Theological science fiction is an odd niche, but both religion and science fiction deal with man against the Cosmos, silhouetting the ordinary against the mystery of the unimaginal. The Sparrow is a compelling, finely crafted story of first contact and its consequences, tracing in parallel the Jesuit organized mission to the alien world of Rakhat, and the spiritual reconstruction of Father Emilio Sandoz, the lone survivor. Truly, a wondrous, sensitive, and generally excellent novel.