Now back in print, the highly-acclaimed first book of the Children of the Star trilogy--winner of a Christopher Award for "affirmation of the highest values of the human spirit."

Noren knew that his world was not as it should be -- it was wrong that only the Scholars, and their representatives the Technicians, could use metal tools and Machines. It was wrong that only they had access to the mysterious City, which he had always longed to enter. Above all, it was wrong for the Scholars to have sole power over the distribution of knowledge. The High Law imposed these restrictions and many others, though the Prophecy promised that someday knowledge and Machines would be available to everyone. Noren was a heretic. He defied the High Law and had no faith in the Prophecy's fulfillment. But was defiance enough, or could some way be found to make it come true?

When burned-out 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 the love of a woman with powers that seem superhuman. 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.

This controversial novel, winner of a bronze medal in the 2008 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards, deals with the so-called paranormal powers of the human mind and appeals to a wide range of readers who question the dominant medical philosophy of today's society.

This is the first book of two. Both are available and both can stand alone, but any detailed description of the recent sequel would be a spoiler for the suspense of this first book.