Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as the Sparrow, but still hard to put down
Review: Need I even say that I liked the first book better? While sequels are never as good, I'm a sucker for them as I always have to know what happens next. Nevertheless, "The Children of God" does stand on its own terms. It doesn't concentrate on the internal religious questions in each character as much as in "the Sparrow". Rather this book examines the revolutionary consequences the mission in the first book has on the alien society.
Rating: 
Summary: Mary Doria Russell proves lightning does strike twice
Review: After reading The Sparrow, I anticipated Children of God quite highly; however, second-time-out efforts are sometimes the weak link in series fiction of any genre. Not here! Russell captivates, questions, entertains, enlightens- plumbing all the depths she so expertly delved into in The Sparrow.(When handselling The Sparrow and Children of God to customers, I tell them that Russell's writing has the heart and warmth of a first contact novel that Sagan's Contact lacked,) and she continues mining the same vein in Children of God. We experience the healing process of Father Emilio Sandoz, the sole survivor of the first mission to Rakhat, and are alternately returned to his rehabilitation and the events on the planet Rakhat after his departure. How rare is it to be reading a book and come upon a simple explanation that elicits an audible gasp as you reflect on the ramifications from the first story? Mary Doria Russell is a born story-teller, and I hope she continues to tell us her stories.
Rating: 
Summary: "Children of God", sequel to "The Sparrow", doesn't fly
Review: Mary Doria Russell"s first book, "The Sparrow", was an extremely readable work about the moral dilemnas encountered by a doomed Jesuit-sponsored mission to a distant planet in the year 2020, as told in flashbacks from the vantage point of 2060. It could be read as a retelling of the missionary-native encounters during the Jesuit missionary efforts in the 17th and 18th centuries in French Canada and in the Orient. But it was more. On a philiosophical and religious plane, it addressed the question of whether there is a God, or whether He is just an illusion we humans invent. And further, if God exists, why does He allow those who believe in Him so much to suffer so greatly. Add to this the apparently knowledgable discussion of biological and cultural anthropology and of linguistics which the author weaved into her story and into her plot, and you had a terrific read. Unfortunately, the sequel, "Children of God" is a letdown. The first book reached a catharsis by being very well plotted, having an array of interesting characters, and an ongoing discussion of heavy philosophical issues which were well weaved into the story line. We wanted to know what happened to the priest protoganist to make him so disillusioned. And we found out, and it was powerful. The sequel has some moments, but has too much copycatted material from the original, stereotypical characters, and absurd plot lines -- the space trip which returns the priest to the planet has all of these faults -- to make for an interesting novel. Also, the resolution at the end of the sequel has none of the power of the original: if bad things happen, well, offer them up. In short, this sequel doesn't fly.
Rating:
Summary: "Jesuits in Space - Again!"
Review: Mary Doria Russell's second novel, Children of God, is a continuation of the "Jesuits in Space", story started in The Sparrow. If the idea of Jesuits in space doesn't grab you, you don't appreciate sf. This second novel, being a sequel, doesn't have the shocks and unpredictability of the first, but what it lacks in twists, it makes up in character development. Emilio continues to be perpetually middle-aged, due to near FTL-effects, where everyone around him matures, as in a strobe light. There is a wonderful sub-plot about power brokering between the Pope and the Jesuits over the Church's position on birth control, and another on how Sofia winds up with alien grandchildren. This book doesn't have the thundering finale of The Sparrow, but is is well written and engaging.
Rating:
Summary: A Fine Sequel to The Sparrow
Review: Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow was one of the best SF books of 1996 and a remarkable first novel. That novel, which involved first contact with aliens living on the planet Rakhat (orbiting Alpha Cetauri) worked well on a number of levels. It told a good story, had interesting characters, creating a fascinating alien civilization, and explored some interesting philosophical issues. The ending of the book left me stunned and nearly in tears. I was thus rather worried when I heard that Russell was at work on a sequel. I wasn't convinced that the book needed a sequel and wasn't sure that any sequel could live up to The Sparrow. Children of God isn't quite as good as The Sparrow. However, although it doesn't have quite the impact of the original, it is still a fine novel in its own right. The book interweaves two stories: the story of Emilio Sandoz and his return to Rakhat and the story of what happened on Rakhat after the original Jesuit mission failed and Sandoz was sent back to earth. The two stories together continue and in many ways complete much of the story of The Sparrow, in a way that makes the book feel like a natural, almost essential sequel. On Rakhat, war has broken out. The Runa, the herbivore species that were both the servants and the food of the planet's other intelligent species, the Jana'ata, have risen up against their former masters. At the same time, Jana'ata society itself is undergoing great changes, in fact is undergoing a mostly progressive social revolution, lead by the same Jana'ata who was the source of Emilio's brutalization in The Sparrow. Russell does a very good job here of not giving us good guys and bad guys in this struggle. In fact, she even sheds some new light on some things that happened in the previous book, making us look again at why characters did some of the things they did. Both alien species have their good and their bad, and both in their way are trapped by their genes. Catalyzing the whole revolution are Sophia (a human left behind for dead from the first mission), her autistic son Isaac, the Jana'ata merchant Supaari (now an outcast) and his daughter. Much of what happens in the book comes from these four characters and the ways they each attempt to come to grips with the Runa/Jana'ata problem. At the same time, on earth, Emilio continues to recover from the devastating events of The Sparrow, while the Church tries to convince him to go back to Rakhat, both to help the Church and for the sake of his own soul. Emilio, they feel, can only come to understand what happened to him -- events that have shaken his beliefs -- if he goes back to discover the results of these events. Of course, he does wind up going back, and the new party becomes a crucial part of the resolution on Rakhat. As a side note, on thing I particularly liked is that, early in Children of God, Russell had the General of the Jesuits essentially produce a short summary of what happened to the first expedition. It was a very nice way of summing up the first novel in a page and a half. Too many writers assume that everyone remembers all the details of a book they read two years earlier. I often don't remember some details, and thus I liked having the short reminder. If the book isn't quite as good as The Sparrow, this stems in large part from the fact that the story of Rakhat, while well done and rather interesting, is not as interesting as the story of Emilio and his companions. I would at times, while reading about the Jana'ata, really want to get back to Emilio and his companions. They're well drawn and interesting characters and was anxious to find out what would happen to them. In the end, the book remained satisfying. The ending was strong, and the characters remained interesting to the end. The book will certainly be on my Hugo nominations list next year. (Russell was also on my Campbell nominating ballot this year. I hope she makes it.)
Rating:
Summary: Illuminating, mature, and necessary reading.
Review: As I read Mary Doria Russell's first novel, The Sparrow, I became so engrossed in the story, the characters, and the larger themes that I called in "sick," drove to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, and finished the last half in one marathon sitting by a snowy window. Few novels have left such a lasting, emotional impact on my waking and dreaming hours, so I looked forward to "Children of God" with great anticipation...and a little trepidation. What could possibly come next? Who could replace the characters with whom I had fallen in love, only to be left as heartbroken and betrayed as protagonist Emilio Sandoz? I ached to know, and yet feared the exquisite price Russell exacts when illuminating the tangled web of human faith and emotion. For those who read and enjoyed The Sparrow, you must read Children of God as soon as possible. I found the experience profoundly healing. If you haven't yet discovered Mary Doria Russell, prepare yourself for a deeply emotional experience. Both novels can be described as luminous, mature, and balanced. Just as the discovery of true love brings joy at its presence and despair for its inevitable termination, The Sparrow and Children of God offer gifts not to be accepted lightly, but to be savored, bittersweet.
Rating:
Summary: Best science fiction I've ever read!!!!
Review: Mary Russell has blended the worlds of science and spirituality/religion into a captivating piece of literature. The climatic ending left me pondering about the implications of our own areas of control and manipulation. Here on our world they seem so normal and yet... I can't wait to open up Children of God! Thanks Mary, Lou
Rating:
Summary: Either the first or the second best SF novel I ever read!
Review: When I read Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow, I recognized it as the best novel I read in 1996 and the best science fiction novel I had read in 58 years of science fiction. Now I have read the Children of God and am in a quandry. Which is the better of the two? I do not know at this point in time. Is COG as good? Oh YES! But I will need distance and another read of COG before I will able to make a decision. Only fair since I read Sparrow twice. Now if the publisher would come up with a boxed set, I would now longer need to make a decision. Thank you Mary Doria...
Rating:
Summary: Illuminating, mature, and necessary reading.
Review: As I read Mary Doria Russell's first novel, The Sparrow, I became so engrossed in the story, the characters, and the larger themes that I called in "sick," drove to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, and finished the last half in one marathon sitting by a snowy window. Few novels have left such a lasting, emotional impact on my waking and dreaming hours, so I looked forward to "Children of God" with great anticipation...and a little trepidation. What could possibly come next? Who could replace the characters with whom I had fallen in love, only to be left as heartbroken and betrayed as protagonist Emilio Sandoz? I ached to know, and yet feared the exquisite price Russell exacts when illuminating the tangled web of human faith and emotion. For those who read and enjoyed The Sparrow, you must read Children of God as soon as possible. I found the experience profoundly healing. If you haven't yet discovered Mary Doria Russell, prepare yourself for a deeply emotional experience. Both novels can be described as luminous, mature, and balanced. Just as the discovery of true love brings joy at its presence and despair for its inevitable termination, The Sparrow and Children of God offer gifts not to be accepted lightly, but to be savored, bittersweet.
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.
|
