The Sparrow
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russellby Mary Doria Russell
Shares rank 80 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Readers call Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow very compelling, and one says it has stuck with them strongly long after reading.
Readers call Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow very compelling, and one says it has stuck with them strongly long after reading.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 86%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Compelling, memorable story
“I read it recently and it has stuck with me very strongly!”
Comment from 25 May 2026 in “Magnifica Humanitas (Encyclical Letter)” “The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell is very compelling.”
Comment from 19 Jan 2026 in “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| The Sparrowby Mary Doria RussellThis page | 6 | 1 | 86% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I read it recently and it has stuck with me very strongly!”
“PS DSL is a perfect fit to generate by LLM”
“You've got a shot at building a new Sparrow here.”
“It’s the only email client that actually made me enjoy email.”
“The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell is very compelling.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.