Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

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Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

Post by FlyingPenguin »

If you like modern SciFi writers like Ernest Cline (Ready Player One) and Andy Weir (The Martian) you'll love this.

It's a trilogy called (obviously enough) the Bobiverse series. :)

Interesting concept. A programmer who sells his software company for millions gets killed a few weeks later and revived 125 years in the future (because he paid for one of those services that freezes your body when you die as one of the first frivolous things he spends his new-found fortune on).

He is revived as a software simulation (they still can't repair dead bodies in the future but, they can destructively scan the brain and make a copy of it to software). He is owned by a company (corpsicles are now legally property since the theocracy that replaced The United States considers them to be soul-less abominations). He is be assessed to be used as the core AI for an interstellar probe that will visit a nearby solar system, then build copies of itself and send them to other star systems in an attempt to map the galaxy for future human colonists (a von Neumann probe). If he fails the tests they'll just erase him and defrost someone else.

While he's not thrilled with the world as it is, and his disposable legal standing, he's also intrigued by the geeky idea of becoming a self-replicating space probe.

The book is full of 80s and 90s pop culture references, and has a fair bit of humor. Fun read so far (I'm about half way through it).

I'm listening to the Audible version and the reader is excellent.

Highly recommend it. It's one of those "can't put it down" books.

https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Legion-Bo ... 1680680587
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Re: Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

Post by normalicy »

Sounds like my kind of fiction!
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Re: Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

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Nearly done. Trying to save it for gym days. Enjoying it so much I went ahead and bought the next two books in the series.

Lots of hard science in this too. He has to solve some interesting technical challenges along the way.
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Re: Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

Post by FlyingPenguin »

Finished all three books in the trilogy. SOOOO sorry it's over. I could have lost myself in another 3 books. The way he was writing it, there's literally THOUSANDS of stories he could write about.

Going to have to email him and thank him for a wonderful read.

Again, if you like nerdy engineering sci-fi, and lots of 80s and 90s pop-culture references, you'll love it.
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Re: Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

Post by normalicy »

I've had these in my amazon wishlist for a while. Oddly, the audio CD is cheaper than the print version.
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Re: Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

Post by FlyingPenguin »

I can highly recommend the Audible version. The reader is fantastic. Not sure if it's the same guy on the CD.
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Re: Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

Post by normalicy »

I'm very tempted by the audible version.
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Re: Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

Post by Genom »

Yeah, that was a fun series. They are pretty quick reads if you go with the book ones. 4-5 hours each I would guess if you read a lot.
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Re: Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

Post by FlyingPenguin »

Hey, he has a fourth book in the Bobiverse out called 'Heaven's River', Audible just released it last week. Same reader.

Funny I was just thinking the other day that I would like to re-read all three of the original books. Now I'm torn: Should I read this one now, or re-read the other three first so I re-familiarize myself with all the Bobbies, and the tech? Decisions, decisions...

You ever get around to reading them, Normalicy? The books go to wild places. I don't want to drop any spoilers.

https://www.amazon.com/Heavens-River-Bo ... ble&sr=1-1
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Re: Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

Post by Losbot »

Thanks for the reminder. Grabbing the audio book.
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Re: Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

Post by normalicy »

I just got the first audiobook for my birthday a while back. Haven't had time to take a listen yet. The creepy thing is that I was just talking to my friend about this series a couple hours ago. Guess I need to hurry up and get to it.
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Book 4: Heaven's River

Post by FlyingPenguin »

Update:

I'm now 3/4 of the way through the final book (Audible), after having first re-listened to the first three books. The re-read was just wonderful, and gave me a fresh feel going into the new book. Especially as concerns Wil, who after burning out babysitting humanity on Earth, had soured on humans at the end of the third book.

The new book is great so far. Just as enthralling as the first three. It's longer than any one of the other books - close to two books in length.

While the book does bounce around between several Bobs, it's mainly focused on Bob and his search for Bender, and Bill and his attempts to cope with an ever growing number of Bobs who don't behave like Bobs anymore due to replicative drift, and strained relations between humans and the Bobs.

It does address some issues that the first books ignored, explores some interesting philosophical ideas, and the bizarre research and hobbies some of the sects of Bob have become obsessed with (DnD gamer Bobs!). Bob himself must explore a fascinating world in order to find Bender.

Highly recommend it if you loved the first three books. It's not a cheap money grab, for sure. A lot of thought went into this book.
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Re: Book recommendation: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)"

Post by FlyingPenguin »

INTERESTING! Went to the author's website (of course he has a 'blog') and he's announced that he has an option on the first book for a movie or TV series. Nothing solid until they find a producer.

I would prefer a series instead of a movie. I think there's too much to pack into a movie. I also don't know how they'll handle the fact that a good portion of the book is Bobs talking to themselves.

http://dennisetaylor.org/2018/09/20/option-deal-signed/
I’ve been getting questions on a regular basis about a TV series or movie for the Bobiverse. Finally, I can come clean. I’ve signed an option deal, which might end up being a movie, or a Netflix series, or a TV series, or honestly, nothing. It’s an “option” deal, so they still have to find a producer to take it on. Option deals expire.

(This is me trying to be an adult while dancing around like a crazy person)

Anyway, here’s the announcement in Publisher’s Marketplace:

Dennis Taylor’s WE ARE LEGION (WE ARE BOB), the first in the Bob Universe series, optioned to Endeavor Content, by Joel Gotler at Intellectual Property Group, on behalf of The Ethan Ellenberg Agency.
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