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jzkannel 's review for:
The Sparrow
by Mary Doria Russell
Wow, this book was a roller coaster. I feel like I can't really say too much about the specific plot without lots of spoilers, but there were many elements of this book that I really liked. The plot was told in a really interesting manner, jumping from the beginning to the end in a way that was a little bit confusing, but not too much to throw me off and enough to keep me guessing. Most of the characters were developed really well (with the exception of two that felt like they were thrown in) and the dynamics between them as they, uh, did the thing they did (still can't spoil anything) made for fun interplay. The world building was really well done, and it is clear that a lot of thought was put into logical conclusions of different events. The two chronological tellings of the story did a good job creating a mystery that made me want to keep reading and slowly revealing more and more of it until it reached a harrowing conclusion. Four stars only because I found it hard to follow at some points, and I didn't really understand the need for all of the different priests during the 2060 parts. I hear there's a second book, but it's probably just in the same world because this book does a really good job as a standalone novel. I'll definitely check it out though.