Rating: 
Summary: The book Sagan's "Contact" would have been if he could write
Review: Like Carl Sagan's more famous story, this book deals with the political, personal, and religious implications of humankind's first contact with extraterrestrials. Unlike Sagan's, however, Russell's characters aren't stereotypes, her plot isn't dull and predictible, dialog isn't canned, and she doesn't spend 3/4 of the book preaching anti-religion (or pro-religion) sermons. On the down side, she does stretch credulity a bit from time to time with the plot twists and too-self-consciously-witty dialog, and I wish the characters (especially the protagonist, Sandoz) had even more depth to them. But overall, I found the book much more entertaining, though-provoking, and just plain fun than any let's-go-meet-the-aliens book I've ever read. The subtle way the author set the 21st-century scene was especially delightful--she keeps the high-tech, gee-whiz stuff almost but not quite hidden in the background, letting the timelessness of the human experience take center stage. I also liked the way the characters really feel comfortable with each other and know how to laugh and cry together. Not many authors can pull off genuinely caring human friendships and still keep tensions high and the story moving. Russell does just that, and just seems to be having a lot of fun herself writing the book. I haven't read the sequel yet, but you can bet I will!
Rating:
Summary: Theology & aliens!
Review: "The Sparrow" is an intense and painful exploration of the issue of why a loving and powerful God would allow suffering. It is also a story about humanity's first contact with intelligent aliens. To decide whether you might like this book, take this short quiz:(1) Are you interested in this sort of religious issue? (2) Do you like science fiction? If you answered yes to both, I highly recommend this book. If you answered yes to #1 and no to #2, I recommend this book; don't be scared off because of the science fiction genre. If you answered no to #1 and yes to #2, then skip this book, which isn't that great just as sci fi. (If you answered no to both, you must've come to this page by accident.) I would answer yes to both, and I was hooked from the opening page. I love the premise that the Jesuits mount an expedition to visit our newly discovered sentient neighbors while the U.N. and everyone else is still dithering about what to do. Other reviewers have complained about the unnatural dialogue, but I can't say I noticed. I didn't like the rushed ending, and I didn't like knowing from the beginning what would become of most of the characters, but it's an engaging story anyway. The sequel, "Children of God," is pretty good, but I didn't like it as much as "The Sparrow." If you answered yes to #1 and either yes or no to #2, I also highly recommend Susan Howatch's Church of England novels (not sci fi), which deal with similar religious themes--confession and forgiveness, priestly celibacy, spiritual guidance, etc. My favorites are "Glamorous Powers," "Scandalous Risks," and "Absolute Truths."
Rating: 
Summary: An infuriating, pretentious novel
Review: I had a hard time at first figuring out what irritated me so much about this book. Was it the simplistic characterization, the overlong and tedious exposition, the improbable aspects of plot, or the self-aggrandizement in which the author indulged at every turn (so now we know that M.D. Russell knows how to read Latin, Hebrew, and Ladino, in addition to her mastery of social anthropology. How does that extend or improve the story she's telling?)? Then I realized that, in addition to all of these problems, what disappointed me the most was the depicition of Emilio Sandoz. He should have been a towering figure of moral struggle. Instead, his faith, loss of faith, and ultimate rekindling of hope was never convincing. More than a few reviewers of Russell's work have compared her to Ursula K. LeGuin, but I think the comparisons are ill-deserved. The hero of LeGuin's The Dispossessed, Shevek, is a masterful creation of moral agony and ambiguity;in addition, LeGuin is a writer of surpassing spiritual complexity and humility. These latter qualities seem to be completely lacking in Russell's book.
Rating: 
Summary: As beautiful as a spider's web-- and just as sinister
Review: An unusual science-fiction book-- though it is more religious dialogue and search than it is sci-fi. Ms. Russell's feminism sticks out rather far (the women are the only truly competent and REAL people in the entire book), and the plot proceeds by tiny, circumlocutory steps with frequent and abrupt segues from the present (on Earth) to the actual events that "need explanation". These events are doled out almost grudgingly, like sweets to a child whose supper must not be spoiled by their presence. When the book ends, it's with the suddenness of a tropical sunset-- no prelude, and no resolution. It was in many ways an interesting read, but I shall not re-read it.
Rating:
Summary: Where did these Jesuits go to school?
Review: Overall, The Sparrow seemed to be a very moving, thought-provoking book. At times, it is very difficult to read, because you empathize with the torment of Fr. Sandoz. I have read a few of the negative comments and don't find as much fault with the book as they did. It seemed a little lame to have Sofia forget the lander was low on gas, but they were a little bit disoriented after the ultra-light was wrecked.
My main problem with the book is this: where did these Jesuits go to school? What I mean is this. They worship a God who they believe subjected His own Son to a horrifying, degrading death every bit as harrowing as what Emilio suffered. A large part of their Scriptures were written by a man, St. Paul, who openly talks of how many times he has been beaten, imprisoned, suffered hunger, suffered shipwreck, and so forth. The history of their faith has an extensive martyrology full of people, including Jesuits, who would have thought themselves extremely fortunate to have suffered no more than what Emilio suffered.
They can't be Jesuits without knowing all this. Yet when it actually happens to one of THEM, Emilio says, "Where is God?" And nobody seems to know what to say back to him.
Obviously, a reader realizes that he or she might have done no better, and perhaps a great deal worse, than Emilio. But I know that others have distinguished themselves in the midst of horrifying tortures, including Jesuits, singing hymns and praying aloud as their bowels were literally torn from their bodies (for instance, the Catholic martyrs of Elizabethan England). For that matter, Judaism, the author's new faith, also has a tradition of martyrs.
Russell briefly alludes to all of this, including the episode of the missionary to the 17th century Indians, and the harrowing tortures he suffered, but she seems to pass it by as if it weren't really important.
For thousands of years, Christians have suffered gruesome deaths that could not be depicted in a film today without giving the film an X rating. T!heir suffering was informed by the memory of such Scripture passages as "If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him," and "Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." One of the cardinal tenets of the Christian faith is, "In the world, you will have tribulation." It would be one thing if Emilio had somehow rejected such considerations, but what troubles me is that neither he nor his superiors even seem to be AWARE of them.
In any case, the book was very interesting. Readers who enjoyed this might also like Brian Moore's "Black Robe," about Catholic missionaries to the Indians in the 17th century, as well as C.S. Lewis's "Out of the Silent Planet."
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing story, sloppily written
Review: I'm not a big sci-fi fan, but I enjoyed the mechanics of the story. The writing, however--particularly the dialog--leaves something to be desired. Even supposedly brilliant and witty people just do not talk that way. I also thought the book took far too long to build up to the climax, especially since we know from the beginning that Sandoz was the only survivor! Also, some of the plot twists seemed contrived at best.
Rating:
Summary: Original plot, but room for improvement in the delivery.
Review: In The Sparrow, Ms. Doria Russel presents the reader with an intriguing and original plot concerning discovery, the interplay between secular and non-secular relationships, and religion in general. The reader will find, however, that the story leaves numerous mysteries unanswered until the very end, which requires patience. On the downside, character development is a bit uneven and the author often resorts to simply summarizing significant events rather than purposefully weaving them into the story itself. Overall, I was pleased.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought provoking and entertaning
Review: I was caught by this book from the first page. I the flow of the story kept my interest, particularly the changes between time periods. Russell's character development is excellent. As a lay anthropologist, I enjoyed her application of theory and her thoughtful projections for the future.
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Summary: COMPELLING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING DEBUT
Review: I bought this book after reading a synopsis of the sequel, and am glad I did! I was totally engrossed from the first page, which is not to say I was not aware of the book's weaknesses. As other reviewers have noted, the book does present some problems of pace, characterisation and the depiction of the technology involved. As an example, the fact that super-brilliant Sofia ( a woman whose whole existence rests on standards of excellence far above the norm) could cause them to be stranded on Rakhat by squandering gas; a bit of an insult to the reader, and not worthy of the author. BUT, and this is what's so amazing, I found I just didn't care about all that. The characters were real to me, and I lived through the events with them - any avid reader knows how rare this is. I will definitely be buying Children of God.
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Summary: One of the most moving books I've ever read....
Review: I cry at movies and sometimes TV shows...but rarely, if ever, when reading a book. The Sparrow reduced me to tears. It is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. I'm ordering another copy because I've passed my first one on to another teacher at the high school where I teach English/Journalism. He teaches a course is Science Fiction. This ought to be required reading.
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