Book of the Month:
“The Sparrow” by Mary Doria Russell
Hi all,
We’re going to stick with theology in science fiction again for February’s selection. Where “Canticle for Leibowitz” focuses on life after the apocalypse, “The Sparrow” is based in contemporary society (set in Puerto Rico in 2019!). First published in 1996, I’m curious to see how the author extrapolates on technology and what our society looked like waaaaay back at the end of the 20th century.
In “The Sparrow”, Jesuits receive confirmation of extra-terrestrial life and plan a mission off-planet to investigate. “What [they] find is a world so beyond comprehension that it will lead them to question what it means to be human.” (Goodreads)
I’m also looking forward to launching back to space to seeing how Mary Doria Russell integrates religion into a genre that we’ve previously explored. For those of you who read “Canticle”, you may recognize Russell’s name as the author of the forward to last month’s book!
We will be sticking with this theme for at least one more month. If you have any good leads on interesting uses of religion in sci-fi, please message Jon Nutting about it. We’re working to put together a shortlist and would love your input!
