Joining the Legion

For years now, I'd heard about an unusual series of novels known as the "Bobiverse," by author Dennis E. Taylor. OK, much of the "hearing about it" had come from my husband, who listened to the first trilogy on audiobook and talked it up. But several other friends mentioned it too. And then, when my husband suggested "I would listen to them again," the first book entered the queue of things we listen to on our drives together.

That book is called We Are Legion (We Are Bob). It's a first-person narrative told from the perspective of... well, you probably guessed "Bob," and to a point, yes it is. Bob is a man from our time who fell into the resources to have himself preserved for reawakening/reincarnation in an unknown, more technologically advanced future. Which is exactly what happens... to a point. He is restored as a sentient AI recruited for a mysterious and particular mission soon revealed to have global importance.

I would spoil no more myself, except that the title really tips the hand there: Bob ultimately ends up copying himself, creating a number of different "Bobs" each with different personalities -- glitches in the code? Manifestations of chaos? Who can say, but each Bob takes a different view of their mission of galactic exploration, and pursues it differently. The first-person narrative expands to a "first-people (?) narrative" of many Bobs, each with their own problems and adventures.

This is a really intriguing format for a novel, once things get going. It's almost like a handful of novellas shuffled together. Some are lighter, some darker. Each seems inspired by a different particular subgenre of science fiction. You get something akin to Star Trek in one story thread, apocalyptic sci-fi in another, a tactical wargame in yet another, and so on. There's a lot of creativity and variety on display here.

And audiobook seemed like an especially good way to enjoy the story. This series is read by Ray Porter, whose narration I praised on Project Hail Mary. Dennis E. Taylor writes Bob with the same quippy, grace-under-pressure sarcasm of an Andy Weir protagonist, and Ray Porter is the man to deliver that for you in performance. But "Bob" is legion, as the title says, so Porter isn't giving just one performance here. Some of the Bob clones are only subtly different, but others are bigger departures. (And one adopts a 20th-century pop culture persona that Porter has a great deal of fun with. Almost as much fun as with his Admiral Ackbar impression.)

I like to hop series and genres when I read, and that's no different for audiobooks. So while I am listening to something else now, I eagerly look forward to getting back to the Bobiverse for book two. As for book one, I give it an A-. Now I get what everyone was talking up to me.