5. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Russell, Mary Doria. The Sparrow. Toronto: Balantine. 1996.

A few years ago I bought a book called Book Lust. A book consisting entirely of themed lists of books. Under the science fiction list was The Sparrow. Of all the books that I read because of Book Lust, The Sparrow is the only one that I fell in love with. It's a speculative work of science fiction about the ramifications of humans encountered life in space. The way Russell handles it is thoughtful and neither overly pessimistic nor overly optimistic. The idea and implications of the sheer number and types of mistakes possible in such a situation is sobering. All in all a truly excellent work.