Rating: 
Summary: Keeps your interest...
Review: 1) The audiobook version was a fair read. The reader did little distinction of voices so you always knew what character was talking. I've heard much better though.2) From early on you are gripped with the mystery presented and how things came to be. The authors paces the clues and reveals the full story at just the right pace that it keeps you to the end. 3) Very thought provoking which I enjoyed. Main character is so despairing that it isn't a "happy/fun" book but its not meant to be and that is ok. You have to be in the mood from something serious when you read this one. 4) I felt the author could have done better with the "science" of the book and the alien races discovered. 5) Overall opinion = worth reading or listening to.
Rating: 
Summary: Should be no stars
Review: I spent the whole time reading this going - NO Way - that is truly stupid. No one can be that stupid. My friend who got me the copy I have - stood in line to have it signed etc. up at John Carrol University. He liked it - but feels that the theology is not even well written. I was raised Roman Catholic and I don't get the characters motivation - made absolutely zero sense. I guess it irritated me a great deal and I wish I hadn't read the nasty thing because of the really sick gratuitous mutilation and sexual torture - absolutely b.s. in terms of what one might expect from a completely non-human alien culture. On the other hand it read like thinly disguised WWI anti-turkish /anti-islamic propaganda. I really disliked _The Sparrow_. The science was *not* - totally bizarre and very badly conceived, illogical - I almost wrote a letter to the author to recommend a few basic biology books. The premise that a bunch of Catholic missionary types would be sent to another planet WITH NO TRAINING in either theology or ethnology was indigestible. It was in my opinion a bad rewrite of an original story idea by James Blish in which a priest encountering a non-human culture has to understand about the soul and who/what has one and what that means and what is God?. The Sparrow wasted the opportunity - rather than exploring soul and spirit - it explores sexual torture and sadism. Another bit of it resembles very lightly disguised memoirs of the Jesuit missionaries in the Amazon
Rating:
Summary: Destined for the silver screen
Review: Although the dialogue, at times, seems a bit overly witty, I enjoyed "The Sparrow",...great story,...skillful storytelling.
But, there can be no better review than to read this book for yourself. Ultimately, the appreciation of any art form is a personal one. I can see this becoming a film. If so, I recommend Rahda Ramana's "A Universe to Come" for the sound track.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing read
Review: I found this book through friends, specifically I walked into a poetry publishing company one day to visit and the staff was raving about The Sparrow, practically insisting that I get a copy of my own. Hard to define, this sci-fi, literary fiction, cultural essay is immensely entertaining, intellectually stimulating, and genuinely heart-breaking. The characters come alive to the point that you truly miss them when they are gone. Mary Doria Russell creates a world, not too far off from our own, that shines a light on our past and our future. An exceptional feat of writing, imagination, and foresight -- but best of all, a truly great read.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Intense Sci-Fi Novel I Have Ever Experienced
Review: This novel asked the age-old question from the book of Job: "How can one have faith in God in the face of horror and suffering?" and combines it with an intriguing and disturbing exploration of several powerful themes: missions, the pursuit of God's will, and an introduction to an alien culture that is all at once compelling and revolting. It was a thoroughly discomfiting novel that left me in tears by its end; it is masterfully written and tense and gripping, and I have only praise for its author. It is science fiction at its best: a vehicle for focusing on what it is to be human, in all of its glories and hellishness. It will challenge your view of God, unflinching.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: This may be one of the most engaging books that I have ever read. An incredible mix of spirituality and sci fi left me anxious to get my hands on her next book (which I also highly recommend) This is one book you will not be able to put down. I cant wait for Russell to write another one.
Rating:
Summary: An imaginative treatment of cross-cultural misunderstanding
Review: This is an imaginative and well-written "first contact" novel which vividly illustrates the limitations of good intentions in a cross-cultural encounter. Russell has created a fully realized alien culture on the planet of Rakhat, and credibly charts the escalating missteps which her human characters make in exploring it. Sponsorship of the Rakhat mission by the Jesuits is perhaps a bit implausible, but the thought-provoking parallels with the "discovery" of the Americas justify the slight suspension of disbelief. The post-mission interactions among the earthbound Jesuits who are trying to make sense of what happened are also fairly gripping. I have only two complaints about the novel. First, I was irritated by the evident authorial expectation that I should hold the character of Anne Edwards in high regard; it was (alas) not surprising at all to read in interviews that Russell had based this figure in large part on herself. Second, a "key" revelation at the end of the book smacks of cliche- Russell all but states "now the healing process can begin"- and is artificially delayed in a way which seems oddly out of character for the person who makes it. But these are minor quibbles about an otherwise terrific read!
Rating:
Summary: expected much more
Review: With four hundred pages of frequently clumsy
writing the book sags under its own weight.
Truly soporific.
Rating:
Summary: One of the finest sf novels ever
Review: Russell's book is exactly the kind of sf novel I like best--long on social description, moral dilemmas, and religious speculation, and short on hardware and engineering problems. The story of the Jesuit mission to the planet Rakhat is told in two parallel narratives. Russell switches back and forth between the story of the mission itself, and the story of the mission's ravaged survivor, Emilio Sandoz, as he returns to earth and tries to put his life back together after his hellish experiences on Rakhat. This device heightens tension--we know from the second story line that the idyllic tone of the first narrative will not last, and we watch carefully for the signs of approaching disaster. The novel is not without faults. Russell's characterization is good, but she tends to sentimentalize her characters, inviting us a little to obviously to find them as lovable, witty, and beautiful as she does. From my perspective, her depiction of Catholicism also suffers from the common modern flaw of making sympathetic Catholic characters always depart from the more unpopular dogmas of the Church (Sandoz, for instance, regards the offical Catholic condemnation of masturbation as obviously absurd and unrealistic). This tendency implicitly tells the reader that it is impossible for a really llikeable person to believe everything the Catholic Church teaches. Having known many conservative Catholics, I have no patience with such an implication. But these are minor quibbles. For the most part, the novel's portrayal of Catholicism (Judaism gets some mention, but isn't as prominent as in the sequel) is very thoughtful and greatly enriches the novel. The alien societies are also vividly drawn, though in this respect _Children of God_ is far more interesting. The book is impressive above all because of the depth of its religious passion. Russell leaves no doubt in our minds that her characters, especially Sandoz, deeply believe in God and are sincerely trying to do His work. Their disastrous mistakes, and Sandoz's eventual despair, are therefore totally believable and hit us with a punch usually lacking in science fiction. The novel ends leaving us begging for a sequel--and Russell provides everything we could hope for in the magnificent _Children of God_.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding work of speculative fiction
Review: I have always been drawn to scifi stories that include an element of religion. By addressing the religious thoughts of any people, we find solace and hope where there may be none. In this outstanding novel, Mary Doria Russell asks some important questions about faith, belief, and divine intervention. If we discovered tomorrow that sentient life exists on another planet, would we make an effort at contact? Would we travel to meet these unseen "people"? I cannot answer these questions, but Ms. Russell's speculation makes a valiant attempt, and I thank her for her beautiful effort. I find similar themes in this story to those in Dan Simmons' wonderful books about the planet Hyperion: Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, and Rise of Endymion. I recommend all of these books, and I am currently reading Ms. Russell's sequel, entitled Children of God, that picks up immediately after The Sparrow ends, and so far is just as impressive. I often find myself considering the aspects of faith, culture, and love. On this solitary planet that is home for so many varied peoples and cultures, we often fail to recognize the beauty of each others' beliefs and faiths (whether we agree or disagree) and I find it refreshing that a story about another planet and alien culture can bring so much of ourselves alive and constantly into question. Mary Doria Russell provides wonderful ideas for my contemplation.
| 
