Children of God (novel)
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| Author | Mary Doria Russell |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Villard |
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Publication date
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March 24, 1998 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 436 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 37725654 |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3568.U76678 C48 1998 |
| Preceded by | The Sparrow |
Children of God is the second book, and the second science fiction novel, written by author Mary Doria Russell. It is the sequel to the award-winning novel, The Sparrow.
Father Emilio Sandoz is a Jesuit priest who has returned to Earth and is recovering from his experiences on the planet Rakhat (detailed in The Sparrow). He is exposed to Father Vincenzo Giuliani's organized crime "family," the Camorra. At a christening celebration, he meets Celestina, aged four, and her mother Gina, a divorcee with whom Emilio begins to fall in love. Emilio is released from the priesthood. He trains the second Jesuit expedition to Rakhat, composed of Sean Fein, Danny Iron Horse, and John Candotti, in the K'San (Jana'ata) and Ruanja (Runa) languages. Sandoz refuses to go. Gina is about to go on vacation, after which Emilio plans to marry her.
Unfortunately, while Gina is on vacation, Emilio is beaten and kidnapped by Carlo, Gina's ex-husband and Celestina's father. Emilio is kept in a constantly drugged state on Carlo's ship, the Giordano Bruno. They are actually working for the Jesuits and the Vatican, who want Sandoz to return to Rakhat. It is extremely important that the Jesuits put right (as much as possible) what they destroyed on Rakhat; the massacre of the first landing party and the violent revolution of the Runa serving class that followed, have caused a rift between the Society of Jesus and the rest of the Catholic Church. In fact, the Jesuit order has all but vanished completely.
Back on Rakhat, there is an unexpected survivor of the massacre; Sofia Mendes Quinn, grievously injured but her pregnancy intact, has been hidden from the Jana'ata patrols at a concealed village called Trucha Sai ("forget us"). She commands Runa troops in the revolution and is their Joan of Arc figure. She has been sending packets of information back to the initial Earth voyage's asteroid ship Stella Maris, still in orbit around Rakhat, as was the normal practice of the original landing party. She has her baby with help from the locals. Soon, it is apparent that her son, Isaac, is autistic. He is most comfortable alone in natural environments, and she educates him via her computer tablet. Sometime later, the signal from the Stella Maris becomes inactive, but Sofia does not guess that it is because other Earthmen—the United Nations Contact Consortium—came to Rakhat and sent the ship home, let alone that Emilio Sandoz had been rescued and was aboard, headed back for the lengthy inquisition covered in The Sparrow.
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