Calculating God

By: Robert J. Sawyer

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Robert J. Sawyer

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

In this Hugo-nominated novel, 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, 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.

BONUS AUDIO: Author Robert J. Sawyer explains how the creationism vs. evolution debate informed the writing of Calculating God.

• 2009 Audie Award Winner, Science Fiction/Fantasy

©2000 by Robert J. Sawyer (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Is Sawyer Canada's answer to Michael Crichton? Very possibly yes." ( Montreal Gazette)
"Jonathan Davis...is one of our very best narrators and this is a fine performance. I was rapt the entire time, and even near tears at one moment in the book." (sffaudio.com; named an SFFaudio Essential)
"Jonathan Davis portrays a thoughtful and quietly introspective Jericho....As the conversation with Hollus continues, Davis keeps a steady pace and reflects the intellectual engagement of both characters. He presents the alien's speech as lightly studied, a fitting style for a non-English speaker who coordinates his speech between two mouths." ( AudioFile)

Great concept for a book, Engaging story overall

This book had strong reviews and an intriguing plot summary, so I bought it to see what the fuss was about. Overall, it succeeded in telling a compelling story about a man who has his fundamental understandings about the world challenged. Specifically, it guides us through the "spiritual journey" of an atheist in an Intelligently Designed world.

As other reviewers have emphasised, those who buy the book should understand it is fiction and engage with it as such. This book is not aimed at those wanting a real philosophical debate about the existence of god. In this fictional universe, "God" exists and the proofs for his existence are valid. That the narrator is an atheist rather than a theist is an interesting draw card, but no one should expect to leave this book with their faith changed. Theists and atheists alike can both take something from this book - an insight into someone else's mind and the conflict between faith and evidence.

The best parts of the story are definitely those centred in the Museum, between Jericho and Hollus. I must say that while great overall, the storyline about the Christian Fundamentalists was cringe-inducing. Sawyer's caricatured depiction of them seems to come from his desire to differentiate the alien Hollus' view of deistic creation from terrestrial human theology and fundamentalist Christian ideas about intelligent design. However, it felt forced, clumsy and unnecessary. Similarly, the narrative grew a little messy towards the end with secondary plots feeling very "tacked on" (particularly the last couple of chapters), not in keeping with the rest of the story.

Great story

A new take on meeting extra terrestrial beings. Great science learned through an interesting story.

I quite liked this book

What made the experience of listening to Calculating God the most enjoyable?

This is a flip on the usual sci-fi plot of an advanced alien enlightening the knuckledraggers to abandon religion. Here an advanced alien tries to convince an atheist paleontologist of the existence of God. This is a good story. The philosophical discussions are quite interesting. This is an emotionally moving story. My only caveat is, as in any religious discussion, there are some doctrinal matters that may well offend some. In short, an emotional and intellectual book in the form of a good sci-fi story.

Interesting twist on science and religion

Would you consider the audio edition of Calculating God to be better than the print version?

Didn't read the print version. Only listened to the audiobook.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Calculating God?

Hearing the alien logic for the existence of God as explained by the alien. Given the events that take place in the book's universe, it is all very well laid out and logical. Flips the normal sci-fi trope of the atheist scientist convincing the religious person of the non-existence of God on it's head. Very entertaining.

Which scene was your favorite?

Possibly the alien coming over to dinner. Learning the logistics of it all was entertaining.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

For the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the book I could not stop listening. Then it sort of loses its magic towards the end.

Any additional comments?

The terrorism sub plot does not fit with the rest of the book. It's just a distraction and has no real relevance to the overall plot.

Great story with some amazing concepts of the origin and purpose of the universe

The author does a great job of blending science and science fiction. He's obviously done his research (even if he does take a few liberties) and creates an interesting tale of the story of a grand designer. A few scientific missteps here and there (a supernova's energy from a star 400 light years away somehow reading earth in a matter of weeks and a convenient dismissal of the multiverse theory) but it all works to create a fascinating story. Highly recommend!

Wow!

I've been listening to this genre for many years and this book is among the top two or three of the 100s I've listened to. The narration was spot on and the this story is amazing! This is an absolute must listen!

Why the Siege Mentality?

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It asks many of the important questions of our age, including why scientists (I'm one myself) have developed a siege mentality when it comes to discussing the possibility that the universe was designed by an intelligence 13 billion years ago. The answer, of course, is that the ongoing war on science by the rightwing has created an "us versus them" mentality in both groups, which makes this a fairly important novel: It asks questions that neither the science community nor the religious community are willing to publically address.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tom Jericho, because of his struggle with cancer. I have to admit, this part of his character was unbelievably frightening to me. Who isn't scared of the notion of finding out you have a terminal disease with nine months to live?

Which character – as performed by Jonathan Davis and Robert J. Sawyer – was your favorite?

Probably Jericho, as well. The narration of the rednecks was particularly poor, however.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The way Sawyer wrote about the protagonist's cancer really was frightening to me. I guess that kind of thing is subjective for each reader, but it really did *get to me.* Otherwise, no, I did not have an extreme reaction. The book, via its characters, asks lots of questions, some deep, some shallow, all important.

Any additional comments?

It is a true shame that the Hugo Award was denied to this novel. It is Sawyer's masterpiece. I believe it lost to one of Rowling's Harry Potter novels. I have no issue with her work, but it isn't nearly the quality of this novel.

what a great book!!!

Sawyer has a lot of good books but this one's his very best. Funny, touching, poignant, loving, intriguing, and educational. The dialogue is engaging. You can't ask for a better book. I hope you enjoy it

good read

the book was surprisingly interesting in the way that it dealt with a difficult subject. I actually didn't really understand what the outcome was going to be till the end and that to me is the mark of a good book. he wasn't trying to prove anything.

More than I had expected

An alien lands on earth and wants to be taken to a paleontologist. It ended up a much better read than I expected. There are the expected problems with governments attempting to control our visitor, a relationship that develops between scientist and alien, and issues with family. I enjoyed the read and an ending with a touch of sadness.