Basic Information
For We Are Many is the direct sequel to We Are Legion (We Are Bob) and the second volume of four in the Bobiverse series, written by Dennis E. Taylor. Compared to its predecessor For We Are Many is slightly shorter in length, losing about one hour or 10000 words off of We Are Legion's read-time. But by no means does this mean that it is a less enjoyable experience.
Structure and Story
In terms of structure For We Are Many remains very faithful to its predecessor. It keeps the series's space exploration and adventure roots, while expanding on its historic, intrigue and romance elements. The narration itself also continues to be presented in the first person, past tense perspective with many point-of-view characters featured throughout the novel's length.
Story wise, For We Are Many picks up right where We Are Legion left off. Most of the book remains dedicated to the continuation and expansion of Bob-1's Dealtan story-line, closely followed by Riker and Homer's efforts at humanity's home-world and Milo's unexpected discovery, which was teased at the end of the previous book. Along side that we also see reappearance of several other already astablished Bobs as well as the introduction of several new ones.
Sub-genre Breakdown
In For We Are Many drama and action elements continue to be in the forefront of storytelling. The dramatic elements are for the most part concentrated to the Earth-centered chapters and the political shenanigans associated with them. With this installment these political plots have also increased in complexity to a decent extent. Naturally the colonies take a close second place in this category, followed by all the other interactions in-between the individual Bobs. The action elements however are for the most part relegated to Bob-1's Deltan sub-plot. And in general For We Are Many has a large emphasis on land based action set-pieces and a sharp decrease in space combat encounters compared to We Are Legion.
Meanwhile, in a more supportive role you'll find plenty of jokes and other comedic elements livening up the story. Every now and then, one of the protagonist will also touch upon a philosophical topic, but these elements are somewhat less prominent compared to the last volume. Given the nature of the Deltan sub-plot, it goes without saying that the novel features a decent historic element to it. The overall slightly smaller presence of space exploration is reflected in the prominence of For We Are Many's world-building elements, although these stay very similar in nature to the previous book. A new addition to the series with this volume is the introduction of a romance element to the story, which in future novels grows in prominence.
Ratings and Conclusions
For We Are Many is in my opinion an excellent example of what a well thought and executed sequel should look like. It's similar enough to We are Legion (We Are Bob) to make the read a familiar experience from the very first paragraph, but at the same time adds enough new ideas to the formula to keep things fresh. I also really enjoyed seeing that Dennis E. Taylor is thinking about the next few sequels with all the foreshadowing he did within For We Are Many. If you've read the first book in the series, I think it should be a no brainer for you to jump into this novel.
Also if you're a fan of the Bobiverse series, you I suggest you check out the theories and speculation article I wrote about Heaven's River, the forth instalment to the Bobiverse series coming this fall.
Interested in We Are Legion (We Are Bob)? Get it here:
Have any questions about this book, series or ? Drop me a comment under my YouTube video of this review, and I'll do my best to answer it! Also, if you liked this review, consider sharing it with your book-loving friends or check out some of the other books I've covered!
