We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse: Book 1
“I love the Bobiverse! Some of the best sci-fi out there. These novels have everything, but most importantly Bob was there, too.” —Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Project Hail Mary
The book that launched a thousand Bobs and the first novel in the Bobiverse series from Dennis E. Taylor, part space adventure, part philosophical voyage, We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is a captivating and hilarious exploration of the joys and dangers of artificial intelligence, the wonders of space, and everything that may await us out there.
Welcome to the Bobiverse. We are Bob. We are legion. And we never intended on this.
Bob Johansson had a plan. After selling his software business, a leisurely retirement awaited him. And, if the cryogenic lab freezing his head succeeds, an even longer retirement in the distant future when his corpsicle gets reawakened. Everything was looking up for Bob. That is, until he’s killed crossing the street just moments after signing the papers.
A century later, Bob wakes up, not in a utopia but an Earth on the precipice of war. America is run by a extremist government that stripped his rights as a frozen head, uploaded his consciousness into an AI, and selected him to search space for habitable planets as a self-replicating von Neumann probe. It’s not ideal, but if he declines, he’ll be switched off for good.
With Earth in turmoil, space may actually be the safest place for Bob. But the government failed to mention that he isn’t alone...at least three other countries are looking to claim the next Earth, and they play dirty. Using his new AI abilities and the von Neuman technology he does what any engineer would do: He makes more Bobs—and a virtual cat—and sets to save humanity before it’s too late.
For fans of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, part space adventure, part philosophical voyage, We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is a captivating and hilarious exploration of the joys and dangers of artificial intelligence, the wonders of space, and everything that may await us out there.
The book that launched a thousand Bobs and the first novel in the Bobiverse series from Dennis E. Taylor, part space adventure, part philosophical voyage, We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is a captivating and hilarious exploration of the joys and dangers of artificial intelligence, the wonders of space, and everything that may await us out there.
Welcome to the Bobiverse. We are Bob. We are legion. And we never intended on this.
Bob Johansson had a plan. After selling his software business, a leisurely retirement awaited him. And, if the cryogenic lab freezing his head succeeds, an even longer retirement in the distant future when his corpsicle gets reawakened. Everything was looking up for Bob. That is, until he’s killed crossing the street just moments after signing the papers.
A century later, Bob wakes up, not in a utopia but an Earth on the precipice of war. America is run by a extremist government that stripped his rights as a frozen head, uploaded his consciousness into an AI, and selected him to search space for habitable planets as a self-replicating von Neumann probe. It’s not ideal, but if he declines, he’ll be switched off for good.
With Earth in turmoil, space may actually be the safest place for Bob. But the government failed to mention that he isn’t alone...at least three other countries are looking to claim the next Earth, and they play dirty. Using his new AI abilities and the von Neuman technology he does what any engineer would do: He makes more Bobs—and a virtual cat—and sets to save humanity before it’s too late.
For fans of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, part space adventure, part philosophical voyage, We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is a captivating and hilarious exploration of the joys and dangers of artificial intelligence, the wonders of space, and everything that may await us out there.
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Community Reviews
A good read, probably more of a 3.5 rather than a 3, but not quite at that 4 mark. The narrator was great and really portrayed each "Bob" with a unique subtle difference that helped the narrative. The story itself was pretty shallow though and by design, spread itself too thin. I would have much rather spent time with some Bobs over the others, but due to how the story was written, you had to slog through the chapters to get back to the interesting bits. Nerd culture was a little heavy handed as well, but if you like that sort of writing, it's here in spades.
Another book I picked up because of a silly title and an interesting blurb.
Bob Johansson is your typical tech bro - a computer wiz who speaks in classic sci-fi references and just sold his startup for millions and is looking forward to a life of leisure from now on. He also just signed his afterlife away to a cryogenics company. Just in time, it turns out. He’s killed in a car accident later that day.
When next he wakes up, he finds that over a century has passed, the world has changed drastically, and he’s a computer program. The AI set to control a self-replicating interstellar probe in humanity’s newest space race.
There is no one singular plot, but several branching ones after Bob creates his first copy of himself. Despite being AI clones of each other, the many Bobs - who give themselves new names - all have surprisingly different personalities. More like siblings than perfect copies. And as they go off on independent adventures those personalities become more disparate.
Personally, I found that even though the story jumped back and forth between storylines to keep the action going, it still began to drag after a while and became rather predictable. The planets and lifeforms that the Bobs discover aren’t particularly imaginative or unique, and most of the tension and action comes from typical earth politics and wars.
With a collective of immortal sentient AIs and a whole universe to discover, I just wish it had pushed the envelope more.
Bob Johansson is your typical tech bro - a computer wiz who speaks in classic sci-fi references and just sold his startup for millions and is looking forward to a life of leisure from now on. He also just signed his afterlife away to a cryogenics company. Just in time, it turns out. He’s killed in a car accident later that day.
When next he wakes up, he finds that over a century has passed, the world has changed drastically, and he’s a computer program. The AI set to control a self-replicating interstellar probe in humanity’s newest space race.
There is no one singular plot, but several branching ones after Bob creates his first copy of himself. Despite being AI clones of each other, the many Bobs - who give themselves new names - all have surprisingly different personalities. More like siblings than perfect copies. And as they go off on independent adventures those personalities become more disparate.
Personally, I found that even though the story jumped back and forth between storylines to keep the action going, it still began to drag after a while and became rather predictable. The planets and lifeforms that the Bobs discover aren’t particularly imaginative or unique, and most of the tension and action comes from typical earth politics and wars.
With a collective of immortal sentient AIs and a whole universe to discover, I just wish it had pushed the envelope more.
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