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A review by baxspookwave
Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I think that the problem with this book lies in the number of explanation the author adds to make the argument of the alien solid.
All the things the alien says are not really proofs, they are things we already know are used as reasons to think that the universe was designed in certain ways, but they are not proofs; in some ways the protagonist is conscious of that, but for the most part he’s just very easily convinced (even tho he says, multiple times, how much of an atheist he is).
The sub-plot of the creationist was basically useless.
The writing is a bit too dry, a bit too cliche; everything seems “already seen”.
This is a disappointment since, when i read Flashforward, the ideas were much more detailed and less in your face
The finale is, in my opinion, the worst offender: the author wanted to describe everything, even though the best idea was (maybe) to leave room for the reader; with that I mean that the descriptions of the “god” get in the way of the supposedly eldritch creature they should be.
All the things the alien says are not really proofs, they are things we already know are used as reasons to think that the universe was designed in certain ways, but they are not proofs; in some ways the protagonist is conscious of that, but for the most part he’s just very easily convinced (even tho he says, multiple times, how much of an atheist he is).
The sub-plot of the creationist was basically useless.
The writing is a bit too dry, a bit too cliche; everything seems “already seen”.
This is a disappointment since, when i read Flashforward, the ideas were much more detailed and less in your face
The finale is, in my opinion, the worst offender: the author wanted to describe everything, even though the best idea was (maybe) to leave room for the reader; with that I mean that the descriptions of the “god” get in the way of the supposedly eldritch creature they should be.