Hello, dear readers, I finished reading this novel by Dennis E. Taylor last night. It is the fourth book in the Bobiverse series. I have reviewed the others previously and given them strong reviews. But what of this one?
Well, dear readers, to fully appreciate each novel, I recommend reading them in order. It’s a big Universe after all, and so many stories to be told.
The Bobs are copies of the digitally stored personality of a dead human (“Bob”), carried in self-replicating Von Neumann probes. The original mission to explore new worlds was originally tied to saving humanity.
With each replication, there is a drift from the original personality. At this stage, some bobs are the thirtieth generation or more. This has led to factions forming within the Bobiverve, such as Star Trek and the Skippies.
Starfleet believes that the Bobiverse should cease its interaction with biologicals, especially those that don’t engage in space travel, calling it the Prime Directive.
The Skippies want to build a superintelligent AI from scratch.
Each new Bob replicant has an individual name. One of them, Bender, hasn’t been heard from in a very long time. More than a hundred years ago, Bender set out for the stars and was never heard from again. There has been no trace of him despite numerous searches by his clone-mates. Now Bob is determined to organize an expedition to learn Bender’s fate—whatever the cost.
Bob (more or less the original) goes on the same journey where he picks up an alien signal. He deduces that Bender would have followed it. It leads to the discovery of a giant megastructure – rivers that encircle a star. Inside, live a pre-steam civilization, the Quinlans.
The discovery creates a stir throughout the Bobiverse. Starfleet believes that the Quinlans should be left alone, citing the Prime Directive, but Bob would never stop his search for Bender.
It leads to war in the Bobiverse and an epic journey through a truly new world.
I give “Heaven’s River” five stars out of five. Although long, it engages from start to finish. You meet interesting new characters and catch up on old ones. It is very immersive, allowing you to fully engage with the new Quinlan civilization. It has the necessary reveals and plot twists to keep the reader going.
Have you read this novel?
Let me know what you thought in the comments.
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