For We Are Many

I didn't enjoy this very much at all. Everything I disliked about the first book was amplified, while the aspects of the story I did like were toned down.

I kept thinking about the fact that we need more people with backgrounds in social sciences and the humanities in the tech sector, in the real world. A lot of Bob's misadventures, such as his problems with the Deltans and his sad romance, come about because he doesn't understand how people and communities work. I understand that original Bob was a tech guy, and he acknowledges that he isn't the person best suited for a lot of the tasks he needs to do. But when he has the technology to create new replicants, he offers it to a biologist and to a military strategist. He needs an anthropologist or sociologist or something, and he definitely needs to learn about diplomacy.

There is finally a prominent female character, Bob's love interest, but the romance is really from “nice-guy” land. At no point does Bob consider her feelings; he assumes that she was not interested in him romantically because he isn't human, and not because she just doesn't feel the same way about him. I rolled my eyes a lot at that whole plot.

The plot with the Pav was pretty good, and I was disappointed that it was introduced and basically resolved so close to the end of the book. The Pav essentially exist in the book to show us that the Others are a real threat, without the narrative exploring all that much about the Pav's culture, planet, or anything. The plot on Earth was also pretty good, with the terrorists and so on, although I didn't really find it as gripping as I think it could've been. For some reason, the emotional stuff with Homer didn't have much impact on me.

The humor started to grate on me after other aspects of the book began to annoy me, so I'm not sure if it's cornier here than in book one, or if my mood just changed. But this writer really relies a lot on cliches. It made me want to read something set in a totally alien fantasy or sci-fi world.

I can see why this series is so popular, but it isn't really to my taste. But I will probably read the last book eventually because I do want to know what happens.

These books are so good I have to slow down reading them while my library procures the next in the series. I don't want to spoil anything in this second book but it continues the story of The Bobs and the threat that the local universe is under. Dennis Taylor really has hit a chord here with this story.

The second volume of this series suffers from “middle-of-trilogy” syndrome, serving as no more than a means to move between the start of the story and its concluding segment. It carries on directly from where the first book left off, following up on the various plot threads established in it, but few of them are resolved by the end.

Which is not to say that nothing new happens. In particular, a threat from an alien race rears its head, becoming prominent in the second half of the book, and presumably forming a major focus of the final volume. There's also a new plot thread with one of the Bobs falling in love, which is awkward when you're a ship-based AI.

And, of course, the existing threads do advance, with the book switching between different narratives as we follow the various things previously set up. In this respect, the series remains a story of humanity's expansion into space, with things continuing to develop, both in terms of where humanity (and the Deltans) are heading and how the community of Bobs is growing and changing from its original creator. It's not quite up to the strength of the original, partly because many of the initial obstacles to the Bobiverse have now been overcome, but there's still the sense of adventure and progress and some fun world-building on the way.

Plus the geeky references.

This series is really a single story. It has been arbitrarily split across 3 books, probably for marketing reasons. The chapters are helpfully titled with the year (within the story timeline) and the name of the person who is relating that chapter. Normally, I'd be distracted by the fact that we jump back and forth in the timeline, but the reader can mostly ignore the date and just enjoy the story. And there's a lot to enjoy about this story. The ‘science' in this fiction story isn't believable - but it is consistent in following the rules of the story. The author adds a sprinkling of humor and references to geek culture that helped me identify with the main character.

As the universe expands, I find it more difficult to differentiate between the main characters, my biggest complaint. 

I really like the natural flow and style of the writing and the use of humor that feels organic. 

There are some scenarios that didn't appeal to me personally initially. As the story goes on, I see the subplots being mirrors to the main plot. That, I think, is quite genius. I like how this book brought me into thinking about what it means to be an individual verses what it means to be one individual in a community. 

Executive Summary: Another fun entry in this series. Not quite as good as the first book, but still has me looking forward to the next one.

Audiobook: Ray Porter once again does a good job here. He's speaks clearly at a good volume and with good inflection. He does a few voices, though as most of the characters are variations of Bob, he doesn't go too crazy with it.

Full Review
My one complaint with the first book was too much time with Bob 2.0, and not enough time with Bill. This book definitely had more Bill. I also found Bob's story more interesting than in the first book. For me the real draw continues to be the exploration, and the overarching story of human colonization.

This book introduced some interesting new Bobs. In particular Howard. That may have been my favorite subplot this go round. I'm impressed at how well Mr. Taylor explores variations on the same character such that most of the Bobs feel distinct from each other, yet still similar enough to feel like they are still Bob.

Things get set up nicely for what I believe will be the final book. I'm very eager to see where things go. Depending on how it ends, I wouldn't mind if he did another series set in the same universe. I'm particularly interested in seeing how the AI develops over time.

Overall I highly recommend this series if you're looking for some fun Space Opera with geeky Easter Eggs.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.

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What’s For We Are Many About?

It’s been around 40 years or so since the Bobs started their mission of finding a place for the tiny sliver of humanity that’s still eking out a survival on Earth. They’ve started colonizing one planet and continue to look for others.

On Earth terrorists upset with the evacuation priorities—and some that think humanity should die off—harass the efforts and cause a little trouble. Extra-terrestrial life (some sentient and some others) cause other problems for the Bobs. The Brazilian probes are still trying to attack, too.

Then they encounter an alien space-traveling species—their first. This group (soon dubbed the Others) are enough to make Star Trek‘s the Bord look warm and fuzzy. Naturally, the Bobs quickly annoy them.

But really, the biggest problem comes from within. The Bobs are having a hard time coping with their virtual invulnerability as they deal with humans (and others) who aren’t so long-lived. Some of the Bobs begin calling them “ephemerals” as they try to find ways to cope. Whatever the problems that come from their opponents throughout the universe, it looks like this one may be the biggest challenge.

Ray Porter’s Narration

Porter was the deciding factor for me trying out the series in the first place, and he’d be enough of a reason to stick around. I don’t need him to be—the story and characters are really what are keeping me around—but him doing narrating is a nice bonus.

I really don’t know what to say beyond that—I’m becoming a real Porter fan here (and got excited a couple of days ago when I saw he’s done some work on another series I just started).

So, what did I think about For We Are Many?

This is exactly what a sequel to We Are Legion (We Are Bob) should be—the action picks up right where we left off, the stories continue to develop well and we get some good resolution, the stakes get raised, and the characters develop in ways that are natural yet unanticipated. The laughs are still there as is the tension—and maybe both are a little sharper. I love how all these Bobs are variations of each other, and yet come across as so distinctive (while Porter barely does anything different for almost all of them)—that’s in the writing and the performing, and it’s just great.

The last hour or so was the best writing and character work in the two books and made me eager for the next one.

This is great popcorn fun, and something tells me that I’m going to spend a lot of time with Mr. Taylor over the next few months (at least) (and hopefully more time with Mr. Porter, too).

This is book 2 of the Bobiverse.

In Bk1 Bob was cryofrozen and awoke to find his mind has been scanned and he's now in a computer. He gets put into a spaceship as its controlling AI and he sets out into the unknown.

Bk 2 sees him as merely the first of many replications, all Bobs, who are flying spaceships around the close galaxy regions. Any Bob can duplicate himself and his ship. New Bobs take a different name, Bob has become a generic type. In this book there are first contact stories, human colonies on other planets, and some serious battles. The chapters are short and bounce around the various planets with different narrators, each with a different name but all with the Bob voice. The first half of the book is a bit of a travelogue and it takes a while for higher stakes to build up.

Cliffhanger warning - it left me wanting to read Bk 3.

A fitting sequel to the first Bobiverse novel (We are Legion), For We are Many picks up right where you'd expect. It moves the storylines from the first novel forward excellent fashion and is an enjoyable, fun read. You get to follow along with the Bobs as they try to save the remnants of humanity from a post-nuclear Earth. The discovery of other worlds continues as does the interaction with other sentient species. There is something of a cliff-hanger at the end, so go ahead and prepare to start book 3 - All These Worlds as you won't want to wait.