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)

Step outside YOUR beliefs

There are a lot of critisisms of this book in these comments, first let me just say that I enjoyed it, simply that, I didnt love it, hate it, agree or disagree with its ideas or plot. It is a very well written book, with some surprisingly simple and yet very indepth characters, in other words, these people could be real, they are not special in any way, they are normal, and that lends the story its credibility. I read other reviews disagreeing with actions taken by extremists, agencies, offices, and commitees in the book, and I just want to say, while the actions seem dumb, unreal, or just outside the realm of what you would expect smart people to do stupidly, please just remember the line from "Men in Black" - ""Kay: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."". I would recommend this book very much, I got it looking for the absurd, and the comedic, I found neither of those things, I found intelligence and understanding, both terrestial and non, mostly from it's author.

Brilliant

I thoroughly enjoyed this. I was a bit sceptical at first but was quickly converted to an avid listener. I found myself sneaking away from work to continue the story. Sawyer manages to give both a subjective and objective argument on creationism versus evolution from the point of view of both a human AND an alien. I can understand there might be some ideas that could upset some people, but I loved the idea of an alien scientist bringing us some form of proof that God exists. And I'm an aetheist!!!
Yes very well written, and very well delivered.
A must read for all thinkers.

Audible Mistake?

Although I did enjoy this story, I was led to believe it was 12 hours long. For some reason the story is sent in 2 versions making it 12 hrs total for both versions. Had I realized this I would not have bought it. I doubt this was intentional but I feel cheated.

Loved this Sci-Fi

So a spider-like alien arrives at the door of a museum in Ontario and asks to see a paleontologist.....What a way to open a novel. This was a totally enjoyable listen. The author was able to create empathy for the aliens. I totally loved the personality of Hollus - who wouldn't? Despite the spider-like looks, what a likable being! And the other alien species, the Reeds (?), whose language sounds like tumbling rocks. Very clever. Enjoyed the premise and the story - which of course requires a "willing suspension of disbelief"- but if you're willing, it's wonderful.

Glorious story

One month after listening to this book, I relistened to it so my husband could experience the wonder of the story. Hearing it the second time brought the characters and the science of the book even clearer in my mind then the first time. I'm sure I'll read it again.

Awesome and thought-provoking

I really enjoyed this audiobook. I consider myself to be a scientific person with agnostic tendencies and this was right up my alley. The philosophy inside seemed very well distilled. Not too dry, not dumbed down, just right. No straw man arguments in the discussion of God. But the book does not revolve around that per se. The story was very interesting and the character development and pacing was great. The narrative performance was top-notch. One of my new favorites.

Thought Provoking

Very compelling story. I cannot judge the sciece, but the author is very convincing. I have faith it is true.

This is an idea of science and God

I enjoyed this book partly due to the fact that I already believe what Sawyer wrote about, and the introspection of Tom. There are moral issues brought up. The end was a pretty good ending with no hard stop. It made you think, which is
not what many people want from books. I was also entertaining.

Interesting concepts

A well written and well thought through conversation about an interesting topic. worth a listen.

Great Story Based Upon Weak Metaphysical Arguments

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

Yes. For two reasons. First of all, it is a wonderful story with suspense. Although many of the characters are pretty thin (domestic terrorists, museum director, etc.), the drama and imagery is true sci-fi. Second, the arguments posed by the alien characters, being largely those used by Creationists, can act as target-practice for atheist-humanists .. because, quite frankly, each and every one of the aliens' arguments for God is flawed and quite easily defeated.