Books like This star shall abide by Sylvia Engdahl
This first book in Sylvia Engdahl’s Children of the Star trilogy follows Noren, a young heretic on a rigid star‑colony world where only Scholars and Technicians wield metal and Machines. Convinced that the system that keeps the knowledge of the mysterious City hidden is unjust, he defies the High Law and rejects the Prophecy’s promised fulfillment. Noren’s rebellion sets in motion a quest for equality and truth, raising the question of whether true freedom can be achieved by defiance alone or if a deeper solution lies ahead.
Publication notes: The UK edition was released as Heritage of the Star. An updated version appears in the single‑volume edition entitled Children of the Star.
First publish date: 1972
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/YA Science Fiction
Authors: Sylvia Engdahl
★
★
★
★
★
1.0 (1 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for This star shall abide by Sylvia Engdahl are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to This star shall abide (30 similar books)
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune follows Paul Atreides as he rises from betrayed heir to the enigmatic Muad'Dib, guarding the precious spice melange that fuels galactic politics and extends life.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A timeless adventure where Dorothy and her companions journey through Oz to seek the Great Wizard’s help and find their own courage, heart, and brains.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
When a colossal alien cylinder enters the solar system, a hastily assembled crew docks aboard to explore its mysterious interior, uncovering scientific puzzles that reshape humanity’s view of the cosmos.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Charlie Gordon, a mentally disabled but curious man, undergoes an experimental brain surgery that boosts his intelligence beyond the known limits, raising profound questions about identity, ethics, and the cost of genius.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In a far future where space is divided into zones of thought, a weapon unleashes a destructive power that threatens all intelligence, forcing survivors onto a strange world where they clash with a medieval alien race.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Starship Troopers follows Juan Rico, a Terran Federation Mobile Infantry trooper, as he trains, fights, and reflects on the moral and civic duties of military service during an interstellar war with the Arachnids of Klendathu.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Ursula K. Le Guin’s landmark 1969 novel explores a gender‑fluid alien society on the ice‑bound world of Gethen, challenging human assumptions about sex, politics, and humanity through a compelling diplomacy adventure.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
An electric submarine and its eccentric captain explore the undersea world, presaging twentieth‑century scientific advances.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic, physicist Shevek leaves his home planet of anarchists to seek truth, challenge entrenched structures, and bridge the divide between his egalitarian society and the wider civilized universe.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
The Sparrow follows a Jesuit priest’s first contact with aliens, a harrowing ordeal that forces him to confront faith and the existence of God.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In Roger Zelazny’s Hugo‑winning "Lord of Light", colonists on a distant world wrestle with ancient tech and godlike powers while adopting Hindu cosmology, setting the stage for an epic clash of faith, politics, and destiny.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A young man in a town of telepathic men must confront impossible choices as secrets force him to run.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A heart-wrenching tale of forbidden love, survival, and the consequences of The Program in a bleak future world where teen suicide is a global epidemic.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
On the distant colony Harmony, an ancient AI named the Oversoul struggles to protect its people as its systems fail; it must send its core back to Earth, risking the planet’s future by manipulating humans for the first time in history.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A teenage time traveler must solve puzzles and navigate dangerous space colonies in an epic adventure story set in the distant past for young adults who love science fiction and fantasy, including young adult, young adult fantasy, and space colonies.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
The finale of Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy follows Todd and Viola as three rival armies descend on New Prentisstown, leaving them trapped between bloodshed and a desperate search for peace in a war‑torn world of telepathic conflict.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A young woman's journey across her father's isolated island.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Clifford D. Simak’s 1952 collection "City" compiles a series of short stories that explore future worlds and humanity’s relationship with technology and animals.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A post-apocalyptic quest to save humanity on the moon and Mars in the near future of humanity, exploring the consequences of a utopian society and the challenges of artificial intelligence and space exploration.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
The Visitor is a children's science‑fiction story that introduces extraterrestrial beings into a narrative suitable for young readers.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Tau Zero follows a crew of scientists embarking on a ten‑year interstellar voyage on the spaceship Leonora Christine, where relativistic travel forces them to confront profound emotional and temporal consequences.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
When curious Elana joins a spaceship crew to study the planet Andrecia, she becomes part of an interstellar adventure that explores three distinct civilizations on the third planets of their stars—blending science fiction, fantasy, and moral lessons.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, a runaway teenager named Laura Mann—dubbed the H-BOMB Girl—finds herself pursued by mysterious forces that could decide humanity’s fate.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A children's and young adult science‑fiction tale by Philip Reeve that explores engineering, flight, and reclusive characters within a technologically driven setting.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In a future where a deadly virus threatens New York, a group of young teenagers must band together, exploring tribal bonds and survival tactics to fight the outbreak and protect their world.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Fascinating mystery tale in the vein of 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A gripping science‑fiction tale set in 2522 as Earth faces ecological collapse, follows a moon colony awaiting news and a young man in orbit who deciphers ominous data about the dying planet.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Eye of the Heron follows two Earth outcast communities as they adapt to life on a distant planet, exploring themes of belonging, identity, and the challenges of building new societies.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Some Other Similar Books
A Candle in the Dark by Poul AndersonPortrait of a Lady by Vladimir Nabokov
Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
A Door into Ocean by Lynn Margulis
Twilight of the Gods by Kevin J. Anderson
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!