Hi all.
Recently finished The Sparrow and overall loved it. Chugging through the follow up Children Of God now.
Wondering if there are any other good (or better) novels in the same vein, where a religious person or group travels to another world to make first contact. Sci fi backdrop with emphasis on the philosophy of not being the only sentient species, faith and god, interesting and well developed species, cultures, societies, worlds from an anthropological aspect.
Character driven, thought provoking or emotionally provocative, and world building of a high calibre, the sci fi doesn't have to be rock solid but nice bonus if it is for sure.
The Sparrow wasn't flawless, some dodgy sci fi math and some stupid choices by characters, but I loved the characterisation, the central concept of challenging and then the utter loss of faith and the alien species were fascinating in terms of language, biology, culture, society etc. So it was great where it counted for me.
Novels preferable, but short stories and series welcome too.
Thanks!
by BrighterColours