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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The book is somewhat dated, but still holds value
This is one of those books that I want to recommend to everybody!
This book is a gem! Mary Doria Russell is an exquisite writer. Her story follows a small group of Jesuits attempting to make first contact with alien life after hearing them singing over a radio. Russell wrote this book in 1996 so it was interesting to see her interpretation of the world in 2019 and 2060 (the story jumps around in time, which personally I love in a novel). The book isn't perfect- without spoiling anything, there were a couple events that I felt deserved more than a paragraph or two. And the characters are kind of "all or nothing" in the sense that they're always either having a familial dinner party or solemnly contemplating God. But this is one of the most unique stories I've ever read and I recommend it to everyone, even/especially if like me you don't usually read sci fi.
This book dragged so very much for me. The last scene I read involved the main Jesuit priest getting offended because the unusual, distant, genius woman with a traumatic past (that of course everyone is in love with) made a bet about his ability to learn a language quickly. No idea why that was offensive, but it captured much of the unlikable quality of the book for me. In the "now" scenes with the priest, there seems to be a lot of nuance and subtlety that the reader is supposed to be picking up on. But, those scenes just seemed like a bunch of stuffy Jesuit priests wringing their hands over church politics. Somehow saying something was Mary Magdalene and not Lazarus was cause for great anger and self-destruction and was intended as some sort of psychological manipulation. Uh, what? Overall, the premise just seemed ridiculous - sending a bunch of friends, half of whom happen to be Jesuit priests, to make first contact with aliens? Even though they have no particular qualifications? And then dragging it out forever? I gave up.
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am utterly wrecked by this book. Disgraced priest Emilio Sandoz returns from an unsuccessful mission to another planet, and his story emerges: a devastating story of faith and science and colonialism and God. I do not regret reading this book, but I need to pull back and reflect for a bit.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I first heard about this from a sci-fi podcast. I’m not quite sure if I would consider it sci-fi, but it did peak my interest listening to the synopsis as described in the podcast. I don’t think I would recommend this book to any hard-core sci-fi readers. However, this does have an interesting spin on a religion and the meaning of the human existence mixed in with space travel. In the end, I didn’t feel like the book really had that much of an interesting story to tell. The book felt like it was more of an opinion on philosophy and what it means to exist in the infinite universe by telling a story of alien first contact. The book left me wanting more. I kept waiting for a big climactic event, but it left me with more of a feeling of disgust. With that being said, I will probably read the next book in the series if I find the time.
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated