I love pleasant surprises, especially when I start off expecting the worst from a book. It's one of those instances when I'm practically begging to be proven wrong.

This came recommended by the Dorothy Dunnett fans, probably the only bunch of people on the planet who understand the obsessive cravings for similar characters/stories. Unfortunately, they're often also quite far off the mark with their recommendations and, in my experience, one can easily be pressed into a book they swore on their grandmother's grave had a lead just like Francis that in reality turns out to be that the only similarity said lead and Francis have in common is being blond and cocky. And to add to the suspicions, Mary Doria Russell is a known Dunnett fan.

This isn't one of those books, thanks be to Father Emilio Sandoz's god. I admit that at the beginning it did look like it'd be no more than a 3-star read, decent but not passion-inspiring. One of those filler books you read to kill a couple or three lazy hours, and then get buried in memory. I do not, as a rule, assign an increasing or decreasing mental rating as the story progresses, so whenever I run by reviews stating something like "It was a 3 star read until page 120, and then..." or "Halfway through, it was 5 stars, and then...", I'd pause to wonder how that was like. Curiosity satisfied at last! Three stars first half, four stars middle of the path, and five stars second half. If I'd framed it as a suspense plot, I'd have identified the long-fuse burn before the powder keg exploded, I should have normally, but this time the merry and carefree and "cute" tone of the prose and the characterisation lured me into not paying too much attention to the story framework. Plus, I'm familiar with the Jesuits, past and present, and believed I'd already figured this was a classic tale of martyrdom. Why, the very history of the Society of Jesus is a tale of martyrs and pioneers, and I have visited their former missions, so I wasn't expecting major shocks of any sort. It was also spelt out in the text. No surprises, right?

I wasn't wrong in guessing the outcome would be tragic, but I definitely was about how it'd unfold towards that end. Oh, and the characterisation. Father Sandoz was a great character, a perfect mix of scholar and man-of-the-street, sceptic and naïve, gifted yet very ordinary. He has a surprising talent for multilinguism, can learn a language by ear in a short space of time, yet is believably not good at everything he puts his hands to, as is usual when writing gifted characters (the dreaded Mary Sue phenomenon). He does screw it up a few times. In general, all the other characters are relatable and likable, though one of them can be irritating because of the author apparently trying too hard to make this character universally likable.

As for the plotline, although it's a Jesuit-filled plot and all the characters are Catholics and one Jew, it's not a religious storyline. Whatever religious overtones one can notice are mostly restricted to Emilio Sandoz and his arc, which makes sense given he's a priest and very spiritual, and to a lesser extent to the other Jesuits. But no, you won't be lectured on divine and ethical matters, you won't be whacked over the head with unsubtle clues on what the right moral for this story should be drawn. That makes this book a good choice for all sorts of readers, including those fed up with preachy novels.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell was Russell’s first novel and was published in 1996. Winning many accolades and several awards, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award, it describes a first contact between humans and an alien race. A group led by Jesuit priests travels to a planet near Alpha Centauri after alien singing is picked up from interspace radio signals.

This is a beautifully written novel with brilliant characterization (really the greatest strength of the novel) that is poignant in its narrative and painfully brutal in its inevitable path towards a tragedy that is interwoven throughout the bittersweet story. Told by alternating timeline perspectives, the reader learns of the action by the protagonist’s bitter memories of the doomed trip and from present tense action of the trip itself. These scenes are painfully alive for the reader who has a theatrical ironic view of what must ultimately come. The look back sections are also difficult to read as the priest struggles with his ability to deal with the psychological damage of the trip and his return.

This really transcends the science fiction genre and is almost more of a psychological or philosophical thriller. The reader will also be led down a theological path of discovery, questions and hard fought resolutions.

An excellent story, masterfully crafted but with an overwhelming sense of tragedy and loss.

One of the best first-contact science fiction books I have ever read. The sequel isn't as good but this one is a must not miss. Absolutely terrific.

Wow. Just wow. This is one of those books I will be thinking about for a long time, I think.

In one sense, this is a first contact story. After catching radio wave singing coming from a different planet, a group is sent to investigate.

But really it's about Faith, in all it's forms. Faith in your chosen path, faith in your friends, faith in god, and keeping that faith, when everything goes askew from the vision...

So in a big sense its about the human condition...how you grow and handle the things life throws at you. In a more religious sense, it's like the modern update of the Book of Job.

Just wow.
The characters are fully formed and individual, and most importantly filled with human frailty. The suspense lingers long afterward, the red flags are subtle enough that the fact that they are missed is realistic.
It did lose a point for me because while it showed SO many things in great detail on the page, some major things were only learned off page. This seemed odd to me after all the intense detail at the beginning.

Rating: 4* of five

Gorgeous book, both physically and in content. I was riveted from first to last, and completely bought into the premise: A privately financed interstellar journey never seemed nore likely than in the world Russell posits is coming from our own era.

Beautiful, beautiful writing! The descriptions of Rukhat are spare and evoked so much for me. The descriptions of Earth's near-enough future were pitch-perfect to my ears as well, though a lot less beautiful in the images they left behind.

The disquieting images of the near future, and the horrible fate of Emilio (the main character), are inextricably linked in my mind with Russell's richly drawn alien culture and its customs. I was frustrated by the subordinate characters' incompleteness, and then the aliens' glancing treatment; but that really points up the good quality of the writing! I wanted more than Russell gave me, of everything she gave me, and it's not very often one gets to say that about a first novel.

This is a story of first contact, quite similar to how it must have been for Columbus or other explorers out to see New Worlds, with little hope of ever returning home.
Even though the story unfolds like a Greek tragedy, and it is clear from the very beginning that something horrible happened, I loved the premise of this book, the humor (Oh. My. Gods! Quotes from Young Frankenstein and The Princess Bride? how could you not love this?), and the writing style. I also genuinely came to care about the characters.
Everything was fine, and I could hardly put the book down, until the end. The "big reveal" was no surprise, indeed a bit of a letdown, and things were just wrapped-up too quickly with no explanation. Note to authors: it's cool to kill off an important character that readers have come to know and love, but give us a chance to grieve rather than just glossing over the death in one sentence.
That's why it gets four stars rather than five. There is a sequel, and I am going to order it, because I am hoping to get some resolution.

n  "I was naked before God and I was raped." n  

I'm trying to remember a book that traumatized me this much and failing. Donna Boyd has cut me deep, Stephen King has given me nightmares, Cheryl Strayed has made me cry - Mary Russell has wrung all of this from me and more. The tension was unbelievable! I am emotionally wrecked, drained.

When this was put up for Science Fiction Aficionados BOM the first thread comments were from those who had previously read it asking themselves if they had the fortitude to read it again. I thought this book couldn't be as hard to read as Cyteen.


This book gave true horror. I close my eyes and I can hear the screams, smell the meat and the thick perfume, and see those pitiless beautiful eyes. Dear God, I don't think I'll ever get over this modern classic. A five star book I will never read again.

4.25 stars

I enjoy First Contact stories and this was a particularly good one. I think my enjoyment of it was increased by reading it soon after Bush Runner: The Adventures of Pierre-Esprit Radisson, about a man who worked (sometimes with, sometimes against) the Jesuits in 17th century French Canada. Since a Jesuit priest, Emilio, is the main character in this novel, the historical context really helped me to appreciate him and his actions.

I found the switching between chapters set on Earth and those set on Rakhat to be very effective. Russell could reveal just enough in one setting to make the reader think they know something and then in the next section show how our assumptions can be dead wrong.

Although I thought that the humans’ easy ability to eat the flora and fauna of Rakhat to be a bit unlikely, I found their confusion and incorrect assumptions about the beings that they encountered to be wholly believable. Despite Emilio’s extreme talent as a linguist and language learner, it is difficult enough for us to understand the cultures of other Earthlings, let alone that of beings on another planet.

It wasn’t until the very last pages of the book that the title became clear to me, but once it came into focus, I appreciated it’s subtlety. A very interesting book and one which I will continue to think about for days to come.

Book number 355 in my Science Fiction and Fantasy reading project.

4.5 stars. Finished this in basically a day and it's a BANGER of a first contact story. I don't have time for a full review now because I have lots of thoughts about this book... But suffice to say, it belongs on your deep backlist TBR. Published in 1996 about 2019-2060, we certainly didn't come close to where the author thought we'd be in terms of space travel, but the exploration of what place spirituality and belief in God has in the face of alien cultures is pretty timeless. The book honestly might be a better analogy for Columbian colonization and the like rather than an authentic depiction of potential extraterrestrial life, but worth the read all the same. And despite the heady ideas, it was the gripping dual-timeline plot and my attachment to the characters that made me devour this story.

More review to come (I hope).

Coming back to add just a few more details... The story follows Taino/Hispanic Jesuit priest/linguist Emilio Sandoz, and his journey to the Alpha Centauri world of Rakhat, which is basically also an analog for his journey of faith. Characterization is truly a strength of this novel, and I got an extra tickle since two of the main supporting characters, older married couple Anne and George Edwards are solid Midwesterners - and yes, I definitely did recognize those values and cultural practices at play in this story. But honestly, all the characters felt fully realized and part of the fun was just watching them interact like total normal humans in completely unprecedented scenarios and settings.

Now that the flush of first read has faded, I can also mention some weaknesses, key among them being the absolute chunderheadedness of the Jesuit priests who receive Sandoz upon his return and somehow...believe the misinterpretation of his story for like, months, instead of recognizing a trauma victim? It's a great dramatic scaffolding for the unfolding of the story, but I think modern Gen Z readers will not be able to relate to this level of social/emotional obtuseness. Also, I felt the alien cultures were just barely brushed on, even though one alien individual is given some perspective sections.

The book definitely stands on its own, but since there's a sequel, my hope is that these weaknesses are addressed and remediated, but we'll see...

Mary Doria Russell's first novel won the Arthur C Clarke Award for Best Novel in 1998. In this first contact story, SETI picks up broadcasts of alien songs from Alpha Centauri, and the Jesuit order sends a starship constructed from a hollowed-out asteroid to the planet Rakhat. Russell drew on her background as a paleoanthropologist to create the two intelligent alien species - the primitive Runa and the more technologically advanced Jana'ata - that live on Rakhat. (The singers picked up by SETI are Jana'ata.) They are very convincing, but I won't say more about them, as that would reveal too much. This is a seriously dark tale, so the reader should be prepared for some traumatic parts.

From the prologue:
"The Society asked leave of no temporal government. It acted on its own principles, with its own assets, on Papal authority. The mission to Rakhat was undertaken not so much secretly as privately — a fine distinction, but one the Society felt no compulsion to explain or justify when the news broke several years later.

The Jesuit scientists went to learn, not to proselytize. They went so that they might come to know nd love God’s other children. They went for the reason Jesuits have always gone to the farthest frontiers of human exploration. They went ad majorem Dei gloriam: for the greater glory of God.

They meant no harm."

Twenty years later, Emilio Sandoz, the sole survivor of the mission, returns to Earth, rescued by a UN mission to Rakhat. The rest of his party (three other Jesuits, a young astronomer, a physician, her engineer husband, and a computer expert) are all dead. Sandoz is ill from anemia and scurvy, and his hands have been destroyed. While the Society waits for him to recover and give an account of the mission, the official account of what happened has been published, and has led to disgrace for the Society of Jesus. Sandoz tells the story of the failed mission in flashbacks, as he is questioned by the Jesuits about what happened. His disturbing account reveals how the crew’s ignorance of what they were dealing with on the alien planet led to disaster.

The novel’s title refers, of course, to the gospel of Matthew ("Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it") which encapsulates the theme of the novel: Sandoz's crisis of faith as he comes to believe that either God doesn’t exist, or he does and is responsible for every part of this mission that went so miraculously right and then so horribly wrong. Russell's exploration of religious faith has an intensity that anyone, religious or not, will find moving.

If called upon to imagine a scenario in which the faith of the devoutly religious is put most severely to the test I would probably think of the Jews in the Nazi death camps. What they experienced and witnessed is almost like science fiction in the unimaginable scope of its horror. Mary Doria Russell chooses the genre of science fiction to dramatize one human being's dark night of the soul and it's certainly the most imaginative account of a spiritual crisis I've ever read.

The Sparrow is about a Jesuit mission to the planet Rakhat. We learn early on that only one member of the crew survives and returns to Earth. This is Emilio who is mutilated and traumatised. The narrative alternates between the voyage and life on Rakhat and the Vatican interrogation of the surviving crew member. A lot of the success of this novel is due to the ingenious structure which cleverly builds tension and the big vivid and vibrant characters. I especially warmed to the two women - the earth mother, Anne and the damaged ice queen, Sofia. Sexual politics plays a big part in the novel's subplot. Sex is depicted as both a pinnacle of rewarded faith in life's beauty and wonder and the most base inhumane means of cruelty.

At times The Sparrow walks a tightrope over an abyss of absurdity but every time I thought the narrative might fall off it regained its balance. The most dangerous moment was when the author opts to take us inside the head of an alien. Earlier she had made fun of Star Trek and how the aliens always speak English. I wasn't entirely convinced taking us inside the head of an alien wasn't a similar kind of act of hubris nor was I convinced we needed this small part of the novel. Otherwise though I was gripped throughout.

Thanks to Candi for her ravishing review.

I don't really know how to describe The Sparrow, nor do I really know how to express how much I enjoyed it.

I originally bought it because it was getting nominated for a lot of awards and many people said it was good science fiction. I didn't know then that it had to do with Jesuits or that it was a first contact story, I just knew it was supposed to be good. Then Sword and Laser had a poll to see what the January, 2015 pick would be and it was up for the title. It had been nominated once before. Both times, I voted for it, but this time, it won.

Then the posts started about how the book was slow. Or how it had too much religion. Or that it wasn't really science fiction.

And I got worried. I'm not usually the literary type. Sure, there have been some literary books I've enjoyed, but generally they just make me feel stupid. I put off reading it for awhile.

I don't actually remember why I started it at first. I have plenty of other books going right now. But I did start it. It may have started a little slow. I was confused as to who these seemingly disparate characters and scenes were, and it took awhile to "click." Maybe if I'd read more about the book in advance, I wouldn't have been as confused at first.

The book takes place during two time periods. The first is about right now/the present. But it's a present where an alien sound has been captured, coming from somewhere in the region of Alpha Centauri. The second time period is about 50 years into the future, where one of the characters, Emilio Sandoz, seems to be utterly broken and on some sort of trial. The book is the telling of what happened to Emilio, how he became so broken, and why he was facing the hearings.

Ostensibly, this is a first contact book. It's very character-driven, and after all of the players are introduced, the story unfolds as either "present day" story-telling of what went on when Earth first received the alien signals or as a "future" story where Sandoz is telling what happened under the guise of the trial. However, Sandoz, a Jesuit priest, has many struggles with faith over the course of the story, so the book could also be a study in faith.

The story really worked because the characters felt so real. I loved every person on the crew that went to visit the aliens. When one of them got hurt or got sick, I felt my own tension rise, wanting to be assured that they would not suffer. Their pain--physical or emotional--was my pain. I actually cried when a character died. In fairness, some of that may be hormones, but I think that a lot of it was love for the character. For reasons I won't go into, Sandoz's struggle has aspects I've seen in my own life, so I suppose the book touched me in a way of faith, too.

I mostly listened to the audiobook of this one, unless I would have to stop listening to the book but still wanted to know what happened next. This happened more as the book progressed, and I found myself reading the Kindle edition in times I couldn't listen. There's an interesting discrepancy between the two editions. I suspect that the audiobook was done after the original/Kindle "printing" of the book, since some sentences were changed (mostly grammatically) and the timeline was slightly different between the two books (the Kindle edition had things happening in 2013ish, the audiobook had things happening in 2016 or so). It was interesting to look at the print and listen to the audio and hear/see the differences.

I was surprised by how much I loved this book. I think the audiobook edition was fantastic, as it let me really sink into the story, be a listener of the discussions between the amazing characters about the aliens. I'm knocking off one star for the sort of slow start, but all in all, I suggest that if you're reading this, that you add The Sparrow to your "to-read" list. I enjoyed it so thoroughly that I didn't even think about the math!