Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains.

Noren had accepted the fact that the society on the planet on which she lived had to have three distinct groups: villagers who know little and farmed; Technicians who worked the complicated machines that kept the land fertile and the water safe; and Scholars who alone knew that existence on the Machines, brought with them from elsewhere and irreplaceable until specific scientific advances were made. Noren, once a villager, was now a Scholar because he had proved his right to be one. He knew the secrets kept by scholars and he had dedicated himself to helping achieve the scientific advances that would allow machines and learning to come to all people. But he still had doubts about his society and himself. Confronted with questions about the universe that seemed to have no answer; and problems on his own planet that seemed equally unanswerable, despair overcame hope. And when his depression was further fed by a series of incidents that seemed to herald the final disaster for his people, he gave up entirely. Yet that was not the end, for Noren learned at last the secret of surviving evn the most desolate crisis. Noren's world is not our world, but his problems are unmistakenly the problems of all living creatures. 257 pages.

This book is really the first I've encountered that's really dealt with matters that are important,what is the reason for life, and why must we die. If you're not interested in that, that's fine. After all, the trauma the main character goes through is written with beautifull language, and the story of this civilazation is enough to endure the deep thinking. This is not your average science fiction thriller; if you're looking for a shallow book with green aliens with stalks and tentacles, you had better move on. This book is a thrilling reading experience, that kept me up till one on a school day reading it. Please, find out the joy for yourself!