Listened to this one in the car. It's funny, and a good story. Am diving right into the next one in the series. ( )

This book was entertaining. Extremely and compulsively entertaining.

It has been compared a lot with The Martian, by Andy Weir. The reason is clear: both are told from the point of view of a similar protagonist: an intelligent and technically accomplished nerd, with a nerd's sense of humor, as he struggles to survive under difficult conditions. The differences are also clear: The Martian was more down-to-Earth (down-to-Mars, I guess), with more emphasis on the technical details of the solutions to the problems. We Are Legion (We Are Bob), on the other hand, tends to hand-wave technical details and in exchange it presents a grander vision, involving multiple solar systems, alien races, wars and the stakes are the survival of humankind, not just of the protagonist.

So, the premise goes like this (with no more spoilers than the blurb): Bob Johansson is a successful entrepeneur who has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. Unfortunately, he immediately gets killed in an accident. He wakes up a century later to find that he has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in a Von Neumann probe (a spacecraft capable of replicating itself) looking for habitable planets. Unfortunately, the world is an unstable place, marked by a cold war conflict between several enemy powers. It's not clear that Bob will survive long enough to get to space...

Taylor is not a great stylist. I had just read a Joe Abercrombie novel, and after Abercrombie's prose, the first chapter of We Are Legion, when the main character is established, was a bit painful. As soon as the plot gets started, however, it doesn't matter any more. The story is fascinating, with sense of wonder and plenty of excitement. A very fast and pleasing read.

The story doesn't end in a cliffhanger, but it just ends, without a real sense of conclusion. This is the first book of a trilogy, and the whole thing needs to be read. Fortunately, the second book is out and the third is announced for August 2017. ( )

I'm pretty new to the sci-fi genre but I have to say I enjoyed this book! It was humorous and well-paced. The only problem I had was keeping up with all of the Bobs. ( )

Reads like golden-age hard sci-fi (maybe subtracting rampant "ism"s). Problem-solving through innovation and clever use of technology. Author cleverly puts us in Bob's head from the first moment. ( )

This book is funny and witty. It starts with a captivating thought experiment that will likely find its way in identity philosophy. I really enjoyed that part.

Once you are past the mind blowing background and the adventure begins, the book gave me the same feeling as a video game that is open ended, after you beat the last boss. A lot of fun things to explore and do, but no real tension.

So, besides the fun thought experiment, the book felt flat. I am not easily convinced by pop and sci-fi culture and references, the abuse of which I am sure explain the popular success of the book. The world building around the geopolitics is quite immature and would work for a joke, but it turns out the book relies on it for its main plot and it just gets annoying. ( )