The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell

On December 7, 2059, Emilio Sandoz was realeased from the isolation ward of Salvator Mundi Hospital in the middle of the night and transported in a bread van to the Jesuit Residence at Number 5 Borgo Santo Spirito, a few minutes' walk across St. Peter's Square from the Vatican. 



This was a very interesting work of science fiction. It is definitely science fiction (it's about a group of people who travel to another planet), but it also feels realistic. For one, it is set in the near future on Earth, and the world hasn't changed all that much, except that a new planet has been discovered. The book starts in December 2059, when Emilio Sandoz comes back the only survivor from the mission to Rakhat. There are flashbacks to when the expedition started and the people in the expedition met, from 2014. That's only a couple years ahead of now! Though it may not say anything necessarily about the quality of the book, I would like to mention that it does have a beautiful cover and I really liked the feel of the book in hand. Both editions have a pretty cover, so I've included both. The story was engaging as well, and it was interesting how religion was integrated into the science fiction genre of the book; one of the first like it that I've read.

Read The Sparrow:

• if you like science fiction
• if you are interested in religion

405 pages.

Very Good! I would recommend this book!