Reviews of The Sparrow
One of 1996’s ten best novels. Entertainment Weekly
Important novels leave deep cracks in our beliefs, our prejudices and our blinders. The Sparrow is one of them. Rating: A. Entertainment Weekly
The soul-searching nature of the story of The Sparrow, combined with Russell’s incredible grasp of narrative structure and control of character development, make this novel an experience not to be missed.― Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Extraordinary… And what about the Jesuits specifically? In so many ways, the author gets us right, in our attitudes, our training, our activities, our spirituality. How she does this, I do not know… An utterly fascinating story, a book that is hard to put down. John W. Padberg, SJ, Jesuit Spirituality
A biography of belief… Russell describes much in the lives of individual Jesuits and the order itself with uncanny accuracy and deep affection. America Magazine
The novel’s prose is exceptionally well-crafted, the characterization exceptionally detailed, the climax exceptionally moving, but it is nevertheless a conscientious science-fiction novel which does not skimp on its careful description of how an interstellar expedition might be mounted. Nor is it in any way a comforting book… Even those who approve of its moral conclusions…will inevitably find much to unsettle them along the route by which those conclusions are attained. The Sparrow is, in essence, a challenging book–which is, in my view, the best kind. Brian Stableford, Interzone Magazine
An extraordinarily tough-minded novel that challenges the very nature of religious belief… Russell has managed to achieve stunning effects with a first novel. Locus
Beautiful, sometimes unsettling, always thought-provoking. Cleveland Plain Dealer
A startling, engrossing, moral work of fiction. Colleen McCullough, New York Times Review of Books
A brilliant first novel. Kirkus Reviews
The Sparrow is out of this world … deeply humanistic science fiction … fascinating narrative suspense … compelling characters … An intelligently constructed first novel that makes us wonder! Alan Cheuse, All Things Considered, National Public Radio
Character and style and theme … all come together seamlessly … an extraordinarily assured grasp of science, and of the things that science cannot tell us: things of the heart.NY Review of Science Fiction
Powerful and ambitious … Tackles a difficult subject with grace and intelligence. San Francisco Chronicle
An ingenious and haunting tale… Even when humans venture into space, Russell reminds us, we will continue to struggle with questions of God, the difficulties and ambiguities of human relationships and the hubris that casts the Other into the outer darkness. Commonweal
An unusual kind of speculative fiction, challenging the heart even more than the mind … harrowing and strangely beautiful.― Christian Science Monitor
A fast-paced yet thought-provoking book that will linger in the reader’s mind weeks and months later. Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction