I’ve already written about The Sparrow and how much I enjoyed that book even though it wasn’t my typical reading genre. Children of God is the sequel and picks up where The Sparrow left off with Emilio Sanchez recovering at the Society of Jesuits compound from his experience on the planet Rakhart. Since that time other groups from earth have journeyed to Rakhart to make contact with the inhabitants and Emilio is the only one who has made it back.
While Emilio tries to regroup and put back together a life for himself the Jesuits put together another party to go. They have Emilio contract to work with this party on language and culture of the species that he met on Rakhart to better prepare them. And in the end he ends up joining the group and facing the events of his past.
When they arrive on the planet they have a big surprise in how things have changed in the years since Emilio was last there. A revolution had taken place with the whole structure of society changing dramatically so that the ruling elite are almost extinct. Emilio is able to take this information and interpret it in ways that impact his faith and moral understanding of what has happened in his life and why.
This book did not quite meet the standards set by The Sparrow, which is one of my favorite books. Yet Mary Doria Russell does some things very well and I again appreciated the care and skill that she put into character development. Each character is very believable and I enjoy them individually and their relationships with each other. I also like the way that she explores issues of faith, which is again a central focus in this book.
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