Children of God

A Novel

By: Mary Doria Russell

Narrated by: Anna Fields

Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

In Children of God, Mary Doria 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 Society 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.

©1999 Mary Doria Russell (P)2008 Random House Audio

Mary Doria Russell slays me

Would you consider the audio edition of Children of God to be better than the print version?

I do not own the print version. The author does a marvelous job of acting-narrating

What other book might you compare Children of God to and why?

Children of God and the Sparrow are incomparable to anything else I've read

Which scene was your favorite?

The relationship scenes between Gina and Sandoz. They seemed so cathartic for Sandoz.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I felt a relationship to the characters that I will miss and will need to go back to as if they are old friends.

Any additional comments?

Mary Doria Russell's breadth of knowledge about religion-philosophy, the premise of the the Jesuits funding extraterrestrial travel, the Pope being from Africa, Sophia Mendes, where do I stop?! My only disappointment is the depiction of the extraterrestrials (can't spell names of species since listened to not read) as beast like. This imagine intelligent beings. Mary Doria Russell's breadth of knowledge about religion-philosophy, the premise of the Jesuits funding extraterrestrial travel, the Pope being from Africa, Sophia Mendes, where do I stop?! My only disappointment is the depiction of the extraterrestrials (can't spell names of species since listened to not read) as beast like. This imagine intelligent beings from outside of our know space to be unimaginable. I think the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind came as close to nailing down what my concept of these beings would appear. I hope we get the author to Writer's On a New England stage so the audience gets to converse with her.

Pardon me if my note is not grammatically perfect. I am just too bowled over and need to write as if speaking. WOW!

Fantastic Sequel to The Sparrow!

What did you love best about Children of God?

If you read and liked The Sparrow, you'll love how the story ends in Children of God. I listened to it all the way through on a road trip and didn't want it to end when we stopped for the night. Highly recommended!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Children of God?

Don't want to give it away, but it was amazing how the "Prime Directive" (in Star Trek terms) applies here. If you make contact with an alien specie, you WILL change them forever.

Have you listened to any of Anna Fields’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't know.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The last scene was pretty good.

Any additional comments?

I started listening to another Sci-Fi book after this one and it made me really appreciate how deep and rich this book really is. A real treasure (along with The Sparrow).

The Holy Roman Church meets the aliens

The conquistadors bring trade and religion to the New World. I thought this was an interesting approach to the science fiction story of first contact.

Good but not as good as first book

I said it all in the heading.
I liked first book better than this one

Worth it

I was a bit off put by some of the last chapters of the first book and hesitated on the second. However, the desire for answers lead me to a purchase. I am glad I did. The story comes full circle; humanness, virtue, conceptual God and reality are well presented. The narrator changes also; which makes the presentation more even. Enjoy the conclusion.

Wonderful sequel

Any additional comments?

This story is wonderful. Its in the top 5 Sci-fi favs. For me these two books are doing so much more than filling pages and time with words. I don't even know if i consider them entertaining. I made friends and wonder fills me when I think on them.

Stunning performance

Anna Fields brought this novel to life flawlessly. the characters themselves were rich and complex. a wonderful follow up to the Sparrow.

Annoying

Not totally the narrator’s fault but there is some moaning and random, cut off sentences that make it annoying to listen to. Also some of the things are pronounced differently between the first and second book.

Excellent Sequel - Completes the Story -Adds Depth

If you read the first one, read this one!

About Audio and Narration: I wish they had used the same narrator for both books. For a book featuring Alien languages, having consistancy in pronunciation in both books would be ideal. it doesn't ruin the book at all, just a minor detail that takes a couple chapters to get used to. Narrator is great but takes some getting used to. Some of her voices and her Spanish accent aren't the greatest. I preferred the way the first narrator did the voice of the main character and the old man character Vince Guiliani over the way Anna Fields performed the same roles. Like I said, not a dealbreaker, but it is a little jarring when you go right from one book to the next.

Notes on the Story: an excellent wrapping up of an epic tale and story arch that is merely hinted at in the first book. The Sparrow is an excellent stand alone sci-fi masterpiece. It doesn't need a sequel. However, after completing this second book, it almost feels like this book needed to be written. This book proves the necessity of its existence in how wonderfully it is written and how well it works to explore ideas and themes merely hinted at in the first book.

Minor Complaints: the whole "romantic" part of the story on Earth as Emilio is recovering from the mental and emotional trauma feels like a strange direction to take the story. It works, but I remember thinking, "what is the point of all of this?" Also, when the 2nd mission to R'Kat finally leaves Earth, I found myself especially wondering why a handful of chapters even bothered with that romantic story line. Once the 2nd mission is underway, I REALLY started to ask, "what was the point of all of that!?"

Last Thought: both of these books are beautiful and amazing. I will be reading more by this author for sure. If you enjoyed the first book, this sequel will add to the wonder of the narrative and will likely lead many readers to feel a sense of closure for Emilio and a satisfaction with how the 3 main species in these books form new bonds.

Even better than The Sparrow

The Sparrow and Children of God are on my all-time favorite book list. I was hooked from day one and didn't want to stop listening for a second. The author does a great job of making you think, regardless of your religious or non-religious beliefs. An unbelievable amount of thought and work went into creating these believable worlds and "alien" races, proving that Russell is an amazing author. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about these books, but if you listen to them one right after another, the narration is a bit weird. The Sparrow was narrated by a somewhat-robotic male and Children of God is narrated by a bit-odd-sounding woman. She pronounces things differently than the first narrator, so it takes a while to get into the new swing. The books are so good that the narration shift didn't even matter.