At the beginning I enjoyed this book. The Sparrow is a Jesuit Sci-Fi novel and this combination is interesting. The nosedive begins when the characters easily manage to secure a live-a-board astroid (Jesuit financed) and then travel to a planet light years away. At this point, Russell asks us to believe Fate brought these friends together for this mission. This is a difficult state to reach with her heavy handed writing style. Still, I stuck with The Sparrow hoping its contrived elements were leading up to some profound religious or moral idea. Unfortunately, the ending crumbled away. I found myself reading a 21st Century author's version of the story of Lot. A version long on the misery, and very brief on the implications.