We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

Bobiverse, Book 1

By: Dennis E. Taylor

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

There's a reason We Are Legion (We Are Bob) was named Audible's Best Science Fiction Book of 2016: Its irresistibly irreverent wit! Bob Johansson has just sold his software company for a small fortune and is looking forward to a life of leisure. The first item on his to-do list: Spending his newfound windfall. On an urge to splurge, he signs up to have his head cryogenically preserved in case of death. Then he gets himself killed crossing the street. Waking up 117 years later, Bob discovers his mind has been uploaded into a sentient space probe with the ability to replicate itself. Bob and his clones are on a mission to find new homes for humanity and boldly go where no Bob has gone before.

Dennis E. Taylor’s hilarious novel sets the stage for the magnificent performance of Ray Porter, who revels in the brave new world of corpsicles, artificial intelligence, interstellar space probes, and space colonization in tantalizing detail.

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is the first installment in the blockbuster Audible Original Bobiverse series - which has sold more than one million copies.

©2016 Dennis E. Taylor (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Dizzying Tour de Force Performance of Great Book!

So many Bobs, so little time --

If you love sci fi, you already know about this awesome book. It's a pretty original concept -- governments clone human-personality-infused-AIs and send them into space as self-replicating probes to find new planets for humans to inhabit. Some of the probes go insane, some turn into weapons of mass destruction, and some . . .

. . . well, Bob is different. A bit of an independent loaner with no political axe to grind, Bob sets about creating a 'world' HE can live in first! Still, the prime directive is all about replicating, so bring on the Bobs!

Ray Porter does an amazing job voicing the various Bobs -- and all the other characters in this book -- while the pop culture sci fi references provide opportunities for a few homages to beloved characters. The book would not have been as fun to listen to without him!

I. CAN. NOT. WAIT. FOR. BOOK TWO!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


ALSO, ahem. Sorry. Also, here's a shout out to Jim the Impatient for the recommendation! Thanks big guy!

Exactly the story I've been waiting for.

What made the experience of listening to We Are Legion (We Are Bob) the most enjoyable?

This story has an amazing concept because the methods it expounds upon for populating the galaxy seem so tantalizingly close and achievable, but just out of reach for now.

What was one of the most memorable moments of We Are Legion (We Are Bob)?

The large battle between the Bobs and the Brazilian General who ambushed them withed cloaked nukes.

What does Ray Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice and style of reading match the subject matter and characters perfectly. I feel like he's narrating it exactly as the author intended for the dialogue to be spoken in the minds of the readers.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I felt an extraordinary sense of wonder at the potential of the campaign upon which Bob was embarking upon.

Any additional comments?

Best Sci-Fi book I have experienced in a very long time, perhaps forever.

fun and thoughtful

Great writing, interesting subject matter. It was both relaxing and thought provoking. Existential questions of the nature of man packaged in a downright entertaining story

Future Time Line

Had my full attention from start to finish. Made my long drive travel effortless.

Very entertaining, when you look past the anti-religion opinions

What did I like?
The humor, which is very prevalent throughout the book. I also enjoyed the "realism" that the author maintained. I also did enjoy the philosophical elements he subtly addresses in regards to AI and why no two sentient beings are identical.

What I did I not enjoy?
I didn't enjoy the barbs at religious people being fascist radicals. They are only a small part of the book, but they are there. If you are religious, you may need a little bit of thick skin to not be offended by them and remember that there have been atrocities committed in the name of religion (I.e. Spanish inquisition, Islamic Caliphate) just as there have atrocities committed by atheists (i.e. Lenin, Mao, Che Guevara, et al).

This can't be beat!

The story is smart, irreverent, and compelling. I want to hang out with Bob. To top it all off, the performance of the narrator, Ray Porter, is Oscar worthy. Dennis Taylor has taken Sci-fi into a whole new direction. Awesome!

One of the more entertaining sci-fi books I've listened to.

My library primarily consists of science fiction entries. There are normally two extremes for this category. Heavy science or heavy comedy. I believe the best books find a good balance. And even better, leave the "heavy" altogether.

(We are Bob) does this in the best way in my opinion. Nothing feels contrived, the the story play's out, you never get the sence that it's off the rails crazy. Everything moved along on a logical path, leading to yet another problem to overcome. This kind of natural progression plays out in every subplot of this story from the human Bobs circumstance, to the latest Bob's deaths. That's not to say this story is predictable. Quit a few times I was surprised by how things turned out. The author isn't afraid to make the shit hit the fan and let your favorite Bob deal with it.

All in all I would most certainly give this book a shot. Personally I could barley put it down, and I was visibly upset when someone interrupted my listening session lol. Don't let the description turn you away, I promise it'll scratch at least some of your sci-fi itches.

P.s. the Bill(Bob) is my favorite. He gets the scoop from all the other Bob's lol

The Bobiverse!

Loved this story. Its cool, different and at times a little confusing but it will grip your attention from the start. The narration is spot on.

wtf did you go change Homer's voice for?

I listened to these books many times but in preparation for heavens river I noticed Homer's voice has been altered and its throwing me off.
is there a way to get an older version?

Ended with a lot of stuff unresolved.

I realize that this book is part of a series but it almost seemed random where it stopped at. there were to many tangents in the story and no real identification as to which was the main.

That being said, I love the book and can't wait to hear the next one.