We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor: A Sci-Fi Romp That Launched a Series Worth Binging

What happens when a recently deceased software engineer wakes up as a Von Neumann probe with a mandate to explore the galaxy? That is the premise of We Are Legion (We Are Bob), the first book in Dennis E. Taylor’s Bobiverse series, and it is every bit as fun as it sounds.

Bob Johansson is a tech nerd who signs up for a cryonics programme, promptly gets hit by a car, and wakes up over a century later as a digitised consciousness strapped to a self-replicating space probe. Earth has fractured into theocratic nation-states, the fanatical group FAITH wants to use him as a weapon, and competing nations like VEHEMENT are racing to launch their own probes. Bob, understandably, would rather just get out there and explore. So he does.

What follows is a book that manages to pack in interstellar exploration, first contact scenarios, orbital mechanics, and the philosophical implications of copying your own mind, all while maintaining the tone of a bloke who just really likes Star Trek. Taylor grounds the big ideas in Bob’s relatable, slightly sarcastic personality. When Bob starts replicating and his copies develop their own quirks and priorities, the book finds a clever way to explore identity and divergence without ever feeling like a philosophy lecture.

The world-building is genuinely inventive. Taylor clearly has a technical background and it shows in the way he handles the mechanics of space travel, resource harvesting, and probe construction. The science feels plausible without being dry, and there is a satisfying logic to how Bob approaches each new problem. If you have ever enjoyed books by Andy Weir or John Scalzi, you will feel right at home here.

Now, I want to be honest about something. Having read all five published Bobiverse books, I can say that this series sits in a very specific category for me. It is popcorn sci-fi. Delicious, moreish, impossible-to-put-down popcorn. Taylor serves up genuinely brilliant ideas and keeps the pages turning at a pace that makes these books dangerously easy to binge. But there is a lightness to the emotional depth that stops it from reaching the top tier. The characters are likeable rather than complex, and the stakes, while real, never quite punch you in the gut the way the best sci-fi can.

That said, popcorn done this well deserves real respect. Not every book needs to be a seven-course meal. Sometimes you want something that is just pure, well-crafted entertainment, and We Are Legion delivers that brilliantly. It sets up a universe with enormous potential, and to Taylor’s credit, the series does grow in emotional weight as it progresses.

If you are into hard-ish sci-fi with a sense of humour, self-replicating space probes, and a protagonist who names his ship Heaven-1 because why not, this is a fantastic starting point. It is the kind of book that makes you immediately want to grab the next one, and the next one, and the next one.

Audiobook Note

Ray Porter narrates the Audible edition and he is a perfect fit for this material. He captures Bob’s dry wit and the subtle differences between the various Bob copies with real skill. At just under 10 hours, it is an easy listen that works brilliantly for commutes or long walks. Porter has become so synonymous with the Bobiverse that it is hard to imagine anyone else voicing it.

Listen on Audible UK

Rating

**4 out of 5 stars**

A supremely entertaining debut that launches one of the most bingeable sci-fi series around. It may be popcorn, but it is gourmet popcorn, and I have happily devoured every book in the series.