Rating: 
Summary: Calculating Something
Review: Calculating God by Robert Sawyer is a science-fiction novel about aliens trying "to discover why God has behaved as he has and to determine his methods". Due to cataclysmic events occurring simultaneously on different planets and the fact that life exists, the aliens think the universe was designed. When they arrive in downtown Toronto they ask to see a paleontologist to help them gather evidence of how life evolved on Earth, to further their theological "facts". It's a compelling start to the story, a skill the author excels at.What I liked:
* Thoughtful ideas and dialogue about religion, faith, and God. This isn't a religious novel; it's a science-fiction story about the concept of creatures of such intelligence and control that they can manipulate stars. The protagonist is an atheist, so he's incredulous about the aliens' beliefs, trying to understand how intelligent beings can believe in a God, a God that permits cancer to exist, among other tragedies.
* Fast-paced, visual story. It's easy to picture the setting and circumstances; most everything takes place in a museum with only few characters.
* The ending. A lot of reviews I've read didn't like the novel's ending; and although it's predictable, it brings closure. The book makes you question why life evolved: with the chance of it occuring being so complicated and remote, there had to be some design behind it; yet you don't get the impression the author is pushing any view onto the reader - it's up to you to decide how to interpret the three radically different views presented (athesism, theism, and strict fundamentalism).
* Cool title.
* Fun for readers familiar with Toronto, where the novel takes place. What I didn't like:
* Pop-culture and product references. You could argue it gives a sense of time and place, but I can't help think that the author's getting paid for those endorsements, and that sours my appreciation of his work.
* Clumsy writing style, but I suspect that's part of its success: like Dan Brown's over-rated novels, its style has mass-appeal. Sawyer has been called Canada's Michael Crichton; he writes fast-paced, easy to read novels that tend to grab your interest from the first page. I've read most of his works, and I'll continue doing so; I like his ideas and they're an interesting, quick read; they're good novels for when you're on the road. Rating: 81/100.
Rating:
Summary: Does this book actually prove a divine existance?
Review: An alien named Hollus comes to earth with a bunch of other aliens to do research. Hollus ends up at a museum in Toronto and meets up with Tom Jericho, a paleontalogist. Hollus tells Tom that in all worlds including his own, there have been mass extinctions at different times of history that seem to coincide by date. It so happens they match earth's extinctions.
While Hollus starts doing research with Tom, Hollus makes the statement that G-d exists and it is an obvious fact. The two get into a big debate for which Hollus keeps offering obvious proof that too many things have happened that had to be the work of a calculating individual and not by chance. People who love scientific theory would love some of these discussions. Many of the things discussed I was not aware of.
Meanwhile Tom is dealing with his own mortality because he has just about a year to live before cancer takes him. This makes for an interesting twist because someone who knows they will meet their maker soon should be excited to know that their maker in fact exists and that there is a real chance for an afterlife. Even with all the evidence thrown at him Tom seem to not believe.
The book is entertaining through most of the way and a little humorous when Hollus comes to Tom's house for dinner.
There is a real heart wrenching part of the book where Tom has to tell his 6 year old son that he will die soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Story, Full of What Ifs
Review: You will not enjoy this novel if you looking for a little light entertainment, an amusing bit of sci-fi fluff to pass the time. As you can guess from the title, CALCULATING GOD is filled with weightier matters. An alien lands on Earth and begins a series of investigations with a paleontologist from the Toronto Museum. Their discussions are satisfyingly deep and far ranging: paleontology, cosmology, biology, genetics, theology, evolution, faith, morality, friendship. The human scientist, Tom, is dying of terminal cancer, which lends extra weight to his introspection, and the alien, Hollus, is thoughtful, sensitive, and a lot more three-dimensional than many characters in fiction (expecially science fiction). A very satisfying read, which will have me pondering some of it imponderables for a long time to come.
Rating: 
Summary: A fun read
Review: A spaceship lands on Earth, for the first time - outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Not surprisingly, the book opens with incredulity "I know, I know - it seems crazy that the alien had come to Toronto, Sure, the city is popular with tourists, but you'd thing a being from another world would head for the United Nations - or maybe to Washington. Didn't Klaatu go to Washington in Robert Wise's movie <I>The Day the Earth Stood Still</I>?" (pg 13). Defying Hollywood alien-human contact mythology, one of the spacecraft's inhabitants, a six legged two armed alien, emerges from the craft, enters the museum, strolls up to the security officer at the front desk, and says, in perfect English, `Excuse me, I would like to see a paleontologist' (pg 16). Assuming this is some kind of joke, the security officer calls Tom Jerico, resident palaeontologist specializing in vertebrae, and the book's narrator. Not only is this alien not interested in invading Earth, it - Hollus - is here to study Earth's fossils - and she's a theist, believing "'The primary goal of modern science...is to discover why God has behaved as he has and to determine his methods'" (pg 30). This fairly blows our narrator's mind, as he is, naturally, a scientific atheist. Dear Tom spends the rest of the book terrified he will recant his position and embrace this alien perspective. As Tom gets to know Hollus, the unlikely creature from outer space, a bit better they discuss each position, peppered with some grade ten chemistry and biology that makes for an intriguing, but, for me, ultimately unconvincing argument for the existence and nature of God. This book is decidedly Canadian, and makes every effort to express it, from the CityTV crew to the two CSIS operatives who arrive shortly after the crew set up. CSIS lose control of the situation and afraid of causing a scene, are quickly shooed away by spectators. The Prime Minister even made an appearance: "Prime Minister Crétien did indeed come by the ROM to meet Hollus...And several journalists asked Crétien, for the record, to give his assurance that the alien would be allowed to continue his work unmolested - which was what the <I>Maclean's</I> opinion poll said the Canadian people wanted. He did indeed give that assurance, although I suspected the CSIS operatives were always still around, lurking out of view" (pg 61). Even outside of the blatantly obvious, Sawyer also mentions little things that only a native would be likely to recognize such as descriptions of specific subway stops, street names, griping about Mike Harris, and even the Octagon restaurant in Thornhill, where I grew up, gets a mention. The familiarity of the sights and sounds mentioned are enough to put a smile on the face of any Torontonian. <u>Calculating God</u> is a fun read, easily accessible to the lay person in both science and theology, very Canadian and often very funny.
Rating:
Summary: Bad Science
Review: This book stopped me cold pretty early on. Sawyer is attempting to use facts from science to support the theory that God is a real being. Yet he throws in the 'fact' that dogs and wolves can not produce fertile offspring to help support this theory. The problem is that they certainly do mate and produce fertile offspring. So do all of other various dog types (coyotes, wolves, dogs...they all mate and produce hybrids that are fertile). This could have been an interesting book if he had done a bit more research into his 'facts'. Such glaring errors make it difficult to invest any emotion in his plot or characters. I understand that this is fiction...that doesn't excuse the author from twisting the truth to fit his own agenda and still presenting it as fact.
Rating:
Summary: Finding God
Review: This was my first book by Robert Sawyer. I loved it. First, it was refreshing to read a SciFi author who is from Canada and writes about places I know. Second, the characters in this book are well developed and interesting. Third, it's just a good, imaginative story. Good book; I'm looking forward to reading more of Mr Sawyer's books.
Rating:
Summary: mixed reaction
Review: Aliens land in Toronto, but instead of "take me to your leader" it's "take me to your paleontologist." This attention grabbing start leads to the alien scientist Hollus working with paleontologist Tom Jericho to research the various extinction events in Earth's past. Hollus explains that the planets of both the alien races that have come to visit Earth have had five of these catastrophic events at roughly the same time. The aliens believe that this is evidence of God's existence and are searching for further signs of God's intervention in the universe. Tom, dying of lung cancer, has a very hard time accepting any arguments for the existence of God and spends a good portion of the book debating scientific proofs with Hollus.
Calculating God has a fascinating, unusual and thought-provoking premise. Sawyer mixes both humorous and poignant moments in with the quite believable scientific discussions. Tom's internal turmoil as he deals with cancer is handled very well. However, the dramatic events that unfold in the last half of the book seem forced and over-blown. Sawyer is at his best when working with moral and philosophic quandaries and thoughtful scientific debates. I just couldn't get past the feeling that the ending didn't really mesh with the rest of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent design with a major twist.
Review: Sawyer's work is among the most intellectually challenging in modern SF. His plots are strong and his characters are interesting, but what makes Sawyer's novels so fascinating is the way in which he blends current scientific thinking with speculative themes. In "Calculating God," this mix includes the debate between evolutionary theory and intelligent design, first encounters with alien species, and a plot by human fanatics. The story centers on attempts by several alien species to find (literally) God. They have come to Earth to research mass extinctions, which seem to have taken place at the same time on all planets with intelligent life. The major characters are a terminally ill human paleontologist and his alien counterpart. The human, an exponent of modern evolutionary theory, finds himself increasingly intrigued by the alien's vision of intelligent design. As they discuss their different points of view, a friendship develops, and the human becomes a participant in the search. Although "Calculating God" is talky at times, the action is there. Some reviewers have felt that the ending was lame, but for me, it was the best part of the book. Conceptually daring and (for this reader at least) totally unexpected, it elevated the novel out of the realm of an ordinary story about the existence of God into something totally different. A reader who's looking for some light space opera probably wouldn't like this book. But for someone looking for a more philosophical novel, it would make a very good read.
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