Theology can become a distant logical exercise of dry doctrine and easy theoretical conclusions. When it comes down to the wet choices of real life most such theoretical Theology is found wanting as it can offer only limited answers. This is Theology of the other kind, the real one.

Mary Doria Russell has created a highly intelligent story: what would the story of a future saint be? Say, a Jesuit spearheading an exploratory mission to an alien civilization as a linguist of unique abilities; a former outcast that found his true calling as a man of the Cloth and God's face in all the hungry he fed and all the orphans he sheltered and all the lost he bough back from desperation. And then God asked for more. Much more. Is God real or a mere human construct? Can Faith survive anything?

This is one of those books that stays with you for ever. Read THE SPARROW first, CHILDREN OF THE GOD later in order to enjoy them both more.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Overall I found the book to be interesting, though not nearly as much as the first book. Several plot points felt unnecessary, but overall the exploration of Rakhat, and what happened as a consequence of human involvement was intelligent and thoughtfully laid out.

Specific problems with the Kindle edition:
Chapter 16 of my version abruptly ends midway through, and then goes on to the same chapter over again, though the second chapter 16 is complete. I found this strange and aggravating to have to skip through.

In addition, a number of lower case "t"'s are dropped beneath the rest of the text on their lines as well as other odd letter errors appear sporadically throughout the whole of the text. This is the second Kindle book I've downloaded that has had issues of this sort.

Yes, this book has gotten under my skin and into my consciousness, but in a good way. I strongly recommend reading The Sparrow first because this is a true sequel. It can stand on it's own, but the emotional impact of this book is much greater when read immediately following The Sparrow.

In Children of God, Russell follows the characters introduced in The Sparrow. We find out what happened to them and follow some of them into the new story. I won't say too much about the plot because I don't want to risk any spoilers. The surprises and many unexpected turn of events are some of the best parts in these stories. Some reviewers were shocked by the graphic descriptions of pain and suffering. But this is what makes the story so compelling. Russell writes so well that you feel one with the characters, you feel his or her suffering, and you are in pain along with them. But there is also redemption and closure and you don't leave them unhappy.

I fell in love with Russell's writing from the very beginning of The Sparrow. The story line, as it unfolds, gripped me to my soul, with it's unflinching look into the nature of belief and friendship. And the aliens, the new planet, were fascinating. In both books, Russell takes a very anthropological, rather than a science fiction, approach to alien/human experience. She never tries to present these books as science fiction - they are not. She is a doctor of anthropology and has been on a personal spiritual journey. Russell brings all of these things to her books in a way that makes us feel she is opening her soul to her readers.

Most important, these books stay with you. I could not wait to read Children of God after finishing The Sparrow. And now, several months after finishing Children of God, and having read a few more books since, it is still the story of Sanchez and the rest that stays with me, as absent friends I would like to visit with again.

Perhaps I should blame myself; these days, my recreational reading is done before sleeping and in fits and starts. And, after reading the beauty that was The Sparrow, perhaps my hopes were too high. With that said, I found that this book just did not measure up with what was happening in The Sparrow.

First, Russell's timeline was stretch a bit too much this time. The Sparrow worked on the plot at both ends and the end of the book was kinf of the actual middle of the story, where we find out the truth of was happened. In Children of God, there is also the jumping around, but it is more disjointed and in some senses follows three timelines - a literary technique that helps her do some things, but is too confusing, at least for a dummy like me.

Second, there was too much complexity in the plot - ambiguities in the intents of the characters and even too many characters than were warranted. It diffused the themes of the book and made for tough slogging at times; "slogging" is what I should be doing with my text books on Hegel's philosophy, not Russell's clearly capable writing!

Finally, I guess I just don't think she should have resolved things, the questions that were asked in The Sparrow. I know (you have to know the end), they are not totally resolved, but the implicit suggestion is that Emilio can find meaning in his suffering. To be honest, I have the same problem with the book of Job too, but I like the tension and unanswerable questions raised in The Sparrow.

I wish I could rate this better, but this is my humble opinion.

Is it not strange that even though we all have so much in common, including values of compassion and goodwill towards fellow human beings and a sense of pride in our freedom as well as a desire to live together in peace and harmony, yet sometimes circumstances beyond control lead to immense polarization such that an element of suspicion and mistrust creeps in? In times like these one wonders if only we can tear down the walls that hold us all inside and reach out to one another, there would be no reason why we can't all live together in peace...

Like many readers, I found The Sparrow to be one of the most moving and exciting Science Fiction books to come out in recent memory. I almost did not want to read the sequel because I was afraid that it was going to be a disappointment.

While perhaps Children of God is not as original as The Sparrow, it is not (I am relieved to say) a disappointment. It picks up the themes that were explored so well in the first book and develops them in a number of new and satisfying ways. Rakhat is considerably more developed, as is the interspecies conflict between the Runa and the Jana'ata. As in the first book, Russell uses a sure and blessedly light hand to link the events on the two planets to the long-standing moral issues that have concerned humanity.

There are weaknesses in the Children of God that are largely tied to the Earth side of the story. A few of the less necessary characters have the unfortunate feel that they exist simply to move the plot along. Since Russell uses so few cliches in her writing, it unfortunately hits a very sour note on the few occasions where her talent for writing character fails. It did not need stock bad guys or good guys to make it a success. The book also did not need the dramatic 'reward' offered at the end by Isaac and his discovery. The hand of God would have been clear enough in the unfolding events on Rakhat, and additional proof felt unnecessary. Not bad, but unnecessary.

Properly speaking, this book would probably be rated four stars rather than five. However, there are so few writers working with this level of inventiveness. For that reason, and for the strength of the two books taken together, I am rating it as five stars.

Russell continues to grow as a writer in this sequel to The Sparrow. Children of God brings different sets of themes and issues into the milieu of Rakhat. Once again the characters are a strength of the work, and I particularly like the way Russell develops the linguistics angle in her work. The involvement of the Italian underground is far-fetched, and the church politics that were used to justify the return trip and the return of Sandoz to the scene of his humiliation and loss of faith were unnecessarily contrived. But the deft handling of time and the ethical and survival problems that take place on Rakhat are fascinating and engaging. In many ways, Russell is for me like Heinlein--when I think back on their stories I can think of a multitude of things to criticize, but when I am reading their work I enjoy every page. I think this must be a sign that I'm under the spell of an excellent story-teller.

this is not a bad book. however, the sparrow is a great book, and this one does not do it justice. there are some interesting ideas in it, but all in all i would rather have been left at the end of the sparrow than had this addition to the story. the biggest flaw is the way she takes sandoz to rakhat; also, this book doesn't have the moral weight of the sparrow and the resolution is a little too pat.