Calculating God is the new near-future SF thriller from the popular and award-winning Robert J. Sawyer. An alien shuttle craft lands outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. A six-legged, two-armed alien emerges, who says, in perfect English, "Take me to a paleontologist." It seems that Earth, and the alien's home planet, and the home planet of another alien species traveling on the alien mother ship, all experienced the same five cataclysmic events at about the same time (one example of these "cataclysmic events" would be the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs). Both alien races believe this proves the existence of God: i.e. he's obviously been playing with the evolution of life on each of these planets.
From this provocative launch point, Sawyer tells a fast-paced, and morally and intellectually challenging, SF story that just grows larger and larger in scope. The evidence of God's universal existence is not universally well received on Earth, nor even immediately believed. And it reveals nothing of God's nature. In fact. it poses more questions than it answers.
When a supernova explodes out in the galaxy but close enough to wipe out life on all three home-worlds, the big question is, Will God intervene or is this the sixth cataclysm:?
Calculating God is SF on the grand scale.
Calculating God is a 2001 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel.
Calculating God is the new near-future SF thriller from the popular and award-winning Robert J. Sawyer. An alien shuttle craft lands outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. A six-legged, two-armed alien emerges, who says, in perfect English, "Take me to a paleontologist." It seems that Earth, and the alien's home planet, and the home planet of another alien species traveling on the alien mother ship, all experienced the same five cataclysmic events at about the same time (one example of these "cataclysmic events" would be the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs). Both alien races believe this proves the existence of God: i.e. he's obviously been playing with the evolution of life on each of these planets.
From this provocative launch point, Sawyer tells a fast-paced, and morally and intellectually challenging, SF story that just grows larger and larger in scope. The evidence of God's universal existence is not universally well received on Earth, nor even immediately believed. And it reveals nothing of God's nature. In fact. it poses more questions than it answers.
When a supernova explodes out in the galaxy but close enough to wipe out life on all three home-worlds, the big question is, Will God intervene or is this the sixth cataclysm:?
Calculating God is SF on the grand scale.
Calculating God is a 2001 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel.
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Find Calculating God Robert J. Sawyer in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find Calculating God Robert J. Sawyer in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
11 books in catalog
Hard science fiction exploring consciousness, quantum physics, and human morality defines a major branch of contemporary speculative fiction, exemplified by the Hugo Award-winning novel Hominids. Canadian-American author Robert J. Sawyer built a celebrated body of work around these thought experiments, merging high-concept scientific hypotheses with philosophical drama.
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1960 and raised in Toronto, Robert J. Sawyer published 25 novels alongside numerous short stories in publications such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Amazing Stories, On Spec, and Nature. Over his career, he became one of only eight authors to win all three major international honors for science fiction novels: the Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment in 1995, the Hugo Award for Hominids in 2003, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan in 2006.
His contributions to literature and culture earned him appointments to the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario, as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the 2017 Robert A. Heinlein Award. In addition to his novel-length fiction and short stories, Sawyer has worked as a scriptwriter and speaker, and his novel Flashforward was adapted into a major network television series.
Sawyer's fiction frequently investigates fundamental questions surrounding artificial intelligence, human evolution, paleontology, quantum physics, and the nature of consciousness. His narratives blend detailed scientific research with relatable human conflict, examining how technological breakthroughs impact legal systems, personal ethics, and society at large.
Many of his stories employ mystery structures and courtroom proceedings to debate complex ethical dilemmas, using alien or alternative evolutionary perspectives to reframe human social norms. Works like Starplex, Frameshift, and Factoring Humanity demonstrate his signature approach of grounding speculative scientific principles in fast-paced, character-driven plots.
11 books in catalog
Hard science fiction exploring consciousness, quantum physics, and human morality defines a major branch of contemporary speculative fiction, exemplified by the Hugo Award-winning novel Hominids. Canadian-American author Robert J. Sawyer built a celebrated body of work around these thought experiments, merging high-concept scientific hypotheses with philosophical drama.
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1960 and raised in Toronto, Robert J. Sawyer published 25 novels alongside numerous short stories in publications such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Amazing Stories, On Spec, and Nature. Over his career, he became one of only eight authors to win all three major international honors for science fiction novels: the Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment in 1995, the Hugo Award for Hominids in 2003, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan in 2006.
His contributions to literature and culture earned him appointments to the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario, as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the 2017 Robert A. Heinlein Award. In addition to his novel-length fiction and short stories, Sawyer has worked as a scriptwriter and speaker, and his novel Flashforward was adapted into a major network television series.
Sawyer's fiction frequently investigates fundamental questions surrounding artificial intelligence, human evolution, paleontology, quantum physics, and the nature of consciousness. His narratives blend detailed scientific research with relatable human conflict, examining how technological breakthroughs impact legal systems, personal ethics, and society at large.
Many of his stories employ mystery structures and courtroom proceedings to debate complex ethical dilemmas, using alien or alternative evolutionary perspectives to reframe human social norms. Works like Starplex, Frameshift, and Factoring Humanity demonstrate his signature approach of grounding speculative scientific principles in fast-paced, character-driven plots.
