The Sparrow (Paperback)

The story follows close the journey of Father Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit with a facility for language, and an emptiness in his soul. Set in the near future when near-earth space travel has become if not commonplace at least not unusual, the SETI listening post near Father Emilio's parish post discovers a signal from the nearby star system.

While nations debate and plan an exploratory trip, the Jesuit order (well known historically for missionary work) get their own trip underway, with a crew of Jesuits and laypersons each with differing expertise (one in musicology, as the transmission seem musical; and so forth). They arrive on a planet (Rakhat) with two dominant species (the Runa and the Jana'ata), and an intricate society dependent upon certain inter-species realities that the human visitors come to find unethical (yet not really basing this judgment on more than cursory research and observation).

Russell presents this as an adventure and a tragedy; as members of the expedition die off one by one for various causes, Father Emilio is left alone and injured and ill-used by those he came to embrace as friends. A second expedition arrives from earth and rescues Father Emilio; the whole tale is told in the manner of flashback while the Jesuits investigate what went wrong. Thus, there are two narrative lines running simultaneously--the unfolding story on Rakhat, and the unfolding trauma and resolution of Father Emilio.

Russell, raised a catholic yet a convert to Judaism, writes with sensitivity and realism about the Jesuit order, the church, and about the will of God in general. According to Russell, 'When you convert to Judaism in a post-Holocaust world, you know two things for sure: one is that being Jewish can get you killed; the other is that God won't rescue you. That was the theology I was dealing with at the time.'

This is a glimpse into human nature as well as a good science fiction story; many of Russell's situations will be unnerving, and the conclusion very disturbing. Yet, I feel there is something dishonest about the 'everything-works-out-in-the-end-for-everyone' kind of science fiction which is our usual lot today; this book doesn't end on hopelessness, but there is a good dose of reality here, and this honest makes the story all the more credible.

The effect of science, first contact and exploration on the religious mind and attitude is not explored enough in science fiction (or other fiction for that matter). What are the tests of faith? What will it mean to encounter societies that are both ecologically balanced and culturally advanced in ways we cannot imagine?

There was one reviewer who criticised the book for the huge impact a small group had on a larger population must not have read his history. Think of the Conquistadores in Mexico. Think of the Portugese in Japan. Think of the British in Ireland! It doesn't take much for a more technologically advanced and ideologically cohesive to make major inroads into a small and widely scattered population. Things were very different when the explorers reached the real top of the food chain!

As for the quibble of the Vatican making great strides in putting together a space exploration crew in 60 years: We went from the flight at Kitty Hawk to the Moon landing in about the same period of time. Such criticisms show that the reviewer did not understand the real heart of the book.

I thought the book (and its sequel) so well done that I both look forward to and dread the coming movie adaptation. And cannot help but wonder how the "Church" will react to it. It should be interesting! And that's what's most important in a book. This is a book to expand your thoughts --science fiction fan, religious fiction fan or just plain fan of good fiction!