Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best
Review: Science fiction fan or not, you owe it to yourself to experience this book. It will prove to be a seminal experience for you because of the many facets and the excellence of writing.
Rating: 
Summary: A suitable sequel
Review: Certainly not the groundbreaking work that The Sparrow was, but a satisfying sequel and a nice way of tying up loose ends. It's nice to see Emilio battling his demons more successfully.
Rating:
Summary: Dostoyevsky's Child
Review: This book is not just a sequel to the outstanding Sparrow, it completes it. Buy and read these as a set or not at all. Not since I read Brothers Karamazov, has a book challenged my faith so deeply. Thanatolgy, the problem of evil, has been addressed by everyone from Augustine to C.S. Lewis; yet Russell brings this issue into painfully sharp focus. She also examines at an incredibly deep level just what it means "to believe". Her exploration of a "relationship" with God forces one to ask, if not for the first time, at least again, some of the most profoundly troubling questions that can be asked of God. Amazingly, there still is Hope.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing spiritual Journey
Review: Not much to say, but I loved this book, and the previous book, THE SPARROW. I was moved by Emilio's adventure and how he found his way back to God though loving a woman. As moving , fully imagined and well developed a story as the 2 books told, my only complaint was a small one...you travel for 6 month to a Planet near Alpha Centauri, and NOBODY brings a video camera!
Rating:
Summary: Children of God
Review: Children of God is a welcome post script to The Sparrow, but ultimately not as satisfying. There was a mininum of revisiting The Sparrow, but Sandoz's character did not quite seem the same as in the former. More revealing was the character of Supaari, whose mental and spiritual anguish of having betrayed the priest played itself out in classic Greek tragedy. He, more than Sandoz, was redeemed. Still, Children of God is a must-read. The Sparrow, however, remains the touchstone of faith and science, not visited since Arthur C. Clarke's The Star.
Rating:
Summary: Communication can have dire consequences
Review: Ms. Russell continues with her interweaving of Religion, Mysticism and Science during a return voyage to a distant planet. The importance of communication or miscommunication is greatly emphasized as the readers discussed her previous novel, The Sparrow, and the fates that befall her characters. What one says is not necessarily what the listener hears and understands.
Rating:
Summary: I was worried but not disappointed
Review: I liked it. I was worried this book might suffer from extreme sequelitis but it was really good. The characters weren't as lovable as the ones in _The Sparrow_ but still very realistic. In _The Sparrow_ I kept wishing there would be more interaction with the aliens and in _Children of God_ I got it. I loved all the philosophical/religious dialogue/debate but was infuriated that no (maybe not enough) revenge was taken on certain characters in the story. The only real problem I had with the story was keeping track of the aliens and I think that is a side effect of reading it on tape.Ok when's the movie coming out?
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully moving and worthy sequel
Review: "Children of God," equally worthy sequal to Mary Doria Russell's "The Sparrow," picks up where the earlier volume left off, with Father Emilio Sandoz confronting what happened to him during a doomed Jesuit expedition to the planet Rakhat. Sandoz, bitter, his faith in God challenged, seeks to leave the Society of Jesus. Like "The Sparrow," the plot unfolds from two perspectives: On Earth, the Pope and the society's Father General have plans of their owns for a commercial mission to Rakhat. Sandoz refuses to be a part of these plans, leading to a thorny moral dilemma for the mission's advocates. And on the planet Rakhat, the missionaries' inadvertant overthrow of the Jana'ata's carefully controlled breeding of the Runa leads to chaotic upheavals in the planet's social structure. The inability of Earth's and Rakhat's people to interpret context as well as language are the catalyst for the personal and large-scale upheavals that these two books chronicle. Much that Sandoz suffers in "The Sparrow" is due to his host, Suparri va Gayjur's misunderstanding. While Suparri's treatment of Sandoz seems like a betrayal in "The Sparrow," we learn in "Children of God" that he actually had good intentions for what he did based upon his understanding at the time. Both books are wonderful examples of the use of fiction to present a sensitive and intelligent discussion of religious issues. Deeply moving and lyrical, the books are wonderful works of literature as well as outstanding representatives of what can be accomplished within the science fiction genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing Sequel
Review: If you loved "The Sparrow" - the stunning predecessor to this sequel - this book will disappoint you. The philosophical depth of "The Sparrow" is missing, as this novel simply presents unnecessary factual resolutions to matters left open and a bit mysterious in the first book. Life is like that - no pat endings - so the first book stood on its own. Read this only if, like me, you became wrought up in the characters in "Sparrow" and - unlike me - do not mind a reduction in quality.
Rating:
Summary: Almost a Masterpiece
Review: "Children of God" is an excellent read; it carries the attention of the reader from page one to page 400. Mary Doria Russel is truly an inspired authoress. Although, Russel's first book, "The Sparrow" is truly the masterpiece, "Children of God" comes in a close second. If you want the answers to the questions that Russel ingrains in your mind after reading "The Sparrow", than you should read the sequel. I must warn you however that when you read "Children of God", it in a way ruins the experience of "The Sparrow". How so, you might ask? Well, at the conclusion of "The Sparrow", Russel leaves you with so many thoughts and questions which to a certain degree should remain unanswerable. However, if you don't read the sequel, than you will always wonder what happens. Her characterization is excellent. She breathes so much life into each of her characters. It feels as if you really know them. While the characters were not as well rounded out as they were in her previous novel, they were still the kind that you love or hate, or feel empathy or apathy for. And to all those people out there who love a story of the underdog, this story is for you. The Runao (an alien species) win their coveted freedom against all the odds and years of subjugation. To what extent does this freedom come though? A person has to wonder in what ways did the Jesuit mission affect the planet? The consequences of their actions and how they changed the inhabitants of the planet were both positive and negative. It has always been something that I have disagreed with: the belief of the Catholic church and it's missionaries, that all living beings should be converted to catholocism. The questions which are eventually answered, mainly revolve around one central issue: is it possible for God, to love another species? Or is there room for only one group of his "children"? Mary Doria Russel is an expert writer. She has weaved Fiction with Science Fiction to the point where you cannot even discern the difference. The ultimate question is given the ultimate answer: We are all children of God.
|
