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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
I forget how I came across The Sparrow, and am surprised I didn't find it sooner as the elements are right up my alley - science fiction with a good touch of religion mixed in.
The story is told in both present and as flashbacks, gradually progressing until both threads converge. It took me a while to settle into this structure, and I was reminded why it can be so annoying - you know the outcomes for certain characters but not the reasons, so you're filled with dread anticipating the Horrible Events.
Still, I like the added layer that Sandoz and the other Jesuits add to the story, and I wish that I could have enjoyed the rest of the Stella Maris crew without wondering if the next time I turned the page was the time Something Happened.
I forget how I came across The Sparrow, and am surprised I didn't find it sooner as the elements are right up my alley - science fiction with a good touch of religion mixed in.
The story is told in both present and as flashbacks, gradually progressing until both threads converge. It took me a while to settle into this structure, and I was reminded why it can be so annoying - you know the outcomes for certain characters but not the reasons, so you're filled with dread anticipating the Horrible Events.
Still, I like the added layer that Sandoz and the other Jesuits add to the story, and I wish that I could have enjoyed the rest of the Stella Maris crew without wondering if the next time I turned the page was the time Something Happened.
3.75 stars? read this because i stumbled upon a random forum post that was like, 'my favorite books of all time are Small Angry Planet, Goblin Emperor, and The Sparrow,' and i was like 'same on two of those!' so it immediately got added to the list. i see the connection (in the genre fiction character deep dive way), i don't know that I would put this so high. enjoyed reading it, took a while for it to get started i think, the sci fi was So Nineties, it was very cute, the aliens and the linguistics and the culture of the aliens, GREAT, the ending was........well i mean.
i know it was building up to a tragedy but the ending was.. rushed? glossed over? completely expected based on flashbacks? i mean. the two similar species of aliens, and the reveal of their interacting cultures, great, the like torture porn at the end.. why. really put a damper on the whole rest of the book is what im saying.
i know it was building up to a tragedy but the ending was.. rushed? glossed over? completely expected based on flashbacks? i mean. the two similar species of aliens, and the reveal of their interacting cultures, great, the like torture porn at the end.. why. really put a damper on the whole rest of the book is what im saying.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A very upsetting novel about Jesuit priests and friends who journey to an exoplanet in the Alpha Centauri system to make first contact with aliens there. Things do not end up well. The details of what happened to the humans on the alien planet are hinted at through the first 3/4th of the book and when the truth is revealed it is brutal.
The ideas explored here have more to do with social science, psychology, and religion than science and technology, though there are also interesting technical concepts included. I found myself impatient with the characters, partly because of the dialogue which at times seemed a little too precious and partly because the big choices they made, especially related to landing on the planet in the first place, did not make sense to me. It seems to me that some of the trouble they encountered could have been avoided if only they had sat in orbit around the planet for a number of years studying it and its flora, fauna, and sentient species.
This is a first novel and at times reads like it. Russell has a mastery of craft, tension building and suspense, but the novel was missing a little polish here and there. I was somewhat put off by the 100 pages or so of very slow character building. The book seemed too long as a result of a great deal of setup but also because of the way the tension was relentless: a reader just knows something awful is going to happen, but has to wait until the very end of the novel to arrive at that moment.
The power of this book is that this is thought-provoking whether or not you are religious. The religious characters must ask big questions in the book, and the potential answers are often horrifying, even if their God exists.
The ideas explored here have more to do with social science, psychology, and religion than science and technology, though there are also interesting technical concepts included. I found myself impatient with the characters, partly because of the dialogue which at times seemed a little too precious and partly because the big choices they made, especially related to landing on the planet in the first place, did not make sense to me. It seems to me that some of the trouble they encountered could have been avoided if only they had sat in orbit around the planet for a number of years studying it and its flora, fauna, and sentient species.
This is a first novel and at times reads like it. Russell has a mastery of craft, tension building and suspense, but the novel was missing a little polish here and there. I was somewhat put off by the 100 pages or so of very slow character building. The book seemed too long as a result of a great deal of setup but also because of the way the tension was relentless: a reader just knows something awful is going to happen, but has to wait until the very end of the novel to arrive at that moment.
The power of this book is that this is thought-provoking whether or not you are religious. The religious characters must ask big questions in the book, and the potential answers are often horrifying, even if their God exists.
An anthropological masterpiece of speculative fiction, exploring simultaneously the careful calculations of space travel and intricacies of linguistics, but also the overarching themes of what it means to commit wholeheartedly to science and religion, non-exclusively.
