Heaven's River by Dennis E. Taylor

 

Heaven's River by Dennis E. Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The fourth novel in the series focuses on the perhaps inevitable fracture of the Bobiverse as the replicants drift ever so slightly apart as the generations multiply, it seems there is no such thing as a perfect copy or perhaps events do indeed shape the mind in small almost immeasurable ways even for what amounts to software. As factions form within the community Bob himself attempts to track down the long lost Bender and he is successful but in that success the battle lines are drawn and even the organics associated with the Bobs suffer and/or exploit the chaos.
Heaven's River is my favourite of the four novels, I liked the evolution of the Bobs and humanity as well as the complications of the non-human elements of the galaxy. The Quinlan culture and the technology behind it was fascinating and shows wonderful creativity coupled with insights into individuals and society as events impact upon them.


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For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor

 

For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second novel in the Bobiverse series delivers with the Bob's dealing with the events upon Earth and the young colonies as well as the intelligent alien life they have discovered but more importantly the race that are scouring star systems for resources even those with life bearing worlds. Individual Bobs continue to show some minor and sometimes significant variations from Bob 1 aka Bob Johansson but that is good as the tasks of exploring a galaxy and now caring for the last few million humans is one that needs a variety of mindsets. However no venture is progressing without incidents and the Bob's originally meant for exploration have to continue to act as police force and military and even with continued backup of themselves there are losses some very personal to those involved. The Bob's afterall are far more human than their physical selves would lead you to believe.
"For We Are Many" was an excellent second novel expanding upon the galaxy and the world's already being colonised or slowly developed including those with sentient life already existing. There is room for narratives which span the galaxy and for relationships between just two souls as well what drives humanity and finding out that alien life is not all that different.
A highly recommended series with two strong novels and a third to be read.

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

 

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bob Johansson is a wealthy man having just sold his company InterGator Software for a rather large amount of money, his closest friends have benefitted from the sale and feeling good about himself Bob signs up to be cryo-frozen upon his death. As luck would have it the money was wisely invested as decades later he awakes to find himself well not human anymore but certainly alive and conscious which is more than can be said for 99.9999% of his compatriots. However the USA and world has changed rather drastically during the intervening years, his personal wealth was taken by the state and his humanity no longer recognised, in other words Bob is now the property of a corporation who have plans for Bob. Now this a review which I could go full spoiler on but I don't want to because I have to seriously recommend this novel, it's not hard scifi but there is plenty to think about in terms of big picture and the future of space exploration. However seeing the future unfold through the eyes of Bob is both fascinating and compelling as all manner of obstacles are encountered as the galaxy is explored and yet Bob is still the 21st century guy he was when he was "alive" so humour we can all recognise is at the heart of the novel. The second novel "For We Are Many" is sitting on my kindle ready to read.

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