Tag: Dennis E Taylor

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.

We are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor

Hello readers, I do hope you are all in good form. The cold weather is really settling now, at least in Ireland. Let’s hope it doesn’t last too long for the sake of my sanity. On much more positive notice, I have just finished reading We are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor.

This is the best sci-fi novel I’ve read in quite some time. Thoroughly original and engaging throughout, it was impossible to stop reading.

Bob is the main character or is that characters? In the current time, Bob has come to riches through the sale of his software company. One of the first things he does with his newfound wealth is sign up for a life extension company. He is an atheist, so he wants to live as long as possible. Upon his death, his head will be removed from his body in the hope that in the future with advancements in technology, he can be brought back to life.

Of course, he thinks this is something that is the far future.

But it’s not.

He dies in a car crash.

The next thing he is awakened over a hundred years from now. But, not all is as he would have hoped. He quickly realizes he no longer has a body but is now computer code. Due, to political changes, he has also lost all of his wealth and his body has been incinerated. He is now private property, belonging to the Ministry of Truth, and is what is called a replicant.

Most replicants quickly have psychotic breaks and don’t make it even with their mood qualifiers. But, Bob sees it as a chance at immortality and realizes he is in the running for an important task.

That task is integral to a Von Neumann probe seeking new habitable worlds for humans. A self-replicating probe to cover the galaxy will necessitate more copies of Bob being created. But, other probes are being sent by other political entities, and some will be armed.

Bob just about manages to take off before missiles strike. This ultimately leads to a nuclear conflict on Earth.

What follows is a tale of exploration, kinship, and what it means to be human.

This gets five stars out of five for me. Highly recommended.

Have you read this novel? What did you think? Let me know in the comments.

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