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)

Very interesting

A great story, albeit with some straw characters. This book really explores some interesting ideas. I still don't know if there's a divine creator, but I think I learned a lot about evolution. Worth a listen.

SciFi Theology

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

Imagining the otherness of extraterrestrials along with the similarities

If you’ve listened to books by Robert J. Sawyer before, how does this one compare?

No

Which scene was your favorite?

The explanation of how our sense of mathematics is related in part to our anatomy. Maybe not so much a great scene but a curious insight

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

God is real and not what you think

Any additional comments?

I applaud the effort. It is hard enough to try to make science fiction seems plausible. Trying to add god into the mix would seem wholly unworkable. I think this is well done in that regard.

Good sci fi.

This has to become a classic. The book was far more than I anticipated. Very thought provoking.

Interesting narrative

A lot of reviews voice frustration with the philosophical discussion in this book, but I thought it was well ordered, and the theme surrounding the progression of emotion, and change of ideals when faced with mortality was well thought out.

The only reason I did not give it five stars is that the narration was a little mono-toned, and could lull you into sleep

Not sure what I expected with this.

This is definitely not a religious tale although this is a part of it.

Aliens come to earth and who do they want to see? Not the president, prime minister or the queen. Not the Pope, Dalai Lama or other religious leaders. No, they want to see a paleontologist, to help find God. The atheist paleontologist and religious alien work together to find God.

By fluke or by design?

I love Robert Sawyer! His books are always out of the ordinary, propose fascinating themes, and give me interesting things to ponder.

Science and God: Are they mutually exclusive? Do they exists in parallel? Are they dependant on one another? It’s a hot topic for some people and a no brainer for others…. Makes for great reading!

Talky and kind of slow

I bought this book when Audible offered it for $3.95, and while I did finish listening all the way to the end, I'm glad that I didn't pay full price for it, or use up one of my credits.

It wasn't a bad book, and had a very interesting premise, but after an amusing first chapter when the alien Hollus shows up at the ROM, the bulk of the novel was basically a long philosophical discourse on evolution, intelligent design, religion, mortality, and ethics.

Which is fine for a work of non-fiction, but as a novel, this book definitely fell flat for me, mostly because the hero's journey from disbelief to grudging belief in a god proceeded at an absolutely glacial pace.

There was a rather clumsy attempt at creating some action via the introduction of two American Christian fundamentalist terrorists, but that came fairly late in the book and felt tacked-on rather than an integral part of the story (probably because the story switches POV to a police officer who is around for two brief scenes, then completely disappears from the narrative). Also adding to the tacked-on impression is the fact that the terrorists are targeting the museum's fossil exhibition, not the visiting aliens, and the main characters are caught up in the events purely by coincidence.

In between the alien's arrival and the terrorist attack, most of the chapters involve either long discourses between the alien and the paleontologist Thomas Jericho, or Jericho arguing with himself about whether he can accept the possibility of intelligent design, and worrying about his terminal cancer.

Honestly, this book felt like several episodes of COSMOS sandwiched in between a couple of chapters of actual science fiction.

Interesting ideas, good story and characters

A number of very interesting ideas regarding religion and science expressed through a good story and characters.

Excellent fiction. Not I.D. Propaganda.

I am an Atheist. I do not believe there is any real evidence for "Intelligent Design". I absolutely loved this book. There are some minor missteps (one dimensional creationist terrorists, far too specific and date-able Canadian politics to name the most obvious), but the overall story is fascinating and perfectly narrated. This book tells the story of an Alien who comes to earth with evidence of "God". Fictional evidence yes, but evidence that if given today, would definitely make most people think twice about the possibility and motives of a creator. It does not argue for a perfect God, nor a personal God, nor a deity that gives a damn about how you pray or whom you have sex with. In my opinion, this book is a reminder to all "dogmatic Atheists" that humanity does not know everything and to always keep your mind open--just a crack. To theists who might believe that this book justifies Creationism or Intelligent Design, think again. Even in this fictional tale, evidence is paramount.

Treasures within Treasures

In addition to finding that all the praise this novel has received is well deserved, I was surprised by the rich humor and tenderness I found. Herein are the biggest questions of all, and I've never seen any other writer compete with Sawyer's absorbing and engaging presentation/journey. This is one of the very rare books that I would call a "must read."