Oregon-based computer programmer-turned-author Sylvia Louise Engdahl produced ten books in the years between 1971 and 1981--six science fiction novels, three nonfiction books for teenage readers, and a picture book for children--but since then her literary voice has fallen silent. Engdahl's reputation as a writer rests mainly on the strength of her fiction, particularly her first novel, the Newbery Honor Book Enchantress of the Stars, and a science fiction trilogy that includes This Star Shall Abide, Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains, and The Doors of the Universe, recently republished as adult science fiction under the omnibus title Children of the Star.

Engdahl's writing is difficult to categorize. That is one of the reasons her books are not as widely known as they might be otherwise. Some readers regard Engdahl's vivid tales of future worlds and extraterrestrial civilizations as science fiction. Others--including the author herself--tend to view her books more as novels...