Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains

Once Noren gains admission to the mysterious City where technology is hidden, he is convinced that metal and Machines can be made available to everyone and that this will end the rule of the Scholars. But he soon learns that it’s not as simple as he has thought. The plan is all too likely to fail, and is it right to let people go on believing in a Prophecy that may not come true after all?

The three novels in this trilogy were originally published in hardcover by Atheneum as Young Adult fiction, although unlike the first, This Star Shall Abide, this one is rarely of interest to readers below high school age. In 2000 an updated omnibus edition of the entire trilogy was republished as adult science fiction under the title Children of the Star.

From the reviews:

“Engdahl has carefully worked out the social structure and ecology of a scientific society that has been transferred to a planet without metals. What’s more, she wrestles with deeply adult problems of an apparently meaningless universe and of a people’s right to know facts that may destroy everything they hold dear.” —Psychology Today

“Introspective readers will identify with Noren and his doubts and sense of despair while the general science fiction buff will appreciate the further experiences of Noren within the credibly developed society on a planet unlike Earth.” —Booklist

“Offers depth and provocative ideas for the mature reader who wants more than just action.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“The well-developed characters will interest many young adolescents whose thoughts and questionings are similar to Noren’s.” —School Library Journal

“In a tribute to the intelligence of teenagers the author asks some thought-provoking questions. . . . The ideas of power, heresy, self-knowledge, and acceptance are thoroughly examined in a book that is a testimony to the human spirit.” —News-Gazette, Martinez CA