Calculating God

Sawyer, Robert J.

3.86

9,758 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 1480527335 ISBN 13: 9781480527331

Publisher: Brilliance Audio, 2013

“For fiction to be called literature, the story should stay with readers and keep them thinking about it long after the book has been put away. It is safe to say that Sawyer has accomplished both with Calculating God.” — Rocky Mountain News

A spaceship lands outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. An alien being emerges and says, in perfect English, “Take me to a paleontologist.” Hollus is traveling from star to star on a quest to scientifically prove that God exists. Tom Jericho, the human scientist with whom he ends up working, is convinced there is no God. Their debates, and their growing friendship, drive the narrative in this fast-paced, morally and intellectually challenging story of ambitious scope and touching humanity. Calculating God is SF on a grand scale.

“Sawyer has created a very interesting figure in Tom Jericho, whose scientific mind is the battleground of ideas in the novel. A fine read; an intellectual thriller with real bite.” — Edmonton Journal

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Review:

Creationists rarely find sympathy in the ranks of science fiction authors--or fans, for that matter. And while Robert J. Sawyer doesn't exactly make peace with evangelicals on the issue, Calculating God has to be one of the more thoughtful and sympathetic SF portrayals you'll find of religion and intelligent design. But that should come as no surprise from this crafty Canadian: in the Nebula Award-winning Terminal Experiment, Sawyer speculated on what would happen if hard evidence were ever found for the human soul; in Calculating God, he turns science on its head again when earth is invaded by theists from outer space.

The book starts out like the setup for some punny science fiction joke: An alien walks into a museum and asks if he can see a paleontologist. But the arachnid ET hasn't come aboard a rowboat with the Pope and Stephen Hawking (although His Holiness does request an audience later). Landing at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the spacefarer (named Hollus) asks to compare notes on mass extinctions with resident dino-scientist Thomas Jericho. A shocked Jericho finds that not only does life exist on other planets, but that every civilization in the galaxy has experienced extinction events at precisely the same time. Armed with that disconcerting information (and a little help from a grand unifying theory), the alien informs Jericho, almost dismissively, that "the primary goal of modern science is to discover why God has behaved as he has and to determine his methods."

Inventive, fast-paced, and alternately funny and touching, Calculating God sneaks in a well-researched survey of evolution science, exobiology, and philosophy amidst the banter between Hollus and Jericho. But the book also proves to be very moving and character-driven SF, as Jericho--in the face of Hollus's convincing arguments--grapples with his own bitter reasons for not believing in God. --Paul Hughes

About the Author:

Robert J. Sawyer was born in Ottawa and lives just outside of Toronto, Canada. He has won both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel. Visit his website at www.sfwriter.com.

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