Children Of God - Softcover

The abridged audio version of Mary Doria Russell's sequel to The Sparrow is read by actor Stephen Lang, of Last Exit to Brooklyn fame, whose deep, dramatic voice perfectly suits this tale full of loss and redemption, despair, and hope. Children of God continues the story of Father Emilio Sandoz, the Jesuit priest whose faith was brutally tested when he was maimed and raped, and witnessed the deaths of his friends on the faraway planet of Rakhat. Sandoz has begun the long, slow work of healing body and soul, finding some measure of happiness in his new life. He finds himself an unwilling member of a second mission to Rakhat, where survivor Sophia Mendez struggles to live in a world torn by genocidal strife between the Runa and Jana'ata. Children of God is a respectable sequel to a brilliant first novel, one that brings back and further develops beloved characters, and adds depth to an already thoroughly realized world. Lang perfectly captures each character, using flawless accents and a broad range of emotion to bring a new immediacy to the story. (Running time: five hours, four cassettes) --Therese Littleton

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.