Content warning
general details on the main plot device
A novel idea for a plot device that I don't think I've encountered before (digitized human consciousness in the form of a von Neumann probe). It was quick and entertaining, however I feel like it was a missed opportunity to have a bit more depth.
It's entertaining at best, but it all feels like a missed chance to explore lots of themes that the author just waves, instead they focus on non stop babbling, blanket statements, non-humor and cringy pop references.
I liked the premise and wanted to see where it go, but it really doesn't go anywhere interesting.
Also, it has a non-ending, so you are supposed to start the second book straight away. I tried to do that, but couldn't last more than 100 pages.
Really, it's not bad, but it's not good either.
A decent premise ruined by a thoroughly irritating POV character that we end up with multiple indistinguishable copies of. There is a moment near the start where it looks like an unsympathetic character might possibly have to confront his character flaws and suffer for his hubris, but nope, Bob turns out to be the perfect Mary Sue for this post apocalyptic space exploration Isekai. The most irritating feature is the author's tendency to declare various things as universal truths when there's scant evidence presented to justify it and besides this is a work of fiction, bringing attention to it just ruins the suspension of disbelief. By far the most disgusting section is his adventures intervening in primitive civilizations where every decision is wrong and horrific but is apparently justified. Steer clear, for tales of distributed intelligence go read the Ancillary books, for hard sci-fi tales of early stage colonization there's …
A decent premise ruined by a thoroughly irritating POV character that we end up with multiple indistinguishable copies of. There is a moment near the start where it looks like an unsympathetic character might possibly have to confront his character flaws and suffer for his hubris, but nope, Bob turns out to be the perfect Mary Sue for this post apocalyptic space exploration Isekai. The most irritating feature is the author's tendency to declare various things as universal truths when there's scant evidence presented to justify it and besides this is a work of fiction, bringing attention to it just ruins the suspension of disbelief. By far the most disgusting section is his adventures intervening in primitive civilizations where every decision is wrong and horrific but is apparently justified. Steer clear, for tales of distributed intelligence go read the Ancillary books, for hard sci-fi tales of early stage colonization there's the Expanse, for Pop culture laden self insert ego trips there's always Homestuck.
We've knocked off 99.95% of the human race, and somehow the crazies still manage to survive. It just defies the odds.
Enjoyable book that was a light read that also had a fairly deep concept to work from. What does it mean to be sentient? What prevents someone from embodying that concept? How much of yourself remains you when you're no longer your original self?
Each POV/Bob had a unique voice that made following the story easy. I found myself invested in each story arc and the book flew by. The pop culture references were light (not as heavy handed as Ready Player One) and the story wasn't burdened with explaining the science.
Review of 'We Are Legion (We Are Bob)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Very enjoyable read. Lots of thorough figurative (and some literal) world-building, done by an author with both an enjoyable, sardonic sense of humor and a Project Manager's thorough approach to such things. Definitely a solid entry in the "fun reads" pile; I'll be queuing up the next one.
Very enjoyable read. Lots of thorough figurative (and some literal) world-building, done by an author with both an enjoyable, sardonic sense of humor and a Project Manager's thorough approach to such things. Definitely a solid entry in the "fun reads" pile; I'll be queuing up the next one.
Review of 'We Are Legion (We Are Bob)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Really enjoyed the world building although I will admit towards the end all the bobs and planets became confusing. Curious to see where this goes, excellent narrator.
Fun, lighter sci-fi that has some interesting heavy elements. Does not get too hung up in the technicalities, but feels plausible. The narrator on Audible was fantastic and did a great Admiral Ackbar impression!
A fun, geeky sci fi adventure with some interesting theoretical science behind it. If you enjoyed books like Ready Player One, Year Zero, and Old Man's War, you'll probably love this one. Wealthy software magnate Bob signs up to have his brain cryofrozen on death in hopes of future resurrection -- but when he wakes up, he learns the US has dissolved and his brain is now property of a religeous state who has declared the deceased have no rights. Bob's intelligence has been uploaded to a self-replicating space probe with the mission to explore, multiply, and find colonizable worlds -- but he's not the only probe out there and the other countries are both trying to get theirs out first, and destroy Bob. The book follows Bob's mission and, without giving too much away, the plot takes several twists. My only complaint is that it got a little confusing …
A fun, geeky sci fi adventure with some interesting theoretical science behind it. If you enjoyed books like Ready Player One, Year Zero, and Old Man's War, you'll probably love this one. Wealthy software magnate Bob signs up to have his brain cryofrozen on death in hopes of future resurrection -- but when he wakes up, he learns the US has dissolved and his brain is now property of a religeous state who has declared the deceased have no rights. Bob's intelligence has been uploaded to a self-replicating space probe with the mission to explore, multiply, and find colonizable worlds -- but he's not the only probe out there and the other countries are both trying to get theirs out first, and destroy Bob. The book follows Bob's mission and, without giving too much away, the plot takes several twists. My only complaint is that it got a little confusing switching back and forth between all the different copies of Bob, but overall it's well handled and all the Bobs are very entertaining. Not a book that left me with great life lessons or anything, but a fun read and I'll probably pick up the sequels at some point when I need some entertaining light reading.
Lighthearted, often funny. Not terribly new ground, and didn't really wrestle with the question of what makes a person a person for as long as I would've liked. Also intro'd the idea of variation amongst the clones but didn't really explore its source or ramifications.