(2000)(audio)Very good SF story about first contact with an alien race that comes in peace and reveals that they have proof that God exists and is responsible for everything that occurs in the universe. It leads a Toronto paleontologist to go on a quest to find the meaning of life and God even though he doesn't initially believe.(Amazon.com) 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

This was the first book by RJS I've read that didn't have me saying "wow" the whole way through it. It seemed like a long way to go just to be able to posit that (a) our current definition of "god" might be too idealized and overreaching, and (b) what a creator god might be that doesn't fit in the traditional/mythological mould. If you're looking to read something by Sawyer, I would steer you to something else (like [b:Mindscan|580196|Mindscan|Robert J. Sawyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312065234s/580196.jpg|567098] or [b:WWW: Wake|4418395|WWW Wake (WWW, #1)|Robert J. Sawyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266718754s/4418395.jpg|4466559]). ( )

Every time I read this one I like it less, which leads to me re evaluating whether I like this guy at all. Sawyer excels at writing truly alien aliens, but whenever he delves into future sociology, (His attempts to create future slang are particularly laughable. Apparently kids will say "skytop" in 50 years instead of "awesome,") I used to refer to this book as "The intelligent intelligent design argument." The story doesn't assert Biblical literacy or anything along those lines, but creates a universe (ha!) in which a supremely powerful being has affected this planet's and two others' development for reasons that are mysterious, (and frankly, now that I've re read it and taken a biology class in the meantime, stupid.) The atheist scientists are slightly better than straw men, and the (literal) Deux ex Machina is a wee bit hard to take. ( )

I have been waiting to read this book for a long time. The concept sounded very interesting and Robert Sawyer can put together a sentence but man I didn't like this book. Started skimming about half way and then just gave up. I am going to have to go back to my old ways of letting books go early, I just really wanted to like this one.

My main problem with it was the pacing. The plot was a close second. I barely enjoyed the movie my dinner with Andre. Reading it was something I could have skipped forever. This seems to be a love it or hate it book. I didn't hate it but I also didn't find it that interesting or exciting.

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Incredibly ambitious. Really likable and yet alien aliens. Contemplates life, the universe, and everything.

The entire subplot with the fundamentalists could and should have been dropped to focus on the sudden threat that arises 80% through, which initially disgusted me.

But...I won't say it pulled off the ending perfectly, but damn it was a ballsy ending. Points for that.

Entertaining, some hard science, usually satisfying. The "human angle" re: Tom's life, career, and future was a little boring compared to the sweet, realistic friendship between Thomas and Hollus, the greatest triumph here.