Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
slow-paced
Moments of absolute joy and moments of "oh god, no." That's the only way I can describe this book. I was ready to give it at least three stars, but then those final pages just did me in. This book may live with me forever, but not in a good way.
This knocked my socks off when I first read it. I have not gone back to re-read because it's seared in my mind, but this deserves the awards it won/was nominated for.
I read this book back in 2003 but want to honor it here. Sending people to a newly discovered plant. Beautiful. Powerful. All about God.
Halfway through this book I was sure it would be a 4/5 star read for me. At the end though, the other priest's (and the world's?) belief that Sandoz had prostituted himself to a bunch of aliens seemed... Pretty silly. I was never able to take that bit of the conflict seriously, and so the last 100 pages and the "revelation" that it had been rape really dampened my enjoyment.
I'm still going to read the sequel, and all the theology and human stuff was still pretty cool.
I'm still going to read the sequel, and all the theology and human stuff was still pretty cool.
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Very well written and I really liked the characters. But, (and this isn't a spoiler since you know this within the first page or two), all the main characters die and the only one who doesn't die is damaged seemingly beyond repair. I just couldn't finish it.
Although Sr. Ilia Delia loved and recommended Russell's books, I've tried two and guess I'm just not that into Science Fiction. it was interesting but just didn't grab me and so I finally gave up on it, before actually reading the entire book. That's something I give myself permission to do after giving a book a genuine try.
I think if you like sci. Fi, you should give the book a try though. I like some Sci. Fi, but also am not a fan of the genre overall, so think that was my main obstacle here.
I think if you like sci. Fi, you should give the book a try though. I like some Sci. Fi, but also am not a fan of the genre overall, so think that was my main obstacle here.
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced