Review:
Children of God is the sequel to Mary Doria Russell's 1996 The Sparrow, which saw a Jesuit mission to the planet Rakhat end in disaster. The sole survivor of that mission, a priest named Emilio Sandoz, returned a beaten and broken man, having suffered rape and mutilation at the hands of enigmatic aliens. Now the Jesuits want to go back to Rakhat, and they want Sandoz aboard the new mission. But Sandoz has renounced his priesthood and even found a measure of happiness with his new wife and stepdaughter. Meanwhile, on Rakhat, contact with the humans has thrown the local culture into turmoil, precipitating a war between Rakhat's two sentient races. As forces conspire to send Emilio back to Rakhat--and toward a possible reconciliation with God--the planet verges on genocidal destruction. Children of God is a more polished novel than The Sparrow, and the story is equally compelling.
From the Back Cover:
Praise for The Sparrow
"A startling, engrossing and moral work of fiction."
--Colleen McCullough, The New York Times Book Review
"The Sparrow tackles a difficult subject with grace and intelligence."
--Alix Madrigal, San Francisco Chronicle
"Important novels leave deep cracks in our beliefs, our prejudices, and our blinders. The Sparrow is one of them."
--Tom De Haven, Entertainment Weekly
"Out of this world."
--Alan Cheuse, All Things Considered, National Public Radio
"Russell, a first-time novelist, shows herself to be a skillful storyteller who subtly and expertly builds suspense . . . nothing short of a minor miracle."
--Leslie Miller, USA Today
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