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We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
- Bobiverse, Book 1
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
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We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
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Summary
There's a reason We Are Legion (We Are Bob) was named Audible's Best Science Fiction Book of 2016: Its irresistibly irreverent wit! Bob Johansson has just sold his software company for a small fortune and is looking forward to a life of leisure. The first item on his to-do list: Spending his newfound windfall. On an urge to splurge, he signs up to have his head cryogenically preserved in case of death. Then he gets himself killed crossing the street. Waking up 117 years later, Bob discovers his mind has been uploaded into a sentient space probe with the ability to replicate itself. Bob and his clones are on a mission to find new homes for humanity and boldly go where no Bob has gone before.
Dennis E. Taylor’s hilarious novel sets the stage for the magnificent performance of Ray Porter, who revels in the brave new world of corpsicles, artificial intelligence, interstellar space probes, and space colonization in tantalizing detail.
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is the first installment in the blockbuster Audible Original Bobiverse series - which has sold more than one million copies.
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What listeners say about We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 29-01-17
An unexpected gem
I love this book but nearly didn't pick it up. I've tried a few titles lately that wouldn't necessarily be my cup of tea. Things like "off to be the wizard", "the passage" and "the final winter" - all probably good books but they didn't gel with me, and because of that, I nearly held off on We Are Legion to go for something else. I couldn't be more glad I didn't as I've only had it 37 days and I think I've listened to it start to end at least 9 times.
Part of what I love is that the book somehow manages to have a single driving character that is at the same time feels like several characters, all of which I'm jealous of. Getting out into the stars has been something I've dreamed of since I was first able to understand that there was an out there to get into. I'd probably take Bob's deal in a heartbeat given the choice. To top it off, it paces well, it does things that I didn't always expect and sets up for the next book 2 (out in March according to the author).
It also rekindled my love of that kind of science. The idea of von neumann probe probes was something I vaguely knew when I was younger but which kind of fell out of my head as I got older. The book brought them back to me and I ended up doing a lot of reading about the practicalities of them.
I rarely write reviews (in ~4 years with Audible, this will only be my 4th) but I can't recommend this enough - there's a reason that papers have been listing it as one of the best Audiobooks of 2016, and it won the audible best sci-fi of the year too.
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191 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- John
- 25-01-17
I rarely give five stars
What did you like most about We Are Legion (We Are Bob)?
I will only leave a minor critique and insure that beyond this I can not fault this audiobook in its genre, style, story, writing or the great wit of Dennis Taylor as he tells the story. With that said I rarely give five stars but for this introduction to the Bobiverse, even though the story slightly faltered by the lack of identity in characters for obvious reasons I think that this is simply an audiobook problem, if it were a text one would be more easily able to orient with each new place and each new "identical character".
In audio form and with so much introduction with new characters in the mid section of the story it proves difficult to differentiate at the rate the story requires but even more difficult to understand how the author was able to overcome this beyond this initial introduction and continue to make them all distinct and memorable from that point to the conclusion.,
Above all I want to give praise to the audiobook since it has the exceptional and most believable voice actor I have ever had the pleasure of listening to, Ray Porter is by far the best I have heard after maybe two dozen audiobooks over the last few years. He is beyond comparison and I hope I am not mistaken by the next entry of the Bobiverse in March 2017.
All in all, every thing is amazing with just slight confusion towards the middle but that is overcome after some reflection or restarting some chapters.
Very near a 10/10.
What did you like best about this story?
The comedic and fresh approach the to sub genre. Very believable even after leaving established Physical and universal laws. The Author can be quite insightful.
Have you listened to any of Ray Porter’s other performances? How does this one compare?
No, But this is excellence beyond any I have heard before.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No it did not but I did feel very altruistic in an emotional sense.
Any additional comments?
Just listen to it!
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32 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr Beck
- 20-12-16
Loved this book
It was a pleasure to listen to this book. The scientific grounding made the story very interesting. The fact is that it was 'clean' made it enjoyable. I highly recommend this book.
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29 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Simon
- 02-03-17
Expanding Headspace
Well this is an interesting little gem! "Bobiverse" gives you a reasonable expectation of just how serious and in-depth the author is aiming at and there is definitely an almost young adult feel to some of the writing and narration. However, there is cleverness here too, once the author gets into the implications of a software generated mind controlling advanced technology the whole thing expands and becomes rather inventive. The Bobiverse term suddenly makes sense.
I can't say I was quite as sold on it as the majority seem to have been but it is a little different and it may well be interesting to see how much further Taylor can take this concept. I was already finding I needed to concentrate on the main character, err I mean characters, err well maybe it was both!
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26 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 29-01-19
A project management report rather than a story
Not sure why this has had so many rave reviews. It really felt like a promising premise turned it to a build your own Bobiverse to do list.. at times It felt like a narration of someone playing sim city build a city game. Good performance, but that didn’t save it for me.
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25 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Liz Davison
- 25-10-16
Loved it
Any additional comments?
Loved the story very funny. The only problem was that it ended please hurry up with the next one.
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25 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nina
- 02-04-17
A good book for Sci-Fi newbies.
An interesting concept of the future in the hands of artificial intelligence written in a simple and humorous way.
This is an easy science fiction listen and a perfect choice to those who begin their journey into science fiction reading escapism or those who simply want to relax with a good book.
Although the story is not hugely innovative, it will easily broaden your imagination.
The author deserves big thumbs up for the main characters, who are well-crafted, full of personality and humour.
Ray Porter's narration is good and brings the story to life. I hope to come across more books read by him.
Overall, the book is worth spending a credit and stealing few hours of your free time.
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24 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CT
- 28-01-17
Out of this world
This is got to be one of the best well thought out and thought provoking books out there. He has good pace and teaching in gauged thoroughly. Can't wait for the next one
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18 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stu
- 26-01-17
Surprising
I found this title just perusing through Amazon and the other reviewers persuaded me to give it a go. I was not disappointed.
Great story and great concept. An real Sci fi fan will love this. it's obvious the author knows his stuff about software, science and other Sci fi titles as the knowledge and facts are littered through but never used incorrectly.
Definitely worth a read!
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18 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dawn
- 27-09-16
Exciting new sci fi!
Full disclosure. I had the wonderful opportunity to read some of this in one of my author crit groups, but I was super excited to then learn of it as an audiobook! Especially read by Ray Porter, who I enjoyed for some of his other works. So I had to go and buy this. :)
Dennis's Bobiverse was a little strange at first. But, you're soon taken in by the wonderful humour of Bob and the weird circumstances he's got himself into and has to keep himself sane from.... I admit there's a lot going on, and there are some 'Bob's I like more than others. But that's to be expected. They are all so different.... and of course as a trecky fan I love Ryker. And Homer :)
This really was a joy to be a part of and an excellent listen. I think my only gripe was the story seemed to have really gotten going, and then it ended. Of course, it's that vast and large a world, as in the whole universe, that there is much more scope for Bob and his replicants, and the last few survivors from Earth.
An excellent story for any sci fi lovers, this is something very different, full of science, and things I don't understand, but loved learning about.
Thank you Dennis and Ray... and hurry up with Bob 2! I can't wait.
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18 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PW
- 12-04-17
Ignore the Publisher's Summary! This is Amazing!
While I enjoy science fiction, I'm not a die-hard reader of it. I kept seeing this book pop up in my recommendations, and I kept ignoring it each time I read the publisher's summary. It seemed like a generic plot and nothing notable. I suspect the author of the publisher's summary only read the first few chapters, as they didn't really seem to know what the book was about.
The story is interesting and fast-paced. In addition, Ray Porter is extremely talented and did an incredible job of delivering the story, as well as all the emotion and humor that went with it. I think this is one of his best performances.
I don't write reviews for books, but this one was good enough that I wanted to take the opportunity to potentially nudge someone else that might be on the fence about it.
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906 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jean
- 04-08-17
Beguiling
I have been attempting to expand on the science fiction authors I read. I discovered this debut novel by Dennis E. Taylor and decided to try it. I try to read debut novels to support new authors. The idea of the story I found intriguing. A brilliant software engineer was hit by a car and died unexpectedly. He had requested his brain be frozen at his death. When he is revived a hundred years later, he discovers that his mind has been co-opted by a group of religious fanatics called FAITH. Bob’s mind is now the computer AI of a space probe sent out to explore the galaxy for a new planet to inhabit. Bob then creates more of himself to spread out around the universe looking for an inhabitable planet. It turns out two other groups are hunting for an inhabitable planet also and will do whatever it takes to achieve their goal.
The book is well written. I found the idea of the human mind in the role of a controlling AI fascinating. The characters are interesting; the plot well developed. There is humor, good dialog and the story is highly entertaining.
The book is nine and half hours long. Ray Porter does an excellent job narrating the book. This is an example of how a great narrator makes the story better. Porter is an actor and award-winning audiobook narrator.
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293 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Striker
- 14-10-16
Wow... Superb Science Fiction
I was very unsure about this book after reading only the description. The only reason I ended up buying it was because of the multiple reviews I read saying that it was amazing... I'm SO glad I gave it a chance. This book was outstanding and everything I want in a science fiction story. It was funny, not too complex, had a little science, periodic space battles, and was just an all-around well-written book.
The book starts out with a successful young tech engineer signing a contract to have his body preserved after his death and then dying in an accident shortly after. He awakens hundreds of years later as a disembodied computer program that was created using his brain as a template. He and the others who preserved their brains are being used to create artificially intelligent beings and have zero rights or free will. He also learns that the United States has been long replaced with a theocratic police state, and that a new space race has begun with earth nations rushing to claim new star systems with intelligent space drones.
Bob becomes one of the first drones to be sent off to the stars with the ability to self-replicate. Having long since circumvented the safeguards put in place to keep him obedient, he becomes something more than just a computer intelligence...
The book is full of Bob debating himself about the ethics of copying his personality and essentially creating whole new beings with their own free will, all with his memories and experiences. He also learns that despite being copies of himself, all of his clones are subtlely different and have their own needs and desires.
A conflict on earth nearly destroys humanity in a nuclear war shortly after he departs earth, leaving Bob as not only the last hope to explore nearby space and expand human influence but as the last hope for the survival of the biological human race.
Throughout the story, Bob (and his copies) invent new technologies, design space vessels, discover new habitable worlds, encounter other primitive intelligent life, return to attempt to save humanity, and encounter mysterious systems and circumstances.
He must also fight back against the only other self-replicating human probe controlled by the intelligence of an insane military leader, leading to several space battles and the hunting of his escaped clones before they can self-replicate out of control.
The performance by the narrator was top-notch and he did a very good job with the various voices of multiple Bob copies, as well as the other characters.
I would recommend this book to every science fiction fan. Five stars!!
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282 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jim "The Impatient"
- 29-09-16
THE UNIVERSE AS MY PLAYGROUND
I'M GLAD TO SEE A BOB FACTORY IN OPERATION
This is what Science Fiction is meant to be. The fans for this book will be Legion. This is full of lots of space travel, exploring of planets, terraforming, discovery of aliens, science talk, colonization, and of course THE BOBS AND THE BOBIAN FEDERATION. I was reminded of THE MARTIAN, although not as funny, Frederik Pohl and James P. Hogan. There are some space fights, but those who love space and all the possibilities, will enjoy this most.
SO THIS IS LIKE ANDROMEDA STRAIN?
As usual, Ray Porter makes this even better.
ALL HAIL BOB!
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274 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rory
- 08-11-16
Only an Hour into the Book !!
I know there are a ton of people who have listened to this book already and have provided excellent reviews ... hell, that's why I bought the book.
I'm only an hour into this book, but it's already done something that no other audiobook that I've bought has done before. I was taking the train into work when I laughed out loud with a thunderous "HA!". I think I knew that I did it, but after glancing around the train car, virtually everyone was smiling at me.
Dennis Taylor can write ... and Ray Porter is giving me a great performance.
Thank you to everyone's review I read that convinced me I had to listen to this book.
And for everyone reading this ... buy it. You won't regret it.
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213 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- bluestategirl
- 29-12-16
Dizzying Tour de Force Performance of Great Book!
So many Bobs, so little time --
If you love sci fi, you already know about this awesome book. It's a pretty original concept -- governments clone human-personality-infused-AIs and send them into space as self-replicating probes to find new planets for humans to inhabit. Some of the probes go insane, some turn into weapons of mass destruction, and some . . .
. . . well, Bob is different. A bit of an independent loaner with no political axe to grind, Bob sets about creating a 'world' HE can live in first! Still, the prime directive is all about replicating, so bring on the Bobs!
Ray Porter does an amazing job voicing the various Bobs -- and all the other characters in this book -- while the pop culture sci fi references provide opportunities for a few homages to beloved characters. The book would not have been as fun to listen to without him!
I. CAN. NOT. WAIT. FOR. BOOK TWO!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
ALSO, ahem. Sorry. Also, here's a shout out to Jim the Impatient for the recommendation! Thanks big guy!
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187 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Friendly Neighborhood Nitpicker
- 15-09-17
If you're on the fence about whether to read this, get off and read it!
So, I've been seeing this book around for a long time. And for just as long I thought the title seemed stupid, and so I avoided looking at it. Even after I read the description, I thought it sounded derivative and uninteresting, so I still avoided reading it. And then for no apparent reason, Nathan Lowell recommended it. Now, if you have any sense, when the reigning master of must-read, different-than-anything-else Science Fiction tells you to read something, you sit up and pay attention.
As a happy coincidence, audible had it on sale for under $5 this week, although at this point I probably would have dropped a credit on it even if they hadn't.
This book was nothing like I expected. You really get to know the different variations of Bob, what their personalities are, how they relate to the others, etc. The technology is interesting, the story is interesting, and the whole book is a great deal of fun. I was really sorry when it was over. Rarely have my expectations been so overturned by a book. I will definitely read others in the series if they appear.
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129 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- As happy as a monkey with two bananas in his hands
- 09-05-18
I love you Bob
I was getting desperate, all of my favourite series of books ‘Arisen’, ‘The Undead’ and ‘Expeditionary Force’ have either finished or waiting for the next in the series. I was… who am I kidding, ‘I am’… out of money! Truthfully I am so poor I walk down the street with one shoe, people ask me ‘did you lose a shoe?’ and I just say ‘No… I found one!’
Ok you get the picture… as a result of being poor I am very selective in the titles I purchase at the moment. I certainly don’t want to waste my money on junk! Wasting my money on junk seems to be all I have been doing lately... I have also decided it is time to increase the number of genre I listen to, so that I am not stuck in this situation like I am in now waiting for my favourite authors to release the next title in a series.
This title ‘We Are Legion’ had appeared a couple of times on my ‘based on previous’ titles but I had never taken the time to really check it out. It probably appeared on the list because I have listened to several books narrated by Ray Porter. I like Ray’s voice… but not to the same degree as R C Bray or Sean Runnette. So it was given the tentative tick for narration. The blurb interested me but didn’t really make me want to instantly smack my money down. However, the deal was done the moment I read the reviews!
Look I am just going to stop the jibber jabber! And tell you this one is definitely a winner! I would have paid more for it! The biggest problem with it is simple, it is so good, so interesting, so surprising that I listened to it in one day! So at this rate I was burning through my money faster than before! Thank goodness for pay day, because I am now able to purchase the next in the series. You’re a bad man Mr Dennis E Taylor you are like a crack dealer! You should be ashamed of yourself, you have me hooked so bad, I am like a monkey with two bananas in my hands!
Just do yourself a favour and get to know the Bobs! I love you Bob!
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106 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- D. Berzack
- 13-01-17
A literary bag of Doritos
This is an irreverent comedy adventure takes, akin to "Ready Player One" and "Magic 2.0", and if you enjoyed those then you'll probably love this. It's also been compared to "The Martian", which is entirely wrong. In terms of sophistication and internal consistency, "The Martian" is a fine wine, and this is grape soda. Either can really hit the spot, but you should know what you're in for.
The initial set-up is novel and intriguing, but after establishing the core idea, the story meanders and offers more fan service (celebrating geekdom and pop culture references) than provocative food for thought.
It's suitable for young adult readers or sci-fi enthusiasts wanting some amusing filler between heavier reads, but don't expect anything too substantial or timeless.
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97 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Russell
- 15-11-16
Got Election Depression?You Need Some Bobiverse
This is an exciting start to a promising series. You won't like the theocratic future envisioned for the United States especially after the recent election of Trump and Pence. (just click unhelpful for this review if you voted Trump) But it is only a small part of the backstory.
The main story involves the revival of a wealthy accident victim who had his brain preserved into a machine/human self replicating entity. When Bob regains consciousness he finds himself in a different century in a world at the brink of nuclear destruction. He escapes to a nearby star system as the world self destructs. Unfortunately other countries launched similar human/machine self replication hybrids and Bob must fight to the death with a nasty piece of work from Brazil.
Each new version of Bob is slightly different. They choose different names and go on different missions. A couple go back to save what is left of the earth while others go to other star systems searching for habitable planets.
This book mixes humor and adventure with intelligently thought out future technology as we follow the exploits of the various Bobs.
The last time I got this excited about a series was when I read Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Fortunately at that time there already was a second book out so i could dive into the next part of the series. This time I will have to be patient and wait for the second book.
Bob is immortal. I am wishing Dennis E. Taylor a long life so he can entertain us with many more stories in the Bobiverse.
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77 people found this helpful