Rating: 
Summary: Wow! This was a refreshing look at human nature...
Review: Having read most of Asimov's works, Tolkein's, Ian Bank's, and many other Sci-Fi/Fantisy, I found this novel a refreshing change from the usual selection found in the genre. This book deals with humans; how we feel, and react to circumstances, rather than the technical aspects of the scenario - although that in itself was well constructed. The characters were well thought out, and came to life through the author's writing. 'The Sparrow' will fuel a vivid imagination, and burn hours as if they were minutes. Couldn't put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: Smart author, dumb characters.
Review: I read this novel because it was the selection for my book club for August. The book is interesting but the author spends too much time showing off her linguistic and other knowledge and too little time developing and fleshing out her characters. There are also problems towards the end of the book when she obviously tires of the process and begins to kill off major characters summarily. The priest,Emilio, is meant to be a complex character, but is strangely unsatisfying. The female characters in this book are ridiculous. Anne, the geriatric, silly, over sexed doctor, who runs home from her charity practice to cook gourmet meals and host soirees, and Sofia, the supposedly brilliant former child prostitute who proves herself unable to read a fuel gauge on a space ship. The author did not expend much of her imagination on the aliens either. The predatory ruling class appear to be big bipedal mountain lions and the prey class sound like stretched out lemurs or meercats. In her interview at the end of the book Russell claims to be drawing a parallel between European exploration of the Western Hemisphere and her space explorers, but the damage done by Emilio, et al. is unintentional. This band of explorers does not rape, enslave or torture any of the natives they encounter, unlike Columubs, Cortez, Pizzaro, etc. As an African-American I found Russell's preoccupation with the attractiveness of light eyes and pale skin a bit off putting as well. Bottom line. Good technical writing about linguistics, anthropology, biology. Lots of interesting religious theories and ideas. Mediocre characters and pretty bad science fiction.
Rating:
Summary: A book that should be read by all.
Review: "The Sparrow" & "Children of God" are really two parts of one larger piece of work. The writing is entrancing; the books are both treasures. I find it agonizing that I have to wait for more of her work.
Rating:
Summary: mediocre but suspenseful
Review: Russell's characters are on the cardboard and cartoonish side. She takes 240 some pages just to get them on their journey. The theme of the book was done better in the Bible in the Book of Job. Why do bad things happen to good people? What is the purpose of evil in the world? Is God's role to prevent evil from happening to good people?I have read far better fictional examinations of the themes and certainly far better science fiction. When the denouement comes in the last 30 pages, it is anti-climactic because from the beginning of the book the reader is well aware of what happened to the central character. The denouement adds salacious details but no further insight. All of that said, it is suspenseful until the end when the denouement occurs and then you find out it wasn't suspenseful at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but just a bit off the mark:
Review: An intriguing tale - very well thought out, with many interesting twists; yet I had a tough time sitting down and plowing through the story. This one certainly isn't a page-turner! That said, all I could say when I finished the last page was a calm "wow!" I certainly am looking forward to the sequel, which is what inspired this particular visit to amazon.com. On to the story: what an intriguing idea that the Catholic Church, particularly the Society of Jesus (Jesuits for sort) would be able and willing to be the first group to finance, plan, and execute the first mission to an alien star system to seek out life found by the SETI project! (Aren't Jesuits the ones with a lot of nasty-business in their past? Like the Inquisition? But for me to paint the entire group and it's history with just that one point is extremely unfair!) I find the whole concept quite credible, but I think private industry, or private individuals (for profit or ego), would probably beat the church to the punch in reality. The characters are well thought-out, but maybe just a bit larger-than-life. They're all "experts" in varying fields, and most of them are friends through coincidence over the years - a bit contrived, but again, a tolerable writing-tool. The alien world and its various societies are fascinating. You can tell the author put a lot of thought into the inhabitants and culture of Rakhat, but it all seems glossed over. The shocking relationship between some of the cultures on Rakhat didn't instill the horror/disgust in me that the author probably intended, and as I type this looking for other "science fiction" parallels, I wonder if Planet of the Apes (the novel) had any influence on the author. As a non-Catholic, the novel makes me rethink some of my stereotypes I have of priests, and, assuming the author is accurate, garners in me a new respect for these men who give up all, including the love (both physical and emotional) of a mate, to seek spiritual peace and service. I will certainly never look at a priest the same way again! The "terrible" revelation at the end of the novel is a bit predictable, and the climactic "confession" at the end is a bit contrived, and therefore a bit of a let-down (there's a lot of "a bits" in there! <grin>), but it is a sad, thought-provoking, story worthy of your attention. The novel will always serve as one of the pieces in my own personal search for spiritual truth, so therefore I'd recommend it as a "should read." Enjoy this one.
Rating: 
Summary: A tedious, piddling heap of verbiage
Review: What is the matter with you people? This book is crap. Nevermind that it takes a willing, indeed heroic, suspension of disbelief to accept the central plot premise that the Vatican would send a mission to the stars. Nevermind that all the characters are bipolar. Nevermind that the dialogue is stilted, or that Sandoz's spiritual crisis is so poorly developed that it is difficult to understand, much less believe. Ignore all of this, and you will still be left wondering why the author endeavored to write science fiction in the first place. What's the point? This is certainly not the first book to engage the theological conundrum that it does, and will not be the last. What's more, other books have grappled with Russell's issues in much more creative and appealing ways. Not only does Russell's use of science fiction not facilitate the development of her theological agenda, rather it serves to put the whole issue at a distance (4.3 light years distant, to be precise) making it abstract, irrelevant and a waste of time. The writing style is bland. The storyline plods to its final resting place. The character development is arcane and bewildering. The whole project is such a fiasco that the real mystery is how it's managed to garner such acclaim. Save your time and read something else.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I haven't been rendered as spellbound by a novel since "The Triumph and the Glory", which was a very different novel, but fascinating in a different way from Russell's gem. "The Sparrow is about as compelling as a book can get, the premise is presented with exceptional skill, and the philosophical explorations of the theme are wonderfully intriguing. The Jesuit angle is pure genious. I loved this book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting cross of science and spirituality.
Review: I appreciated the idea of the Jesuits "going where no man has gone before." What a fascinating extension of their history. I found her earth characters one-dimensional, but it did not inhibit my enjoyment of the book. I found the life forms on Rakhat fascinating. In the end the theology was not very developed, which was disappointing. But I would definitely recommend it as a very good summer read.
Rating:
Summary: Never thought I would read a 400 page book in one sitting!
Review: A MASTERPIECE. This book was given to me to read by a well-known, distinguished professor after ABC news ran a story on the Arecibo Radio Observatory. I began it with reluctance, then found I could not put it down. (Technically I read it in two sittings, not one.) Dr Russell is one of the most knowledgeable and creative authors I know, and a master of character development. I felt like I knew each of her characters personally and became involved in their lives. I am presently half-way through her second book, "Children of God", which is every bit as good.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but cliched - pop fiction.
Review: Despite the interesting science and philosophy, this is a basic romance-writer novel, with all the characters just too exaggerated to be believable, the dialogue just too clever. It is a good summer beach book, but not a quality novel.
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