Rating: 
Summary: disappointed in editorial reviews
Review: I found the editorial reviews on this book disappointing. Ikept wondering if they had read the same book I had just finished. Thecharacter the author developed was Emilio. The other characters were just not realistic or very interesting. I found some of the sentence structure difficult. I had to read quite a few sentences over to try to fiqure out what the author was saying. I enjoy innovative writing but this style did not add anything to the story except slowing the reader. The story was slow enough. END
Rating:
Summary: Too slow in the beginning and never speeds up...
Review: Sharing one of the reviewr's opinions below, I'm writing this review to pull down the average rate of the book. The synopsis and reviews sounded very promising, and I hoped to read some clever SF that I'm missing so much. The book definetely has its potential, but it starts slowly, painfully slowly.. tantalising the reader ... constant leaps to the past seemed often irrelevant. The characters are plain and dry with funny French last names. When they died, I felt no sympathy. Mr. Sandoz was the only one who evoked pity in me with his misery and because those other Jesuits were plaguing him constantly, but as the enigma of what happened to him was dangled in front of me for too long, when he told his awful story in the last chapters of the book, it never had the effect the author probably has planned it would do.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark and Endearing - A Memorable Read
Review: An intelligent and compelling book with insight into some of the moral and spiritual dilemmas involved in the search for God. The characters are well drawn and memorable. The fact that you knew most of them would not survive the mission, only made their humor and vitality more poignant. In the two narratives, Ms. Russell did an excellent job of interweaving the darker aspects of the tragedy of the Rakhat mission with the wonderful story of the relationship between these characters before and during the mission. It was disturbing to meet Emilio, a man who has been spiritually and physically ruined; and sadly endearing to meet the man he was before. An unforgettable character and an impressive book. I look forward to reading, Children of God.
Rating: 
Summary: The Sparrow
Review: This is a great read. It's not only highly entertaining, but also very thought provoking. What would your reaction be if you learned that NASA had just discovered music being sung from a planet four light years away from earth? Would it shake your belief in God or make it stronger? What if you were chosen with six others to travel to this planet, knowing that by the time you returned back (if you did) those important to you would probably be dead? What if you were the only one from the mission who made it back to earth alive?Russell blows me away with her first novel. The chapters alternate between the present (2059) and the past (2019). So you know right from the very first chapter how this book is going to end. And amazingly that only makes it better! In Chapter One you meet the tortured Father Emilio Sandoz, the sole survivor of the mission to the planet of Rakhat and slowly his story is told. In Chapter Two we meet most of the others involved in the mission and learn their tale right from the beginning. So you know the beginning and you know the end, but you must read on to find out how one turned into the other. I don't think I've read another book where this was done so effectively. Ultimately, what will draw you in and keep you reading are the interesting characters and their complex relationships. It is interesting to note here that Russell based the character of Anne on herself and the character of George on her husband. This is science fiction at its best because of the characters. Hard core sci-fi fans may not appreciate the lack of scientific explanations (they do use a hollowed asteroid for the planet hopping), but eventually even they will be won over.
Rating: 
Summary: this is what happens when you let the faculty read your SF!
Review: Typing takes a lot of time; more time than comment on this book deserves but with the "star" average on this listing I feel compelled to do my part to pull that average down. In short, This story is POW tale that happens in space. The POW is a jesuit who questions his faith. The story is neither innovative nor imaginative. That leaves the language and the style. The language is pedantic. I really tried to get over this flaw but I felt that the author was smugly assuring me in EVERY chapter that she was a PROFESSOR and had participated in many more interesting chats with other professors than me. The style was worse. Almost all of the characters are hastily drawn cardboard cutouts and even the ones who exhibit a modicum of 3D blow the illusion completely when they constantly have to interact with the cutouts. It's like watching a halfway decent actor trying to hide his embarassment while speaking to a puppet. I don't require perfect science from SF (who's to say what "good" science will be tomorrow anyway) BUT the science in the physics, planetology, and cartoonishy anthropomorphic alien sociology is so hackneyed and badly tacked-on that it distracted me constantly. Don't buy the Professors book or she'll just write more! (oops! too late! let THAT be a lesson to ya!)
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating--with a flaw
Review: The Sparrow was an excellent book of fiction, but I found the superfluous use of foul language detracted from the mood of the book. I don't care if priests or their friends say s--t and f--k all the time, I just don't want to read about it when I'm deeply engrossed in the plot. Yes, I know that's the way people speak in real life, but I don't need it in fiction, even that which deals with such adult subjects. How odd that the rape and murder scenes were done with more taste than the common conversations. In a strange way, the use of foul language detracted from the tragedy of the story, even cheapened it. But I will surely buy the sequel, as, in the end, one does care deeply about the characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Torn by The Sparrow
Review: The characters in the Sparrow were many, none too deep. The book hints at a higher philosophical exchange to come - the existence of God, man's monopoly of God as father, spirituality outside the bounds of Earth's atmosphere. At the end of the book, I was exhausted - waiting out the reason for Emilio's torment - only to find his story was simply a POW tale. I found John McCain's book more engaging. And that disappointed me profoundly.
Rating:
Summary: Great debut novel, profound wonderful and disturbing
Review: Mary Doria Russell did some outstanding work in this debut novel. The Sparrow is a sci-fi fans dream, as it hits so many disciplines (astronomy, anthropology, aerodynamics)...But it is also a storyteller's dream, as the characters truly do live among the pages... By the time I finished this book, I was ready to cry for Emilio Sandoz, the sole survivor of the Rakhat expedition...The trauma of the entire experience is a parallel to the down-to-earth lives of everyday people, whose faith in God, family and country comes under fire every day... This is one of the best books I've read in a long time...Looking forward to reading Children of God...
Rating:
Summary: The Sparrow - A Long Song
Review: This book has been reviewed extensively by others, but I wanted to add a short note. To read a book in which the main character, Emilio Sandoz, struggles with his committment to God and catholisizm, and how these beliefs are challenged in an alien environment, was to say the least ..engaging. I wanted to like this book. Yet, as a 'moody' reader I quickly lost interest. The characters were two dimensional. The supposed 'humor' in Emilio, was lost on me. I had to persevere through the somewhat trite dialoge, to find out just what happens to our poor hero. In the end, I was disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: What a wonderful introduction to science fiction, though I doubt many sci fi books can be as intelligent and beautifully written as this one. This book will remain with you for a long time after reading it; its subject matter is important and it makes you think. Lovely.
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