Children of God

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps I missed something but I feel the sequel was lacking
Review: I was pretty disappointed by this book. I had just finished "The Sparrow" and was pleased to know that the story would go on. Unfortunately, my first feeling was that the set-ups were contrived, and then found that the fact that they did not turn out as expected even more contrived. It was as if it seemed too obvious and had to be changed last moment. The story also did not pick up on the same intricate character dimensions of the original, and seemed more an ordinary Sci-fi book. Although the author has an amazing talent for bringing her knowledge of paleo-anthropology into the story, and personally, I must say I did enjoy the cultural nuances and norms of the people of Rhakat, it appears that the effort to make this book as exceptional as the original was lost or edited out. I found the final confrontation between Anne and Emilio deflating and disappointing, and the character of Isaac spurious and really, pretty useless. But then again, maybe I did miss something.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great - maybe due to the abridgement?
Review: I listened to the preceding book, The Sparrow, in its unabridged splendor from Brilliance Audio and rate it 5 stars, in spite of some slowness (mostly in the opening, but also in some of the "inquisition" scenes) that could have used tighter editing to remove redundancy and hasten the pace. Overall, the characters were superb, though, and this set my expectations quite high for the sequel.

It was with considerable anxiety that I settled for the abridged reading of Children of God from Random House audio. Better than nothing, I thought. But maybe I was wrong.

I found Stephen Lang's reading acceptable, though somewhat preferred David Colacci's reading of the first book from Brilliance Audio. In any case, both were competent and this was not the problem.

The first book sets us up to think Sophia dead, so it's quite exciting to find fairly early in this book that she's alive. However, given her history with Emilio, one can't hope but root for the two to seek in some way to restore some vestige of what they once had. Instead, the ultimate interactions between them seem not only unexpected, but so ill-motivated that I'm caused to wonder if some critical piece of personality development was lost in the abridgement.

Overall, this book introduces a number of interesting characters and then callously discards them in one way or another. Sometimes with anticlimactic successes, sometimes with empty and pointless deaths, and sometimes by just failing to mention them again further. I won't say which happened to who, but the fate of Rookaway, Supari, H'Anna'la, Suchmel, Qlavin Kithery, Sophia, and Isaac all left me feeling like something was amiss. Wonderful setups of interesting people. Great interactions. Terrible wrapup.

To some extent, I felt a little this way about the first book, but the fact that it was working toward a central powerful ending forgave the callous treatment of the minor characters. In this book, though, the ending was week, and Emilio's role was less central, except in the sense of the barebones structure of the narrative. As such, the outcome of the others mattered more.

I'm betting The Sparrow took years to put together, and that the sequel was hurried out of the author by an overanxious publisher. If that's the reason, the lesser quality is understandable, though no less lamentable. I would so love to see this book rewritten with different outcomes for most of the characters.

Rating:
Summary: Open-ended conclusion
Review: Children of God was a satisfying answer to the questions left by the Sparrow, but leaves with questions of its own. A VaRahkati has come to earth with Sandoz, but we are left in the last chapter with Sandoz's reunion with his daughter...what about this alien being? What will he learn? How will be received in and react to our culture? I enjoyed Children of God. I liked the conclusive nature of it. Yet it still leaves us with unanswered questions...I wonder if this, somehow , was the point?

Rating:
Summary: A.M.D.G.
Review: The Jesuit sensibilities that all work should be for "the greater glory of God" and should bring about a transformation of self ring clearly throughout this book and its predecessor, The Sparrow. Not only the Jesuits, who continue their missions even into space, but all creatures of God move toward each other and God in this incredibly moving book.

Ms. Russell wrote a masterpeice of true characters and deep spirituality. This is one of the all time best books I've ever read. And even if a reader is not familiar with the Jesuits and Ignatian spirituality, you cannot help but be moved by the Russell's great craft of a great story. And the idea that no matter if there is other life, all life comes from one Creator, struck a deep chord within me.

Read this one -- and The Sparrow -- they are awesome!

Rating:
Summary: Not Quite As Good As The Sparrow
Review: CHILDREN OF GOD was a mixed book. The human-focused parts of the story lacked some of what made THE SPARROW great, but the Rakhatian parts were much better than those in the original. On the Earth (human) parts of the story: I have several problems with the human-focused parts of this story. First of all, there is the revival of Sofia. It was stated rather explicitly that she was dead in the first novel. Her revival stretches the plausibility of the novel. Secondly, the Camorra subplot present in this sequel was rather annoying. The Camorra characters Franz, Carlo, and Nico were all rather one-sided, and unnecessary. I don't believe that it was necessary for Russel to include these heavy-handed 'bad-guys' - they are very two-dimensional. In addition, the Jesuit characters in this novel aren't very well-fleshed out, either. Indeed, the contemplative and religious mood of the first book is somewhat replaced by action in this novel. Finally, Emilio Sandoz seems to have lost what made him an attractive and interesting character in the first book. He has become merely a bitter, sarcastic man, self-pitying and focused on his own pain, whereas, in the first book, he was more complex. In THE SPARROW, Sandoz was given depth and dimensionality. In CHILDREN OF GOD, Sandoz has lost that depth and become a shallow character, a change which I found most disappointing. However, on the bright side, the Rakhatian parts of the story were much better. I found that I understood the actions of the Runa and the Jana'ata much better after reading CHILDREN OF GOD. In addition, Hlavin Kitheri is shown in a more detailed, realistic way. Previously, he was shown as a sadistic, cruel villain - the man who destroyed Emilio Sandoz. However, here, he is shown as as a complex, mixed man, a genius and a rapist, a pampered third son and a revolutionary leader. In addition, I found the character of Supaari VaGayjur similarly expanded upon. My main regret about the Rakhatian part of the story is that it was not treated with more extensively. So, in the end, this book was mixed. The human story, I found, had lost some of its appeal and depth, but the story of Rakhat had become more absorbing and dimensional.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling conclusion
Review: Although not as unique as The Sparrow, The Children of God does a fine job of answering many of the unanswered questions left at the end of the first book. I enjoyed reading about the changes that occurred on Rakhat, which were initiated, unintentionally, by the crew from the first book. When a pebble is thrown into a pond, who knows what the outcome may be?

Rating:
Summary: She should have stopped when she was ahead
Review: Unfortunately, this was rather a let-down as a sequel. THE SPARROW was an incredible book that deserved to be written and read. This one doesn't match up at all. I found the Sandoz character's quandries to be extremely redundant from the first book and rather boring (we've HEARD all of it already). The developments on Rakhat were interesting but really could have been included in the first book as a condensed couple of additional chapters. Ultimately I'd say reading THE SPARROW is a must, but save your money on CHILDREN OF GOD

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Sequel--or is it a Prequel? or a Trequel?
Review: Somebody give this lady a Paxil! After her wonderful book, The Sparrow, I really looked forward to the Children of God. It was so disjointed and frenetic I found myself reading and rereading, trying to figure out what came next. Or last. Or whatever. The Sparrow skipped back and forth in time, but with a stately grace from chapter to chapter. Children of God had no grace at all. Where was Ms. Russell's editor, anyway? And of course, now that Emilio knows 17 languages, he still only knows two expletives, both in English, when the same two words/phrases are at least more rhythmic and elegant sounding in French and Spanish and much more comical sounding in German. And he uses them, it seems, on every page<Yawn>. I'm so sorry that this much potential was wasted on a rushed-through-and-got-to-market-quick sequel. This was a multi-Oscar winning movie followed by an ABC movie of the week.

Rating:
Summary: Children of God a solid follow-up to The Sparrow
Review: Though not as spiritually engaging as The Sparrow, Children of God does tie up the loose ends that left undone in the first book.

It's no wonder that Emilio Sandoz's faith is shattered after the first visit to Rakhat. And it's even more incredible that the Father General and the Pope believe he needs to go back. But the story brings up some good points, namely man's quest to find closure, understanding and justice in worlds where such things rarely happen to our satisfaction.

Although Children of God works well as a stand-alone novel, I recommend reading The Sparrow first. That way, the full power of Mary Doria Russell's story can be felt and admired.

Rating:
Summary: A new C.S. Lewis
Review: I believe that Sparrow and Children of God rank easily with C.S. Lewis' Trilogy. She asks questions that every mature Christian should face squarely. I look forward to more of her work.