Bloody Books Reviews -We Are Legion, We Are Bob

Dennis E Taylor's "Bobiverse" books were something I did not expect to do much for me. But it got me early on, and now I have to try and explain why I adore this series so much

We begin the series following Robert Johansson, who has recently become filthy rich following the sale of his software company. He has become so rich in fact that he has paid to have his head frozen after his death in order to be resurrected in some far future. He wanders around a Comic-Con and enjoys a talk regarding how humanity could take to the stars. He then dies in a million to one accident.

This however does not stop our Bob, as he awakens again as replicant system under the watching eyes of a Totalitarian Government that has a very strange love affair with acronyms. As Bob becomes used to his new existence and the path ahead begins to open up, the pressures of a world on the precipice of destruction flares into disaster, just as Bob sails into space on a mission to find new worlds for Humanity to dwell.

This is where Taylor's book stops being a good sci fi book and becomes something utterly incredible. Part of Bob's mission is to clone his artificial self , all of which have a slightly different personality, a new name and are completely independently themselves from the get go. The pace begins to quicken as decades pass, and the Bob's grow. Before the reader is aware of the sheer scale of the story, there are multiple plots and Bobs and, importantly, they are all genuinely fascinating tales in their own right. Earth is down to only a few million humans, a species of sentient life is discovered (and now has an accidental Sky-God). The first book screeches to a sudden halt (but is picked up instantly in book 2) which I can imagine was problematic when first released, but as five books now exist, is barely a blip.

We Are Legion, We Are Bob is a masterclass of Science Fiction. It somehow manages to be brimming with scientific terms and some wonderful space-based problem solving, whilst also never losing the humanitarian aspects of the Bobs. There's a warmth here, alongside a snappy, snarky tone that is delivered with a light and relatable style. It makes me think of a better take on Ready Player One, or even The Long Earth by placing the characters front and centre before the concepts and having them react on their own terms. The discovery and exploration of "Self" is imprinted throughout the series, ranging from Bob's questioning of his own existence and into the different facets of Bob that the clones embody.

The book also manages to delve into politics, religion and philosophy in a manner that never feels preachy (and spoke much to my anti-authoritarian streak). I enjoy how the discussions into the FAITH conclave at the beginning of the book have threads that exist through to Bob's Deltan Sky-God moments. There's a sliver of satire here, but it never bludgeons. It pokes fun and punches upwards at all times.

I recommend highly.