The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell · 1996
Jesuits mount a mission to make first contact with an alien civilization. It goes horribly wrong. Russell's 1996 debut is a novel about faith, beauty, and suffering that earns its devastating final act without flinching.
The case against
Russell runs two timelines toward a catastrophe she keeps flagging, so the long happy stretch (the witty, found-family banter of the crew, pitched at sitcom warmth) reads as a countdown to the horror the book keeps promising. When the violation finally lands, it can feel engineered for maximum shock rather than discovered. The theology is delivered with a heavier hand than the suffering needs.
Science Fiction & Fantasy · the Pro canon
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