The Far Side of Evil by Sylvia Engdahl

[altariel]

My short piece on Sylvia Engdahl's YA science fiction novel The Far Side of Evil is today's Writer's Choice on normblog, see here. Regular readers of this journal will know how much I love this book.

The rest of the pieces in this series are indexed here.

Comments

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

An excellent piece.

When, in the late 90s, I discovered the author's website and wrote to her, she expressed dismay at how young I was when I read this book.

I can understand her reaction. I think you must have been an exceptional ten-year-old to have been ready for it. I only read it a couple of years ago, thanks I think to a recommendation from you here, but even so I found it a difficult - though rewarding - read.

Toris, with no moons to provide a focus for romantic yearnings for the black...

Black? Is there a typo there?

BTW, I hadn't realised that you had switched from lecturing in organizational theory to doing so in creative writing. Either you haven't mentioned it here or I've somehow missed it.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I think that's black as in Take me out to the black, tell them I ain't coming back... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7vS4z6ngQo)

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Ah, right. Too obscure for me to pick up on, I'm afraid. :)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Kalypso has it right! :-)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

You have it!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Very glad you enjoyed reading both essay and the book itself: have you been able to find Enchantress from the Stars? I don't think that's in print at the moment, or even an e-book.

I had an appetite for this kind of thing: I blame Blake's 7.

I started teaching creative writing a couple of years ago, as an hourly paid lecturer, but got a formal lectureship at the start of this year (until January). I've not had much time to blog this year: as well as new job, we moved house in February, and I was writing Brinkmanship. It's been fairly mad. Hope to get a chance to blog about it over the summer. I'm still doing some OB teaching too.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

have you been able to find Enchantress from the Stars?...

I haven't, I'm afraid. I must look out for it.

I had an appetite for this kind of thing: I blame Blake's 7.

It reminded me a little of 1984, though of course the ending was much more hopeful than Orwell's.

It certainly sounds like you've been having a hectic year. I hope you're enjoying the lecturing.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It really has been hectic. I'm pretty tired and very keen for summer to begin. But the teaching has been fantastic.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

But there's a moon in that book-cover icon!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Ha! Perhaps it is the landing craft from the survey ship.

[gair.livejournal.com]

::hearts you:: Beautiful essay.

I think I was ten when I read it, too. It was the first, and is possibly still the only, book I started reading again as soon as I finished it, without a pause.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you, I'm so glad you liked it! I don't remember reading it, but of course remember having read it, if you see what I mean. I must have been about ten, because when I went up to secondary school, I nearly fell over backwards when I saw another book by her on a library shelf (that was Enchantress from the Stars). And it would have hit around the same time that I was processing having seen "Blake".

[sensiblecat.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a challenging but fascinating book. Nothing new about teen dystopia fiction, then. And I didn't realise you had connections with the Norm. I know his wife slightly - they live locally to me and she's been into the school where I work a few times. She contributes to a terrific blog, "The History Girls."

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Do you know eldritchhobbit's list of YA dystopias? The Far Side of Evil seems to be a relatively early one.

It turns out we have a couple of mutual acquaintances, although I originally followed his twitter feed because I'd been reading books by his wife and his daughter.