists are about to reach their promised land. Things are not exactly as they had expected. The land is rocky and harsh. Just providing food for the population is an ongoing challenge. Moreover, trying to build a sustainable society requires a solid foundation base that is tricky to negotiate.
I think I actually like Promise of the Flame even more than Stewards of the Flame. In the first book, the idealist philosophy was created in opposition to the bounds of their society. However, in the sequel, the characters have to balance survival (short and long term) with these ideals. Definitely not an easy task.
Promise of the Flame is the sequel to Stewards of the Flame. In the first book, we were introduced to a planet where no one died and even the slightest illness or deficiency was dealt with immediately. Although it might sound like utopia, it was all an illusion. It is for this reason that the Stewards of the Flame dreamed of a new life.
Promise of the Flames begins as the new colonists are about to reach their promised land. Things are not exactly as they had expected. The land is rocky and harsh. Just providing food for the population is an ongoing challenge. Moreover, trying to build a sustainable society requires a solid foundation base that is tricky to negotiate.
I think I actually like Promise of the Flame even more than Stewards of the Flame. In the first book, the idealist philosophy was created in opposition to the bounds of their society. However, in the sequel, the characters have to balance survival (short and long term) with these ideals. Definitely not an easy task.
April 4, 2010
This is a book about the founding of a world. Whilst the political and parapsychology elements were excellent, and the story rocked along really well, as an ecologist I couldn't help but see huge gaping holes in the premise.
It would surely not be possible to set up a colony and support it by growing only three or four foodstuffs and with no other ecology to speak of to support life (e.g. pollinators, plants producing oxygen, and just the purely spiritual aspect of other life).
Ms Engdahl states in many of her books that she is very concerned that humanity heads out into space, and indeed in her Children of the Star series is at pains to emphasise the problems faced by a civilisation that does not have access to a planet with a "human-friendly ecology". Promise of the Flame was a great disappointment to me on the basis that none of the ecosystem issues were addressed. The colony should have died out within months because of the lack of a supporting ecosystem and without this being addressed, I couldn't really let go and enjoy the story because to me it appeared to be founded on a massive inconsistency.
It would surely not be possible to set up a colony and support it by growing only three or four foodstuffs and with no other ecology to speak of to support life (e.g. pollinators, plants producing oxygen, and just the purely spiritual aspect of other life).
Ms Engdahl states in many of her books that she is very concerned that humanity heads out into space, and indeed in her Children of the Star series is at pains to emphasise the problems faced by a civilisation that does not have access to a planet with a "human-friendly ecology". Promise of the Flame was a great disappointment to me on the basis that none of the ecosystem issues were addressed. The colony should have died out within months because of the lack of a supporting ecosystem and without this being addressed, I couldn't really let go and enjoy the story because to me it appeared to be founded on a massive inconsistency.
October 8, 2009
I started reading Promise of the Flame as soon as it arrived and I was hooked from the first page. I picked the book up every chance I got and finally the second day finished it by staying up late. Sylvia Engdahl knows how to pace a novel and get her message across while telling an engaging and suspenseful story. Since she does not ever let the message overwhelm the story you can relax and enjoy a well-told tale of struggle and victory over huge odds. After you get through enjoying the story you can think about the message. (Since there are several I will let you find them for yourself.)
I think this is a series everyone should read. It is a though provoking story that uses a future setting to speak about some of the problems we have today. It would be a great book club book sure to bring about a spirited discussion.
Promise of the Flame can be read as a stand-alone but I recommend reading Stewards of the Flame first.
I think this is a series everyone should read. It is a though provoking story that uses a future setting to speak about some of the problems we have today. It would be a great book club book sure to bring about a spirited discussion.
Promise of the Flame can be read as a stand-alone but I recommend reading Stewards of the Flame first.
written
May 15, 2016Though this is a sequel to Stewards of the Flame, it can be read independently. However, reading it first will spoil the suspense of the first book if you plan to read both.
April 14, 2014
Very interesting read to follow-up with the first book of this series. A must read if you liked her first book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews