Heaven's River by Dennis E Taylor (Bobiverse #4)

Heaven's River by Dennis E. Taylor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Jacket Blurb: Civil war looms in the Bobiverse in this brand-new, epic-length adventure by Audible number-one best seller Dennis E. Taylor.

More than a hundred years ago, Bender set out for the stars and was never heard from again. There has been no trace of him despite numerous searches by his clone-mates. Now Bob is determined to organize an expedition to learn Bender’s fate - whatever the cost.

But nothing is ever simple in the Bobiverse. Bob’s descendants are out to the 24th generation now, and replicative drift has produced individuals who can barely be considered Bobs anymore. Some of them oppose Bob’s plan; others have plans of their own. The out-of-control moots are the least of the Bobiverse’s problems.

Undaunted, Bob and his allies follow Bender’s trail. But what they discover out in deep space is so unexpected and so complex that it could either save the universe - or pose an existential threat the likes of which the Bobiverse has never faced.

Read as an audio book.

If you have not read We are Legion (We are Bob), book one, start there. These do need to be read in sequence.

I love The Boooobbbb's. Bob, Will, Howard, Bridget, all the regulars. I love the universe building and the variety of aliens the Bob's come across. The Bobiverse is an interesting idea and refreshing to read.

However, I struggled with this installment. For myself, it moved so slow. I struggled to stay engaged, I resisted skipping ahead, I even resisted giving up. Yes, the thought crossed my mind. Many times. I think it was because I found the plot predictable, the chase scene through Heaven's River *much* too long, and the resolution with the "Starfleet" and "Skippies" incomplete. The overall plot, like the size of Heaven's River, was robust and the interesting bits that make up the Bobiverse and the main set of characters, were left undeveloped.

So while I'm disappointed, one small redeeming factor was the AI. I'm not going to say more because I'm moving into spoilers. I liked the AI a lot.

Not much else to say on this one - recommended with reservations IF you've read books one - three.

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