We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse, #1) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Dec 29, 2016 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, 2016-shelf, space-opera

I'm jumping on the Bobwagon here!

I love the light tone throughout and the geek humor mostly relegated to names one AI clone gives to oneself when faced with a profundity of oneself. Riker? Number 2. Of course. But the rest is just a fantastic ride of popular references and snark, right, Admiral Akbar?

Seriously, that was just one of the coolest things in the novel... but the next runner-up has got to be the effortless way we start colonizing the galaxy with each replicant, going back to Earth, ex ...more

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May 03, 2017 Philip rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-releases, author-man, sci-fi, space-opera, dying-earth

2.5ish stars.

A fun and funny but unspectacular space opera elevated by a clever narrating voice(s) and unique set-up.

It could just be that I'm burned out on space opera right now but I just didn't enjoy this as much as I was hoping to. I expected it to be hysterically comical, but even with the geeky pop culture allusions and the endless wit of the great and powerful bobs, I never made it past a good chortle. Alright, except for anytime GUPPI said anything. Love that guy. "By your command!"

It w ...more

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Nov 27, 2016 Lindsay rated it it was amazing

If you liked the genius inventive loner engineer of The Martian and you also liked the amazing universe-building and rambling episodic nature of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet then you're probably going to love this book.

Bob is a newly minted tech millionaire. Bob has also just signed up to be cryogenically frozen in the event of his death. Which is a really good thing because his death is in ... 3 ... 2 ... uh oh.

Bob is an AI replicant based on a brain scan of frozen tech millionaire-Bob ...more

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May 22, 2017 Lata rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-f-h, x2017-read

2.5 stars. I had high hopes for this story, but found myself mostly just turning pages slowly. I think there were some interesting concepts but I didn't think the implementation was particularly skillful. I could accept the US descending to a theocracy, but not other aspects of the situation. I also found the main character to be initially sort of amusing, but swiftly found him tedious, and yes, immature, but actually found myself getting very frustrated with the author pointing out, at least on ...more

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Jan 20, 2017 Trish rated it it was amazing

I think I would have never found this book on my own - and my life would have been the poorer for it! Seriously, this author is so delightfully geeky/nerdy (yes, both) that it's already enough to carry the reader from start to finish. But easter eggs or satirical references are not the only thing Dennis Taylor is good at.

The story is about a young millionaire who invests into cryogenetics - a project freezing your head after your death so you can be revived and given a new (enhanced) body by sci I think I would have never found this book on my own - and my life would have been the poorer for it! Seriously, this author is so delightfully geeky/nerdy (yes, both) that it's already enough to carry the reader from start to finish. But easter eggs or satirical references are not the only thing Dennis Taylor is good at.

The story is about a young millionaire who invests into cryogenetics - a project freezing your head after your death so you can be revived and given a new (enhanced) body by science in the future (once the technology exists). The opportunity to not only pay but actually participate in the program comes much sooner than he had thought (that's what you get for crossing the street at the right place - bwahahahaha) but when he wakes up things have ... not exactly gone according to plan.

Honestly, I have always been sceptical of those supposed deals in scifi books or movies. I mean, why should a company not just take the money but never actually revive a person even IF technology ever gets that advanced?! Anyway, that isn't actually the problem here. Instead, we get one crazy ride politics-wise and the morale throughout the book is that it's basically the same shit every day and in every corner of the universe. *lol*
So Bob goes to space and multiplies, giving the reader the unique ability to see the development on several different fronts (Bob's "immortality" is kind of helpful too).

The learning curve for Bob after he was "awoken" was a great way of gently immersing the reader into the future and make us one of the Bobs.

The only "problem" I had was (view spoiler) which was a bit too easy for my taste.

I was very impressed with all the different angles from which the author looked at current theories, beloved old scifi movies/TV shows and possible technological developments (and setbacks) and his implementation of all those into the story (it sounds as if it could be overwhelming but it honestly wasn't because it was very well done). We also get to explore a few what-if scenarios on distant planets which I enjoyed immensely. The atmosphere of discovery and new territory was very cool (like during the first Star Trek TNG episodes I saw as a teenager) and although the different names for all the Bobs were quite a lot to handle in the beginning, I quickly had favourites.
In fact, considering that there are so many Bobs and event sites, I was actually surprised how much I cared in certain situations. The characters (the humans too) were very well drawn-up personalities, each with his/her own quirks and I loved to hate any member of The Faith.

So this story had charm, very good characters, interesting locations, brains (plural) and a fantastic always-present-but-never-too-out-there humour. Now I can't wait for the follow-up novel. ...more

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Dec 08, 2016 Veronique rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read2016, read2019, favourites

Re-read
I tried to listen to this with my other half - who only liked the beginning and stopped about a third in - and found out that I am indeed a huge nerd! Otherwise, as good as the first time :O)
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What an entertaining story! Upon reading the book description blurb, which intrigued me, I downloaded the audiobook and started listening. Well, since I didn’t stop until the end, I can positively say that the narrative is exceedingly addictive!

Bob Johansson, young software millionnaire, ha Re-read
I tried to listen to this with my other half - who only liked the beginning and stopped about a third in - and found out that I am indeed a huge nerd! Otherwise, as good as the first time :O)
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What an entertaining story! Upon reading the book description blurb, which intrigued me, I downloaded the audiobook and started listening. Well, since I didn’t stop until the end, I can positively say that the narrative is exceedingly addictive!

Bob Johansson, young software millionnaire, has just sold his company and looking forward to enjoying ‘life’ when he is killed in a car collision. ‘Luckily’, he’d just signed for cryogenic preservation, and wakes up one hundred years later as an A.I. owned by a theocratic government. Bit of a shock, but Bob takes it in his stride, especially since he might have the opportunity to 'man' a self replicating Von Neumann probe to explore space in search of inhabitable planets, something he has always been fascinated by.

Taylor uses an interesting concept, not a new one, but one very well crafted. The whole story hinges on the character of Bob and thankfully, here is a protagonist that is fun, smart, bit of a scifi geek, full of humour (much of it snark), and with a strong moral compass. His personality pretty much permeates the novel to great effect, but perhaps not to everyone’s taste. Cultural references abound and yes, the reading experience is enhanced if you recognise these (Admiral Ackbar, Ryker, and Homer to name a couple - if you know these and like them, then this book is for you). There isn’t much character development per se but we do get to see various versions of Bob, something I was a little worried about, but the author pulls it off nicely, giving each enough variations on the same theme.

Additionally, the universe portrayed is both complex and fascinating, from Earth and all its problems, to other star systems. Likewise the plot combines survival against other human factions to space exploration and scientific discovery, splitting the narration into very different strands, yet all linked. This might be a little confusing but the pay-off is a much richer story, and one that I was totally invested in. Taylor also adds a philosophical vein to his novel - what it means to be human / to be alive / what is wrong or right - one that strikes in my opinion the right balance with the tongue-in-cheek tone.

This is a fun adventure and I awarded top rating for the sheer enjoyment. It is not a perfect book, far from it, but it enthralled me and for that I am grateful. And now to wait for the sequel...

P.S: Ray Porter does a great job with the narration! ...more

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Dec 11, 2016 Chris Haught rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audible-owned

This was exactly what I needed as I finished up a full time slate of college courses. It's a smart sci-fi story in that the science is very well thought out, but at the same time it is accessible to the non-scientific. Great humor abounds, and there are many geeky pop-culture references that kept me smiling.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of The Martian. Though the actual story is pretty different, the protagonist and his first person narrative brought back memories of that book. That ...more

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Oct 14, 2017 Robyn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017

Entertaining! Total nerd-humour, with some serious science thrown in. (Reminds me of The Martian in that regard, and I think also self published.) A couple of negatives - it sort of just .... stops, but that seems a guaranteed prod to move on to the next one, and the editing could be better - but the fun of the conceit outweighs any complaints.

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Dec 19, 2016 John rated it really liked it · review of another edition

At some point in the mid-to-late 90s, I spent a good chunk of time playing this old game called Escape Velocity. It was a space-exploration sim that tasked the player with zipping around the galaxy, harvesting resources and interacting with NPCs. Hours of fun. I'm pretty sure there are lots of more recent examples of the genre (No Man's Sky?), but I'm way, way behind on my gaming these days.

Anyway, in We Are Legion Dennis E. Taylor basically presents us with a really fun and likable nerd named B ...more

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Apr 22, 2018 Ctgt rated it really liked it

Entertaining mix of military sci/fi, snark, pop culture references, AI, replicants.......come to think of it just about every techie reference in the past 20 years blended together for a romp through the universe. Not a lot of depth but it sure was fun. Listened to the audio version and had to laugh every time I heard the voice of Admiral Ackbar.

7/10

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Jul 14, 2020 Emma rated it it was ok

2.5 stars. I really enjoyed the first third of this book but then I lost interest and found the rest a slog. I hear the audio was very good for this so maybe I should have gone that route.

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Jan 10, 2017 Suzanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction

I'm so glad some Goodreads friends discovered and reviewed this - what a fun ~~universe Bobiverse.~~ ...more

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Jan 28, 2017 Jorid Sørli rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, 2023, re-read

That was a lot of Bob's and strangely not enough Bob's! We want more Bob! ...more

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Aug 23, 2017 Scott rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, humor

I'm not sure about this book. I liked it, I enjoyed the different Bobs and their adventures, but I just never fully connected to it. I can't really put my finger on why. I'm not sure I'm sold on continuing with the series, but you never know. ...more

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Feb 28, 2019 Leticia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, audiobook_old, 2019-sevenkingdoms_challenge, 5-stars-fiction

I enjoyed this book a lot, it made me laugh through some difficult days. The writing style reminded me of The Martian by Andy Weir.
I just wished that when authors would put Brazilians in a story, that they would use Brazilian names and not use Portuguese words (even curse words) out of context. Brazilians don't use Mexican or Spanish curses. Another thing, most of us Brazilians (I hope) are peaceful, the kind of 'live and let live, let's enjoy life, love and not war' peaceful, not only in Flori ...more

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