Rating: 
Summary: An interesting novel, if you can swallow the premise.
Review: The characters are appealing and mostly very real, but the story is about an incredibly amateurish near-future mission to Alpha Centauri. To hard SF fans, most of the mission's mistakes will seem frustratingly stupid rather than profound or inevitable. If you can read it as a sort of `science fairy tale', though, this is a gripping book with some substantial themes.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow
Review: This is a must-read. It will have you clamoring over the bookshelves for the sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Searching for Faith
Review: This book was enjoyed and disliked in our bookclub. The most common comments though were about the shocking nature of the events revealed at the end of the book. To me this book, although covering some most unpleasant episodes was mostly about faith. How do we find it? What is it? If we do believe and yet terrible things happen - is that the end? This book is startling in it's understanding of these issues. There are also discussions within the book about relationships and love that show a real insight into human nature. I eagerly await the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: This book touched my heart and imagination!
Review: I read this book when it first came out, and have not been able to get it out of my mind since. The characters are real, the descriptions engaging, and the story thought-provoking. Do yourself a favor and read this book, you will be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: Don't give up -- read the next book, too!
Review: In skimming the rave and not so raving reviews of this work, I am struck by the fact that those who rave about it appear to have also read Russell's follow up book to The Sparrow. This story, while compelling as a stand-alone, really plays out over two novels, not one.As a person raised Catholic who has choosen atheism, I found the religious beliefs fasinating -- particularly Emillio's struggle with God, where he believes if only he continues down his empty path, God will become known to him. It was a unique, refreshing method of crafting a very religious character to drive the novel. As a hard core science fiction fan of many years,I found the set up of an alien culture very solid, very believeable. The alien culture did have several fundamental points in common with the humans, but I found this to be a good point, if there was no common ground, there would be no conflict and therefore, no story to tell. This story gives the foundation for the Star Trek "Prime Directive" -- 'above all, do not interfer with an alien race' -- if you want to know what happens when humans, no matter how unwittingly, interfer with an alien race, read this book. Read this book anyway, it's wonderful. Hats off to Russell!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but with flaws
Review: This is essentially well written, with an extremely interesting and novel approach to first contact. Except for the last 50 or so pages it would be a 4 or 5. However, the aliens take an all too familiar theme - they are anthropomorphized into evil humans, with all the faults and immorality associated with evil humans. One would not expect a civilization on a distant planet to have the same good and evil mentality as humans, yet they do, even committing the act of rape on a priest. While this one incident was essential to the story, I felt it was a defect in the plot development, an predictable and unsatisfactory direction she took the novel when she could have done much better. But there is enough good aspects in the novel to recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Best Fiction book of the year, or maybe the decade
Review: A fiction title which requires the reader to think. What a concept. It brings us in touch with our own successes and failures, as humans, and in our relationships with others and a Supreme Being.
Rating:
Summary: A moving story of faith/fantasy.
Review: Mary Doria Russell takes the reader on a long and personal journey. We meet and come to care about this core of people who on a whim and some luck, decide to go off into space. Faith, hope, all are tested by the brave crew when they come to live in this new and alien planet. Your heart gets involved because of the reality of the characters. You can feel their presence; wonderful experience. And, so we know that he is a true hero, it is misplaced faith that is the fatal flaw of Father Emilio Sandoz. He is compelling because he has suffered. Emilio has suffered. And it is hard. Still, the book has everything you need to keep turning the pages. Sexy, vibrant, caring and a true challenge to the faith at the heart of everyone of us. Read it.
Rating:
Summary: Strangely intriguing.
Review: This book certainly was not what I expected. I had expected it would be more of a journey into the soul. Some of the characters were a bit flat and some of the story was a bit contrived, some of the dialogue was a bit stilted and some of the science was too pat, but the relationships were believable. Gee, it sounds as if I didn't like the book, when in fact I thought it had a lot of texture and atmosphere...
Rating:
Summary: Seldom found craftmanship
Review: Ms. Russell's first novel portrays both Jesuits and the Jesuit ethic more faithfully than any other novel I am familiar with. Her writing is refreshingly literate, showing levels of craftsmanship all too absent in most of today's writing. Fr. Sandoz is El Cid to his God in a unique way, and the questions thereby asked are couched in situations that give them an all new twist. Although some of the suspense is a bit to artsy and contrived, it doesn't detract measureably from the excellent flow. Some have said The Sparrow will not appeal to the "traditional" SF fan. It certainly appealed to this one.
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