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)

You Can't Choose th Ways in Which You'll Be Tested

The alien, looking like a giant spider and speaking English stereophonically out of his two leg-mouths, arrives at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) in Toronto and asks to see a paleontologist. The alien explains to Dr. Thomas Jericho that his name is Hollus, that he is a Forhilnor from the third planet of the star Beta Hydri, and that he came to the museum to study earth fossils like the ROM's current special exhibit of the Burgess Shale fossils from the Cambrian period. Hollus is "a visiting scholar" traveling through space with a handful of fellow scientists and seeking intelligent species on other worlds, not to prove the existence of god (which they've already done to their satisfaction), but to find out why he/she/it has been tinkering with sentient life forms in the universe.

Hollus shares plenty of "evidence" for the existence of god. The fact that the five mass extinctions of species in earth's history have occurred on Hollus' world and that of the Wreed, another sentient species the Forhilnors encountered before arriving at earth, all at the same relative times in the histories of their worlds, is too unlikely to be coincidental. Moreover, each of five forces (gravitation, electromagnetism, weak nuclear forces, strong nuclear forces, and repulsion over distance, the fifth one that humanity has not yet discovered) is necessary just as it is for stars, planets, and life to exist. Hollus tells Jericho that the chances of the chain of parameters all happening just right in just the right order are less likely than winning the lottery every day for a century. So someone has fine-tuned the universe. Indeed, Hollus has trouble understanding why Jericho is so stubbornly set in his atheism. That said, the Forhilnor believe that god takes no interest in the doings of any particular individual, so they have no religion and do not pray.

The novel consists of Jericho's first person journal covering his time spent with Hollus discussing things like the history of the universe, evolution, life, and the existence of a "master designer." Into this Jericho interweaves his relationships with his wife, adopted son, and fossils in the context of his treatment for terminal lung cancer. Into all this Sawyer (or whoever is editing Jericho's journal into the book we're reading) introduces a pair of fundamentalist Christian abortion clinic bombers who would like to introduce the aliens to the Son of God: "The aliens may believe in God, but they haven't yet found Christ."

Calculating God is a novel of ideas. For one thing, there is the conundrum as to why sentient species in the universe at a certain technological stage of development tend to destroy themselves or abandon their home worlds. For another, the Wreed have no concept of mathematics because they have 23 fingers, a prime number, unlike the human ten and the Forhilnor six. The Wreed believe that God has been calculating the future of each individual in the universe by photons, like playing chess several moves ahead, spend half of their lives trying to communicate with him/her/it, and base their morality on intuition rather than on logic. They also believe that because cancer is part of the fabric of life in the universe, it must be part of God's plan, whatever that is.

But Calculating God is more than a debate between designers and evolutionists and more than a tear-jerking cancer story, because it packs plenty of humor. Sawyer satirizes the dumbing down of contemporary culture via the ROM, which has become ever more "user-friendly," to the degree that the museum is promoted as being "run by an eight-year old," which means closing the planetarium, producing Star Trek events, and making hands-on displays. More comically, Hollus's experience with American TV shows about aliens leads him to appear on earth as a holographic projection while his real body remains safely aboard the Forhilnor star ship, to joke about not capturing humans for anal probing, and to humorously prevent a pair of Canadian FBI equivalents from taking him into custody for interrogation etc. Also amusing are Jericho's many popular culture references: The Day the Earth Stood Still, X-files, Star Trek, Star Wars, Inherit the Wind, and so on.

In his preface, Sawyer mentions that his novel has upset both atheist evolutionists and fundamentalist creationists, and I can see why that is. His god-believing advanced alien species whose worlds and DNA share so much with earth and humanity may seem like too much designer deck-stacking, while his exposure of Stephen J. Gould's theory of evolution by "punctuated equilibria" as a slick play on language may seem off-putting, and his focusing on "intelligent" life forms to prove intelligent design may seem exclusive. On the other side, devout Christians may not want to be linked to clinic-bombing, museum-hating ignoramuses, and may not appreciate Sawyer setting up "god" as a super alien without any connection to Jesus. Finally, while I enjoy the play of ideas in the book and like Hollus and his relationship with Jericho, I feel that Sawyer spends too much time on the crazy creationists plot strand, which at one point turns Jericho's journal into a suspense-action movie.

Jonathan Davis gives his usual professional and appealing reading of the novel, doing cool alien voices (the Wreeds' voice via computer translator is particularly neat).

Calculating God does what good sf does, explore what it means to be human (here, to be fragile), and it has interesting things to say about language, morality, and love. People who like Star Maker and Childhood's End would probably like this book (though those books are more affecting and less humorous).

Intelligent yet goofy

Would you try another book from Robert J. Sawyer and/or Jonathan Davis and Robert J. Sawyer ?

Yes

Would you recommend Calculating God to your friends? Why or why not?

It's a good read and provokes thought in a direction I don't normally go

What does Jonathan Davis and Robert J. Sawyer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I enjoyed the variety of characters and dialects

Do you think Calculating God needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Sure. It's a good topic to explore. But the whole end of the universe may be a challenge.

Sleeper, Thats a Winner,in life and space

Been looking at this book for years not ready to download and listen, until one sleepy day, I pounced on it and was wowed. Seriously a book of divided views comes together with time and prospects of Death. If you believe or not in God this book will move you and hopefully open your eyes, was a delight to read, only part I quite couldn't figure out was the end, which was not complicated but open to interpretation. A great introspective book, great plot and story was intense and real.Not wanting to give any part of plot away, I won't,

Something for atheists, agnostics, and believers

Would you listen to Calculating God again? Why?

I do listen to it about once a year. Very engaging characters and it comes at an issues in such an unexpected way and treats most involved respectfully.

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

SPOILER alert When the protagonist realizes Hollis is female.

Aliens come with proof that God exists...

Would you listen to Calculating God again? Why?

Maybe. I don't re-read many books.

What other book might you compare Calculating God to and why?

The "Gateway" novels by Poul Anderson. At their heart they are the same books, just different styles and eras, and address somewhat different arrays of scientific theories in their search for a greater power monkeying with the Universe.

Which scene was your favorite?

The friendship of Thomas and Hollus (the alien) was what made this novel special. I won't say what my favorite scene was as it would be a major spoiler.

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

This is a beautiful and thought provoking book, but it will make you cry if anything.

Any additional comments?

I don't compare this to "Gateway" lightly. That book wove together scientific fact and theory into an incredible search for "superior" beings who manipulate the entire Universe to their own ends. This book is much more thought provoking and poetic in it's arguments and intentions, but equally brilliant in making you think about the world we know (and think we know). Sawyer carefully argues both sides of many issues...Is science as dogmatic and flawed as religion? What qualities does "God" possess, even if he does exist? I especially loved the way the aliens deal with the politics of humanity, and neutralize the inevitable shady government characters. All in all a book that deserves a place among the classics.

Second listen better than the first.

The first time I listened to this it was all about the science. The second time I listened I heard the human story underpinning this. I love Swayer's SciFi, because it's always about being human.

The expat story that rocks

What did you love best about Calculating God?

All the characters have solid faces for me and the poor wife left behind was for me correct in every emotional change.

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

His experience of the aliens wanting more from him.

What about Jonathan Davis and Robert J. Sawyer ’s performance did you like?

The use of subtle language worked for me.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it hooked me and I couldn't put it down

Any additional comments?

More please!

Endearing, funny, and thought provoking.

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

I'm not one for writing big epic reviews. For the most part I listen to audio books during my commute, which is about an hour each way. However, this book hooked me in, and I couldn't stop listening to it. I pretty much powered through it in about 3 days. Very captivating, very heartwarming and comical.

Sci-Phi: science fiction meets philosophy

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

The blend of (as I said) science fiction, human interest and philosophical dialogue made it nearly perfect. Not that it didn't drag from time to time, but it ultimately captured my attention and sparked many new lines of thought in areas I have been studying for some years now.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hollis was wise, naive, trusting and trustworthy. Even Hollis's body movements as described, which reflected state of mind, just plain tickled me.

What does Jonathan Davis and Robert J. Sawyer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The pacing was perfect, the characters all had different "voices."

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

I was amused by some of the irony and jokes, oddly moved at several points. Can't explain without adding spoilers.

Any additional comments?

Almost perfect.

Compelling Premise

Robert J. Sawyer isn’t one of those authors who is intimidatingly good at writing prose. In fact, he’s one of those authors that I could see myself someday becoming. His strength is in the really great premise and compelling dialog. Calculating God has some of the most interesting dialog I’ve read since The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. The premise is even more compelling; a deistic alien comes down to earth to compare notes with an atheist paleontologist to compare notes on extinction events and end up in a great debate on intelligent design. This is a book for those that love good dialog and interesting debates. It will likely challenge you regardless of what side of the debate you are on.