Children of God

First contact with (suspiciously anthropomorphic) extraterrestrials gives Russell a large canvas on which to continue her earnest exploration, begun in THE SPARROW, of theological and sociological questions. But this is a true novel, not a camouflaged essay, that gives the oral interpreter much to chew on. Its demands are like those of a large romance: numerous characters (not all human), exotic locales and multiple story lines. A female reader for a story dominated by male characters seems counterintuitive, but one gets used to it. Field is not a performer of the first rank; one can find minor flaws in her performance. But she has a firm, mature voice and makes this long, challenging text listenable. J.N. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine

March 2, 1998
Russell follows her speculative first novel, The Sparrow, with a sequel that will please even readers new to her interplanetary missionaries. Having returned from a disastrous, 21st-century expedition to the planet Rakhat, Jesuit Father Emilio Sandoz, the sole survivor of the mission, faces public rage over the order's part in the war between the gentle Runa and the predatory Jana'ata--fury more than matched by the priest's own self-hatred and religious disillusionment. In the sequel, he is forced to return to Rakhat with a new expedition more interested in profits than prophets. When they discover the planet in turmoil and the Runa precariously in power, the temptation to interfere is more than they can withstand. As in her first book, Russell uses the entertaining plot to explore sociological, spiritual, religious, scientific and historical questions. Misunderstandings between cultures and people are at the heart of her story. It is, however, the complex figure of Father Sandoz around which a diverse interplanetary cast orbits, and it is the intelligent, emotional and very personal feud between Father Sandoz and his God that provides energy for both books. 50,000 first printing; BOMC selection; audio rights to Random House Audio; author tour.