Rating: 
Summary: A Hugo nominee ... and probably this year's Hugo winner!
Review: The best SF book of the year, bar none. It proves science fiction can be ABOUT SOMETHING, and have character(s) as real and believable as those in literary fiction. Sawyer's Dr. Jericho lives and breathes ... and so does his alien friend Hollas. This is science fiction that makes you think AND feel, that feeds the mind AND the heart. Five starts.
Rating:
Summary: A stunning novel, absolutely brilliant
Review: This is the best book by the best new SF author to emerge in the 1990s. I think it's his 12th novel, and it is a masterpiece. All of the mind expanding speculation from his previous books is here plus that wonderful laugh-out-loud sense of humor that we haven't seen from Sawyer since "End of an Era". The novel explores science and religion and does so while prodding both sides to think and without insulting anyone's intelligence. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVED THIS BOOK!
Review: Robert J. Sawyer is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! He has a way of writing sci-fi that easy to comprehend and yet still enlightening. This is just an awesome book and is a great workout for your brain. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Philosophy classes should be this much fun!
Review: I just finished reading Calculating God and I suggest that you throw this book in your shopping cart as fast as you can. Calculating God is going on my list of all time favorite sci-fi books, it's simply that good. And to think I wasn't shopping for this novel in particular. I came across it while looking for another book. The title caught my attention - anytime sci-fi authors attempt to tackle issues of God and religion I'm always fascinated - so I decided to give it a try. I guess sometimes it pays to be impulsive.Let me preface the rest of this review by saying that the book is not for everyone. Try to explain this book to someone who asks you, "So, have you read any good books lately?" and you might get some odd looks. If you're looking for a high-octane intergalactic adventure then this book is not for you (not that I don't enjoy such sci-fi romps either). Calculating God is a philosophical journey into the evolution of life, religion, the human condition, and of course God. If you've ever sat around with friends discussing such topics (okay, maybe it's not your typical Saturday night but it does lead to some charged debates!) then this book takes it to the next level, capturing in words many ideas and notions that you will probably wish you could have expressed during those conversations. The author uses the aliens as his devil's advocate(s) to bounce philosophical and religious ideas off of. But the book is so much more than just a debate. It is a good novel with very human characters (even the aliens) and is often funny, as well as very moving. We feel what Tom Jericho is going through, not just the pain of his illness, but the affect he knows it is having on his family and the incredibly difficult decision he must ultimately make. We also feel the genuine friendship he develops with Hollus (the main alien). Tom Jericho's cancer, unlike the comment of another reviewer, is critical to the story in the way it brings you insight into his character and helps the reader feel empathy for his situation. This is particularly the case at the end of the book. The decision I mentioned that Tom wrestles with could have become just another cliché sci-fi ending, but his cancer makes the situation unique and Sawyer brilliantly weaves it all together. The book is not entirely without fault. I do agree with the other reviewers that the Creationists sub-plot did seem to be just thrown in to add action to a story that did not have (and did not need) any. Tom Jericho had already commented on the incredulity of Creationist beliefs in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence. So, the subplot was not needed to emphasize that point. However, it did not do any serious harm to the novel, and did give the reader a break in the philosophical debate. It also pointed out how far mankind still has to go to reach the level of society that is depicted in the alien worlds. Such terrorism is all too real of a possibility. The bottom line is that it's not often that an author can take such high brow topics that are covered in this novel and successfully integrate them with a very humanistic story. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time and will be recommending it to friends (maybe I can stir up some of those old debates!). Finally, I hope the Nebula Awards recognize it. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting thesis/hackneyed plot development
Review: I have read all of Sawyer's books, with the exception of Golden Fleece, which I believe is out of print. I was excited by the beginning, as I love aliens. I also liked the aliens analysis of why God must exist. However, I was thrown for a loop by the main character's illness-necessary for his theme of 'Why doesn't God care about little me'- but I kind of felt like God must feel- you whiner, why should I care? Perhaps it was the stereotypical way the illness was portrayed- there is actually a scene where the son says, "Dad, don't die" and Dad says, "But I must die!" I started to lose faith in this author when he then threw in two bomb toting fundamentalists- everything is told in the first person, and then in the middle of book you have this third person account of the fundamentalists???? I can understand the intent to create a central question, "if god is good why doesn't he literally save me?" and to distance his own analysis from those he considers to be ignorant religious hicks (unlike his sophisticated and wise aliens) but it's crudely stitched together. Sawyer is just a better writer than this. Sawyer has never disappointed me with his endings, and this was no exception- it pulled themes together nicely. However, if you're interested in Sawyer, try The Terminal Experiment- a much better book about the nature of the soul- or really, any other Sawyer- I have nothing but praise for his other books.
Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced, theologically fascinating
Review: This book is fast-paced and loaded with interesting theological concepts. There is humor, but there is also a profound deepness to many of Sawyer's subjects that touch on the intersection of science and religion.
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping Story, Good Evolution/Creation Primer
Review: The Bottom Line -- This story is engaging from the first page. It is a moral dilemma soul-searcher in a sci-fi setting. The lead character, a lifelong evolutionist and atheist, struggles with evidence pointing to the existence of a creator-though not exactly the Judeo-Christian God. Dusted throughout with scientific language and examples, the book provides a good review of much of what is controversial in evolution. Though most such topics are covered too cursorily to be used as a learning text, some are explained very well in understandable layman's terms. The Story -- An 8-legged twin-mouthed alien lands near the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and says, in perfect English, "I would like to see a paleontologist." (He learned English by monitoring TV broadcasts.) The alien is Hollus, a paleontologist (fossil scientist) from the star Beta Hydri, visiting Earth on a research mission. He is introduced to Dr Thomas Jericho, head of Vertebrate Paleontology, who, we learn later, has less than a year to live-cancer. Hollus asks for an information exchange. Since gathering fossils is very labor-intensive and time-consuming, Hollus' small crew can't do it themselves. So they exchange information with scholars on the planets they visit. Hollus is alarmed that earth's scientists consider God outside the scope of science-his race considers it the job of science to study God's behavior and methods. To Hollus, earth's scientists are ignoring clear evidence for the existence of a creator. The bulk of the story revolves around this conflict, and around Dr Jericho's battle with cancer. The Moral -- (Dr) Jericho is under siege by God's forces (the aliens) and the walls are in danger of tumbling down. The major moral dilemma pits Jericho's commitment to, not just evolution, but also atheism, against evidence for a creator. Some evidence is supplied by the aliens, and therefore fictional. But other evidence is contemporary and actual. The anthropic cosmological principle is discussed nicely: that many properties of nature are finely-tuned to support life; if they were slightly different, life could not exist. Jericho discusses the prejudices of evolutionary scientists, which color their interpretation of that evidence; also the legitimate foundations of that prejudice. Although Sawyer's book puts a positive spin on the concept of God's existence, it puts no such spin on Christianity (or any other religion). The God we see here is not the all-powerful, all-knowing God of monotheism; instead, he is very smart but limited and imperfect. He isn't the loving, involved God of Christianity; he is an engineer working a project, not caring about the people involved. Christian people are portrayed two ways, both rather negatively. We see Jericho's wife Susan, who is loving, sensitive, and sensible-but also powerless and ineffective. And we see a pair of religious fanatics, who are irrational and violent in the extreme-the ultimate bad role models.
Rating:
Summary: Science fiction at its best!
Review: A while ago I read another book by Robert J. Sawyer, "Flashforward". Despite the fact I liked that book, I can't believe the same author wrote book, because "Calculating God" is considerably superior. It is written in a very clear and funny way, yet still is a very, very serious book.
The permise of the book, in my humble opinion, is probably one of the best I have ever read. Imagine this: An alien spacecraft lands near the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada (the time setting for the book is the present). A spider-like creature comes out of the craft, walks into the lobby, and in perfect English asks the guard for the location of the nearest Paleontologist. The shocked guard directs the creature to a paleontologist, and an interesting conversation starts between the two. Apparently, in both the alien's world, our world, and another alien world, there were 5 great extinctions (the last 1 occured 65 Million years ago, and is the most famous one here). The interesting fact, is that all occured exactly at the same time. Our protagonist, the paleontologist asks, But how can this be? All these worlds are very distant. So the alien replies, it could only have happened because that is the will of God. The paleontologist seemed taken aback by such religious opinions, so the alien says - but how can you not believe in god, for his existence is a scientific fact. According to the alien, the purpose of all modern science is to discover god's reasoning, and his methods of operation.
That's the premise. It all happens in the 1st chapter, so I don't think I spoiled anything. This is superb hard core science fiction, filled with scientific theories. I must say, I have never heard a more convincing argument for god's existence than the book's. The first 150 pages are literally among the best I have ever read. Then the book starts to lose focus, fills with rambling thoughts of the main character, and I really didn't like the ending. Nevertheless, the first half is SO good, that the book still gets 5 stars from me.
Rating: 
Summary: Calculating God
Review: I first saw this book in our local newspapers' monthly "Other Worlds" review section. Then I went out and bought it. It's saying a lot that I wasn't dissapointed until I was past half-way. My dissapointment came not from his writing, but from his theme. Of course it is what I expected, although I didn't know what avenue Sawyer would take in defaming Jesus. Naturally, a statement like that brands, marginalizes, and rejects me and my intelect, but I would beg to differ. In his book, Sawyer maintains an effective arguement elucidating the absurdity of a universe without a creator. For that I give him praise. For not giving that praise to Jesus, I can only say it is, again, what I expected. I found his arguements creative, and the format he used in communicating them, although time-worn, interesting. Not only did Sawyer do his homework, (at least part of it,) but he maintained quality throughout the novel. If it wouldn't have been for such an antichrist ending, I would have been sharing the book with my athiest friends. As it is, it was still interesting. If you can overlook the fact that it has no salt, guts, or backbone, it's a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: Manipulated
Review: After reading this book I decided I wasn't going to do a review. I didn't want to justify the author's emotional manipulation with a reason to buy this book. But I couldn't stop thinking about it. Not the story or the sub-plots but the theology. I found the author's scientific arguments concerning God's existence entirely convincing, but I was extremely disappointed that the author was unwilling or unable to extrapolate on his own science and take it to its logical conclusion, that a personal God exists and cares about not only His creation, but about the individual lives within that creation. The author backs away from following his own reasoning and logic and completing the sequence of belief, which is faith and love. That was and is the manipulation. I was so frustrated with his cowardice that I had a hard time finishing the book. On a related note, throwing in some Jesus freak fundamentalist type terrorists for effect was especially galling, as he equates personal faith in God as equal to terrorism.
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