Bobiverse, Book 1
By Dennis E. Taylor
© September 20, 2016, Worldbuilders Press
383 pages
ASIN: B01LWAESYQ
Bob, who has only recently signed a contract with a cryo company to save his remains after his death, is having a blast with his former employees at a huge science fiction convention. They’re all in celebration mode over the sale of his company…that is, until afterward, when Bob is hit and killed by a truck. When Bob wakes, many years later, his consciousness and all his memories have been reduced to a computer intelligence, destined for a project that will take him to the stars. But the humans who’ve put Bob in a computer core underestimated his intelligence. So have the leaders of countries who are all in a murderous race to get to extra-solar habitable systems first. Those other nations will stop at nothing to eliminate the competition, and Bob’s on their list of targets.
We Are Legion is such a fun read! If you are a science fiction fan, especially a Star Trek fan, the Bobiverse is right up your alley. The first Bob, the one that got hit by the truck, is kind of a smart-aleck, and brings his snark and juvenile sense of humor into the future along with his million-watt brain. As part of his mission, he churns out copies of himself, as well as other ships to carry said copies, but the other Bobs aren’t all alike. They’re all Bob, of course, but different aspects of Bob dominate each one. The camaraderie between them, even the arguments they have, are funny. And their loyalty to each other, and to the frazzled fragments of humanity that remain on Earth, sets a hopeful tone. In fact, that hope is a steady thread that runs through the entire novel, making it a very pleasant read.
There are a few moments of tension and excitement but for the most part, We Are Legion is a character-driven story that takes place from the POV of the different Bobs, with one (the main one) being most prevalent. I can’t count the number of times I’ve wondered to myself (in whimsical moments) how much more I could accomplish if I had the ability to clone myself. But it never occurred to me that each of my clones would be unique individuals, interested in following their own paths. Bob finds this out in the course of the story, which explores the idea in great depth. I got attached to all the Bobs (though they go by a variety of different self-chosen names, some of which–like Bert and Ernie–were just silly enough to be hilarious), but I will admit that after a while, I had trouble remembering which Bob was doing what. The only ones that I remembered easily were Riker (yes, from Star Trek) and Homer (as in Simpson), since the mission they took on had enormous stakes for humanity. I won’t spoil it here.
The ending of this one, We Are Legion (Book 1), does wrap up a segment of the story, but there is plenty more to come—four books so far. Over all, the Bobiverse is a galaxy-wide tale that spans differing timelines, since space travel makes time relative; of course, the Bobs find a way to get around that, at least where communications are concerned. I did not feel like I was left hanging, but I do look forward to reading more of this series, and seeing where the author takes Bob—in all his incarnations. Highly recommended for sci-fi fans, and especially for Star Trek fans.