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Heaven’s River: A Review of the Latest Bobiverse Adventure

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.

Distant Love (Part 41)

Derek’s heart misses a beat with the anguish in her voice. “I’m sorry, Nathalie. I couldn’t tell you what I was about to do. It would only get you in trouble. You were the best friend I ever had.”

“Don’t be a fool, she’s not….” The message cackles before it stops altogether.

Maeve glances at him, but he looks ahead.

“Where’re now, Maeve? Any ideas? We can’t stay here.”

There is a moment of silence, then she says, “Why not Earth? My aunt lives somewhere in Haroldswick in the Shetland Islands. It’s remote, and we can trust her. We’ll never be found.”

Derek smiles, “Never heard of it but that’s probably a good thing. I’ll put in the coordinates for Earth. It’s going to take a couple of hours.”

An hour later, the ship has stopped its acceleration. The harness automatically removes from Derek’s wheelchair, and Maeve unstraps her belt.

A moment later, she throws her arms around Derek’s neck and presses her lips against his. “You saved me. Nobody has done something like that for me before. You’re a hero.”

Derek gazes into her eyes, “Anything for you, love. You have the rest of our lives to make it up to me.”

They laughed and began to kiss once more.

Kiera Knightley Shines in ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ Review

Hello readers, I hope you are having a delightful day. I watched this film earlier today based on a book by the same name, and thought it was worth writing about.

Investigative Detective Blacklock, played by the still very beautiful Kiera Knightley, is going through a hard time. A source for one of her stories was recently murdered. So, she takes the opportunity to follow up on a fluff piece about a group of wealthy people, who will make a contribution to cancer research after one of them gets a terminal prognosis. Little does she realize that an ex is also on the boat.

I did wonder if they could make this film, with most of the action happening on a large yacht. But it pulls it off. Things go into high gear when our investigator sees a body in the water from Cabin 10. The only problem is that they don’t find it, and nobody is missing. Did she really see a body, or did her mind conjure it up? The rest of the people on the ship are definitely convinced it is.

What follows is a thriller full of intrigue and menace. Will our intrepid heroine figure it all out? It all makes sense at just the right time, turning into a classic tale of backstabbing and revenge.

As of October 2025, this film can be viewed on Netflix. I give it four stars out of five.

Have you seen it?

What did you think? Let me know in the comments.

Distant Love (Part 40)

Derek drives his wheelchair into position in the middle of the deck. Clamps lock onto the wheelchair as a belt closes around his torso.

There is a large computer monitor in front of him showing the grey hangar door blocking their exit. The rest of the deck is full of red leather seats and various computers that combine into an AI hive mind known as “The Ship”.

He looks to see that Maeve is strapped in, then issues the command to the ship’s computer to initiate take-off.

The ship replies, “Good to see you, Derek. And I see you have a guest. Initializing the thrusters.”

Derek feels the ship rattling. Then it stops dead.

“What happened?” Maeve yelps.

“The station has given a counter order,” the station replies matter-of-factly.

Everything is going exactly as Derek foresaw, “Issuing Emergency Order 563.”

The thrusters ignite one more, and the hangar door opens to reveal the lunar landscape.

Then, they lift off. Earth comes into view, a blue dot in the vastness of space. The orbiting space habitats are invisible at this distance.

A buzzing sound comes over the communications array.

Then Derek hears Nathalie’s voice. “What are you doing, Derek? This is crazy. You need to come back right now!”

Distant Love (Part 39)

The hail of fire stops their pursuers. On reaching the end of the corridor, they are met by another lift, except it’s locked this time.

“You need to enter the code – zero, three, four, five. A perk of the job,” Derek roars as he opens fire once more.

Maeve taps the code in, and the door swings open. “Let’s go, Derek!”.

The door closes as Derek makes it through, “We’re going to the top level.”

Maeve presses the relevant button, then plants a kiss on his lips. “Thank you for saving me.”

The lift door opens, and they exit into a large hangar. There is a stench of oil.

“There she is, Maeve. Right in front of us, the red one. My mother left her to me, but up till now, there was nowhere I wanted to go. Not till I met you.”

They hurry over the ship. A device in Derek’s chair signals for the cargo bay ramp to go down. Derek drives onto the ramps, with Maeve close behind as he hears shouting in the distance. He can feel his heart beating. “Maeve, follow me to the deck and strap yourself in pronto. We need to get off this base.”

Distant Love (Part 38)

The lift door opens. Derek is sitting in his electric wheelchair and pointing a Swazi hand laser at one of the guards. Its sleek design is unmistakable; it has the power to disintegrate those in front of it. “I’m here for you Maeve.”

His hand motions for the two guards to get out. They look at each other in disbelief before raising their hands and exiting. A guard tosses the keys of the handcuffs to Maeve, who takes them off.

Derek reverses into the lift, all the time keeping them in his sights, “It’s nothing personal. Now run!”

They turn and sprint away as the lift door closes.

Maeve hugs him, “What now?”

“Press Floor 7, we don’t have much time.”

An alarm blares as the lift rises. The lift door opens, revealing a long, white corridor. “Maeve, you need to sprint. The wheelchair will keep up with you. Now, run.”

Sure enough, he kept by her side. The sound of people shouting comes from behind.

“I’m putting the wheelchair on auto. Keep going as fast as you can, Maeve.”

She looks over to see his seat turning around to the other side of the direction he is travelling in. He opens fire.

Review of Monster: The Ed Gein Story

My dear readers, I’ll make no bones about it. If you are of a weak disposition to gore, then you should stop reading here. This series recently dropped on Netflix. It is a dramatization of the life of the notorious Edward Theodore Gein, also known as The Butcher of Plainfield.

In reality, he was convicted of two murders and suspected of a further seven. The reason he entered into the mainstream consciousness is the grave robbing and what he did with the bodies afterwards, using skulls as bowls and skin to make lamps. All horrifying to the normal human mind. It is thought that he suffered from a deep psychosis.

It is important to remember that this is a dramatization. Therefore, it cannot be considered to be all factual. Well, certain parts of it, anyway.

The series contains eight episodes. Charlie Hunnam plays Ed. The first thing I noticed was his nice, soft voice. Not the voice you would expect from a killer. The first episode details Ed’s relationship with his mother. She played a crucial role in his development, isolating him from the wider world and indoctrinating him in biblical verse. He ends up caring for her for her after a stroke, then is left bereft after her death.

This is when things turn ever more sinister as he begins grave robbing. He believes one of the cadavers is his mother, back home with him again.

I enjoyed watching the series, but at times I had to switch from its macabre scenes.

The relationship between Gein and his girlfriend Adeline, doesn’t ring true. In the series, she lives next door and is not horrified by his antics. It seems very unlikely that there would be two such characters in a small, sparsely populated area.

The last episode is very strange, stuck somewhere between being respectful to a mentally ill man and glorifying his disturbing deeds.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story gets 3.5 stars out of five from me.

Have you seen this series?

What are your thoughts?

Why Wednesday Season 2 is Worth Your Time

Dear readers, it is great to be back here with you again. For those who may not remember, or dare I say it, may not have read it, I thoroughly enjoyed the first series of “Wednesday”. The second season was recently released on Netflix, which is playing a blinder at the moment.

There has been quite a delay since the first series. Somewhat ironically, considering the black comedy, Jenna Ortega, who plays Wednesday, did not wish to return. She was not impressed with the rest of her team, and apparently had to come up with a considerable amount of her own dialogue and improvisations. Then, it became a huge hit. I’m sure this gave her much more power to get things done the way she wanted.

So what did I think of Season 2?

One word – excellent. And this from a man mid-forties about a bunch of mostly female high schoolers in a supernatural mystery comedy.

The first series turned Ortega into a worldwide star, and she is just as good in series two. In fact, her skills may even be more challenged in this one, where bodies are temporarily swapped. A powerful dynamic in Series Two is the relationship between Wednesday and her mother, who is played by the legendary Catherine Zeta-Jones. There is a certain warmth underneath the coldness as they try to outwit one another. Wednesday, so she can break free, and fear on her mother’s side that she pushes things too far. A pivotal moment is a veiled sword fight between them to determine if Wednesday gets her psychic knowledge book back.

Pugsley becomes a more central character in Series 2. He has a much greater wish to be loved than Wednesday. It hurts when he is rejected, and he ends up making a very unusual friend, even by the standards of the Addams family.

Another character who lights up this series is Enid, played by the delightful Emma Myers. Enid is an unforgettable character who plays an important counterpoint to the deadpan Wednesday.

Five stars out of five from me. Now, go watch some TV!

So, have you seen it, and what did you think?

Distant Love (Part 37)

Maeve wakes up to the sound of other prisoners shouting for their breakfast. They arrived the previous night and insisted on making their presence felt.

Her thoughts turned to Derek, and she wished she could see him once more. Checking on his location, she smiles. He is back on the base.

There is a knock on her cell door.

“Yes?”

The door opens, the knock merely allowing a few seconds to get ready.

They need not have worried. She slept ready. All she needed was a comb for her long hair.

Today, she was to be brought before the lunar judge to plead, either “guilty” or “not guilty.” Her lawyer had strongly advised against fighting it: “You could be free in as little as ten years.”

So, in her mind, there was little. Ten years it would be.

Two nervous officers entered – a male and a female. They both stern.

The woman spoke, “Maeve, please come with us.”

Maeve nods and follows them out. It is a path she has become familiar with.

The other prisoners screech at them through the bars. Tears roll down Maeve’s face as they enter a long corridor with an escalator that brings them up a level.

Distant Love (Part 36)

Maeve’s movements are easy to track. She is connected to the lunar net. It is about predicting where she will be brought next. Derek needs to be there in advance, and at exactly the right time.

He continues his usual routine. All the time plotting. Nathalie seems to sense something is afoot.

“Still thinking about her, Derek?”

And, “there are other girls.”

He frowns, telling her that he’s okay. She would try to stop him, there’s no doubt about it.

At four o’clock, he leaves work early and heads to the tavern in Delta B. It’s a long journey and involves travelling between habitats, separated by hundreds of miles on the Lunar Express. It’s just the same as a train on Earth, except its passage is enclosed in regolith.

Derek hasn’t done this before, but there is no other option.

******

Maeves looks out at the cratered lunar surface from her cell. This is not how she thought she’d end up. She can see the Earth in the distance. So much opportunity gone. Her lawyer thinks her defence is futile, even if she never did anything wrong. Nobody believes her, except Derek. And he seems to be leaving her when she scans his position.

She lies down on the cold cell floor, a solitary pillow her only comfort.