"The People of the Ax" is the story of Arne, a boy living in a distant future, and his journey to become a man. This Young Adult novel is unusual in that, unlike many typical "coming of age" tales, which end with the protagonist(s) undergoing some sort of rite of passage into adulthood, this one begins with such a rite. For the people of the village of Strand, this involves receiving their own iron ax, symbol of their new status as an adult, and having their soul "awakened." What this awakening does is alter the definition of "empathy" from "ability to imagine what others are feeling" to "ability to _sense_ what others are feeling." Arne's empathic abilities prove to be unusually strong, but it is his reasoning that leads to a discovery that will forever change both his people and their dread enemies, the crom.

From the back cover:
"Arne and Frey were newly initiated. They had had their souls awakened and were now Human Beings. But their joyous welcome ceremonies were hardly over before they were sent on a long and dangerous journey.

There were no iron workers in their village of Strand. The young couple would have to travel to the smiths of Red Stones to have Arne's ax mended. It was decided that along the way Arne must present himself to Osan and tell the wise woman of his experience in combat with a crom. The crom were the Human Beings' only enemy -- a subhuman species that for the good and safety of all would best be annihilated. And now it appeared the crom pos­sessed iron, as Arne's blunted ax could testify. Per­haps Osan could answer this ominous puzzle.

After many adventures Arne and Frey would at last climb to the high peak where the mysterious Osan lived alone. He would present her with the yel­low shell disk he had been given for that purpose and their dialogue would begin.

The past and future on that day would be altered in a way Arne could never have anticipated. The world of Arne and Frey would never be the same again. Nor, for that matter, all they thought of as civilization." ( )