David Brin’s novel Existence is set in an alarmingly plausible near future: a post-climate-catastrophe and post-nuclear-disaster world of artificial intelligence, augmented reality and ubiquitous inter-connectivity that is but a short imaginative leap from our present state.
With this backdrop, Brin introduces us to a bevy of characters and sets up several narrative threads that, to varying degrees, run through the entire book: a reporter stumbles on a plot to use zeppelins as bombs, a writer is enlisted to investigate the poisoning of a Senator, an extreme sports junky finds himself stranded at sea and, most significantly, an astronaut discovers a mysterious crystal orbiting the earth that might contain intelligent life. (more…)
Collins presents his personal testimony as well as his understanding of topics concerning science and religion. He argues for a synergy between the two and lays out his views on theistic evolution or “Biologos.” Many of his beliefs may not sit well with conservative evangelicals, but his discussion of modern science as it relates to matters of faith is worth reading. This book is neither rigorously intellectual nor particularly theologically insightful, but it does provide a perspective that merits attention. For more work in a similar vein, see 
