Heaven's River (Bobiverse)

Just finished this book. Thoroughly enjoyed it. As with the rest of the Bobiverse books, it combines a good concept with fun, witty writing and just the right amount of science. It's a real shame that the first reviews you'll see trash the book because of the author's decision to give Audible an exclusive release window before publishing the print and Kindle editions. Come on folks, artists deserves to make decisions on how to monetize their work. Anyway, enough of the business side of things, and on to the book ... About twenty pages into this book, I decided I needed to go back and read the first three to refresh my memory of Pavs, the Others, Bob genealogy, who is on which planet, etc. It was fun to go back and start from the beginning, even though I'd seen the ending. This fourth book picks up on the unsolved disappearance of Bender, whose absence persisted in defiance of Chekhov through the first three. Unlike the first three books, which spanned multiple stories across multiple worlds, the action of this fourth book is focused almost exclusively on one world. Of course, Ringworld was also limited to one world, so it's not much of a limitation. As with other books in the series, the writing is sharp, and authentic nerds will catch all kinds of references that zip by without the need for comment (i.e., they'll be missed by non nerds, but that's OK by all of us). This book gets a bit more into the philosophy of artificial life (a theme that was introduced in the first book, but then dispensed with quickly when Bob-1 looked into the abyss and decided "Still Bob"). I credit the author, who has a point of view, for treating the subject in a way that lets readers develop their own. This fourth book is devoid of the space battles that punctuated the first three; honestly, I didn't even notice the missing military sci fi element until I'd finished. The only downside is that I could see the resolution of the central mystery about ten parsecs away (as will anyone who remembers TOS 022). Despite the similarity of premise, the treatment was different enough that I still thoroughly enjoyed the book, and given the role Star Fleet plays in this book, I viewed the similarity as hommage. The last chapter makes it clear that the author plans to continue this series (yeah!) but the book does not end on a cliffhanger (double yeah!). By Book 4, it's hard for an author to write a book that's consistent with but distinct fro the first three. This author accomplishes the task. It's the Bobiverse, all right, but no sharks are jumped. By the way, if you haven't read Bobiverse 1-3, I'd recommend starting from the beginning. It's not strictly necessary, but you'll enjoy the book more if you understand the universe and the characters, so it's worth starting this journey from the headwaters.

The Bobiverse books are a fun read for scifi fans! But, be warned, they are full of scifi theories and literary references. If you are a fan and have been reading the scifi greats, watching the shows, and emersing yourself in the nerddom, you are going to love these books. If you are a casual scifi reader, there's a fun story here about discovering another culture. There's a hiest and a chase. There's some political infighting, and the beginnings of a civil war within the Bobiverse. But, really, there's so much more: the in jokes, the references, the nerdy science theories. And if you don't get those, I think this book is going to feel a bit flat.

“Heaven’s River” is the fourth installment in Dennis E. Taylor’s Bobiverse series, and it doesn’t disappoint. The story kicks off with Bob searching for his long-lost clone, Bender, leading to the discovery of a massive topopolis inhabited by a unique alien species. Taylor’s knack for blending hard science fiction with humor and philosophical musings shines through, making for an engaging read. The exploration of replicative drift among the Bobs adds depth to the narrative, and the introduction of new alien cultures keeps the series fresh. If you’re a sci-fi fan looking for a blend of adventure, humor, and thought-provoking concepts, this series is a must-read. Five stars.

Book 4 of the Bobiverse universe is great! Couldn't put it down! The whole series is funny and interesting with the different points of view (from the different Bobs).

So, the start of the series was fun but a little underwhelming in a few key (to me) ways. The characterizations were (and remain) fairly thin (although that's offset by the nature of the MC and other chars to an extent), relationships/interactions are pretty shallow and just to deliver plot points mostly, and the early plot didn't really do anything surprising or thought provoking w/ the premise; it was sorta like one of the newer streaming series (well done, but no 1984). I tend to read for relationships/interactions, and it's just not this author's strong suit, so that's a preferences mismatch. Someone who wants SF about hardware and action would be more pleased with this; preferences vary, and that's OK. I think this was, in some ways, the best of the series (which was, at least, always entertaining). He does a lot more with the premises, technology, philosophy, and personalities, rather than a simple "we went out, there were aliens". There are a (very) few funny bits, dialog is pretty good, and the chars stay in-char (they're just not super developed, but most are copies of Bob so...). I thought the chase sequence really dragged on a bit and could have been shorted with a summary in places, but it was ok. Overall, this final book raised my opinion of the series quite a bit.

Item arrived fast and in top condition, Can't ask for more!

Wollte nach der Bobiverse-Trilogie nicht aufhören, über dieses fantastische Science-Fiction-Universum zu lesen und war freudig überrascht, dass es da noch "Heaven's River" gibt. Das Buch setzt da fort, wo "All these Worlds" aufgehört hat. Anstelle des ständigen Location-Wechsels der Trilogie, wird hier aber der Fokus auf eine neue Welt gelegt. Vorsicht, Spoiler: Die Geschichte ist faszinierend, auch wenn sich das Katz-und-Maus-Spiel in der Topopolis mit der Zeit ständig wiederholt. Das Ende ist etwas überhastet, das deus ex machina ein bisschen zu einfach. Wem die Trilogie gefallen hat, der wird aber auch hier auf die Rechnung kommen. Bin gespannt, ob noch weitere Bobiverse-Bücher folgen. Wünschenswert wäre, wenn die ganze Konfliktsituation unter den sentient beings und den Bobs dabei ausgeklammert wird. Ich mochte v.a. den konstruktiven, innovativen Ansatz, der in der Trilogie stets gewählt wurde.

I loved this book and the entire series. It’s thought provoking, action packed and hard to put down. If you’re a sci-fi fan, this is a great read.

Le récit est plus linéaire que dans les précédant tomes. Il prend la forme d'un road movie, d'un river movie en fait, avec assez peu d'enchevêtrement avec d'autres lignes de récit. Le suspense est bien tenu. Une certaine tolérance avec la vraisemblance scientifique et technique est toujours requise pour bien apprécier l'histoire, mais cela ne gâche pratiquement pas le plaisir d'assister à l'aboutissement d'une saga que l'on quitte à regrets.

I think this book is a good continuation of the Bobiverse saga and shares all the good virtues of the rest of the series. It has lots of action, plots, interesting alien species... and interesting thoughts about the meaning of life, being human. In short good science fiction, hope there will be new Bobiverse books in the future.