Collection
Series
Publication
[Stevens Point, Wis.] : Worldbuilders Press, 2017.
Description
Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he'll be switched off, and they'll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty. The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad - very mad.… (more)
Language
Original language
English
User reviews
LibraryThing member Narilka
Bob Johansson is living the good life. He's recently sold his software company for an obscene amount of money and has just signed a contract with a cryogenics company to have his body frozen at the time of his death so he can be brought back once technology has advanced enough to cure what ailed
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is the first book in Dennis E. Taylor's Bobiverse series. It's hard to believe this is the author's first book. The story is a lot of fun and well written. It reminds me of Ready Player One and Old Man's War with their tone, style of humor and many 80s references. It also has just enough science to keep things plausible though may be disappointing for those that like heavy science in their science fiction.
While the situation on earth with nations are at each others throats and Bob learning how to be a functional AI is interesting, the meat of the story happens after Bob makes it into space. Seeing how a single probe will take forever to search the galaxy, the first part of Bob's mission is to replicate himself. And he sure does! Each Bob has the essence of the original and yet also has their own voice, giving them almost a father/son relationship. Original Bob's first order to his replicants is to give themselves names so they can tell each other apart. This is where a lot of the 80s references come in with names like Riker, Garfield and Homer. It is a lot of fun figuring out where the references come from.
Bob and his clones are awesome. He has great one liners, a creative engineering mind and is an eternal optimist, especially when it comes to solving problems. Now that he is basically immortal as an AI it has changed his perspective somewhat when it comes to the concept of time. And yet he hasn't lost his humanity.
After Bob makes his clones, the story lines diverge as we follow along with what a select few Bobs are up to. There is a lot of space exploration, first contact with an alien civilization, a trip back to Earth to see how humanity fared, even some space combat with opposing probes. Unfortunately there are too many story threads that there's no way they can be resolved in one book. I'm so happy that book two releases in less than a month. I can't wait to download it.
I listened to the audio book narrated by Ray Porter. He is excellent! He nails the overall tone and humor of the story and does a great job of keeping all the Bobs the same yet different. He also portrays the difference between outward dialog and inner monologue well. Definitely not an easy task.
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him. So it's completely unfair that he gets himself killed while crossing the street during a convention. A little over a hundred years later Bob wakes up as a digital copy of himself, one of five replicants of different people that have been created in the hopes that one of them will be able to pilot a probe to search for other habitable planets. A lot has changed while Bob was out. There has been global economic collapse. Countries have fallen and risen. There is a new space race only this time the stakes are so high that countries will kill to be the first and only ones out of the gate. It turns out that space may be the safest place for Bob after all...or not.We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is the first book in Dennis E. Taylor's Bobiverse series. It's hard to believe this is the author's first book. The story is a lot of fun and well written. It reminds me of Ready Player One and Old Man's War with their tone, style of humor and many 80s references. It also has just enough science to keep things plausible though may be disappointing for those that like heavy science in their science fiction.
While the situation on earth with nations are at each others throats and Bob learning how to be a functional AI is interesting, the meat of the story happens after Bob makes it into space. Seeing how a single probe will take forever to search the galaxy, the first part of Bob's mission is to replicate himself. And he sure does! Each Bob has the essence of the original and yet also has their own voice, giving them almost a father/son relationship. Original Bob's first order to his replicants is to give themselves names so they can tell each other apart. This is where a lot of the 80s references come in with names like Riker, Garfield and Homer. It is a lot of fun figuring out where the references come from.
Bob and his clones are awesome. He has great one liners, a creative engineering mind and is an eternal optimist, especially when it comes to solving problems. Now that he is basically immortal as an AI it has changed his perspective somewhat when it comes to the concept of time. And yet he hasn't lost his humanity.
After Bob makes his clones, the story lines diverge as we follow along with what a select few Bobs are up to. There is a lot of space exploration, first contact with an alien civilization, a trip back to Earth to see how humanity fared, even some space combat with opposing probes. Unfortunately there are too many story threads that there's no way they can be resolved in one book. I'm so happy that book two releases in less than a month. I can't wait to download it.
I listened to the audio book narrated by Ray Porter. He is excellent! He nails the overall tone and humor of the story and does a great job of keeping all the Bobs the same yet different. He also portrays the difference between outward dialog and inner monologue well. Definitely not an easy task.
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LibraryThing member MrsLee
At first I was afraid this would be one long rant against religion, but that finished early on, or at least the cause of it went extinct. Anyway, the premise that a government could be in power which decides to inflict its own beliefs on everyone under their control is not unknown in history. The
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rest of the book was interesting, entertaining, thought-provoking and a good lot of fun. Exploring the issue of "self" and "soul" and "person-hood," it is a good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member TadAD
You'll probably enjoy this only if you’re a science fiction fan, but it's just a lighthearted opportunity to geek out and enjoy some nerdy humor. Basically, Bob Johansson—rich engineer—goes to sleep thinking he's being cryogenically frozen until such time as they can cure his terminal
He chooses the former, manages to slip out of the direct control of the fundamentalist whackos, and Bob's your uncle: an eternity of trying to survive with no help from "home", dodging the attacks of killer probes launched by other countries, with only copies of himself for company. It vaguely reminds me of a less technical The Martian with a bit more humor.
I'm not sure it has the legs for a lot of volumes, but I could see trying one more just to see where some of the story lines go.
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illness. He wakes up to find himself as the mind in a computer controlled by the Free American Independent Theocratic Hegemony with the choice of being the AI in a self-replicating space probe or, well, being turned off forever. He chooses the former, manages to slip out of the direct control of the fundamentalist whackos, and Bob's your uncle: an eternity of trying to survive with no help from "home", dodging the attacks of killer probes launched by other countries, with only copies of himself for company. It vaguely reminds me of a less technical The Martian with a bit more humor.
I'm not sure it has the legs for a lot of volumes, but I could see trying one more just to see where some of the story lines go.
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LibraryThing member JudithProctor
This book was recommended to me, and I did enjoy it, but I also found it a bit frustrating. It's very much the first book of a trilogy and as a result, an awful lot of plot lines were left hanging.
Bob pays to have his head cryogenically stored when he dies, but wakes to find that he's going to be
Over time, he builds replicas of himself and they spread out over an ever-expanding area. Each Bob has its own personality quirks.
Bob pays to have his head cryogenically stored when he dies, but wakes to find that he's going to be
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the cyborg pilot of a long-range exploration space ship.Over time, he builds replicas of himself and they spread out over an ever-expanding area. Each Bob has its own personality quirks.
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LibraryThing member dougcornelius
The book takes an interesting concept and adds a great character. Bob was newly wealthy tech millionaire who agreed to have head frozen so he could be brought back to life in the future. Things don't turn out great and Bob's brain becomes the basis for an Artificial Intelligence.
If you like The
If you like The
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Martian, you will most likely enjoy this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member crazybatcow
Hmmm... I liked this, and didn't like it at the same time.
It is a very cool concept/premise, but after the first 1/3 of the story not very much happens. Or... stuff happens, but it is all kinda 'third-person' and short story style. We don't get emotionally vested in the outcomes.
I think it is the
And the manner that the Bobs were made 'distinct' (i.e. so the reader could figure out which short story Bob they were reading about), was rather... juvenile, actually...
I do have the next book in the series, and will read it, but... I don't imagine I would read any beyond that, unless it goes back to being a novel, rather than a short story collection.
It is a very cool concept/premise, but after the first 1/3 of the story not very much happens. Or... stuff happens, but it is all kinda 'third-person' and short story style. We don't get emotionally vested in the outcomes.
I think it is the
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fact that it felt like a series of short stories feel was what I didn't like. Bob replicates himself and each of his replicants goes off to its own adventure - each of which are mostly self-contained and wrapped up. So you are reading a series of vignettes about various Bobs instead of a linear story with a main character.And the manner that the Bobs were made 'distinct' (i.e. so the reader could figure out which short story Bob they were reading about), was rather... juvenile, actually...
I do have the next book in the series, and will read it, but... I don't imagine I would read any beyond that, unless it goes back to being a novel, rather than a short story collection.
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LibraryThing member Dianekeenoy
I loved this! Definitely going to finish the trilogy. I think audio made this more fun!
LibraryThing member Kellswitch
Bob Johansson has his body frozen after death to be “resurrected” in the future once medical technology improves enough to do so, and ends up becoming an AI tasked with exploring space to find habitable planets for colonization.
I loved the concept of this story, and running throughout it are
Another problem I had is with one of the storyline threads that develops later in the book, you can tell that the author really wanted this story line to play out in a specific way and unfortunately the only way to make that happen was to have the character, who up until this point was show to be incredibly intelligent and resourceful, act in such an incompetent and moronic way that for me it “broke” the character and made the whole story unbelievable. I hated this storyline and based on the rest of the book I have no confidence that the consequences of the choices this character made are dealt with in a believable way.
So. I loved parts of this book and hated others and I am uncertain if I will read the second book.
I loved the concept of this story, and running throughout it are
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some amazing storylines and moments that are almost perfect. There are the bones of an amazing science fiction novel here. But also running throughout it are constant “geek” references and in jokes and metaness that it just undercuts everything and often veered just enough on the side of obnoxious that I was consistently being pulled out of the story and irritated and this made way harder to read than it should have been. Another problem I had is with one of the storyline threads that develops later in the book, you can tell that the author really wanted this story line to play out in a specific way and unfortunately the only way to make that happen was to have the character, who up until this point was show to be incredibly intelligent and resourceful, act in such an incompetent and moronic way that for me it “broke” the character and made the whole story unbelievable. I hated this storyline and based on the rest of the book I have no confidence that the consequences of the choices this character made are dealt with in a believable way.
So. I loved parts of this book and hated others and I am uncertain if I will read the second book.
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LibraryThing member majkia
Lots of Geeky fun here. We can only hope that Vulcan can inspire humanity to be a bit smarter next time.
LibraryThing member 2wonderY
Interesting variety of ratings this book has gotten. My guess is the higher ratings have listened to the audio, rather than reading it in print. The narrator, Ray Porter, really brings this to life. He catches and shares all of the humor that might be obscured otherwise. He gives just the right
Bob is a problem solver. And a decent human. Thank the gods! He is set free from many human limitations and allowed to let his strengths lead. In his many variations, he remains, at least in this book, a humanitarian.
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amount of snark, as needed.Bob is a problem solver. And a decent human. Thank the gods! He is set free from many human limitations and allowed to let his strengths lead. In his many variations, he remains, at least in this book, a humanitarian.
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LibraryThing member melydia
Shortly after paying to have his head cryogenically preserved upon his death, Bob is hit by a car and killed. He wakes up a century later to find his consciousness has been uploaded into a computer, and he now controls a space probe. His job is to explore the universe, looking for habitable planets
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for colonization. He is also expected to clone himself into more probes to make the search more efficient. There's a fair amount of philosophical musings and reasonably believable technology, but mostly Bob is just a really likable guy. I've known many Bobs in my life - engineers who love science fiction and fantasy and pop culture, with a special place in their hearts for Star Trek and puns - so these characters have a friendly familiarity that I latched onto immediately. I'm glad I knew this was the first book of trilogy going in, though, as there isn't a whole lot in the way of a plot arc. Things happen, don't get me wrong, but there's still a lot left unresolved at the end. Which is great, actually, because I couldn't wait for more. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookczuk
Not quite as engaging as I'd hoped, but I still enjoyed it.
LibraryThing member pgmcc
AIs in space. Interesting approach to space exploration in the context of rival world powers competing for dominance and not afraid to push the big button.
Indication of how a theocracy can twist facts and science to promote self-interest and spread evil for political ends.
Indication of how a theocracy can twist facts and science to promote self-interest and spread evil for political ends.
LibraryThing member Charrlygirl
This book was totally out of my wheelhouse but I loved it!
Bob is a tech genius comparable to Bill Gates. He decides to get himself, (well, his head), cryogenically frozen and signs a contract to have it done. Shortly thereafter, he's hit by a car and the contract kicks in.
When he wakes up, it's
A total aside: my husband was watching the Science Channel the other night and the show was talking about 3D printers and I asked if Von Neumann probes were mentioned. He looked at me as if I were a nut. No, he said. Two minutes later the show went into what they were and how they would work and I puffed up with pride. (Picture Fredo Corleone: "I'm smart!")
Ray Porter is a fantastic narrator and I enjoyed hearing him voice the different faces of Bob: (Riker, Homer and Admiral Akbar), to name a few. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed this book as much if I had read it instead of listening. That said, bring on book two!
Bob is a tech genius comparable to Bill Gates. He decides to get himself, (well, his head), cryogenically frozen and signs a contract to have it done. Shortly thereafter, he's hit by a car and the contract kicks in.
When he wakes up, it's
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centuries later and as a sentient computer. He's in charge of, (basically), saving humanity. He goes about this task by cloning himself, as he was made to do, (see Von Neumann probes), and spreading throughout the universe(s). He, (it), (Bobs), does this with humor, compassion and all kinds of science fiction references that cracked me up. A total aside: my husband was watching the Science Channel the other night and the show was talking about 3D printers and I asked if Von Neumann probes were mentioned. He looked at me as if I were a nut. No, he said. Two minutes later the show went into what they were and how they would work and I puffed up with pride. (Picture Fredo Corleone: "I'm smart!")
Ray Porter is a fantastic narrator and I enjoyed hearing him voice the different faces of Bob: (Riker, Homer and Admiral Akbar), to name a few. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed this book as much if I had read it instead of listening. That said, bring on book two!
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LibraryThing member quondame
Funny, and adventurous, this is a more a collection of space exploration scenarios connected by all the adventurers being copies of the original Bob.
LibraryThing member Noeshia
This book made me rethink my stance on not really liking the idea of moving people to a digital media. It was fun and full of references to pop culture, but there was also a really serious story in there. Some people might not really enjoy this, I'm thinking because being referential is not always
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looked on kindly, but for me the references were realistic. By realistic I mean that I know that multiple versions of me would both be annoying, and find themselves hilarious. I'm not guaranteeing that I would pass the sensory deprivation, I'm just saying that an electronic version of me that can reproduce would probably react to itself in a similar way. I had some good talks with my husband over the serious issues presented in the book, and I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series. I already have it on my tablet, isn't that nice? Show Less
LibraryThing member breic
This novel reads like a play-by-play exposition of a space-exploration video game. There's none of the boring stuff. The Bobs take off, and a few seconds later they've arrived at the next star, mapped out its system, discovered intelligent life. There are lots of space battles, with ships shooting
The scales are wildly inconsistent, e.g., we're on tenterhooks whether a comet either hits a planet or hits the sun (with no options in between); and even as a factory builds interstellar space ships it has trouble building more than a half-dozen guns (that they'll use to protect an alien civilization which, coincidentally, was within days of going extinct when the Bobs arrived to save the day). Despite the incredible technology, artificial intelligence seems to be nonexistent except when it is time to move on to the next chapter. There are no character conflicts or politics; all the Bobs are apparently best friends forever, and are equally dedicated to saving humanity.
And after slogging through all this, there's not even an ending. It just stops.
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each other from across the whole solar system, again hitting or missing within a sentence of launch. We are treated again and again to the ships' inventories: how many missiles are left, how many are in flight, etc. (This information must be in the corner of the video game screen.) The scales are wildly inconsistent, e.g., we're on tenterhooks whether a comet either hits a planet or hits the sun (with no options in between); and even as a factory builds interstellar space ships it has trouble building more than a half-dozen guns (that they'll use to protect an alien civilization which, coincidentally, was within days of going extinct when the Bobs arrived to save the day). Despite the incredible technology, artificial intelligence seems to be nonexistent except when it is time to move on to the next chapter. There are no character conflicts or politics; all the Bobs are apparently best friends forever, and are equally dedicated to saving humanity.
And after slogging through all this, there's not even an ending. It just stops.
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LibraryThing member theWallflower
What if you could put your brain in a computer… and it was AWESOME?
I feel like this is the closest I’ve ever been to someone who can capture the same blend of snarky comedy and well-researched science fiction that John Scalzi can.
The biggest challenge in a novel like this is that there is only
The best thing is that the main character is a regular guy. He’s a trope-savvy software engineer who doesn’t shirk away from the pop culture reference. He’s aware he’s in a 1950’s Isaac Asimov novel. In fact, he’s the only one of his “graduating class” that doesn’t go insane because he’s a brain-in-a-box because he likes it. He gets to live inside his mind, solve technical problems, explore space, and he can make his own friends. Sounds ideal to me.
It’s fast-paced, it’s witty, it’s got a layman’s POV of hard space travel science. I highly recommend.
I feel like this is the closest I’ve ever been to someone who can capture the same blend of snarky comedy and well-researched science fiction that John Scalzi can.
The biggest challenge in a novel like this is that there is only
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one character. Which is because the plot demands it — it’s one person traveling alone for a long time. And when more characters are added, they’re the same character, because he can make copies of himself. So not a lot of diversity or dynamics in relationships. But at least it’s not due to authorial incompetence.The best thing is that the main character is a regular guy. He’s a trope-savvy software engineer who doesn’t shirk away from the pop culture reference. He’s aware he’s in a 1950’s Isaac Asimov novel. In fact, he’s the only one of his “graduating class” that doesn’t go insane because he’s a brain-in-a-box because he likes it. He gets to live inside his mind, solve technical problems, explore space, and he can make his own friends. Sounds ideal to me.
It’s fast-paced, it’s witty, it’s got a layman’s POV of hard space travel science. I highly recommend.
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LibraryThing member Shrike58
I'm perfectly happy to read a routine science fiction story, but producing a viable one is apparently harder than it looks these days, as I've been disappointed by most of the books I've read in that vein of late. This one is not a disappointment, as our protagonist is a paradigmatic competent man
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who is awaken into a world of self-destructive idiots. If you want to be cynical and say that the author just wrote his own personal fantasy of achievement, fine, it's an admirable personal fantasy. Reminiscent of a cross between Andy Weir at his analytic best, and John Scalzi at 8/10's of maximum snark, I'm now looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. Show Less
LibraryThing member burritapal
I don't know how I missed this series for so long. I read a good deal of this book with a grin on my face.
The author's protagonist, bob, has a similar sense of humor to mine. I adore the Star Trek references. There're no female characters in The book, so it simplifies it for the author.
Some noted
After Bob's consciousness wakes up some 117 years after he's hit by a car, Dr Landers has his first interviews with him:
P.19-20:
" 'you, bob, are what most people would call an artificial intelligence, although that's not strictly accurate. You are a copy of the mind of Robert johansson, created by scanning his cryogenically frozen brain at the sub cellular level and converting the data into a computer simulation. You are, essentially, a computer program that thinks it's Robert johansson. A replicant.
... 'So then i'm... That is, Bob is still alive? Or still dead? I mean, still in cryo?'
'No, I'm afraid not.' Dr Landers shifted uncomfortably in his chair. 'The recording process is destructive. We have to thaw the brain sufficiently to be able to measure the synaptic potentials, without allowing ice crystals to form. Chemicals are involved which render the brain nonviable. There's no point in trying to refreeze it afterwards.'
the Revelation hit me with a jolt, almost like touching a live wire. I don't know why I should be more bothered by the fact of original Bob being dead. Either way, I was a computer program. But somehow, the idea that I was all that was left of Bob felt like being stabbed. I had been -- Bob had been -- discarded."
Bob finds out he's in competition for a job running a flight out to the solar system and beyond. There are four other candidates. This was published in 2017 so the current government is based on what would have happened if trumpedo and his cronies would have kept in power. When Bob is not being instructed by Dr landers, he doesn't like being "switched off." He asks about access to the internet.
P.31:
" ...'instead, how about keeping me busy with intellectual activity? How about some study time? Maybe with access to whatever the internet has evolved into? I'd like to see what I've been missing for the last hundred-odd' - [117]. I didn't ask! -- 'years.'
'Well, the internet does not exist anymore, at least not domestically. Far too anarchic, far too hard to control. And too many opportunities for sin, wrong thinking, and temptation. However, we have online libraries, and some of the history might even be relatively accurate. I will see if I can connect you up to one of the better ones.'
'Are there genealogy records? I might have relatives still alive. I'd be very interested.'
'as a matter of policy, bob, we don't encourage that. In any case, such information is not in the public record. Under FAITH [the government], information is not freely available by default. Sorry.'
At that moment, I was happy that I had no face. This was the final blow, cutting me off from my former humanity. Not only was my immediate family dead, I would not be able to reconnect with any descendants. I was truly, completely alone."
Bob gets the job. Once he's alone in space, he arranges his own virtual reality space, complete with a body, and a replacement cat who is just like his boyhood cat, spike. He has already learned how to switch off controls that were embedded in him.. Bob had been an engineer. Once he's given himself permission, he switches off his emotion's control, and lets himself grieve for his lost family.
P.79-80:
"Mom, dad. Andrea and Alaina. All gone, separated from me by more than a century and billions of kilometers. I'd never see their children. I'd never have my own. I'd never see Mom and Dad as grandparents. They'd have made excellent grandparents. They were goofy, irreverent, and never stood on their dignity.
I thought of Andrea mocking me about my height, and I started to cry. Alaina spraying me with the garden hose aa I lay in the hammock that we had strung up in the backyard. I thought of the times we all goaded each other into uncontrollable laughter with increasingly infantile jokes and puns. No one understood us like we understood each other. No one else would get it, maybe not even mom and dad. And they were gone. Irretrievably beyond my reach, forever. As the loneliness, the Loss washed over me, I slid down off my chair onto the floor and curled into a ball. I sobbed until I couldn't catch a breath, then had to gasp a huge lung full of air.
Spike came over to investigate and gave me a small inquisitive meow. I took the cat in my arms and, rocking back and forth on the floor, I mourned my lost life."
Bob's Nemesis is madeiros, from the Brazilian federation. He causes havoc in the rest of the book, and I assume in much of the rest of the other books, too.
Bob makes copies of himself, and with the help of 3D printers, creates new space factories and new space stations and ships to keep going further into the Galaxy and beyond. By the end of the book, there are many copies of Bob that have taken on different projects.
I like the way the author makes the computer programming and hard science fiction understandable to a reader whose Forte is languages and english. I have already put a hold on book 2 in the Bobiverse.
The author's protagonist, bob, has a similar sense of humor to mine. I adore the Star Trek references. There're no female characters in The book, so it simplifies it for the author.
Some noted
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parts:After Bob's consciousness wakes up some 117 years after he's hit by a car, Dr Landers has his first interviews with him:
P.19-20:
" 'you, bob, are what most people would call an artificial intelligence, although that's not strictly accurate. You are a copy of the mind of Robert johansson, created by scanning his cryogenically frozen brain at the sub cellular level and converting the data into a computer simulation. You are, essentially, a computer program that thinks it's Robert johansson. A replicant.
... 'So then i'm... That is, Bob is still alive? Or still dead? I mean, still in cryo?'
'No, I'm afraid not.' Dr Landers shifted uncomfortably in his chair. 'The recording process is destructive. We have to thaw the brain sufficiently to be able to measure the synaptic potentials, without allowing ice crystals to form. Chemicals are involved which render the brain nonviable. There's no point in trying to refreeze it afterwards.'
the Revelation hit me with a jolt, almost like touching a live wire. I don't know why I should be more bothered by the fact of original Bob being dead. Either way, I was a computer program. But somehow, the idea that I was all that was left of Bob felt like being stabbed. I had been -- Bob had been -- discarded."
Bob finds out he's in competition for a job running a flight out to the solar system and beyond. There are four other candidates. This was published in 2017 so the current government is based on what would have happened if trumpedo and his cronies would have kept in power. When Bob is not being instructed by Dr landers, he doesn't like being "switched off." He asks about access to the internet.
P.31:
" ...'instead, how about keeping me busy with intellectual activity? How about some study time? Maybe with access to whatever the internet has evolved into? I'd like to see what I've been missing for the last hundred-odd' - [117]. I didn't ask! -- 'years.'
'Well, the internet does not exist anymore, at least not domestically. Far too anarchic, far too hard to control. And too many opportunities for sin, wrong thinking, and temptation. However, we have online libraries, and some of the history might even be relatively accurate. I will see if I can connect you up to one of the better ones.'
'Are there genealogy records? I might have relatives still alive. I'd be very interested.'
'as a matter of policy, bob, we don't encourage that. In any case, such information is not in the public record. Under FAITH [the government], information is not freely available by default. Sorry.'
At that moment, I was happy that I had no face. This was the final blow, cutting me off from my former humanity. Not only was my immediate family dead, I would not be able to reconnect with any descendants. I was truly, completely alone."
Bob gets the job. Once he's alone in space, he arranges his own virtual reality space, complete with a body, and a replacement cat who is just like his boyhood cat, spike. He has already learned how to switch off controls that were embedded in him.. Bob had been an engineer. Once he's given himself permission, he switches off his emotion's control, and lets himself grieve for his lost family.
P.79-80:
"Mom, dad. Andrea and Alaina. All gone, separated from me by more than a century and billions of kilometers. I'd never see their children. I'd never have my own. I'd never see Mom and Dad as grandparents. They'd have made excellent grandparents. They were goofy, irreverent, and never stood on their dignity.
I thought of Andrea mocking me about my height, and I started to cry. Alaina spraying me with the garden hose aa I lay in the hammock that we had strung up in the backyard. I thought of the times we all goaded each other into uncontrollable laughter with increasingly infantile jokes and puns. No one understood us like we understood each other. No one else would get it, maybe not even mom and dad. And they were gone. Irretrievably beyond my reach, forever. As the loneliness, the Loss washed over me, I slid down off my chair onto the floor and curled into a ball. I sobbed until I couldn't catch a breath, then had to gasp a huge lung full of air.
Spike came over to investigate and gave me a small inquisitive meow. I took the cat in my arms and, rocking back and forth on the floor, I mourned my lost life."
Bob's Nemesis is madeiros, from the Brazilian federation. He causes havoc in the rest of the book, and I assume in much of the rest of the other books, too.
Bob makes copies of himself, and with the help of 3D printers, creates new space factories and new space stations and ships to keep going further into the Galaxy and beyond. By the end of the book, there are many copies of Bob that have taken on different projects.
I like the way the author makes the computer programming and hard science fiction understandable to a reader whose Forte is languages and english. I have already put a hold on book 2 in the Bobiverse.
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LibraryThing member infjsarah
A very popular series but I was a bit Meh on it. Not really the kind of sci-fi I like.
LibraryThing member krau0098
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Bobiverse series. Right now there are four books in this series (it sounds like the first three are the main bulk of the story). I got this as an audiobook from Audible.com.
Audiobook Quality (5/5): The narration was very well done; definitely one I
Thoughts: I really loved the beginning of this book; the premise and situation Bob finds himself in is hilarious, ingenious, and a bit creepy too. The pacing of the story slows a little bit towards the middle, but then picks back up as the Bobs gain footholds in different areas of space. At that point I ended up very engaged with the various struggles of the entities the Bobs interacted with.
As you get towards the end of the story it does get a bit hard to keep track of all of the Bobs; but Taylor does a pretty good job of focusing on a manageable number. The transitions on the audiobook were pretty fast and sometimes I had to quickly look at my phone to remind myself which Bob I was hearing from (the chapter name starts with which Bob you are listening to).
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this and plan on listening/reading the second book as well. This is a fun and clever book with a really interesting premise. I would recommend it if you like humorous sci-fi reads and are interested in things like artificial intelligence and space travel.
Audiobook Quality (5/5): The narration was very well done; definitely one I
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would recommend listening to if you enjoy audiobooks.Thoughts: I really loved the beginning of this book; the premise and situation Bob finds himself in is hilarious, ingenious, and a bit creepy too. The pacing of the story slows a little bit towards the middle, but then picks back up as the Bobs gain footholds in different areas of space. At that point I ended up very engaged with the various struggles of the entities the Bobs interacted with.
As you get towards the end of the story it does get a bit hard to keep track of all of the Bobs; but Taylor does a pretty good job of focusing on a manageable number. The transitions on the audiobook were pretty fast and sometimes I had to quickly look at my phone to remind myself which Bob I was hearing from (the chapter name starts with which Bob you are listening to).
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this and plan on listening/reading the second book as well. This is a fun and clever book with a really interesting premise. I would recommend it if you like humorous sci-fi reads and are interested in things like artificial intelligence and space travel.
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LibraryThing member jamestomasino
This is a really fun sci-fi book with a really unique angle. The story was engaging and interesting, but it started getting listless about halfway through. There's a few plots pulling the story along, but they're not very connected. Things end abruptly without much resolution.
I'll read more in the
I'll read more in the
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series eventually. Show Less
LibraryThing member Pepperwings
An enjoyable sci-fi, but I felt like the "fun with clones," and laughing at oneself was a little too self-indulgent, and made the story drag on more than propelling it.
LibraryThing member Belana
I alternately read and listened to this for a book discussion. I think I wouldn't have finished it without that incentive.
The first half I found witty, and funny, and interesting, and then I struggled. The book didn't manage to keep my interest, so I found my thoughts wandering while listening, or
There are some great ideas, and valid points about human behaviour, but the Bobiverse bug didn't bite me, and I don't intend to go on with that series.
The narration was done very well, though.
The first half I found witty, and funny, and interesting, and then I struggled. The book didn't manage to keep my interest, so I found my thoughts wandering while listening, or
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skipping parts while reading.There are some great ideas, and valid points about human behaviour, but the Bobiverse bug didn't bite me, and I don't intend to go on with that series.
The narration was done very well, though.
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