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Stewards of the Flame (Paperback)

by Sylvia Engdahl (Author)
Key Phrases: stasis deck, stasis vaults, telepathic help, Sylvia Engdahl, Stewards of the Flame, Jesse Sanders (more...)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review
"Inspires a lot of thought-provoking 'what-if' questions... . An excellent novel to read just for pure enjoyment, however, I would highly recommend Stewards of the Flame to bioethics classes. It will certainly lead to some stimulating conversations." -Paige Lovitt, ReaderViews; Midwest Book Review

"Stewards of the Flame is a brave book, and the numbers of those holding to the sentiments it conveys are growing. While the novel portrays extreme measures taken to prolong life to reductio ad absurdum lengths, it can't be faulted for challenging our comfort zone, when after all, that is one sure measure of worthwhile fiction." -Carlos Aranaga, ScifiDimensions

"A suspenseful and thought-provoking novel that seems so plausible that it sends chills up my spine ... truly a masterpiece of parapsychological science fiction." -Robin Witte, Rebecca'sReads.com

"Extremely entertaining.... A cautionary tale that Big Brother is coming through the government medical complex." -Harriet Klausner, Alternative Worlds; Midwest Book Review

"A chilling look at what extreme socialized medicine could become in the hands of a dictatorial medical regime... Stewards of the Flame would make an excellent discussion topic for a book club." -Janie Franz, MyShelf.com

"Rewarding novel about the power of the human mind and spirit.... an intense journey of impressive proportions.... Engdahl weaves a deceptively simple plot into a surprisingly complex storyline.... [She] keeps throwing curveballs right to the finale." -E. A. Solinas, Amazon.com (top-10 reviewer) --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Description
When starship captain Jesse Sanders is seized by a dictatorial medical regime and detained on the colony planet Undine, he has no idea that he is about to be plunged into a bewildering new life that will involve ordeals and joys beyond anything he has ever imagined, as well as enduring love. Still less does he suspect that he must soon take responsibility for the lives of people he has come to care about and preservation of their hopes for the future of humankind. Part science fiction, part what's sometimes called 'visionary fiction,' this controversial novel deals with the so-called 'paranormal' powers of the human mind and will appeal to a wide range of readers who question the dominant medical philosophy of today's society. Unlike Engdahl's earlier novels, it is not appropriate for Young Adult audiences.

Product Details

Paperback: 460 pages
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (September 7, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1419675060
ISBN-13: 978-1419675065
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #740,084 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
stasis deck, stasis vaults, telepathic help, given truth serum, residential care unit, stasis units, medical telemetry, healing house, lab training

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Sylvia Engdahl, Stewards of the Flame, Jesse Sanders, Zeb Hennesy, Verge Island, Good God, Captain Quinn, Colonial League

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	47% buy the item featured on this page: Stewards of the Flame 4.7 out of 5 stars (14) $19.99
	20% buy Children of the Star 5.0 out of 5 stars (21) $20.00
	18% buy Enchantress from the Stars 4.7 out of 5 stars (38) $6.99
	15% buy The Far Side of Evil 4.6 out of 5 stars (11) $22.00

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

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4.7 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A veteran storyteller returns with new seriousness, November 28, 2007

By	Nicholas Birns (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This novel is very different from Sylvia Engdahl's previous novels, which were, somewhat misleadingly, marketed as young adult fiction. yet fans of the earlier works, especially the Children of the Star trilogy, will find some commonalities. In both fictional universes, a man finds himself seemingly alone facing an unjust system. Unlike the trilogy, though, in STEWARDS the system is not revealed to be a benign oligarchy doing what it has to do in order to save mankind, but a malignant surveillance society intent on controlling people and depriving life of its spontaneity and hope by enforcing a state of mandatory 'health' on all people. Jesse Sanders, threatened with being another passive victim of this monitoring regime, becomes determined to resist this evil by any means possible.

STEWARDS also joins the earlier trilogy in seeing space colonization as humanity's only hope, although just what `space colonization' consists of is defined far more elliptically in the current novel, and in seeing ritual as an important way to strive towards this hope.

Readers may have certain procedural issues with the book: the love of Jesse and Carla seems to flower too early (although revelations about Carla's past later somewhat explain this), female minor characters like Kira and Michelle sometimes seem interchangeable, the crucial Zeb subplot is introduced without adequate preparation, and the character of Ian is under-sketched. This is important as ian is a crucial precedent and inspiration for Peter, the compassionate, self-abnegating leader of the group, dedicated to the paranormal, that Jesse, joins after he realizes the totalitarian nature of those who control the planet Undine. If certain expository sections had been trimmed, there would have been more room to fully develop these characters' identity and motivaton.

But these lapses are more than made up for by Engdahl's unmatched ability to combine intellectual speculation, moral forthrightness, and narrative suspense. The book does not require the reader to assume Engdahl's own positions on certain aspects of contemporary life; though the author makes clear her stands, the reader can enjoy the book as narrative without adopting them. And the end is both exciting and searingly moving. Readers who enjoy the more adult works of Robert A. Heinlein or C. S. Lewis should enjoy this novel, though its atmosphere is more stark and bitter than either. The novel is eminently readable, indeed hard to put down.

Fans of the earlier books, perhaps themselves grown older, will enjoy this new Engdahl novel in a different way; it also has the potential to bring this undervalued author the wide reading public her talent merits.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars We are stewards of a flame, November 6, 2007

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

It's been more than twenty years since Sylvia Engdahl last published a new novel, although her older ones have popped up more recently.

But she reenters the world of contemplative sci-fi again with "Stewards of the Flame," a slow-moving but rewarding novel about the power of the human mind and spirit. It takes a long time to really get moving, but it's pretty brilliant once it revs up -- an intense journey of impressive proportions.

Jesse is a newly-promoted starship captain... until he gets drunk on the planet Undine, and is imprisoned in the vast, dictatorial Hospital. On Undine, illness is a crime, and the doctors rule everyone. Jesse is forced through alcohol and psychiatric treatment, and used as a student guinea pig.... until a young technician, Carla, smuggles him out to a gathering of her friends, known as the Group.

The Group turns out to be more than just a collection of friends -- they are rebels, who have expanded their paranormal powers, and undermine the Hospital's attempts to put the dying into eternal stasis. Soon Jesse is involved deeply in their quiet rebellion, and acquiring the same powers. But he doesn't yet know how important he is to the Group's future...

"Stewards of the Flame" isn't your typical sci-fi novel, since the future here isn't too far ahead of our own, and little of the plot is spent in space. Instead, it's about a medical dystopia, and its story overflows with psychic explorations, true love, quiet rebellion, holistic healing, and a bit of Joseph Campbell.

It sounds a little dull, and admittedly it moves at a slow pace for awhile, as Jesse learns and explores his new powers. But Engdahl weaves a deceptively simple plot into a surprisingly complex storyline, with lots of secrets and counter-conspiracies from the Hospital. And, of course, the mysterious Ian's plans for the Group.

And in the final quarter the secrets are revealed, Jesse is seemingly doomed, and Engdahl keeps throwing curveballs right to the finale. It's a pretty thrilling ride by the end, without losing the contemplative quality of the first parts.

Jesse seems to fall in with Carla and the group a bit too quickly, but otherwise is excellent as a rather cynical, embittered captain who finds out what his life could be. The other most powerful character is Peter, an enigmatic, charismatic junior leader whose plans and thoughts are kept hidden much of the time.

"Stewards of the Flame" is a solid, slow-to-fast sci-fi novel that contemplates what we could be -- and what the medical profession might become. An intriguing read.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stewards of the Flame, December 14, 2007

By	Tami Brady "Whole Health Therapist" (Calgary, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Undine is a planet not so very different from our own. People care about their health. Like us, they endeavor to extend the natural human lifespan by curing all types of disease (including mental and social illnesses). Undine has just taken the initiative to insure universal good health and long life.

Free health care, the annihilation of all forms of disease, virtual immortality, Undine might seem like a perfect world. However, Jesse Sanders, a starship captain, quickly finds out the hard way that looks can be deceiving. Jesse is arrested for alcoholism after having a few drinks while on leave. Part of his treatment involves extreme aversion therapy. Fortunately, he's one of the lucky ones, a secret faction of those who appose the government's methods rescues him and bring him into their group.

Stewards of the Flame combines contemporary concerns about health, social issues, and privacy with science fiction and parapsychology to create a powerful story. Are we really headed towards a world like Undine? Are there better alternatives to medications and suspended animation? Both the questions and the potential answers are fascinating.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking and compelling
Stewards of the Flame is a smart, intricately-plotted novel that's extremely realistic and relatable despite being science fiction. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Beside the Norm Book Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Escape from Tyranny!
Lately, I've been thinking about how "universal health care" or socialized medicine could conceivably lead to the complete loss of personal liberty. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Robert Haven

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping Medical Sci-Fi
Reviewed by Robin Witte for RebeccasReads (5/08)

Sylvia Engdahl is an acclaimed writer of juvenile fiction who terminated a long hiatus from writing to publish the... Read more

Published 14 months ago by RebeccasReads.com

4.0 out of 5 stars tested by fire
If you are new to the writing of Sylvia Engdahl, you might well experience Stewards of the Flame as overly-cerebral and somewhat daunting, or you could end up joining the ranks of... Read more

Published 19 months ago by Tom Bolton

5.0 out of 5 stars Do health considerations trump all other human values???
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"We are not superhuman, but we're finding ways to develop what some would call superhuman powers...We're a vanguard... Read more

Published 19 months ago by Stephen Pletko

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Brother is coming through the government medical complex
On the colonial planet Undine, Captain Jesse Sanders Unified Colonial Fleet star freighter Eureka awakens in a medical facility in which two technicians ignore his denial as they... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars Sylvia Engdahl, keep writing! I want to read the sequel.
Sylvia Engdahl's new book leads the reader into life on a planet where medical science has "banished" illness through required medical care. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Vivienne,

4.0 out of 5 stars Long Overdue Return of Engdahl!
I first disovered Engdahl when I was 13, with Enchantress from the Stars. That was a REALLY long time ago. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Andrea Grennan

5.0 out of 5 stars What if....?
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (10/07)

What if our government took full control over monitoring our physical and mental well-being? Read more

Published 20 months ago by Reader Views

5.0 out of 5 stars Stewards of the Flame
Stranded on a remote Earth colony under suspicious circumstances, Jesse - the captain of a deep space cargo vessel, finds himself in the clutches of a global "benevolent"... Read more

Published 22 months ago by C. Stilley

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