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The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell -- Jesuits in Space!
Rarely have I encountered a book so schizophrenic in quality. Its highs are very high, and its lows border on sub-professional. The novel, published in 1996, concerns a mid-21st-century Jesuit space mission to make first contact with an intelligent alien species and how this goes horribly wrong: no spoiler--we know from the get-go that the ending is not rosy. The premise is outstanding and kept me reading for the whole book despite some considerable disappointments.
( The Good Bits and the Not Really Good with Light Spoilers )
All in all, I do recommend the book to fans of sociological science fiction with a religious twist with some tolerance for ham-handed characterization.
Rarely have I encountered a book so schizophrenic in quality. Its highs are very high, and its lows border on sub-professional. The novel, published in 1996, concerns a mid-21st-century Jesuit space mission to make first contact with an intelligent alien species and how this goes horribly wrong: no spoiler--we know from the get-go that the ending is not rosy. The premise is outstanding and kept me reading for the whole book despite some considerable disappointments.
( The Good Bits and the Not Really Good with Light Spoilers )
All in all, I do recommend the book to fans of sociological science fiction with a religious twist with some tolerance for ham-handed characterization.
