Elana is a young woman from an advanced civilization, in training to be part of the anthropology service. She looks forward to a life of traveling the universe, studying younger civilizations, seeing uncharted planets, and having grand adventures. However, when her impulsive nature lands her in the middle of a delicate mission for which she is unprepared, she discovers that the life she's chosen may not be as glamorous as she was imagining. As she, her father, and her fiance try to save one "youngling" culture from another, she finds that it's not possible to remain detached from the people she meets, particularly one young man who may be his planet's best hope for survival.
I found this a quick, enjoyable read, as long as I made an effort to suspend disbelief at some of the tenets of the storyline. (All alien civilizations are basically humanoid and follow the same developmental stages? Hmm...) This book was written 45 years ago, and taking that into consideration, it's an impressive piece of science fiction. Plus, the character development is really good, and the plot (so long as one doesn't spend too much time picking it to pieces) is also fairly good. I'd recommend it.
(Reviewed from my personally purchased copy.)
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