Children of God

I just finished a 2 book series by Mary Doria Russell - "The Sparrow" (which I picked up at "The Dusty Cover") and "Children of God". These sci-fi books tell a heartbreaking story of a Jesuit mission to make first contact with the population of another planet. The stories are told with a eerie realism that has sweeping and intimate consequences. I loved these books. They are not "christian" mind you...Russell was a Roman Catholic turned atheist and 2/3 through writing "The Sparrow" she converted to Judaism. So it's all over the place which gives the books and characters a lot to talk about. Very good questions without leading to any easy answers. If you don't mind some graphic language and situations (redemptive mind you), then I would highly recommend these books. They have made the rounds in our little community here to rave reviews.

On a side note, as I write this I am listening to something I learned about today...the Golden record. Here's some of the Wikipedia..."The Voyager Golden Record is a phonograph record included in the two Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. It contains sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth. It is intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form, or far future humans, that may find it. The Voyager spacecrafts are not heading towards any particular star, but in about 40,000 years Voyager 1 will be within 1.6 light years of the star AC+79 3888 in the Ophiuchus constellation."

Listening to the different selections included (Glonk here), we really are aliens. I'm listening with the awareness of someone completely different than us hearing it for the first time...we're totally aliens! Awesome.