The Confluence of Events

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The book is set in what for us is like the immediate future, but what for Russell in 1996 would have been like 20 years from then? Sounds reasonable. So it's set partially in 2019, partially in 2060. But in 2019, Milio Sandos and a group of his friends who are, you know, they are, they come from all walks of life. They hear this transmission from another planet and determines that there must be sentient life living on that planet.

We're back to sci-fi this week, but we take a break from the politics-heavy universe of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow instead uses science fiction to discuss anthropology, colonialism, and theology. There's some genuinely funny and warm stuff in this book, but there's a shadow hanging over the proceedings from the outset: eight people set out to explore the first known alien planet inhabited by sentient life, but only one comes back, and he's much worse for the wear.

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