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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
Read the description above. There is no doubt that it was written by Mary Doria Russell. The way it is subtlety well informed without reading like a textbook, almost funny without compromising its gravitas, and wholly engaging. The book is just the same way. Russell manages to make interstellar travel on papal authority seem feasible. The book is set in two temporal plains, which one might expect to be hard to follow. But the narrator, linguist Emilio Sandoz, is the sort of intelligent man of faith we all wish we could share a glass of wine with. He easily relates his experiences in an understandable way, while his companions Giuliani, Behr and Candotti relay the events of the of those left on Earth. Despite a complex time frame it is very readable. The themes are not simple, however. This is a novel that leaves you thinking. The coexistence of religion and science is an important theme as are questions of the maintenance of faith in the face of human fallibility. I highly recommend it and its sequel Children of God.
This was a wonderful and imaginative book, with characters I truly cared about and related to, and visual descriptions that were moving and vivid. I give it four stars because it had some seemingly unnecessary 90's-era rape porn going on.
It started fairly slow but dang! The last 100 pages. Wow
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical trauma
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Vomit, Murder
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not sure how to rate this book-it had an interesting premise and kept me reading, but I found the end depressing and that's sort of a deal breaker for me.
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The best sci-fi novel I've read in 20 years hands down! I cannot commend this highly enough. Emotional, powerful, and completely plausible. The best account of what an alien culture might be like and her prose has a melt-in-your-mouth (or mind!) quality. This book will not disappoint!
Moving, powerful, heartwarming & heartbreaking story of first contact with an intelligent alien species. And there's a sequel! Read my full review and an excerpt:
http://bookbybook.blogspot.com/2018/08/fiction-review-sparrow.html
http://bookbybook.blogspot.com/2018/08/fiction-review-sparrow.html