Rating: 
Summary: Like nothing I've ever read before!
Review: Both THE SPARROW and its sequel (better explained as a companion novel) CHILDREN OF GOD are two of the most though-provoking books I've ever read. The plot centers on a team, led by a Jesuit priest, who go to another world after radio transmissions on Earth hear beautiful music coming from across the galaxy. In the second book, we learn more about what happened both on the new planet and on earth, from the points of view of various characters - including the alien civilization. The books are shocking and bold -- with shades of theology, philosophy, science and fiction blended into the books.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking and Heartbreaking
Review: I am a science-fiction reader, so I picked this up as a science-fiction reader expecting it to fulfill my taste for a book about exploring new worlds, meeting new species and cultures, and making a human mark upon those new worlds. This book is, indeed, all of these things, but it is so much more.I am also a literary fiction reader. I did not expect this part of my readership to get anything from this book, but I was wrong. This book, about a Jesuit party exploring an unfamiliar planet with unfamiliar peoples from our very own galaxy, is about love, loss, faith, God, testing faith, human flaws, alien flaws...so much more than just exploring an alien planet and alien peoples. This book will test your beliefs in the nature of God, and his role as caretaker of the life He created. It also shows how good people aren't completely good, and "bad" people aren't always as bad as they seem. If you're not a science-fiction reader, you will not hate this book. You will, in fact, look beyond the science-fiction elements (which would not be overwhelming to someone new to the genre) to the greater, deeper story. It is beautiful, breathtaking, heartbreaking and powerful. This was recommended to me by a fellow co-worker, and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling, intricately constructed, and well-informed
Review: I bought this book on an absolute whim, caving in because the sample pages I read not only starred a handsome Jesuit named Emilio, they also featured some of the lushest scenic descriptions I had ever read in a science fiction vein. I think I finished it in two days... I was absolutely overcome by Russell's command of incredibly precise vocabulary, and, by extension, the vocabularies of her characters. It convinced me that this wasn't a simple fantasy or science fiction, but a true fiction, a grand novel. Her work encompasses an amazing array of technical knowledge in astronomy, information tech, physics, and even social psychology. It is Russells confidence in her own language that makes me read this again at least a couple of times per year. And the best part: the sequel is equally excellent. A top pick from my shelves.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't even finish it
Review: I bought this book to read for a book club, and I just couldn't finish it. Lord knows I tried. I'm not a science fiction fan, really, and I couldn't get my head around what I saw to be the basic premise of the book--to colonize outer space as the Jesuits had done to the Americas. Several people in my book group really liked it, but for my taste, it was not very good.
Rating: 
Summary: Dont waste your time
Review: I found this book to be very dissapointing. The whole premise of the story is preposterous, many of the characters are highly annoying, and the ending is weird and disgusting. The first 100 or so pages are OK, but after that the story goes off the deep end and really bogs down, and it's hard making it all the way to the end.
Rating:
Summary: Not a sci-fi fan and this is one of my FAVORITE books
Review: I have never been a science fiction fan, but I could not put this book down. Loved it!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent--Engaging--Masterpiece!!!
Review: I haven't been this enchanted by a book in quite some time. There is a lot wrong with this book but it is indeed a masterpiece. I was completely captivated by the plotting and characters. I will be thinking about its implications for a long time. This book is a triumph for Mary Doria Russell. Random thoughts about the book (which in reality deserves an essay of analysis but...) With the exception of anthropology, there really is no science applied in the book. Those details are either highly simplified (Sophia's expertise) or just plain ignored (the asteroid ship for example). Frustrating for a Sci Fi fan. Another frustration was the shifting points of view. The story was supposed to be told in flashbacks and in real time. Russell gives the reader the points of view of the aliens. It is evident that Sandoz does not have the benefit of that point of view. It was included to help explain the alien's actions but in reality it pulls the reader out of the story. It was distracting. The discussion of the Runa culture through the eyes of Sandoz was very good. They really did seem unlike anything on earth. The Runa came across as disorganized and subservient but intelligent, the Jana'ata came across as very violent, disciplined and highly intelligent. Both came across as strange and in the case of the Jana'ata...frightening. The end of the book seemed rushed in comparison to the rest of the book. The pacing of the last two chapters was off. I felt like the Jana'ata culture was under explored. We learned next to nothing about the singers and that was the entire reason for the expedition. Further exploration of the Jana'ata culture probably would have made Sandoz's plight and loss of faith much more convincing as well. This is first book in a long time to get my mind racing, hence the highest possible rating. It was fabulous, engrossing, thought provoking etc. I highly recommend reading it. Exercise your mind.
Rating:
Summary: A NEW CATEGORY IN LITERATURE?
Review: I just finished two remarkable novels by an incredibly brilliant first time author. The Sparrow was written in 1996 and it's sequel was written in 1998. I feel these two novels would be well served by a third novel in the series. They seem to be perfectly suited to being a trilogy. The author has an outstanding background in anthropology, an incredible mind and a wonderful use of language.
I think I have never read a better novel dealing with the subject of radically alien races and cultures. Her solid academic background,
experience with religion, imaginative intelligence and authentic good sense contribute to a profound reading experience. After finishing the
second book, I felt bereft that it was over: somewhat like the way I felt after finishing The Poisonwood Bible. The titles are: "The Sparrow" and "Children of God" by Mary Doria Russell. They are classified as science fiction but they really need their own classification. Maybe social- science fiction would work.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book, But Great Characters??
Review: I picked this up based on the recommendations of friends and reviews on Amazon, as well as the interesting premise of a Jesuit mission to the stars. Granted, it's just following the tradition of a lot of older sci-fi in reimagining the events of the last 500 years of human history on a grander scale, but it's a fairly unique look at contact stories and I was excited to read it. All in all, I wasn't disappointed. The tone, though occasionally melodramatic, is introspective and thoughtful, and there are a great deal of rich observations in the book. The lighthearted tone of the flashback sequences is nicely contrasted to the pain and confusion of the main character's present. Despite the novel's reliance on Christian symbolism, it never feels moralistic or preachy, and indeed is a pretty balanced look at Catholicism. And despite its cerebral aims, the story is quite engaging, as one may well imagine. The characters are fairly well-imagined and likable (though see complaint below). And the plot is interesting and well-balanced, with enough surprises and anticipation to keep one turning the pages rather rapidly. Really, only two things bothered me. One: I was occasionally put off by the way the author ignores what would likely be serious technical and biological hurdles to the mission by simply writing them out of existence(they can breathe the air and eat the food, there are no diseases, the aliens speak a language which actually operates like a human tongue, etc.). However, the aim of the novel is not to describe as realistically as possible a probable attempt at contact but to meditate on real-world anthropology and religion by means of a sci-fi setting, so I suppose this is not really a problem. Two: Despite what others have said, I do not think this novel is populated by a batch of well-rounded characters. There are a few well-rounded characters who have interesting histories and unique personalities. Even some minor characters have, or appear to have, interesting back stories and responses to the central movement of the novel. And among the main characters there are several strong personalities. However, I think there are also several problem characters, even among the main group, and some characters whose personality seems to be simply an extension of the author's. Not that this is a bad thing, but when you have quite a few characters who all make the same sorts of witty comments, it gets a little repetitive. But this is getting a little negative. I wouldn't have even said anything about it if other reviewers hadn't specifically mentioned the great characterizations and perhaps just left me expecting too much. This is a really good book and I highly recommend it, and plan to do so anytime I run across someone who I think would enjoy it. But I just had to say something about those darn cookie-cutter people.
Rating:
Summary: I did not like the book
Review: I really enjoyed the first 100 pages - I thought the characters were well developed and the story line was OK. I enjoyed the book until our heroes found out about the mysterious civilization - the singers in Proxima Centaurs. From this point on the book was full of technical inconsistencies and story gaps and it was very annoying to continue. I somehow digested the fact that the alien life was found around the closest star to our Sun (very convenient, but well it happens), I also closed my eyes to some technical inconsistencies, but I said: "OK, the book does not focus on the technical side of the problem but on the emotional", so I was still willing to continue. The final drop in my frustration was the fact that after this great discovery the Jesuits are the one that sponsor the mission, not any Space agency, not the military, not the government - this is the first mission to another planet ever in Human history, this is the first alien civilization found ever in Human history. And instead of sending experienced people suitable for such pioneering mission they send a priest, a medical doctor and few scientists without any training? Not a surprise that the mission was a disaster... I can go on and on, but I will stop at this point. The bottom line is that I am very unsatisfied with the book.
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