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Calculating God: A Novel
Până la Robert J. Sawyer
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Calculating God is the new near-future SF thriller from the popular and award-winning Robert J. Sawyer.
An alien shuttle craft lands outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. A six-legged, two-armed alien emerges, who says, in perfect English, "Take me to a paleontologist."
It seems that Earth, and the alien's home planet, and the home planet of another alien species traveling on the alien mother ship, all experienced the same five cataclysmic events at about the same time (one example of these "cataclysmic events" would be the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs). Both alien races believe this proves the existence of God: i.e. he's obviously been playing with the evolution of life on each of these planets.
From this provocative launch point, Sawyer tells a fast-paced, and morally and intellectually challenging, SF story that just grows larger and larger in scope. The evidence of God's universal existence is not universally well received on Earth, nor even immediately believed. And it reveals nothing of God's nature. In fact. it poses more questions than it answers.
When a supernova explodes out in the galaxy but close enough to wipe out life on all three home-worlds, the big question is, Will God intervene or is this the sixth cataclysm:?
Calculating God is SF on the grand scale.
Calculating God is a 2001 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Acțiuni carte
Începeți să citițiInformații despre carte
Calculating God: A Novel
Până la Robert J. Sawyer
Descriere
Calculating God is the new near-future SF thriller from the popular and award-winning Robert J. Sawyer.
An alien shuttle craft lands outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. A six-legged, two-armed alien emerges, who says, in perfect English, "Take me to a paleontologist."
It seems that Earth, and the alien's home planet, and the home planet of another alien species traveling on the alien mother ship, all experienced the same five cataclysmic events at about the same time (one example of these "cataclysmic events" would be the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs). Both alien races believe this proves the existence of God: i.e. he's obviously been playing with the evolution of life on each of these planets.
From this provocative launch point, Sawyer tells a fast-paced, and morally and intellectually challenging, SF story that just grows larger and larger in scope. The evidence of God's universal existence is not universally well received on Earth, nor even immediately believed. And it reveals nothing of God's nature. In fact. it poses more questions than it answers.
When a supernova explodes out in the galaxy but close enough to wipe out life on all three home-worlds, the big question is, Will God intervene or is this the sixth cataclysm:?
Calculating God is SF on the grand scale.
Calculating God is a 2001 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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Enjoyable quick and light read. Kitschy ending, but overall okay. One problem I had was the contemporaneous drops the author used...won't be too long before many of the references will be totally lost to future readers.
I have been waiting to read this book for a long time. The concept sounded very interesting and Robert Sawyer can put together a sentence but man I didn't like this book. Started skimming about half way and then just gave up. I am going to have to go back to my old ways of letting books go early, I just really wanted to like this one.
My main problem with it was the pacing. The plot was a close second. I barely enjoyed the movie my dinner with Andre. Reading it was something I could have skipped forever. This seems to be a love it or hate it book. I didn't hate it but I also didn't find it that interesting or exciting.
My main problem with it was the pacing. The plot was a close second. I barely enjoyed the movie my dinner with Andre. Reading it was something I could have skipped forever. This seems to be a love it or hate it book. I didn't hate it but I also didn't find it that interesting or exciting.
An alien ship has landed on the lawn of the Royal Ontario Museum. A creature resembling a giant spider emerges, approaches a museum guard, and asks to be taken to a paleontologist. The purpose of the alien contact is to examine Earth's geological records for evidence they hope will confirm the existence of God. Each civilization in the galaxy has experienced a mass extinction at precisely the same time. For the aliens, "the primary goal of modern science is to discover why God has behaved as he has and to determine his methods." The paleontologist assigned to work with the alien, Jericho, is a nonbeliever who is suffering from incurable lung cancer and is facing imminent death. Much of the book consists of philosophical discussions between the alien and Jericho about God and whether He exists, but these discussions are not too heavy-handed or dense, and there is quite enough happening plot-wise to keep a casual reader happy. There's also an interesting subplot regarding the politics of museum funding. One subplot I could have done without involved two religious fundamentalists who have been bombing abortion clinics, and who are now plotting to bomb the museum's evolution exhibit. Overall, a good read if you like this genre.
My favourite book of Sawyer's. I have a signed copy that I will cherish always.
This book addresses a complex topic, and my reaction was likewise complex. The premise is quite extraordinary: an alien lands in front of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and asks to speak with a paleontologist. This scientist happens to be Tom Jericho. Tom and the alien strike up an odd sort of friendship as they debate shared histories of mass extinctions on their home worlds and why that might be. It turns out, this species of alien and others agree that the complex nature of life means they are all creations of God. For an atheist like Tom, this is a difficult idea to swallow, even as he questions his own mortality as his terminal cancer worsens.This isn't a book packed with action. It involves a lot of talk and examination. I imagine that would bore some people; I was fascinated. At only a few points did I feel the info dumps were a bit too bunch. Really, this kind of heady examination of religion through science fiction is my jam. Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow is one of my favorite books of all time.Where the book faltered for me in a HUGE way was a subplot involving two bumbling bad guys. (I won't go into details for the sake of spoilers). Not only were these characters tropes without a shred of nuance, but the entire plot ended up being completely irrelevant to the major events at the end of the book.And wow, that ending delivered some major surprises and some genuine feelings, too. It's a shame that the bad taste of that unneeded subplot continued to linger. Even so, I do recommend this if you like books that address theology through science fiction. This read will stay with me--because of the good aspects, and unfortunately, the not-so-good.
Llevaba una racha de no poder leer libros todo lo que quisiera cuando cogí este libro de Robert J. Sawyer. Lo adquirí en una liquidación en Alcampo y lo compré por 1.5€. Sin duda alguna una de mis mejores inversiones en lo que a libros se refiere.La historia es una reflexión sobre ciertas ideas sobre el origen del universo y la existencia de un Diós creador. El autor utiliza la llegada de un alienígena como forma de redirigir el debate sobre la existencia de Diós y sacarlo del planeta Tierra y del homocentrismo de la raza humana. Explota el debate entre el alienígena y un paeontólogo humano creando un debate que además de enseña, entretiene. Las ideas pueden ser más o menos afines a las del lector, pero lo que está claro que el autor busca no quedarse en las típicas discusiones terráqueas y plantea la posibilidad de que tanto evolucionistas como teólogos están equivocados en cierta manera, aunque también tienen razón desde otro punto de vista y que no son ideas que deban chocar tanto como se presupone en nuestra sociedad.La parte que más me gusta es el diálogo terrestre vs alienígena que encuentro ameno y estimulante, aunque obviamente en el libro tienen que pasar más cosas para ser del agrado de más gente aparte de los que con una buena conversación nos conformamos.Resumiendo, un libro muy recomendable para los amantes de la ciencia ficción dura y de cualquiera que guste de pensar y reflexionar poniendo en duda incluso aquello que daba por sentado.
First contact: An alien walks into a museum and says, "Excuse me. I would like to see a paleontologist."Calculating God is an introduction to the evolution vs. intelligent design debate, as Sophie's World is to philosophy. (Creationism, on the other hand, is merely represented by a straw man that is way too easy to discard. After all, creationists believe because of incarnation–somebody has already met their God. What is the God of this story going to tell about origins?)
Parts of this book seemed to drag a little with philosophy, but it was not at all simplistic. It is something to think about for sci-fi readers. I waver between a 4 and 5 star rating. This may not actually be fantastic, but for me it's very close. The title is really what the book is about; so be aware of that. Also be aware that it might not lead where you think it will lead. Meanwhile, there is a good story with neat characters and technology.
Aliens come to earth to discuss theology with a paleontologist who discovers, to his great surprise, that these scientifically advanced aliens (obviously, else how did they get to Earth) accept completely the notion of "intelligent design." The plotting is a little rough in places; it's mostly dialogue about ideas, but there are some wonderful ideas that are batted around. I've been enjoying Sawyer's WWW trilogy and I will definitely read more...he wonders aloud (in print or digitally) about things that I'm interested in.
I tried to finish the book, I really did. However, there really wasn't any 'there' there. It reads as nothing other than the ramblings of a man who learned sound bites about science so that he could convince thoughtful persons to purchase a book that he then uses as a soapbox for obsessive ravings.
I expected to find sound science to be the basis of the book, with some interesting theories on the possibilities of intelligent design. Some comparative paleontology, interesting theories on the development of life on other planets would have been quite welcome. Mostly I was looking for thoughtful reasoning of a scientific theory that included the possibility of an outside developmental force. What I found was the shouting of a man who apparently is so unsure of his own beliefs he has to scream loudly enough to drown out his own questions.
I am not opposed to the concept of intelligent design. The cosmos is, indeed, a wondrous thing. More wondrous, I believe, than even the most highly educated and thoughtful of us are psychologically capable of fully comprehending. The majority of human beings are, as a group, incapable of grasping the concept of a universe in which we are not the centre of attention. It was not all that long ago that humans were imprisoning or murdering anyone who had the audacity to suggest that the Earth wasn't the centre of the universe. The concept that there might actually be other planets that held intelligent life would have required burning at the stake or ripping apart by horses. Not only the person in question, but all their friends and family in all likelihood. The briefest study of the evening news would seem to indicate that there are numerous folk who still believe this way. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, in my estimation, as long as they don't cause harm to others in the dispensation of those beliefs.
From the evidence of all too recent holy wars, the majority of the population still believe that a cosmos consisting of, as Carl Sagan would say, `billions and billions of stars', stars which could contain hundreds of thousands or more of planets capable of supporting life, still revolves around this beautiful little blue speck on a distant arm of a more distant, insignificant galaxy in the hinterlands of the universe.
The author had an opportunity in this book to write something thought provoking, solid, and forward looking. It is a shame that he fell so far short of the goal we thought he was reaching for, and fell into a morass of pseudo psychobabble wearing a mask meant to mimic scientific thought.
I expected to find sound science to be the basis of the book, with some interesting theories on the possibilities of intelligent design. Some comparative paleontology, interesting theories on the development of life on other planets would have been quite welcome. Mostly I was looking for thoughtful reasoning of a scientific theory that included the possibility of an outside developmental force. What I found was the shouting of a man who apparently is so unsure of his own beliefs he has to scream loudly enough to drown out his own questions.
I am not opposed to the concept of intelligent design. The cosmos is, indeed, a wondrous thing. More wondrous, I believe, than even the most highly educated and thoughtful of us are psychologically capable of fully comprehending. The majority of human beings are, as a group, incapable of grasping the concept of a universe in which we are not the centre of attention. It was not all that long ago that humans were imprisoning or murdering anyone who had the audacity to suggest that the Earth wasn't the centre of the universe. The concept that there might actually be other planets that held intelligent life would have required burning at the stake or ripping apart by horses. Not only the person in question, but all their friends and family in all likelihood. The briefest study of the evening news would seem to indicate that there are numerous folk who still believe this way. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, in my estimation, as long as they don't cause harm to others in the dispensation of those beliefs.
From the evidence of all too recent holy wars, the majority of the population still believe that a cosmos consisting of, as Carl Sagan would say, `billions and billions of stars', stars which could contain hundreds of thousands or more of planets capable of supporting life, still revolves around this beautiful little blue speck on a distant arm of a more distant, insignificant galaxy in the hinterlands of the universe.
The author had an opportunity in this book to write something thought provoking, solid, and forward looking. It is a shame that he fell so far short of the goal we thought he was reaching for, and fell into a morass of pseudo psychobabble wearing a mask meant to mimic scientific thought.
There's been a couple of times that I've wondered why, if there is creation science out there, have I never seen any creation science fiction? Well, Robert Sawyer has addressed that issue... sort of. Calculating God is a tale of first contact, of aliens coming to visit Earth. The aliens are strange to human eyes, as one might expect. (Though their personalities were refreshingly pedestrian.) But what was most odd to the protagonist, Dr. Thomas Jericho, was the fact that these advanced aliens believed in God. As the story progresses, Dr. Jericho and the alien Hollus discuss the latter's beliefs and Jericho wrestles with his own atheism. Mr. Sawyer does a good job of presenting some of the evidence that I've heard creation scientists cite, and his alien theists come across as credible representatives of real world believers. The weakest part of the book is the subplot with the fundamentalist Christian terrorists. And the story itself is far from Mr. Sawyer's better works. Still, I'd recommend checking it out. --J.
I tried to finish the book, I really did. However, there really wasn't any 'there' there. It reads as nothing other than the ramblings of a man who learned sound bites about science so that he could convince thoughtful persons to purchase a book that he then uses as a soapbox for obsessive ravings.
I expected to find sound science to be the basis of the book, with some interesting theories on the possibilities of intelligent design. Some comparative paleontology, interesting theories on the development of life on other planets would have been quite welcome. Mostly I was looking for thoughtful reasoning of a scientific theory that included the possibility of an outside developmental force. What I found was the shouting of a man who apparently is so unsure of his own beliefs he has to scream loudly enough to drown out his own questions.
I am not opposed to the concept of intelligent design. The cosmos is, indeed, a wondrous thing. More wondrous, I believe, than even the most highly educated and thoughtful of us are psychologically capable of fully comprehending. The majority of human beings are, as a group, incapable of grasping the concept of a universe in which we are not the centre of attention. It was not all that long ago that humans were imprisoning or murdering anyone who had the audacity to suggest that the Earth wasn't the centre of the universe. The concept that there might actually be other planets that held intelligent life would have required burning at the stake or ripping apart by horses. Not only the person in question, but all their friends and family in all likelihood. The briefest study of the evening news would seem to indicate that there are numerous folk who still believe this way. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, in my estimation, as long as they don't cause harm to others in the dispensation of those beliefs.
From the evidence of all too recent holy wars, the majority of the population still believe that a cosmos consisting of, as Carl Sagan would say, `billions and billions of stars', stars which could contain hundreds of thousands or more of planets capable of supporting life, still revolves around this beautiful little blue speck on a distant arm of a more distant, insignificant galaxy in the hinterlands of the universe.
The author had an opportunity in this book to write something thought provoking, solid, and forward looking. It is a shame that he fell so far short of the goal we thought he was reaching for, and fell into a morass of pseudo psychobabble wearing a mask meant to mimic scientific thought.
I expected to find sound science to be the basis of the book, with some interesting theories on the possibilities of intelligent design. Some comparative paleontology, interesting theories on the development of life on other planets would have been quite welcome. Mostly I was looking for thoughtful reasoning of a scientific theory that included the possibility of an outside developmental force. What I found was the shouting of a man who apparently is so unsure of his own beliefs he has to scream loudly enough to drown out his own questions.
I am not opposed to the concept of intelligent design. The cosmos is, indeed, a wondrous thing. More wondrous, I believe, than even the most highly educated and thoughtful of us are psychologically capable of fully comprehending. The majority of human beings are, as a group, incapable of grasping the concept of a universe in which we are not the centre of attention. It was not all that long ago that humans were imprisoning or murdering anyone who had the audacity to suggest that the Earth wasn't the centre of the universe. The concept that there might actually be other planets that held intelligent life would have required burning at the stake or ripping apart by horses. Not only the person in question, but all their friends and family in all likelihood. The briefest study of the evening news would seem to indicate that there are numerous folk who still believe this way. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, in my estimation, as long as they don't cause harm to others in the dispensation of those beliefs.
From the evidence of all too recent holy wars, the majority of the population still believe that a cosmos consisting of, as Carl Sagan would say, `billions and billions of stars', stars which could contain hundreds of thousands or more of planets capable of supporting life, still revolves around this beautiful little blue speck on a distant arm of a more distant, insignificant galaxy in the hinterlands of the universe.
The author had an opportunity in this book to write something thought provoking, solid, and forward looking. It is a shame that he fell so far short of the goal we thought he was reaching for, and fell into a morass of pseudo psychobabble wearing a mask meant to mimic scientific thought.
I was quite taken with this novel, which explores the impact on one scientist with terminal cancer when he discovers that two different star-faring races are certain that God exists, and whose arguments are essentially the intelligent design argument. Sawyer treats this topic seriously and well, making this an interesting novel all the way through, although the end (spoiler alert) struck me as a little to neat: God nudged creation and evolution in three different star systems in order to create three contemporaneous races with the ability too travel among the stars in order to use their DNA to help birth a new God. Well worth reading and reflection.
[An updated review]
I lucked out when I found Calculating God. It was one of those I’m-bored-and-I-have-nothing-to-read-so-I’ll-browse-the-shelves-and-randomly-pick-something finds.
I was in for a treat. Winner of the Nebula Award, Robert Sawyer presents an interesting thought experiment: what if Earth were discovered by an alien race, or rather, TWO alien races, and they informed us that, contrary to popular scientific belief, the universe and everything in it indicates that there is a god, a creator, a being greater than the laws of biology, physics, and chemistry, that this being had created the universe for a purpose, and we are all a part of that purpose.
What if?
The story itself is simple, and, as one reviewer put it, Sawyer is one of the more sympathetic sci-fi writers to the intelligent design community. An alien ship lands in front of the Royal Onterio Museum in Toronto and asks, not to “take me to your leader,” but to “take me to a paleontologist.” The paleontologist, of course, is an atheist, but confronted with his alien counterpart and investigating the concurrent histories of their races, begins a series of discussions about the laws of the universe. Are they mere coincidences, or is the alien correct.
Is there a “creator” behind it all?
I found the Calculating God intriguing, full of thought provoking dialogue. It’s not for the reader who is looking for escape in swashbuckle, laser swords, or space battles. Instead, it focuses on the science and the philosophy that might hold up a place for a rational mind behind the universe. In other words, God. What makes it work is Sawyer’s deft application and understanding of science and his relevant application to the thought experiment. While I am not myself a scientist, science has always represented a look at “how things work” for me, and never ceases to impress with explanations of the natural world, and Sawyer plays right to that interest.
Calculating Godwastes not time on complicated plot twists or sequences, but manages to deal with important questions as diverse as the purpose of life, the problem of pain, death, and loss of loved ones, all against a backdrop of the scientific laws upon which the universe depends. C.S. Lewis might find it interesting, even if a little outside his genre.
Sawyer’s main leaps, and creative license, is in a “fifth force” that he suggests is yet to be found by human scientists, but as far as I know we have not yet found, as well as the successful development of a grand unifying theory of everything. I believe this refers to a theory that will explain both gravity (forces of the very big) and quantum mechanics (forces of the very small). Our present understanding has neither, but both conveniently move his story along. This is Sawyer’s contribution, as well as his deus ex machina to finding the real deus in the universe.
If you enjoy this, you might also enjoy Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution (P.S.) by Kenneth R. Miller, as well as Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge and The Diversity of Life (Questions of Science) by Edward O. Wilson (though the three do not necessarily agree with each other and all are non-fiction).
I lucked out when I found Calculating God. It was one of those I’m-bored-and-I-have-nothing-to-read-so-I’ll-browse-the-shelves-and-randomly-pick-something finds.
I was in for a treat. Winner of the Nebula Award, Robert Sawyer presents an interesting thought experiment: what if Earth were discovered by an alien race, or rather, TWO alien races, and they informed us that, contrary to popular scientific belief, the universe and everything in it indicates that there is a god, a creator, a being greater than the laws of biology, physics, and chemistry, that this being had created the universe for a purpose, and we are all a part of that purpose.
What if?
The story itself is simple, and, as one reviewer put it, Sawyer is one of the more sympathetic sci-fi writers to the intelligent design community. An alien ship lands in front of the Royal Onterio Museum in Toronto and asks, not to “take me to your leader,” but to “take me to a paleontologist.” The paleontologist, of course, is an atheist, but confronted with his alien counterpart and investigating the concurrent histories of their races, begins a series of discussions about the laws of the universe. Are they mere coincidences, or is the alien correct.
Is there a “creator” behind it all?
I found the Calculating God intriguing, full of thought provoking dialogue. It’s not for the reader who is looking for escape in swashbuckle, laser swords, or space battles. Instead, it focuses on the science and the philosophy that might hold up a place for a rational mind behind the universe. In other words, God. What makes it work is Sawyer’s deft application and understanding of science and his relevant application to the thought experiment. While I am not myself a scientist, science has always represented a look at “how things work” for me, and never ceases to impress with explanations of the natural world, and Sawyer plays right to that interest.
Calculating Godwastes not time on complicated plot twists or sequences, but manages to deal with important questions as diverse as the purpose of life, the problem of pain, death, and loss of loved ones, all against a backdrop of the scientific laws upon which the universe depends. C.S. Lewis might find it interesting, even if a little outside his genre.
Sawyer’s main leaps, and creative license, is in a “fifth force” that he suggests is yet to be found by human scientists, but as far as I know we have not yet found, as well as the successful development of a grand unifying theory of everything. I believe this refers to a theory that will explain both gravity (forces of the very big) and quantum mechanics (forces of the very small). Our present understanding has neither, but both conveniently move his story along. This is Sawyer’s contribution, as well as his deus ex machina to finding the real deus in the universe.
If you enjoy this, you might also enjoy Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution (P.S.) by Kenneth R. Miller, as well as Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge and The Diversity of Life (Questions of Science) by Edward O. Wilson (though the three do not necessarily agree with each other and all are non-fiction).
My first thought was to say this is wonderful speculative science fiction, but actually it is wonderful speculative theology used in the midst of science fiction. The story is built upon what seems like a joke. An alien (Hollus) walks into a museum and wants to meet a paleontologist. On the alien's world scientist think it is obvious the universe was designed by an intelligent Creator. The scientist then has to confront his own reasons for not believing. From there the two engage in some rather intriguing discussions on God, the nature of religion, creation, and other assorted divine droppings. The tale itself is quite simple and the ending is rather odd and abrupt, which deserves some criticism; however, I'm willing to overlook it because of the intriguing discussions holding up the middle. There's also a fundamentalist, creationist group that seems out of place.I'll resist posting all the ones I had to put the book aside and chew on, but here are two that just gave me pause.1) given such an imperfect universe why do we expect the creator to be perfect? what are the implications if the the creator isn't?2) the second were a few discussions on the divine limitations surrounding cancer.
The science fiction literature includes an immense variety of styles and approaches for ideas. Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer is a science fiction novel that I would categorize as philosophical. The novel uses the trope of contact with aliens to explore cosmological ideas that intrigue thoughtful persons whether or not they are interested in science fiction. It takes a contemporary setting (in Canada) and describes the arrival on Earth of sentient aliens. The bulk of the novel covers the many discussions and arguments on the reasons for their presence, as well as about the nature of belief, religion, and science. Calculating God received nominations for both the Hugo and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards in 2001. The main plot is told from the point of view of Tom Jericho, a paleontologist at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, and it begins with the appearance of a spider-like alien who is interested in studying the Earth's history with Jericho. The discussions they have also explore questions about the nature of the universe, comparative planetary history, and the ultimate question of the existence of God. On that issue the book presents some strange conundrums that make it rise above the average Science Fiction novel.There is also a subplot dealing with the illness of Jericho and his imminent death due to lung cancer. The author neatly connects that with the visit of the aliens with surprising revelations as well.I enjoyed the philosophical and scientific discussions primarily due to the inventive approaches to questions that arose from the unusual views of the aliens. Sawyer succeeds in describing the meeting with aliens in a way that held my attention through both its believable detail and its novelty. I found myself wondering about the thoughtful calculation of alien scientists and if they really could include god in that calculation.
An alien lands in Toronto with hopes of studying the ROM’s fossil collection; meanwhile she provides “scientific evidence” for the existence of God. This book had a good idea with poor execution. Sawyer completely ignored the “show-don’t-tell” rule of novel-writing. The book is a clod of sci-religious dialog decorated with a thin veneer of plot. The scientific evidence consisted of debates about: 1)What are the odds? and 2) Where did altruistic behavior come from? Neither argument is fresh, but it’s interesting to have it all thrown into the mouth of an alien (who is also using facts that only the fictional aliens know to support her pro-God arguments). The second argument falls flat, though, since cooperative behavior (i.e. “altruism” as Sawyer was defining it) has evolved in more than just humans. Also, Sawyer adds a short punt about abortion. Although I completely agree with his point of view, I don’t read novels to get a lecture on these views. SHOW-don’t-tell!!!! On the other hand, this book won the Audie award, which means it had a fantastic performance—which I enjoyed on a long car trip I just took. That made the book worth it for me.
This was an excellent book, one I plan to re-read again and again.
At long last, aliens land on Earth. Incredulously, they do not go to any center of government nor to Area 51 but to Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. On top of this, the alien, who looks like a giant six-legged, two-armed golden-brown spider, is not interested in conquest or site seeing, but in examining Earth’s fossil record. The senior palentologist at the Museum, Dr. Tom Jericho, stunned by appearance of Hollus (a Forhilnor), but quickly recovers to ask why the interest in paleontology. Dr. Jericho is re-astonished to learn that the five major mass extinctions of life on Earth also happened at the same time as mass extinctions on both the home worlds of two sentient aliens. And the reason both alien races attribute to these events is God wished it to happen. This all happens in the first chapter of Calculating God.Sawyer’s work is philosophical on many levels. The most obvious is the discussion between Hollus and Tom about the existence of God and the purpose of life. What God is, what he does and how he interacts with the universe are all addressed, but with interesting interpretation. While many of the arguments used by Hollus to prove the existence of God are also put forth by many religions on Earth, the book does not promote any religion, but it presents a situation where the universe is directed by an intelligent being. An intricate part of this plot line are the second alien race, the Wreed. Another interesting Sawyer alien, their view of the universe is determined by their physiology. For example, they have 23 fingers, which effected their ability to deal with numbers. While the Wreed do not have strong mathematics, they can easily deal with moral issues: whereas we struggle with the nature of good and evil, they could see the answer quickly and cleanly. As Sawyer puts it, they have “minded geared for ethics”. Sawyer does not ignore the reaction by religious Humans to the Aliens and follows two right-to-life supporters who eventually have a violent confirmation with Hollus and Dr. Jericho.The differences between the aliens and Humans are easy to see, but Sawyer also shows the similarities. Dr. Jericho, narrator of most of the book, is dying of lung cancer with only a few months to live. Cancer exists also in the other alien races makeup and the Forhilnor can suffer from mental illnesses. The interactions between Hollus and Dr. Jericho present a different view of and are important to the end plot of the story. Perhaps the most intriguing subplot is that Humans, Forhilnor and Wreeds are not the first intelligent life forms in the Universe. Six other star systems have evidence of past civilizations, all of which were abandoned and the inhabitants disappeared. Where the missing aliens went to leads to even greater discoveries for Dr. Jericho and will change his view of everything.Calculating God is a work of philosophy, science, and humanity. Sawyer’s aliens are different and fascinating and the interplay between them and Dr. Jericho warming and entertaining. This a book for anyone interested the nature of life, the possibility of a divine being and the purpose of living.For Fast Forward TV, 1/2001
An intriguing and thought provoking read. Advanced alien civilizations view God as a scientific fact. First contact is made between a visiting alien theist scientist and a human agnostic scientist who work together to share their species' knowledge and who become friends along the way. A wonderfully creative, imaginative premise that is well developed through the course of the book. At some point, I realized I would be more likely to believe in God after reading this book than by any religious proselytizing now common on planet Earth. Sci-Fi for the thinking man or woman. Sawyer could be the next Asimov!
I'm not the world's biggest sci-fi fan, but after hearing Sawyer speak at DragonCon, I wanted to read this book. It was interesting, until close to the end when the plot took a decidedly strange twist. Maybe I just don't read enough sci-fi. There was a subplot involving blowing up fossils; I'm not exactly sure why that was in there. A couple of times, the characters made some pretty strange assumptions that did nothing more than move the plot along, but these assumptions weren't logical to me. A brief summary - aliens come to Earth, meet with a scientist, and admit that they believe in God and intelligent design. I won't reveal more than that. It is an interesting book.
This book immediately became one of my favorites from this year. The premise sounds strange -- aliens show up to see if Earth can help them prove that God exists? However, the story is an intelligent look at spirituality vs. religion, God vs. faith, and, of course, science vs. religion... And why there doesn't need to be any versus with that last one. The characters are very well written and it's enjoyable to tag along with their conversations. If that's not enough for you, there's a bit of action thrown in as well as alien technology and a doomsday countdown. My only gripe with the book is the very end. Some things just don't need to be explained.
This really is a thought provoking book that addresses the nature of intelligent life and God. I'm not sure if I would call the entity encountered in this book God, but its pretty close.I really enjoy Hollus, although I find him to be patronizing- Hollus doesn't grow in this story. He just is. Tom Jerico is a very human character, in this case stubborn to his belief, even if that belief is wrong. There is one side story, that of the Creationists from America to be a bit overdone and steriotypical. It also did not add anything to the book.Overall, it was a good read. Interesting concepts and well written.
An alien arrives on Earth, seeking proof for the existence of God. I wanted to like this book, but the characters were so flat I could have used them as a rug. In addition, the characters had an annoying tendancy to speechify, to pontificate like they were lecturing in college. Very disappointing.
I'm about 75% of the way though this small but thoroughly enjoyable book. The book is interesting and often funny although it also has some rather sad parts. It reminded me of Sawyer's other book hominids in the sense that it discusses moral, ethical and philosophical issues. I can imagine some people may find this slightly preachy, although I personally enjoy this kind of discourse.
I enjoyed reading this book. I always had the urge to read one more chapter before putting it down. Sawyer presents a very intriguing outlook on the different potential roles for a god in our universe and does so with his usual mix of story telling and science.My number one complaint about this book is the amount of name dropping. People do not say things such as "I saw an interview on CTV". I get that this book takes place in Canada, but the number of times a Toronto landmark would be name dropped became overly distracting. I also found the Mike Harris hate to be so interwoven with the book that I felt like there were two authors sometimes. One person writing about aliens and god (the main story), and additionally, a political columnist voicing their opinion on Canadian versus American healthcare, public funding in the school system, public funding to the Royal Ontario Museum, etc. A bit of this is fine, but it got to the point where I'd groan after Sawyer finished yet another rant about Harris cutbacks.That said, this is a fun, quick read that has some substance to it. I gave it 3.5 stars out of 5 because it isn't a truly epic piece that pulls you into another universe, but it's what I would consider classic Robert J. Sawyer fiction -- just under par from the Hominids series.
I was captivated from the first page of this book. It starts with a whimsical chapter reminiscent of Douglas Adams before delving into a much deeper story. There were enough plot twists to keep the story going and some very interesting theological speculation. I thought the atheism of the main character was written a bit heavy handed and there was an unnecessary side story mid-way through the book. But otherwise a very enjoyable read.
Starts out promisingly, but ends up having not much in the way of plot or storytelling. Basically seems like a vehicle for raising all manner of scientific information that's made the news in the last 10 or 15 years. It is presented in the form of an extended debate in the Royal Ontario Museum between a human and an alien paleontologist about whether science provides evidence for god's existence, followed by what is basically a variation on the ending to 2001: a Space Odyssey. The debate rotates around the cosmological Anthropic Principle. It began interestingly enough, but by about 2/3 of the way through I was thoroughly sick of the debate, which has nothing new or interesting to say to those who keep up with science journalism, and unimpressed by the conclusion.On the plus side, the style, though not brilliant, does not suck.
philosophy of god's existence from another point of view, which point of view is outside this solar system.
This book made me think about a lot of things. In the field of science fiction, religion is most often something to be scorned and laughed at, mostly throughheavy handed pokes at the Catholic church. While I'd agree that Christianity has a set of major problems, I think most readers and writers of science fictionare throwing out the baby with the bathwater. That's what makes _Calculating God_ so interesting: it takes a new and fresh look at creationism. Oh, basicreligious issues have been looked at before, but the treatments that I've seen have been confined to the classic Adam-and-Eve storyline, or to the tinygenre of Christian science fiction. Yeah, there are books in this genre, and the fact that you've most likely never heard of them proves my point. _calculatingGod_, however, isn't particularly Christian; the ending proves the fact beyond all doubt. It manages to make points about the existence of God, and oursocieties views on the matter, without preaching one religion or another. This is not a book to be read for plot or characters. In fact, it's seriouslylacking on both those fronts. As with most of Soier's work, I think it would be happier as a popular nonfiction text. Still, the quality of the ideas washeigh enough to make up for the lack in...well, everything else.