Rating: 
Summary: Try before you buy. I did and I bought it.
Review: I'm a Catholic going to a Jesuit university who has returned from the typical youthful alienation from organized religion to the (occasionally smothering) embrace of Mother Church. If you're like me you should give this book a try. Its concept is audacious and its behind-the-scenes humor (the Pope and the Father General bargaining over birth control, Neapolitan crime families) appealing. The issues it tackles are ones that compel me: revolution and progress; genocide and liberation from that; and behind it all, the intimation of God's hand ... heck, I'm hooked. How about you? Can't say if you'll like it--but give it a try.
Rating: 
Summary: New author's work compelling on several levels.
Review: I was exposed to Maria Doria Russell's series through a book review in the Albuquerque Journal. Unfortunately that reviewer revealed too much of the plot and stole from me several devilishly clever surprises. Ms. Russell's work shines on several levels. First it is a good story. Second it develops the biological sociological theme of what would happen if a predator and their prey developed into sentient species. Is there perhaps also an allegory hiding here for the human condition? There is also the development of "unintended consequences" as would certainly flow from such a meeting of cultures. Then in the second book come a tale of revolt against injustice. Overlying all of this are the theological discussions developed in the thoughts of the Jewish and Christian humans (it might have been interesting to add a Hindu or Islamic space traveler.) There are books that it would have been fun to read with a reading group or class so that you could discuss! them.
Rating: 
Summary: Someone thinks sci-fi fans won't like this one either
Review: Someone thinks that this is as good a book as The Sparrow with the same strengths and weaknesses. Cardboard characters but interesting theological dilemmas. Someone also thinks that the people who will like this book are the catholic intellectuals. It will not satisfy science fiction fans, that's for sure. Someone also thinks that the Ms. Russel's characters spend too much time thinking about faith and not enough feeling it.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying, if not jaw-dropping, sequel
Review: After the first book's tacked-on final page, which spun the narrative of The Sparrow around so as to force a sequel--a decision I found unnecessary in the context of the first novel's story, but so common with world-building SF novels--this inevitable follow-up has some strengths. The Jesuits here are less caricatured than their confreres in the first novel (although the choice of the name Sean Fein for the Irish-Jewish recruit was a bit too forced!)although, again, I would have liked more depth in their own tales, like that of the Basque linguist. Russell sets up her supporting characters intriguingly, but too often the time shifts of the alternating chapters and the plot intrigues take up too much space which could have been better given over to an exploration of the milieu in which both the Jesuits and their charge, the agonized Sandoz, must learn to cope. I did find his "dark night of the soul" more convincingly described than I was expecting, and also the difficult role Carlo Guiliani must play this time around managed to convey a well-rounded depiction of his conflicting moral duties as the superior of the Jesuit crew. The African pontiff's a deft cameo, too! but the great collapse of the planet's old order comes off too quickly and too distantly for the reader to be pulled into the scenes in the latter part of the book, however, and the fascinating character of Sofia, so movingly drawn in the first novel, gets short shrift as Isaac takes a more prominent role in what seems a concession to SF megatext standard role-playing. All in all, a thoughtful mix of Jewish and Christian sensibilities, befitting its author's spiritual journey. (As a graduate of a Jesuit college, and a Jew by choice, I found this mix particularly appealing; I did not know of Russell's own background until after I had finished the first novel. At the risk of applying the "authorial fallacy," I do find that reading her own comments and the interview on amazon.com enriched my understanding of her goals in! writing these two works, and I wish her the very best as she continues her career, hoping she'll keep up inventive stories in whatever genre she next finds herself drawn to create and ponder the power of storytelling for instruction and entertainment. P.S. And I hope she gets her toaster and the Jebbies keep getting novices!)
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Sequel, Though Not As Good As _The Sparrow_
Review: Boy, was I excited when I found Mary Doria Russell's latest novel on the new releases rack at the local library. _The Sparrow_ was a reading experience unlike any other I've had in some time, so I was greatly looking forward to the sequel. It's fun to come back to some old friends, but _Children of God_ just isn't quite the book that _The Sparrow_ was.I think one of the things that threw me a bit was the long, long lead-in to the eventual return to Rakhat. I'd be much more interested in reading more of the Jesuits' adventures among the Jana'ata and Runa than all the political maneuverings, etc., that lead up to the voyage. It was only during the scenes on Rakhat, late in the book, that the novel ever really came to life for me the same way _The Sparrow_ did. Also, this time, the device of alternating chapters with different time periods/places didn't work as well, especially with one or two flashforwards stuck in there incongruously. If you enjoyed _The Sparrow_, I'd imagine that _Children of God_ is a must-read. I'd recommend it to those who've enjoyed _The Sparrow_, though a bit half-heartedly. It's a good book but not the masterpiece that Russell's previous book was.
Rating:
Summary: A facinating premise, very well written...
Review: I just finished The Sparrow. It was very enjoyable reading and a very interesting premise. I think something like this adventure could become reality within a few years. From the viewpoint of authenticity, Russell is very accurate in most areas where I have personal experience. The one place I feel she missed is applying her own theology to a Jesuit Priest. Better research into the mind and experience of a Christian could have improved this for me. For one thing, Sandoz has practically no personal relationship and far too much distance from his God. Additionally, the narrative is utterly devoid of a concept of a God of Grace. I think her characterization of Sandoz's struggles with his God reflects more a Jewish theology than Catholic and even then the very immature understanding of a recent convert from athiesm. Trivial points become important to me especially when reading a technical novel. In the year 2019 the question was posed whether Sophia could remember television. This implies that her age of cognition was roughly present time. Is television that close to extinction? I hope so.
Rating:
Summary: A Superior Sequal to The Sparrow!
Review: I'm glad I bought this book, I'ave got a first edition I'ill treasure for ever. If you loved the magic of The Sparrow, You'ill enjoy its sequal even more. The sense of involvement with the characters - and there are no minor ones - is tremendous, the narrative pace is excellent, this is a multi-leveled book with so much going on. Thought provoking in the strongest sense.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've ever read
Review: I found this book to be profound and troubling; the characters wrestle with the meaning of love, life, morality and God. Russell's grasp of the language and her skill at probing the darkest parts of our souls make this a must read.
Rating:
Summary: A flawed but enjoyable work
Review: Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow is one of my favorite books. Regrettably, its sequel, Children of God, is not as good a novel; however, it is not so bad as to retroactively ruin its predecessor. Instead, it is a flawed work which still manages to display Russell's strengths as a writer--namely characterization, world-building, and an eye for the damage that ethical, moral, and religious dilemmas can produce. At the end of The Sparrow, the Jesuit linguist Emilio Sandoz had finally fully disclosed the events of the mission to the planet Rakhat, events which broke his health, faith, and heart. This act was the start of his healing process, but he was still very far from peace or happiness at the close of the novel. The sequel takes up where its predecessor left off, tracing the further efforts to heal his soul. Emilio's superiors are convinced that this can only be done by sending him back to Rakhat, where, one tells him, "God is waiting for you, in the ruins." It should not surprise anyone that Emilio does go back and face the consequences of the previous mission. Here both the strengths and the weaknesses of the novel are apparent. Pieces of the plot are problematic: in particular, the method the author uses to get Emilio to Rakhat is extremely transparent. In the Acknowledgments, she apologizes, stating that she could not think of any other way to get him there; I, for one, had already guessed this upon reading the scene. While I had already suspended a very large chunk of disbelief for a major revelation early on, I think that the author's hand would have been quite obvious in this case regardless. I was also jarred out of the story by some of the events prior to Emilio's trip back. In the first novel, terrible things happened to the characters, but they were a necessary part of the plot. However, in Children of God, some of the painful events do not appear to have been necessary to the story, and felt uncomfortably gratuitous. Yet the trip back to Rakhat and the examination of events there display the better aspects of the novel, as well. One of the best things about The Sparrow was its people: Russell has a knack for illuminating the motivations and quirks of her characters, and while Sandoz was necessarily the best-drawn, the other characters were also lively and memorable. This skill is still in evidence, though the broader canvas of Children of God means that there is less in-depth examination of characters. While one or two fail to come alive (in particular, I found Carlo Guiliani less than believable, perhaps because his main function was as an animate plot device), Russell still generally manages to show the conflicts and influences that motivate her actors. Supaari and Hlavin Kitheri's various reasons for and reactions to the events of the first mission will be of particular interest to readers of the first novel. Arguably the other best thing about The Sparrow was the world-building. Rakhat was an intriguing, complex, and detailed world, and seeing that world in upheaval generates a deeper understanding of its components. Further, the structure of that world helps generate the major theme of the novel, what Sol Weintraub called Abraham's Dilemma. The problem of the sacrifice of the innocent (particularly children) for the greater good is one that nearly every character must face, and it resonates throughout the novel on many levels. (Indeed, two characters discuss this issue with explicit reference to Abraham, and a key character is named after Abraham's son Isaac.) This recurring dilemma helps bring coherence to a novel which weaves a large and complicated story from a number of viewpoints. I consider the other weak point of the novel to be the resolution of Emilio's spiritual problems. I found it unconvincing that Emilio would interpret and react to a certain event at the end of the novel in the manner described. While Russell carefully avoids forcing one interpretation of the event itself onto the reader, I still had a difficult time accepting its impact on Emilio as realistic. Overall, Children of God is a decent book, but not as good as its predecessor. It presents an interesting alien society and then carefully examines the political, moral, and religious implications for the people involved. While some parts of the plot are rather problematic, the characters and the world-building keep the novel an interesting and generally enjoyable read. [Originally posted to rec.arts.sf.written.] END
Rating:
Summary: Excellent sequel to The Sparrow
Review: Recently, I reread The Sparrow. I laughed, I cried, it's even better the second time around. Children of God follows the continuing adventures of Father Emilio Sandoz and the intertwined relationship between the beings on the Earth and the beings on Rakhat. I liked the Rakhat sequences much better than the Earth sequences. The changes that the humans effected on Rakhat (both the deliberate ones and the not-so-deliberate ones) were very interesting to follow. The Sparrow follows the broken Emilio's journey from wholeness to near-destruction during a first contact with a planet with two sentient species. Children of God explores Emilio's coming to terms with his different new life, and his inevitable return to Rakhat. In many ways, I didn't find the story on Earth very compelling. We meet some interesting characters, but the meat of the book is in following the parallel story on Rakhat. Rakhat undergoes many changes in the years after its first contact with humans, some of them good, but many of them are not. I wasn't sure what trick was going to be played on Emilio to get him back to Rakhat, I just had a bad feeling I wasn't going to like it. I'm not sure how you could have written around it, given how strongly Emilio didn't want to go and given the lack of transporter technology. ;-> The book is very well-written, but very serious and I missed the humor. The first book was really very funny in places and I found I didn't laugh nearly as often in the second. Much of Children of God felt like a meditation on the Old Testement, whereas much of The Sparrow felt like a meditation on the New.
|
