Russell, Mary Doria. Children of God

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.
Awards
1999 Hugo Award for Best Novel nominee
1999 British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel nominee
1998 Nebula Award for Best Novel nominee (preliminary ballot)
1999 Locus Poll Award for Best SF Novel (7th place)
1998 James Tiptree, Jr. Award for Best Gender-bending SF (preliminary ballot)

Name Emilio Sandoz Gender Male
Age 40s Occupation Linguist
Attributes Ex-Jesuit Ex-priest

Name Sophia Mendes Gender Female
Attributes Mother Survivor, remains with the Runa

Genre Science fiction Religious Literary
Topics Emotional healing Scientific exploration Space expeditions Alien contact Alien cultures Spirituality Redemption Faith Forgiveness
Setting Naples, Italy Rakhat (Planet) Alpha Centauri Outer space Planet
Time Period Future
Series Sequel to The Sparrow

Library Journal
Believing himself the sole survivor of a disastrous Jesuit mission to the planet Rakhat, Emilio Sandoz struggles to repair his broken body and ravaged spirit. Fate--or God's will--takes a hand in his life, however, demanding more from a man who has already given his all. Firmly grounded in science yet informed and illuminated by an inherent spirituality, this sequel to Russell's highly praised The Sparrow (Villard, 1996) examines the problem of faith under fire with insight and clarity. Powerful prose and memorable characters make this a prime purchase for all sf and speculative fiction collections.

Publishers Weekly
Russell follows her speculative first novel, The Sparrow, with a sequel that will please even readers new to her interplanetary missionaries. Having returned from a disastrous, 21st-century expedition to the planet Rakhat, Jesuit Father Emilio Sandoz, the sole survivor of the mission, faces public rage over the order's part in the war between the gentle Runa and the predatory Jana'ata--fury more than matched by the priest's own self-hatred and religious disillusionment. In the sequel, he is forced to return to Rakhat with a new expedition more interested in profits than prophets. When they discover the planet in turmoil and the Runa precariously in power, the temptation to interfere is more than they can withstand. As in her first book, Russell uses the entertaining plot to explore sociological, spiritual, religious, scientific and historical questions. Misunderstandings between cultures and people are at the heart of her story. It is, however, the complex figure of Father Sandoz around which a diverse interplanetary cast orbits, and it is the intelligent, emotional and very personal feud between Father Sandoz and his God that provides energy for both books. 50,000 first printing; BOMC selection; audio rights to Random House Audio; author tour.

From Booklist, Mar. 1998
The hero of Russell's acclaimed first novel The Sparrow (1996), Father Emilio Sandoz, eventually recovers enough from his mauling on the planet Rakhat to have both the Jesuit father general and the pope pressuring him to return. So he quits the Jesuits. The father general then enlists his nephew, a high-ranking member of the Camorra (the Neapolitan Mafia), as a further persuader: Sandoz returns to Rakhat. Meanwhile, things on Rakhat are changing because Sandoz's erstwhile ruling-caste torturer has risen to power and some of the servant (and cattle) caste have been rebelliously influenced by the sole member of Sandoz's original party still on Rakhat. Russell offers plenty of plot, fascinating secondary characters, and the religious, cultural, and linguistic imagination that distinguished The Sparrow, but she lacks the literary skill to make first-rate fiction. She rises quite high when describing the growing love between Sandoz and the abandoned wife of the man who will shanghai him back into space, but she cannot bring much life to Rakhat and its kangaroo-like people. Maybe less is more in serious science fiction; Stanislaw Lem's much shorter Eden (1989) shows how good--indeed, superb--a novel about a first-contact predicament like that in Russell's books can be. (Reviewed January 1 & 15, 1998)Ray Olson.