...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
The Sparrow
- 373 statements
- 72 feature instances
- 28 referencing feature instances
| The Sparrow | type |
TVTItem | |
| The Sparrow | label |
The Sparrow | |
| The Sparrow | page |
TheSparrow | |
| The Sparrow | comment |
The Sparrow is a science fiction novel by Mary Doria Russell.20 Minutes into the Future, a SETI technician is trying to prove that his job shouldn't be automated. He picks up a strange signal from near Alpha Centauri, transfers it to audio, and discovers that he's listening to choral music transmitted over radio waves.While the United Nations is fussing about the appropriate measures for approaching extra-terrestrial intelligence, the Jesuits scrape together a ragtag missionary team and a STL spacecraft. The team leaves behind everything they know, forms deep bonds, and meets a peaceful and doe-like alien race. Then everything goes horribly wrong.The story is told by the only survivor of the original team: their linguist, Father Emilio Sandoz. He's returned to Earth physically and emotionally shattered. Rakhat is undergoing a massive social upheaval, the UN team that followed the Jesuit team has vanished, and no one on Earth has any idea what happened.The book is something of a Take That! to current historians; it holds that no matter how careful and respectful people are during first contact with a very different culture, misunderstandings are inevitable, and terrible consequences are likely. However, don't assume it's just a Writer on Board tract—the story is beautifully written and heartbreaking.The sequel Children of God shows the fallout from the original team's ill-fated trip to Rakhat. | |
| The Sparrow | fetched |
2023-11-26T05:59:58Z | |
| The Sparrow | parsed |
2023-11-26T05:59:58Z | |
| The Sparrow | processingComment |
Dropped link to Contact: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
| The Sparrow | processingComment |
Dropped link to IComeInPeace: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
| The Sparrow | processingComment |
Dropped link to StarTrek: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
| The Sparrow | processingComment |
Dropped link to TheMafia: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
| The Sparrow | processingComment |
Dropped link to ThePrincessBride: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
| The Sparrow | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| The Sparrow / int_1049848f | type |
Aliens Speaking English | |
| The Sparrow / int_1049848f | comment |
Aliens Speaking English: Averted. Learning each others' languages fuels much of the plot and character development. | |
| The Sparrow / int_1049848f | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_1049848f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_1049848f | |
| The Sparrow / int_17058a90 | type |
No Biochemical Barriers | |
| The Sparrow / int_17058a90 | comment |
No Biochemical Barriers: Turns out to be the case, though the main cast are worried that there might be barriers and consequentially are very careful and scientific about eating the food. Alan does die shortly after ending up on the new planet, but no one is ever able to pinpoint a specific aspect of the planet that killed him since everything has proven to be otherwise harmless. | |
| The Sparrow / int_17058a90 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_17058a90 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_17058a90 | |
| The Sparrow / int_1b465242 | type |
Conditioned to Accept Horror | |
| The Sparrow / int_1b465242 | comment |
Conditioned to Accept Horror: The Runao are conditioned to serve the Jana'ata. In every sense of the word. Including the Twilight Zone sense of the word. After some jarring injustices, one of the humans teaches the Runao the old Earth adage of "We are many, they are few". The Jana'ata that are there to hear this being chanted understandably flip out and try to pull a Total Party Kill; their entire civilization hinged on the Runao never making that connection (the Runao outnumber the Jana'ata population something like 25:1, even if the Runao are pacifist herbivores). In the sequel Children of God, the Jana'ata's fears are proven exactly right and they are almost hunted to extinction by the Runao. | |
| The Sparrow / int_1b465242 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_1b465242 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_1b465242 | |
| The Sparrow / int_1e8f4221 | type |
Fingore | |
| The Sparrow / int_1e8f4221 | comment |
Fingore: The most obvious sign of how Sandoz was affected by the mission is that his hands have been carved between each finger to the wrist, in order to create the illusion that his fingers are supernaturally long and delicate, leaving the muscles and nerves completely pulverized. Apparently Jana'ata anatomy is better designed for this procedure. Even in the case of the Jana'ata, it leaves the hands useless (the Jana'ata just don't risk bleeding out and experience far less pain from the procedure). The uselessness is the point, it's a status symbol for someone of extreme power and wealth... it indicates that the wealthy person can afford a useless dependent. | |
| The Sparrow / int_1e8f4221 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_1e8f4221 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_1e8f4221 | |
| The Sparrow / int_21cf9301 | type |
Family of Choice | |
| The Sparrow / int_21cf9301 | comment |
Family of Choice: The mission team. The author notes how the older members never had children and wind up being somewhat of adopted parents to the younger ones. | |
| The Sparrow / int_21cf9301 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_21cf9301 | featureConfidence |
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| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_21cf9301 | |
| The Sparrow / int_22071825 | type |
I'm a Humanitarian | |
| The Sparrow / int_22071825 | comment |
I'm a Humanitarian: Or at least a co-sentient species eater. Population control, and all. | |
| The Sparrow / int_22071825 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_22071825 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_22071825 | |
| The Sparrow / int_273ad2d0 | type |
Spark of the Rebellion | |
| The Sparrow / int_273ad2d0 | comment |
Spark of the Rebellion: Sofia telling the Runa that they are many and the Jana'ata are few when the Jana'ata try to kill their children leads to the Runa rebelling for the first time. | |
| The Sparrow / int_273ad2d0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_273ad2d0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_273ad2d0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_28c1d543 | type |
Defrosting Ice Queen | |
| The Sparrow / int_28c1d543 | comment |
Defrosting Ice Queen: Sofia Mendes. Which makes her transformation into a Knight Templar by the end of Children of God that much more tragic. | |
| The Sparrow / int_28c1d543 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_28c1d543 | featureConfidence |
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| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_28c1d543 | |
| The Sparrow / int_29634187 | type |
Brains and Bondage | |
| The Sparrow / int_29634187 | comment |
Brains and Bondage: Sandoz is made the concubine of an alien poet and songwriter. This is an honor for the alien. Not so much for Sandoz. It's extra salt on the wounds when Sandoz realizes that the poetry and music that brought the humans to Rakhat were about (often violent) sex—and that Sandoz's numerous rapes become the material for the alien poet's new and triumphant works. | |
| The Sparrow / int_29634187 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_29634187 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_29634187 | |
| The Sparrow / int_2bf1fd90 | type |
Proud Merchant Race | |
| The Sparrow / int_2bf1fd90 | comment |
Proud Merchant Race: The village Runa make a living by gathering and trading what they find with others, even having a system of children living with other groups and learning their languages so they can have more trading relationships. | |
| The Sparrow / int_2bf1fd90 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_2bf1fd90 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_2bf1fd90 | |
| The Sparrow / int_2df4fa08 | type |
Omniglot | |
| The Sparrow / int_2df4fa08 | comment |
Omniglot: Sandoz and Mendes both know quite a few languages. | |
| The Sparrow / int_2df4fa08 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_2df4fa08 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_2df4fa08 | |
| The Sparrow / int_3577923b | type |
Murder by Mistake | |
| The Sparrow / int_3577923b | comment |
Murder by Mistake: Emilio determines he will kill the next person who comes into the room assuming they are there to rape him, and ends up killing Askama instead when she was looking for him to rescue him. | |
| The Sparrow / int_3577923b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_3577923b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_3577923b | |
| The Sparrow / int_362461f6 | type |
Sex Slave | |
| The Sparrow / int_362461f6 | comment |
Sex Slave: Jana'ata nobles keep both concubines from their own species and from the Runa. Sandoz is sold into sexual slavery by Supaari based on a misunderstanding, and it's heavily implied that this also happened to the second human party from the United Nations who made it to Rakhat and rescued Sandoz, since they abruptly disappeared without a trace and Supaari worries that he inadvertently created a 'market' (that or they were eaten). | |
| The Sparrow / int_362461f6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_362461f6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_362461f6 | |
| The Sparrow / int_372bc105 | type |
Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism | |
| The Sparrow / int_372bc105 | comment |
Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: As you might be able to tell from the tropes listed, pretty far on the cynical end. Whether there is any hope at all left at the end is an interesting question left to the reader. | |
| The Sparrow / int_372bc105 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_372bc105 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_372bc105 | |
| The Sparrow / int_3bc88a7f | type |
Foregone Conclusion | |
| The Sparrow / int_3bc88a7f | comment |
Foregone Conclusion: You know from the first chapter that the mission to Rakhat ended catastrophically and that Sandoz is the only survivor to make it back to Earth. You also know he's destroyed physically and spiritually. The rest of the book is about how that happened. | |
| The Sparrow / int_3bc88a7f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_3bc88a7f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_3bc88a7f | |
| The Sparrow / int_420081bf | type |
Alien Sky | |
| The Sparrow / int_420081bf | comment |
Alien Sky: Rakhat has three suns (Alpha Centauri is a triple star) and two moons. | |
| The Sparrow / int_420081bf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_420081bf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_420081bf | |
| The Sparrow / int_4523420b | type |
Love Dodecahedron | |
| The Sparrow / int_4523420b | comment |
Love Dodecahedron: Emilio, Jimmy, and even George all seem interested in Sofia; Sofia seems to return affections for Emilio but there are issues, and she eventually ends up with Jimmy. Meanwhile Anne also has feelings for Emilio and D.W Yarbrough is implied to as well. | |
| The Sparrow / int_4523420b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_4523420b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_4523420b | |
| The Sparrow / int_47f524ff | type |
Fantastic Religious Weirdness | |
| The Sparrow / int_47f524ff | comment |
Fantastic Religious Weirdness | |
| The Sparrow / int_47f524ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_47f524ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_47f524ff | |
| The Sparrow / int_4b316d47 | type |
Break the Cutie | |
| The Sparrow / int_4b316d47 | comment |
Break the Cutie: Poor Sandoz. | |
| The Sparrow / int_4b316d47 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_4b316d47 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_4b316d47 | |
| The Sparrow / int_4b6d41e3 | type |
Alien Gender Confusion | |
| The Sparrow / int_4b6d41e3 | comment |
Alien Gender Confusion: An amusing example as Earth explorers make First Contact with the deerlike Runa. Both peoples are going by size; the Earthers think the smaller Runa who do most of the child care are women. Meanwhile, the Runa think the taller Earth people are women. | |
| The Sparrow / int_4b6d41e3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_4b6d41e3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_4b6d41e3 | |
| The Sparrow / int_4e635eab | type |
God-Is-Love Songs | |
| The Sparrow / int_4e635eab | comment |
God-Is-Love Songs: Hoo boy, subverted, in a heartbreakingly complex fashion. | |
| The Sparrow / int_4e635eab | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| The Sparrow / int_4e635eab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_4e635eab | |
| The Sparrow / int_4f6d87f7 | type |
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl | |
| The Sparrow / int_4f6d87f7 | comment |
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Jimmy and Sofia. | |
| The Sparrow / int_4f6d87f7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_4f6d87f7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_4f6d87f7 | |
| The Sparrow / int_56ade6eb | type |
Sapient Eat Sapient | |
| The Sparrow / int_56ade6eb | comment |
Sapient Eat Sapient: The Jana'ata are willing to eat Runa that are superfluous to their breeding program, and after killing the excess babies born due to the mission crew's garden they make Emilio and Marc eat the meat as well, though Marc refuses. | |
| The Sparrow / int_56ade6eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_56ade6eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_56ade6eb | |
| The Sparrow / int_5fcedca | type |
Big Eater | |
| The Sparrow / int_5fcedca | comment |
Big Eater: Jimmy. | |
| The Sparrow / int_5fcedca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_5fcedca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_5fcedca | |
| The Sparrow / int_658854ee | type |
I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder | |
| The Sparrow / int_658854ee | comment |
I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: When Anne asks what an ionosphere is. The team repeatedly asks Supaari about how the Jana'ata's technology works, but he doesn't know. Anne defends him saying he's a merchant, not an engineer. | |
| The Sparrow / int_658854ee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_658854ee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_658854ee | |
| The Sparrow / int_66755d29 | type |
Author Avatar | |
| The Sparrow / int_66755d29 | comment |
Author Avatar: Anne and George are partly based on Russell and her husband. | |
| The Sparrow / int_66755d29 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_66755d29 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_66755d29 | |
| The Sparrow / int_676e942c | type |
We Hardly Knew Ye | |
| The Sparrow / int_676e942c | comment |
We Hardly Knew Ye: Fr. Alan Pace dies of an unknown medical condition shortly after arriving on Rakhat. (This is also a For Want Of A Nail; Fr. Pace, the team's musicologist, was British, with some recognition of class structure; he might have picked up on Supaari's marginal status, and realized that his ambitions might endanger the landing party.) | |
| The Sparrow / int_676e942c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_676e942c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_676e942c | |
| The Sparrow / int_6c87dbef | type |
Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration | |
| The Sparrow / int_6c87dbef | comment |
Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: When Jimmy asks Emilio how he deals with not getting any sexual action, he straight-up tells him that masturbation is acceptable. | |
| The Sparrow / int_6c87dbef | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_6c87dbef | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_6c87dbef | |
| The Sparrow / int_70ade2c4 | type |
Culture Clash | |
| The Sparrow / int_70ade2c4 | comment |
Culture Clash: The inter-species version. | |
| The Sparrow / int_70ade2c4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_70ade2c4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_70ade2c4 | |
| The Sparrow / int_73f7b5a5 | type |
Total Party Kill | |
| The Sparrow / int_73f7b5a5 | comment |
After some jarring injustices, one of the humans teaches the Runao the old Earth adage of "We are many, they are few". The Jana'ata that are there to hear this being chanted understandably flip out and try to pull a Total Party Kill; their entire civilization hinged on the Runao never making that connection (the Runao outnumber the Jana'ata population something like 25:1, even if the Runao are pacifist herbivores). | |
| The Sparrow / int_73f7b5a5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_73f7b5a5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_73f7b5a5 | |
| The Sparrow / int_74c9cf33 | type |
Two Girls to a Team | |
| The Sparrow / int_74c9cf33 | comment |
Two Girls to a Team: The mission to Rakhat has eight people in it and only two women, on account of half of them being Jesuit priests. | |
| The Sparrow / int_74c9cf33 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_74c9cf33 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_74c9cf33 | |
| The Sparrow / int_7870735b | type |
From Bad to Worse | |
| The Sparrow / int_7870735b | comment |
From Bad to Worse: Father Alan Pace dies. The Jesuit team gets stranded on the planet. Anne and D.W. are poached and eaten. Jimmy, George, and (supposedly) Sofia are killed. Runa babies are murdered by the Jana'ata. Runa babies are fed to Marc and Emilio. Marc and Emilio are mutilated. Marc dies and Emilio is alone, stranded on an alien planet, all of his loved ones having died because of Emilio's desire to visit Rakhat. And then it gets worse. | |
| The Sparrow / int_7870735b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_7870735b | featureConfidence |
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| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_7870735b | |
| The Sparrow / int_79a60aec | type |
For Want of a Nail | |
| The Sparrow / int_79a60aec | comment |
Fr. Alan Pace dies of an unknown medical condition shortly after arriving on Rakhat. (This is also a For Want Of A Nail; Fr. Pace, the team's musicologist, was British, with some recognition of class structure; he might have picked up on Supaari's marginal status, and realized that his ambitions might endanger the landing party.) | |
| The Sparrow / int_79a60aec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_79a60aec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_79a60aec | |
| The Sparrow / int_7a82c3d2 | type |
All Love Is Unrequited | |
| The Sparrow / int_7a82c3d2 | comment |
All Love Is Unrequited: Though unspoken, Sofia and Emilio have a deep brother-sister love for each other. Jimmy Quinn's love for Sofia is also unrequited until they get married on Rakhat, largely due to being the only two people who can (i.e., human, unmarried and not a priest). | |
| The Sparrow / int_7a82c3d2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_7a82c3d2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_7a82c3d2 | |
| The Sparrow / int_808cbaeb | type |
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking | |
| The Sparrow / int_808cbaeb | comment |
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Anne, the team doctor, describing what goes on in an emergency room. | |
| The Sparrow / int_808cbaeb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_808cbaeb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_808cbaeb | |
| The Sparrow / int_83b44e80 | type |
Straight Gay | |
| The Sparrow / int_83b44e80 | comment |
Straight Gay: The one member of the exploration team you would least expect. Another is Mistaken for Gay. | |
| The Sparrow / int_83b44e80 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_83b44e80 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_83b44e80 | |
| The Sparrow / int_863fa679 | type |
What Happened to the Mouse? | |
| The Sparrow / int_863fa679 | comment |
What Happened to the Mouse?: The team sent by the United Nations who discover Sanchez and send him back to Earth, along with an initial and highly out-of-context report on the mission, suddenly disappear; what happened to them is never revealed, although it's quite likely they were either turned into sex-slaves, like Sandoz, or killed outright for their meat. | |
| The Sparrow / int_863fa679 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_863fa679 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_863fa679 | |
| The Sparrow / int_877426 | type |
Accidental Child-Killer Backstory | |
| The Sparrow / int_877426 | comment |
Accidental Child-Killer Backstory: Emilio eventually resolves to kill the next person through the door, assuming it will be another rapist. It's Askama, trying to bring him help. | |
| The Sparrow / int_877426 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_877426 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_877426 | |
| The Sparrow / int_88f1db15 | type |
Break the Believer | |
| The Sparrow / int_88f1db15 | comment |
Break the Believer: Sandoz's belief that God has set up the mission gets brutally destroyed. | |
| The Sparrow / int_88f1db15 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_88f1db15 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_88f1db15 | |
| The Sparrow / int_8a4988bb | type |
Mind Rape | |
| The Sparrow / int_8a4988bb | comment |
Mind Rape: And physical rape. And spiritual rape. Ow. | |
| The Sparrow / int_8a4988bb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_8a4988bb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_8a4988bb | |
| The Sparrow / int_8c995bfc | type |
Zero-G Spot | |
| The Sparrow / int_8c995bfc | comment |
Zero-G Spot: Anne and George have one suggestion: duct tape. | |
| The Sparrow / int_8c995bfc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_8c995bfc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_8c995bfc | |
| The Sparrow / int_8e81efd1 | type |
Tenor Boy | |
| The Sparrow / int_8e81efd1 | comment |
Tenor Boy: Emilio is described as singing in tenor and is initially very idealistic about God and his mission. | |
| The Sparrow / int_8e81efd1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_8e81efd1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_8e81efd1 | |
| The Sparrow / int_9c5e78d0 | type |
Kill the Cutie | |
| The Sparrow / int_9c5e78d0 | comment |
Kill the Cutie: By the protagonist, at the beginning of the novel (note that this is a different cutie from the one listed above in Break the Cutie. In fact, it's that cutie who kills this other cutie. It's that kind of book). | |
| The Sparrow / int_9c5e78d0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_9c5e78d0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_9c5e78d0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_a3ff1ef1 | type |
Flashback B-Plot | |
| The Sparrow / int_a3ff1ef1 | comment |
Flashback B-Plot: The book alternates between present-day scenes and Sandoz's retelling of the story of the Rakhat mission. | |
| The Sparrow / int_a3ff1ef1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_a3ff1ef1 | |
| The Sparrow / int_a5d92fce | type |
Celibate Hero | |
| The Sparrow / int_a5d92fce | comment |
Celibate Hero: Sandoz, who is faithful to his vows. All the Jesuit priests on the mission honor their vows. | |
| The Sparrow / int_a5d92fce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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The Sparrow / int_a5d92fce | |
| The Sparrow / int_a7caa5b5 | type |
First Contact | |
| The Sparrow / int_a7caa5b5 | comment |
First Contact | |
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The Sparrow / int_a7caa5b5 | |
| The Sparrow / int_ae3d6438 | type |
Deadpan Snarker | |
| The Sparrow / int_ae3d6438 | comment |
Deadpan Snarker: Anne has shades of this. | |
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1.0 | |
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The Sparrow / int_ae3d6438 | |
| The Sparrow / int_b728c1f6 | type |
Mimic Species | |
| The Sparrow / int_b728c1f6 | comment |
Mimic Species: the Runa and Jana'ata look very similar despite not being that closely related because the Jana'ata are predators of the Runa that evolved to mimic their prey so they could get close to them. | |
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The Sparrow / int_b728c1f6 | |
| The Sparrow / int_bddb820f | type |
Must Have Caffeine | |
| The Sparrow / int_bddb820f | comment |
Must Have Caffeine: Coffee is several characters' drink of choice, especially Sofia, who likes "awful damn Turkish mud". They take lots of coffee with them to Rakhat. Coffee beans become a trade item, and then a plot point. | |
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1.0 | |
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The Sparrow / int_bddb820f | |
| The Sparrow / int_bec0417c | type |
Happily Married | |
| The Sparrow / int_bec0417c | comment |
Happily Married: Anne and George. | |
| The Sparrow / int_bec0417c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_bec0417c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
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The Sparrow / int_bec0417c | |
| The Sparrow / int_bf9c6b5e | type |
Faith–Heel Turn | |
| The Sparrow / int_bf9c6b5e | comment |
Faith–Heel Turn: Happens to Sandoz—or does it? | |
| The Sparrow / int_bf9c6b5e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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The Sparrow / int_bf9c6b5e | |
| The Sparrow / int_c4942576 | type |
Cunning Linguist | |
| The Sparrow / int_c4942576 | comment |
Cunning Linguist: Emilio Sandoz is the linguist of the group and knows lots of languages. | |
| The Sparrow / int_c4942576 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_c4942576 | featureConfidence |
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The Sparrow / int_c4942576 | |
| The Sparrow / int_c4db6423 | type |
Yank the Dog's Chain | |
| The Sparrow / int_c4db6423 | comment |
Yank the Dog's Chain: After watching the rest of the mission die and being mutilated, Sandoz meets Reshtar Hlavin Kitheri, the main singer of the songs he's gone all this way to find, and thinks that God has finally shows His plan to him, that he can not connect to the VaRakhati with song. The Reshtar soon shows his songs have nothing to do with God and his real purpose is to use Sandoz as his sex slave. | |
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1.0 | |
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The Sparrow / int_c4db6423 | |
| The Sparrow / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
| The Sparrow / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: There are a few Star Trek references: Anne first does this when asking how to land on the planet. When she later asks what an ionosphere is. When George encounters the natives of Rakhat for the first time. After discovering the ET signal, Jimmy says scientists would have expected a series of primes. During his recovery, Emilio admires his new gloves and says that "everyone will be wearing them." Father John, his assistant and confidant, recognizes it as a Princess Bride reference. | |
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The Sparrow / int_c75df49a | |
| The Sparrow / int_ca7ec334 | type |
Two Lines, No Waiting | |
| The Sparrow / int_ca7ec334 | comment |
Two Lines, No Waiting: The chapters alternate between the original team's mission to Rakhat and Sandoz being interrogated about the aftermath. The sequel Children of God is more like Four Lines, All Waiting as it traces the fallout of the mission and the war it sparked among multiple groups of people. | |
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The Sparrow / int_ca7ec334 | |
| The Sparrow / int_d03fc3f1 | type |
Good Shepherd | |
| The Sparrow / int_d03fc3f1 | comment |
Good Shepherd: Sandoz is pretty much the model priest, at least before...things...happen. Most of the Jesuits are also portrayed very sympathetically. | |
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1.0 | |
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The Sparrow / int_d03fc3f1 | |
| The Sparrow / int_d08595d3 | type |
Broken Bird | |
| The Sparrow / int_d08595d3 | comment |
Broken Bird: Emilio by the future timeline section of the book. Sofia from the beginning of the book. | |
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1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_d08595d3 | featureConfidence |
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The Sparrow / int_d08595d3 | |
| The Sparrow / int_d9f4972a | type |
Recruited from the Gutter | |
| The Sparrow / int_d9f4972a | comment |
Recruited from the Gutter: Sandoz grew up in the slums of Puerto Rico, with most of his family being criminals, until the Jesuits took interest in him. | |
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The Sparrow / int_d9f4972a | |
| The Sparrow / int_da1c8191 | type |
Writers Cannot Do Math | |
| The Sparrow / int_da1c8191 | comment |
Writers Cannot Do Math: There seems to be several discrepancies with regards to special relativity. As mentioned in Artistic License – Physics above, relativistic effects won't become apparent until the ship reaches around 0.5 c, which will take over a year with a constant 1g acceleration. After just a short time, the ship is traveling so fast that three days on board corresponds to a whole year on Earth. This would make the trip to Alpha Centauri just a few weeks long to people on board, not months or years. Also relating to the above, a Lorentz factor of 120 corresponds to a velocity of 0.999965 c, which would require an incredible amount of energy. If the ship is decelerated upon reaching the planet, and then accelerated and decelerated again for the return trip, then the energy requirements would be astronomical due to the large delta-''v''. Finally, a ship with a constant 1g acceleration would only reach around 0.95 c by the time it gets to Alpha Centauri, or 0.88 c if it starts decelerating halfway. For 2g acceleration, those values are 0.98 c and 0.95 c, respectively. | |
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The Sparrow / int_da1c8191 | |
| The Sparrow / int_e0ce2471 | type |
Absurdly Sharp Claws | |
| The Sparrow / int_e0ce2471 | comment |
Absurdly Sharp Claws: Jana'ata claws are described as sharp enough to potentially cut off Emilio's head. | |
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1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_e0ce2471 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
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The Sparrow / int_e0ce2471 | |
| The Sparrow / int_e8e56799 | type |
Blue-and-Orange Morality | |
| The Sparrow / int_e8e56799 | comment |
Blue-and-Orange Morality: The novel is, in a great part, about this trope; it is very easy to assume an understanding of another culture without actually possessing it. Inter-human interactions, on the other hand, tend to be heavily influenced by Gray-and-Grey Morality. | |
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The Sparrow / int_e8e56799 | |
| The Sparrow / int_ebd01bc5 | type |
Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me | |
| The Sparrow / int_ebd01bc5 | comment |
Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me: Fr. Sandoz, repeatedly, after he's been sold to the Reshtar. | |
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1.0 | |
| The Sparrow / int_ebd01bc5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sparrow | hasFeature |
The Sparrow / int_ebd01bc5 | |
| The Sparrow / int_ed68bcc9 | type |
Dwindling Party | |
| The Sparrow / int_ed68bcc9 | comment |
Dwindling Party: The rest of the team gradually end up dying until Emilio is the only one left. | |
| The Sparrow / int_ed68bcc9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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The Sparrow / int_ed68bcc9 | |
| The Sparrow / int_eebf0e76 | type |
Translation Train Wreck | |
| The Sparrow / int_eebf0e76 | comment |
Translation Train Wreck: About those songs... | |
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The Sparrow / int_eebf0e76 | |
| The Sparrow / int_f4a3140c | type |
Survival Mantra | |
| The Sparrow / int_f4a3140c | comment |
Survival Mantra: "I am Mendes." Marc's gentle "Deus vult." It makes things worse/more painful. | |
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The Sparrow / int_f4a3140c | |
| The Sparrow / int_f4edd0ac | type |
In Mysterious Ways | |
| The Sparrow / int_f4edd0ac | comment |
In Mysterious Ways: One interpretation of the end. | |
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1.0 | |
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The Sparrow / int_f4edd0ac | |
| The Sparrow / int_f5b974c6 | type |
Superior Species | |
| The Sparrow / int_f5b974c6 | comment |
Superior Species: The Jana'ata, at least to the Runa. Of course, all this is in flux at the end of the book. Children of God is about how the Runa not only overthrow the Jana'ata, but damn near render them extinct. | |
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The Sparrow / int_f5b974c6 | |
| The Sparrow / int_f6e99f40 | type |
Youngest Child Wins | |
| The Sparrow / int_f6e99f40 | comment |
Youngest Child Wins: Jana'ata third sons are locked out of any inheritance or military or government positions, and aren't allowed to have children. This however allows the third son Supaari to gain influence as a merchant in the big city while his brothers are stuck in their small towns fulfilling their pre-determined roles, and Hlavin Kitheri, another third son, to rise to great prominence. | |
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The Sparrow / int_f6e99f40 | |
| The Sparrow / int_fc225bec | type |
Artistic License – Physics | |
| The Sparrow / int_fc225bec | comment |
As mentioned in Artistic License – Physics above, relativistic effects won't become apparent until the ship reaches around 0.5 c, which will take over a year with a constant 1g acceleration. | |
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1.0 | |
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The Sparrow / int_fc225bec | |
| The Sparrow / int_fcd46998 | type |
Red-Light District | |
| The Sparrow / int_fcd46998 | comment |
Red Light District: Sandoz is found serving in an alien brothel at the beginning of the book. At least, the Contact Consortium thinks it's a brothel. It's later revealed that Sandoz was a sex slave held in the Reshtar's harem. The Catholic Church's investigating team that questions Sandoz repeatedly insult him by assuming he was a volunteer, but later begin to catch on. | |
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The Sparrow / int_fcd46998 | |
| The Sparrow / int_fed93e1b | type |
Dark and Troubled Past | |
| The Sparrow / int_fed93e1b | comment |
Dark and Troubled Past: Sofia's parents were killed in a war and she became a child prostitute to survive, and the person who "saved" her paid for her education only to put her in an effective indentured servitude where she had to work to pay off his debt. Emilio grew up in the slum with an abusive father and a family who mostly ended up making a living in drug crimes. | |
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ItemName | |
| The Sparrow / int_name | comment |
||
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| The Sparrow / int_name | itemName |
The Sparrow |
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