Another long time in between finished books, but finally I am through with Calculating God, by Robert J. Sawyer. This was a “That sounds kind of intriguing” pick from my last trip to the library. I’d never heard of Robert Sawyer, but I’m: a) a big sci-fi geek, and b) interested in religious discourse. Score on both things.

This was a delightful read. It starts out with the whimsy of a Douglas Adams tome and steadily metamorphoses into an oftentimes provocative examination of what it would mean if aliens reached Earth and we learned they were a far more advanced species that believes God created the universe and all within it. Such is the dichotomy for the Human protagonist, Tom Jericho, an atheist who now finds himself faced with uncertainty about the beginning and ending of life, both through personal crisis and professional dealings with the alien visitors.

I’m still a little uncertain as to whether or not I found the ending to be satisfying. On some levels, yes, it works. I’m not really sure what exactly is holding me back from giving this a perfect 5, but there’s something there that’s not quite what I expected it would be. I guess I was expecting an 11th hour option that I secretly knew was never going to occur. Perhaps a second read is necessary, but for now, I will give this a final score of 4.5/5.

Next is Walking in Circles Before Lying Down, by Merrill Markoe. I know nothing more about this book than it has a photo of a dog on the cover. Yes, I have done blind book buys before based solely on the fact that a dog was on the cover, and I did it this time, too. Hopefully, this will end up being as successful as the last time I did this and ended up being introduced to the wonderment of Paul Auster through his delightful book, Timbuktu.