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: 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: Sparrow is clumsy and unbelievable
Review: I very much agree with the last review that said this is NOT a great book. I give it 3 stars because the author put some thought into some of the ideas. I found much of the dialogue to be pointless and mundane. When the dialogue attempts to be instructive to the reader, I found it both irritatingly simplistic and condescending at once. The story, although it explores some possibly interesting ideas, is completely unbelievable - although this is fine for science fiction writing, the author attempts to give it credibility via character development but it just falls flat.
The only suspense is wading through muddy moment after moment to find out what we already knew from the very beginning.
Rating:
Summary: So interesting
Review: I would never usually read a science fiction book but My mother's book club found it and she highly recommended it to me. It was such an interesting plot. One of the best books I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Mary Doria Russell Masterclass
Review: Kids! Want to write like Mary Doria Russell? Just follow these simple rules, and you too could produce an SF best-seller!
1. Characters: every good story needs good characters, so make yours as <em>good</em> as possible. They should be selfless, kind, wise, warm, bright, and devastatingly competent. (Making them convincing is optional). To humanise your characters, make them swear a lot and talk about sex. Be sure to make one of them autobiographical. Hopefully your readers won't notice that these paragons speak and behave like juveniles much of the time.
2. Religion: spread this on really thick. See how many priests you can work into the story. You should aim to suffuse your story with a pious glow, which will make your readers (particularly the religious ones) reluctant to be critical. Hopefully they won't notice that your theology is shaky.
3. Wit: everyone likes wit, and it will help carry your readers through the long, tedious parts of your book. Unfortunately, you need to be witty to write it, so you'll probably have to fake it instead. Have lots of scenes where one character says something supposedly sparklingly or earthily hilarious, and others literally collapse, breathless with laughter! Hopefully your readers won't notice that it just isn't that funny.
4. Aliens: there's no way around this, every "first contact" story needs aliens. This is a problem, because aliens are, well, <em>alien</em>. They're hard to write, and, if you do it well, their alienness distracts from your human characters. So just make them furry people with a few odd habits, and hope that your readers won't mind.
5. Science: don't worry about it. Nobody cares about that stuff!
6. Horror: no writer likes to hear that people couldn't finish their book, so you need to hold out the promise of some juicy horror to keep them slogging on until the bitter end. For extra shock value, hint at a sordid sexual element. When the truth is finally revealed, half of your readers will be revolted, while the other half will be disappointed, but at least they'll have stuck with you until the last chapter.
Finally, find yourself a pliant editor, and you're all set!
Rating:
Summary: Riveting, intellectual, spiritual, thought provoking....
Review: Reading this book was a enriching, rewarding experience for me. As with most books, it isn't for everyone. I was looking for a little lighter read, since I've been reviewing books on death and dying and the Holocaust. Silly me - but I am so glad I made the mistake of thinking this would be an escape from the ultra serious!This is definitely not a light read and in fact, it hits on many of the issues I've been exploring - the existence and function of God, the meaning of life, the use of suffering and healing, the delicacy and necessity of human relationships. The story switches between the year 2019 - the US has lost its primary position as a world leader to Japan, marketers search the streets looking for ghetto kids with intellectual skills to groom and sell as indentured servants - and the year 2060, when a Jesuit priest is under examination for sins he is assumed to have committed while on a mission to a New World - Rakhat a planet far away from here. We see Father Emilio Sandoz before the journey (2019) as he initiates this venture, traveling with characters so well written, I started to believe they were real. Dr. Anne and her husband, George; the recently freed indentured planner, Sofia; the young man who discovered the existence of the other world, Jimmy Quinn; D.W., their grumpy Jesuit leader. Two other characters are less developed, but make nice backdrop for this riveting story. The book was a little difficult to get into at the start, not because of the writing, but because of the promise of horrors to come. How could this priest, so filled with life in 2019, be so horribly disfigured (did I really want to read the gruesome details?) And how could he have ended up a prostitute, and then murdered a child? Note: These are not spoilers -- this is information freely given at the start of the story, a hook that pulls the reader in. To find out, the reader follows Sandoz' slow recovery, sees his bitterness and anger in his interaction with the community who is interrogating him in the year 2060, after he has been rescued and returned from Rakhat. Sandoz questions the intimate, passionate connection he'd had with God - and the reader is led to question some assumptions about God, quite similar to those raised by the Holocaust. (Isn't God supposed to deliver us from evil if we do all the right stuff?) A science fiction tale, a mystery, a spiritual quest, a sociological and anthropology exploration, this book would be an excellent choice for a group to read and discuss. It is also great for the inquisitive mind of the solo reader. As for me, I hated to put it down. I read it as often as I could, and almost wept when it was done (sort of Harry Potter for this grown-up!) After writing this review, I'm off to order the sequel, Children of God.
Rating:
Summary: The 1-star reviews have more wit than this book
Review: The initial plot and hook to the book is appealing and intriguing; it seems most, even the bad reviews, agree on this.
However, this is destroyed by other flaws. First, the pacing of the book is terrible. Pages upon pages have no apparent purpose as they do not advance the plot, deepen the characters, add to the theme, or describe setting in any meaningful way. Halfway into the book, I found myself scanning sections (skipping the dialogue, more on that in a moment) and would read again where the writing became relevant again, only to be abruptly, and after a while, predictably, cut off with a cliff hanger. This is a good device, but occassionally. I see this as a fault of the editors, rather than the writer, but it remains a fault of the book.
Second, the dialogue is juvenile, one dimensional, whiny, and often pointless beyond saying, "This is a group of fun, irreverent, and witty individuals." Time after time, "[Name] says, '[inappropriate comment].' and everyone [whooped and laughed/booed and moaned/etc." I don't mind inappropriate comments, cussing, sexual humor, just be more creative, the laughs are too cheap and repetitive.
Third, the themes were heavy handed and pedantic, not well developed or subtly drawn out by believable characters, events, and situations. She has a clever turn of phrase here and there, but these seemed to be highlighted, obvious insertions of herself, MDR, into the text, where she did not belong.
Finally, and my largest complaint, a few characters approach 3 dimensionality - Emilio, perhaps; and the rest stand firmly in 2D. Sure, you need 2D characters in a story, but with the amount of ink contributed to Anne, for example, you would think she could have acheived more complexity than a bipolar who seems to relish making people feel at home and accepted by being opinionated and offensive.
Rating:
Summary: Leaves you wanting more, and you should have gotten more
Review: The premise of the book is promising and intriguing, and certainly keens your interest through at least half the book. But somewhere near the middle, after the group reaches their destination, the dissapointment begins. There is little description of the flora and fauna of the alien planet, even though the reader has been chomping at the bit now for days to learn what it all looks like. Worse yet, shortly after the first contact with alien intelligent life, you are a little annoyed that the aliens' culture, living quarters, utensils, furniture, are all too familiar. They are reminiscent of native american culture, maybe pueblos or mayan. Shouldn't an alien culture be a bit more exotic, a bit more ...alien??? The writing is good, I admit, and there are marvelous passages in the book that left me thoughtful. The writing doesn't sprint at a clip but doesn't slog, either. You have the feeling that you need to read every sentence or you may miss something. Overall the character development is flat. You simply don't care about anyone except Emilio. Sofia is too perfect and too pretty and too cold. Jimmy is two-dimensional and D.W. is too much like Ross Perot. Anne approaches being a little more real, but George is barely a shadow of a man with no personality or motivation except to be Anne's faithful husband. Unfortunately because I didn't care about most of the characters I wasn't too saddened by their untimely death. And I agree with one reviewer who was disgusted by everyone's goody-two-shoed-ness.
I enjoyed reading this book, but theologically speaking, it was no Life of Pi. The religious tone was a bit heavy-handed at times. However, I like the theme that Russell claims for the book: do your best and you may still get screwed. Oh, and don't expect God to micromanage your life. He's just an observer, not a participant. The Jesuit's (esp Emilio's) fatal flaw was that they believed God had a hand in what was happening. Thus, they felt they could do no wrong, and no wrong could be done to them. Oops.
I recommend this book as good for plot, good for premise, good writing, but bad for hard-core sci fi fans or readers looking for characters to feel deeply about.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down.
Review: This book grabs you and throws you into the world of M.D.R's imagination. My wife read it after I was done with it and had to put it down because she became so attached to the characters and anticipated something terrible was going to happen! The Sparrow is the perfect combination of theory and imagination. You can tell M.D.R is very meticulous, focused and I longed to be a guest of Anne & George Edwards sitting alongside the entertaining & intellectual giants of tomorrow.
Rating: 
Summary: Jesuits in Space...
Review: This is a solid first novel for Russell. Although at times the characterizations bottom out, the novel is at its best when Russell's earthlings ask the big questions in life. I'm anxious to read the sequel.
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