ralphkern
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We are Legion (We are Bob)
Winner: Audible's Best of 2016 - Science Fiction
We know what assumptions make out of U and Me, and I must admit I made one based on the title of this book - that it was a spoof or slapstick comedy piece rather than what it is - An intelligent, entertaining, fun and important look at realistic space exploration. (I’ll touch on the important bit later in this review).
The premise starts in our time. Bob Johansson is a computer programmer who earns a lot of money selling his software company. As part of the resultant spending spree, he buys a slot as a corpsicle for when he dies – essentially to have his head cryogenically frozen in the hope of being revived in the future.
It was a sound investment for Bob. Following an accident, he wakes up 100 years later only he’s very different. He’s been transferred into a computer system and undergoes training to become the controlling intelligence for a Von Neumann Probe – A spaceship with the ability to self-replicate in a target star system – and so begins his mission as he’s sent into the heavens. Each time he clones himself, an imperfect copy is created (different character traits emerge in different ways, and the clones own experiences shape them too), which is a nice way of creating different characters and POVs for the reader.
Unfortunately for Bob, there are other Von Neumann probes, at least one of which is very hostile to him. So begins a frantic race to outbreed and outexplore each other. There are several other equally engaging plot arcs which develop or discovered throughout this book, but part of the fun is not knowing what Bob will encounter next as explores the nearby stars so I’m going to refrain from mentioning these.
Readers may wonder how they can identify with what amounts to a controlling computer on a spacecraft – and for that Mr Taylor does an awesome job. Bob (and his clones) is a witty, engaging character. He’s constantly bemused by life, and makes for a great guide through the Bobiverse. He creates for himself virtual reality environments, which help to ground the reader along with a lot of cultural references, which are fun.
In terms of the science and engineering in this book. It is particularly well done. It is grounded in hard SF, but also hidden under the hood. It is close to Andy Weir’s, The Martian, in terms of making hard SF accessible.
Now on to the ‘Important’ bit I mentioned in the opening paragraph. There are some SF books which are truly visionary and unique. The likes of 2001, I Robot, Contact and Tau Zero spring immediately to mind. They have often been emulated since they were published, but never surpassed. I would put this book in the same bracket as them.
The use of Von Neumann probes is a realistic, in fact likely, means in which humanity will explore the galaxy but there are very few books which have grappled with this type of exploration (and none where it is particularly the focus, unless the probes are some kind of antagonistic faction). Mr Taylor has done so masterfully. Giving the probes a human consciousness gives a reader something to hook into and engage with and even better that it is someone from our time. This makes for a really unique look at what the future could hold for humanity and space exploration.
Overall, this is a fantastic read, and Mr Taylor has become the peer with the likes of Clarke in terms of vision. I am Legion is one of my favourite reads this year.
I have already downloaded the second book.
Winner: Audible's Best of 2016 - Science Fiction
We know what assumptions make out of U and Me, and I must admit I made one based on the title of this book - that it was a spoof or slapstick comedy piece rather than what it is - An intelligent, entertaining, fun and important look at realistic space exploration. (I’ll touch on the important bit later in this review).
The premise starts in our time. Bob Johansson is a computer programmer who earns a lot of money selling his software company. As part of the resultant spending spree, he buys a slot as a corpsicle for when he dies – essentially to have his head cryogenically frozen in the hope of being revived in the future.
It was a sound investment for Bob. Following an accident, he wakes up 100 years later only he’s very different. He’s been transferred into a computer system and undergoes training to become the controlling intelligence for a Von Neumann Probe – A spaceship with the ability to self-replicate in a target star system – and so begins his mission as he’s sent into the heavens. Each time he clones himself, an imperfect copy is created (different character traits emerge in different ways, and the clones own experiences shape them too), which is a nice way of creating different characters and POVs for the reader.
Unfortunately for Bob, there are other Von Neumann probes, at least one of which is very hostile to him. So begins a frantic race to outbreed and outexplore each other. There are several other equally engaging plot arcs which develop or discovered throughout this book, but part of the fun is not knowing what Bob will encounter next as explores the nearby stars so I’m going to refrain from mentioning these.
Readers may wonder how they can identify with what amounts to a controlling computer on a spacecraft – and for that Mr Taylor does an awesome job. Bob (and his clones) is a witty, engaging character. He’s constantly bemused by life, and makes for a great guide through the Bobiverse. He creates for himself virtual reality environments, which help to ground the reader along with a lot of cultural references, which are fun.
In terms of the science and engineering in this book. It is particularly well done. It is grounded in hard SF, but also hidden under the hood. It is close to Andy Weir’s, The Martian, in terms of making hard SF accessible.
Now on to the ‘Important’ bit I mentioned in the opening paragraph. There are some SF books which are truly visionary and unique. The likes of 2001, I Robot, Contact and Tau Zero spring immediately to mind. They have often been emulated since they were published, but never surpassed. I would put this book in the same bracket as them.
The use of Von Neumann probes is a realistic, in fact likely, means in which humanity will explore the galaxy but there are very few books which have grappled with this type of exploration (and none where it is particularly the focus, unless the probes are some kind of antagonistic faction). Mr Taylor has done so masterfully. Giving the probes a human consciousness gives a reader something to hook into and engage with and even better that it is someone from our time. This makes for a really unique look at what the future could hold for humanity and space exploration.
Overall, this is a fantastic read, and Mr Taylor has become the peer with the likes of Clarke in terms of vision. I am Legion is one of my favourite reads this year.
I have already downloaded the second book.
