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Title: Children of God (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
ISBN: 044900483X
Author:
Mary Doria Russell
Publicate Date: 1999-02-02
Publish: 1999-02-02
List Price: $14.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.52
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $1.59
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.17
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| Customer Review: |
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1: A HIGHLY INTELLIGENT TREATISE ON PERSONAL THEOLOGY - A TRUE CLASSIC
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!
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2: Children of God - Kindle Edition
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.
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3: got under my skin
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.
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4: children of god
This book, the second in a series, is a compelling and fierce read. I can't wait for my father in law to finish it so that I can talk about it with someone.
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5: Compelling and Original
This is an amazing story, and so unique. The language the author uses is surprising and somehow perfect. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys literature for the sake of beautiful story-telling and the power of words.
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