Now that everyone's had time to read it, it's time to talk about The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell in detail. Did we like the book? Were the characters compelling? Did the end work for us? Was it an effective alegorical exploration of the Columbian contact with the Americas? And why are the answers to all these questions "no"?
This book featured a lot of graphic imagery, so be aware we have in-depth discussions of rape, torture, and isolation in this episode.
If you'd like to skip the discussion of the plot and jump right to our deeper discussion of the themes, then jump from about 15:05 to 52:40. We wanted folks who haven't read the book recently, or don't intend to read it, to be able to understand the plot and enjoy the rest of the episode, but not everyone will want a recounting of the novel they just read.
During the course of the novel we mentioned a few articles, videos, and books, including:
Next week we'll be discussing Arthur C. Clarke's short story "The Star" (pdf) in the context of The Sparrow to compare and contrast them.
As always, we'd love to hear from you! Tweet us at @spectologypod, submit the episode at r/printSF, or email us at spectologypod@gmail.com with your thoughts about the book.
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Things We Like October 2019: Video Games, LARPS, and Music
19.1: Zone One pre-read: Zombies, Horror, and LitFic
18.2: Waste Tide post-read: social class in science fiction, translation, and the problems with cyberpunk
Critical Conversations: Ning Ken's Ultra Unreal, how to define a genre, and genre gatekeeping
18.1: Waste Tide pre-read: Chinese Language, Literary History, and Science Fiction
17.2: The Killing Moon post-read: Lucid Dreaming, Writing Compelling Villains, and Genre Blending
17.1: The Killing Moon pre-read: Worldbuilding techniques in SF & Fantasy
Critical Conversations: "Critics: Endgame" by Soraya Roberts & the purpose of criticism in a dying world
16.2: Empress of Forever post-read: Journey to the West, Redemption, and Buddhism in Science Fiction
Things We Like July 2019: Anime, Music, Poetry, and Cookbooks
16.1: Empress of Forever pre-read: Space Opera, Epics, & Journey to the West
15.3: Exhalation (collection) by Ted Chiang post-read: AI, Identity, & Metaphysics in Science Fiction
15.2: "Exhalation" post-read: Re-reading stories, philosophy of mind, & the heat death of the universe
15.1: Exhalation by Ted Chiang, pre-read: Philosophical thought experiments & short stories
14.2: The Raven Tower post-read w/ Reading the End: 2nd Person, Language Games, and Hamlet.
Things We Like May 2019 (feat. Reading the End): TV Shows, Art, and Fish
14.1: The Raven Tower pre-read w/ Reading the End: Fantasy, Genre, & Gender!
13.3 (fixed): Chris Beckett discusses his novel Dark Eden, writing for realism over role models, and how he thinks about genre.
13.2: Dark Eden post-read w/ Kevin Kelsey: From Stories to Legends to Myths to Religion.
13.1: Dark Eden pre-read w/ Kevin Kelsey: Linguistic drift, creating myths, and rogue planets.
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