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Mary Doria Russell's debut novel, The Sparrow, took us on a journey to a distant planet and into the center of the human soul. A critically acclaimed bestseller, The Sparrow was chosen as one of Entertainment Weekly's Ten Best Books of the Year, a finalist for the Book-of-the-Month Club's First Fiction Prize and the winner of the James M. Tiptree Memorial Award. Now, in Children of God, Russell further establishes herself as one of the most innovative, entertaining and philosophically provocative novelists writing today. The only member of the original mission to the planet Rakhat to return to Earth, Father Emilio Sandoz has barely begun to recover from his ordeal when the So-ciety of Jesus calls upon him for help in preparing for another mission to Alpha Centauri. Despite his objections and fear, he cannot escape his past or the future. Old friends, new discoveries and difficult questions await Emilio as he struggles for inner peace and understanding in a moral universe whose boundaries now extend beyond the solar system and whose future lies with children born in a faraway place. Strikingly original, richly plotted, replete with memorable characters and filled with humanity and humor, Chil-dren of God is an unforgettable and uplifting novel that is a potent successor to The Sparrow and a startlingly imaginative adventure for newcomers to Mary Doria Russell's special literary magic. From the Hardcover edition.… (more)
User reviews
In [Children of God], the remaining priest from the first mission Emilio Sandoz is asked to return to Rakhat on another mission. The story alternates between how he comes to be on the mission there, what has happened on the planet since he left, and what happens once he returns.
I found this book perhaps even better than [The Sparrow]. I don’t read a lot of SF, but I thought she did an excellent job of world building in both books; names, relationships, plants, tools, languages, rules of society, etc create a believable place and I was invested in the story. At the same time, this book delves more deeply into the moral and ethical questions of inhabiting and changing an existing people. And I saw many parallels in how the questions raised could be applied every day.
For those of you who liked [Doc] or [Epitaph], and for those of you who like SF, I highly recommend this series of books.
recommended for: every reader who has read the author’s The Sparrow but none who have not
I am so glad that Mary Doria Russell continued with the story from The Sparrow. I was so happy to see some of the characters from that book in this one. It’s my favorite kind of
This is a fascinating study of human and other sentient being psychology and cultural and social anthropology, which is how I saw it what with my predilections, and because my personal philosophy differs from many of these characters and from most people, I did not see it as a story about G-d or religion. I do like that the author has converted to Judaism and I do like the references to Judaism in the book, a lot. It was particularly moving to read about this subject when the events are taking place on another planet with humans and two sentient species native to the foreign planet.
She writes very interesting characters although in this book I felt as though the plot got bogged down at a few points and it took me some time to warm up to many of the new characters. I felt impatient occasionally which did not happen with The Sparrow. I also feel outrage that (unless I missed it?) a certain character did not tell another something that would have been of great solace to him and that also would have also been better for the story, I think.
This book could work as a stand alone book but I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who hasn’t read The Sparrow. I don’t think this book is as well crafted as The Sparrow but I can’t conceive of reading The Sparrow without finding how this story continues and what happens with the characters and their descendents. I now think of these two as one book.
As a vegan both these two Mary Doria Russell books gave me much “food for thought” and I think that was even more so with Children of God than it was with The Sparrow.
If I wasn’t reading this as a continuation of The Sparrow it would have probably received only 3 and maybe only 2 stars from me.
This was a powerful and well-written story of alien contact, religion, betrayal, love and a heap of other things besides, and quite different
It threatens to be all these things and yet it isn't; although the metaphors are certainly there they aren't central to the story. The two similar-but-not-identical species of aliens are anthropomorphic in many ways and yet also truly alien in subtle but telling ways. The moral message is mixed if it exists at all, and there's a lot of tragedy which is not necessarily redemptive nor an inevitable consequence of character flaw.
A good read, and a thought-provoking one.
It was a satisfying read and a good conclusion, I would recommend it easily and consider it a keeper, but the Sparrow held more power for me.
In the second book, we follow Sandoz’s struggle to achieve a Godless but satisfactory life on Earth, the consequences of his unwillingness to return for a second mission to the alien planet, as well as the tragic effects of the first mission on the two sentient races they left behind.
It is difficult to talk about this book without revealing the previous book’s storyline and ending, and it’s even more difficult to discuss this book’s story without giving away the salient points and ruining the reading experience.
I can, however, talk about Russell’s writing and my reaction to Children of God. Most sequels, as a rule, have disappointed me, especially if I liked the first book. It’s not the case, here. If anything, Children of God is more complex, better written, more intense than the first. So intense, in fact, that I had to set aside the book several times to center myself, find a measure of calm, digest the underlying meanings of apparently simple dialogue or character’s thoughts.
Here, Emilio Sandoz again takes center stage, but only in half of the story. He is the one we know, the one we’ve suffered with. But there are others, now: the two races of the alien planet with, in each of them, unique individuals who care passionately for life, and sometimes for just their way of life. Sandoz’s and their lives are presented to us in an intricate web of events that left me in awe about its complexity and breadth. Again, the story is about the quest of the divine, of the existence of God, of his repudiation, of God’s goals towards his children. But it is not a book about religion. It does not preach. It asks more questions than it answers, leaving us with searching our own souls for the divine.
Children of God, however, is not a story in itself, and it may be its only fault. I would have found it difficult, if not impossible, to read it without having read The Sparrow. It would also have been my loss. They are not two books, two stories, but one, split in two, even though they are pretty much indivisible. The story culminates, in all its horror, but there’s also a message in its ending. Whatever happens, in our small, short lives, it is possible to find peace.
On Rakhat Sofia has lead her Runa revolution against the Jana‘ata, she has had her and Jimmy‘s son Isaac. Isaac is autistic. At the end of the book Isaac tells Sandoz, “It’s God’s music. You came here so I would find it.” That it was for Isaac’s music, that is based on the DNA of humans, Runa and Jana’ata played together that you originally came to Rakhat.
Vincenzo Giuliani the Father General of the Society of Jesus is having a conversation with Daniel Iron Horse who will be the Jesuit in charge of the second mission .
“The Pope believes Sandoz must return to Rakhat to learn why he was sent there in the first place. He believes Sandoz is beloved of God.”
Danny pursed his lips judiciously. “Like Saint Theresa said: If that’s how God treats his friends, it’s no wonder He’s got so few of them… Sandoz is medically fragile, emotionally unstable and mentally unreliable. This mission doesn’t require him and I don’t want him on it.”
“He is the toughest man I’ve ever known, Danny. If you had seen what he was like a year ago, even a few months ago…. He will be on that ship, Father Iron Horse. Causa finita. The matter is closed.”
…”Taking Sandoz back to Rakhat is the price of getting the Supression lifted, isn’t it. All we have to do is humor the Pope! Put one poor, old, broken- down ex-Jeb on the next ship out, and win, lose or draw-- the prodigals shall be welcomed back to the bosom of Peter, with Vatican bells ringing and a glory of angels shouting hosannah.”
Having said that, the ending was god-awful - pun intended. It was cheap, not internally consistent (Isaac's music is Deus ex Machina of the worst kind), and morally shocking in all the wrong ways. And the trouble is, I can't even choose to read it a different way anymore: Mary Doria Russell seems to be advocating a moral absolutism that I just cannot deal with. On top of that the strong environmental message of The Sparrow is turned on its head here, with the Runa overrunning the planet with a rapid population increase driven by agriculture, having committed an almost unquestioned genocide against the Jana'ata under Sophia's leadership, and the only questioning of whether this is any way a good thing happens in two lines uttered by one of the supporting cast. The humans end up imposing their values and to a great extent their religion on both Runa and Jana'ata, and everyone who survives seems to live happily ever after.
Let's just say I'm unimpressed.
The book is amazing. It delves into
[SPOILER ALERT!]
However, it's much easier to write a really good book about someone losing their faith, and much harder to write a really good book about someone regaining their faith, especially after such a hard shock as Emilio's. The events that lead to Emilio's renewed relationship with God are very credible and very creative. Somehow, though, I found the end of the book somewhat unsatisfying, maybe because I felt it ended rather suddenly.
• Sequel to the enjoyable Children of God so worth a read to find out what happens next. But…
MINUS -
• Not as gripping as Children of God
• A bit too much emphasis on the politics and history of Rakhat which was rather difficult to follow at times.
• The newer characters, introduced
The question of Sandoz and what he'll do is resolved with the rest of his life is resolved in short order. With this taken care of and presented with over 350 pages of, "so, what do we do now?" we're given something that resembles a nighttime soap opera in space. Kidnappings! Characters back from the dead! Bad guys turning good! Mafia! Political upheavals! Nearly magical children! Endings with pretty bows. Ugh. For as subtle as the first book was, this just felt like being pummeled with 2x4's with occasional interludes of made-up political histories that I was supposed to care about with a side of religious philosophy so I could feel like this book was important with air quotes.