I was recently sitting with a group of writers to whom Bill Meyers said, in so many words, while this isn't his most popular book, it's his personal favorite. So of course I had to read it. I gave this book 4 instead of 5 stars only because, as Meyers implies in the novel's introduction, fictional analogies to the true sovereignty and sacrifice of our God will always fall short on some level. That said, I loved this story about a "cranky, atheistic philosophy professor who is chosen by a group of scientists to create a philosophy for a computer-generated world exactly like ours."While that may not sound like the premise of an exciting novel, this book is an enjoyable and quick-paced page-turner that I reluctantly put down only when I or my children needed to eat. Meyers has created interesting characters that are easy to recognize and become attached to, and they operate against a suspenseful backdrop of intrigue, espionage, mystery and murder.Necessarily, Meyers reviews some pretty deep philosophical material, from dualism to Descartes, but if this stuff made you cross your eyes in Philosophy 101 and wish you'd asked that girl in the green apron for an extra shot, not to worry. He brilliantly moves lightly and swiftly through heady philosophical, theological, and scientific concepts--giving us just enough material to make us feel smart for tracking what he's talking about, and keep the world he's created believable and the story moving. This is my first Meyers novel, but if it's any indication of his writing, that's one thing Bill Meyers understands--how to tell a story. There are some, as Meyers puts it, "theological landmines" in this book that I could quibble with. But the fact is, the idea of a God who is both sovereign and personal, both justified and the only one who could be our justifier, unable to abide sin and yet took all of the world's sin on himself to save us, those are concepts it's hard to get our minds around. For people who struggle with these ideas, The God Hater might provide a fresh perspective -- on a God we may not be able to comprehend with our heads, but can know intimately with our hearts. I was absolutely an enthralled with The God Hater by Bill Myers and that is a big admission for me to make. I am someone who dislikes anything remotely espousing technological gobble-de-gook or a sci-fi premise and as for the Christian lit arena or any theological essays, they are not and will most likely never be my genres of choice. I do however, enjoy good writing, great character development, wonderful imagery and thought provoking subject matter and on those counts Mr. Myers has delivered in spades.I will not go into the plot, nor the characters and their motivations since others have quite capably presented numerous overviews of the books allegorical biblical interpretations and the repercussions that the development and execution of artificial intelligence can pose to our society.Just let me state that with THE GOD HATER this author has turned aside my many aforementioned aversions and with his innovative presentation has taken me into the realms of artificial intelligence, philosophy, religion and atheism by providing not only a well wrought tale but also enough food for thought to feed a small army.No matter what level of scientific knowledge you have reached on the Geek meter, no matter what your religious affiliation, or lack of same, I'm reasonably certain that you will find this little gem hard to put down.P.S. Before anyone jumps all over this review and starts quoting scripture OR any other belief (or non-belief) please note that this is a NOVEL. Read it as you would any work of historical fiction featuring real life persons like Hemingway, Frank Lloyd Wright, Lindberg, Robert Louis Stevenson, etc. (I have read books featuring these gents as the protagonist and did not get upset when the authors of said books took some literary license).
What do You think about The God Hater (2010)?
I really enjoyed the book. I found it both entertaining & thought provoking.
—Tabefay
This book was the best I have read in a long time.
—natarodr
