Reviews

Children of God by Mary Doria Russell

rsoccer70's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Children of God. I picked up this 2nd book in the series immediated after I finished "The Sparrow." I loved the characters and the alien world, so wanted to learn more of their stories. Unfortunately this 2nd book held very little of what I most appreciated about "The Sparrow." The story-telling with multiple time lines was hard to follow. I also had a tough time keeping track of what was going on politically w/ the two alien species. While some of the humans were endearing-most were hard to handle. The hardest thing to handle was that the audiobook narrator was different then for The Sparrow" and this was a shame as I really liked the one for "The Sparrow" and I couldn't stand the voice for this one!

ettuladyblue's review against another edition

5.0

I think I have a new favorite duology. It's sci-fi for agnostic linguists with a huge dose of extraterrestrial anthropology. The multiple viewpoints give such a compelling human angle, these characters feel like they actually have lives beyond the page. The tragedy of cultural miscommunication and the grace of true understanding...*chef's kiss*
Trust me when I also say it's incredibly tragic and sad and if not uplifting, hopeful. Plus, space kangaroos. Devoured both of these and plan to buy my own copies soon.

erafal's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

katelucien's review against another edition

4.0

Not as good as The Sparrow, but still a pretty satisfying sequel.

holly_keimig's review against another edition

5.0

Amazing follow up to The Sparrow. This book provides closure but still raises questions of morals and religion with an exciting storyline. I highly recommend both of these books! :)

katemayj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

hmmclean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

lcolium's review against another edition

2.0

I LOVED the Sparrow, and I could not get through Children of God! I gave up about 60% of the way through because there are too many books in the world for me to spend time on one I am not enjoying. I just found it to be way too terse.

Also, I am definitely counting this as a book I've read because I made it more than halfway through and put a LOT of effort into it.

emiliosandoz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

considering the length of my review for the first book in the series and my love for the series as a whole, i feel like this review should be longer, but i don't have anything else to say at the moment. that will no doubt change, but for now: my g-d that was good.

sweatyback's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5