Basic Information
We are Legion (We Are Bob) is the first book in the Bobiverse series, written by Dennis E. Taylor. At this moment the series features three published titles, each about 90k words or 9 hours in length. Two more installments are also on their way, the first of which, Heaven's River (you can find my review HERE), is slated to release in audio-book format later this year on September 24th and you can already pre-order your copy on Amazon's and Audible's websites.
Structure and Story
We are Legion is very balanced space oriented science fiction novel. I'd describe it as something in-between a survival story like The Martian and pure space exploration and adventure story. It's entirely presented from the first person's perspective and past tense, with the first quarter of the novel dedicated to a single point-of-view character and several more being added later on.
At the start of the novel we are introduced to the protagonist, Robert Johansson. He's a nerdy programmer who has just made millions selling his software company. What does he do with his new found wealth? He buys immortality of course, like any sane person would. Well, he actually hires CryoEterna, a company which, should he die, would put his body into cryostasis until future medical advancements would enable his life being saved. And sure enough, he ends up needing their services sooner than expected. When he wakes up some hundred years later, the world isn't what he had imagined, his biological body is gone and he finds out that he is being groomed to be the main "artificial intelligence" of a secret national project.
Sub-genre Breakdown
In terms of sub-genre the novel is quite diverse. From the three core elements, by far the most used is drama. In large part it consists of the typical bickering back-and-forth the POV and other main characters. Although there is also an expansive diplomacy and political-intrigue sub-plot connected to one of the protagonists. Next in line is world-building, which is evenly spread throughout the entire novel's length. Since this is a space exploration adventure story, it's only natural that Dennis E. Taylor would dedicate a decent percentage of it to describing distant planets and everything one might discover on them. And lastly there's the action. While not a constant presence in the novel, it does have several chapters dedicated to it. Each preceded by a quote from Sun Tsu's The Art of War.
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. These usually center either on the protagonists's unique state of existence or the state of human culture, both of which are fun to mull your brain over. And lastly my personal favorite, the historic element, which deals with the start and growth of a fledgling civilization.
Ratings and Conclusions
We are Legion (We Are Bob) has a very special place in my heart. It's the second audio-book I ever listened to, and is in large part responsible for my current love of books and writing. I've read this whole series several times over and super excited for the Heaven River to be released, which I'll be sure to make a review of.
But yeah, whether you're a fan of the sci-fi genre or never touched the genre, I strongly suggest you pick up this novel. I really doubt you'll regret it.
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!
!Spoilers— Writing lessons — Spoilers!
The novel also provides many opportunities to improve your own writing craft.
For one, you can take note how Dennis E. Taylor a part early in the book, where Bob has just left the Solar system for the first time. In that segment, cut off from all communication, Bob becomes the only carrier of narration.
At that point the author lost almost all his literary tools (I've had something similar happen with my writing. It's actually really funny how difficult writing a book gets when you don't have dialogue to break up the endless descriptions of actions and environments).
And how does he solve this predicament? Well first, the choice of first person narration already gave him some wiggle room, since he could have Bob monologue with himself. But since that wouldn't last long, he conjured GUPY from thin air, and suddenly the problem was gone. And this only book where I've seen this happen, two other great examples of this exact problem and solution are in Dungeon Born by Dakota Krout (with Cal and Dani) and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (with Kaladin and Syl).
