BOBIVERSE TO-DO
The Infinite Extent
· Determine who built a vast wormhole network–and why
· Investigate mysterious, derelict alien spaceship
· Crack faster-than-light travel
· Help tens of thousands of refugees find a new planet
· Confront a new threat from an old enemy
· Figure out how to save the known universe from certain destruction
So many crises, so little time. It’s really not easy being a Bob.
More Bobs, Bigger Problems, Same Great Chaos
The following ratings are out of 5:
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋🙂😁
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration
Character Backgrounds and Plot Summary
Bob and all of his replicants are back, and at this point I feel like I know these Bobs well enough to have favorites among a group of people who are technically the same person. That is one of the things I continue to enjoy most about the series. Their personalities, priorities, and approaches to problems have diverged so much that watching them argue over what should be done can be just as entertaining as the actual science fiction adventure.
In The Infinite Extent, the Bobs are dealing with several enormous problems at once. Some Bobs have mysteriously disappeared, there is a derelict alien spacecraft to investigate, tens of thousands of refugees need a new home, and an old enemy is causing trouble for human colonies. At the same time, Icarus and Daedalus continue exploring the ancient wormhole network and uncover information that makes the history of the Pan Galactic Federation considerably more complicated. Eventually, the Bobs are also faced with the frightening possibility of a supermassive black hole threatening the Milky Way.
I particularly enjoyed the exploration storyline. Chapters such as “Observing Dragons,” “Derelict,” and “We Are Not Worthy” gave the book that sense of discovery I associate with the earlier Bobiverse adventures. I also loved seeing the Bobs come together for discussions and votes because even when they have the same basic origin, they certainly don’t always agree on what humanity, the Bobs, or the larger galaxy should do next. The sequence involving the first Moot and later meetings of the Bobs was especially fun for me because it brought that familiar Bob-on-Bob banter back into the story.
Highlights and Limitations
The biggest highlight for me was the sheer variety of problems the Bobs have to solve. There is the mystery surrounding the missing Bobs, the ancient wormhole network, the abandoned ship, the refugee crisis, the developing technology, and eventually the larger threat facing the galaxy. I liked that the solutions generally come from the Bobs thinking, experimenting, arguing, and trying again rather than simply overpowering a problem.
The chapter titles “Building Experiment,” “Unexpected Verification,” “Working on the Alcubierre Drive,” and “Testing” are a pretty good indication of how much of the story revolves around figuring out how to make seemingly impossible technology work. Those sections scratched exactly the particular science-fiction itch I come to this series for.
I also appreciated the return to the political and social complications created by having so many Bobs. The “Vote,” “Vote Results,” “Council Discussion,” and “First Moot” chapters show that having thousands of copies of yourself does not magically make decision-making easier. If anything, it creates an entirely new set of headaches.
My biggest issue was the length. The audiobook runs only a little over eight hours, and I finished it wanting more. There are several story threads here that could have benefited from more room to breathe, particularly some of the discoveries surrounding the ancient civilization and the larger consequences of the new technology. I enjoyed where the story went but occasionally felt like I was getting the highlights of something that could have been a much bigger adventure.
Narration
Ray Porter remains one of the biggest reasons I enjoy experiencing this series in audio. He has the difficult job of portraying a ridiculous number of versions of essentially the same person, yet the Bobs never blur together for me. His timing is especially effective during the sarcastic exchanges and moments when one Bob is clearly making a questionable decision and another Bob has to react to it.
The group discussions are probably where his performance shines most. With multiple Bobs talking through technical problems, political disagreements, and increasingly insane situations, Porter keeps the conversations easy to follow while still giving the different personalities their own feel. His narration has become so closely associated with Bob for me that I honestly cannot imagine listening to this series with anyone else.
Final Opinion
I enjoyed The Infinite Extent, but I didn’t quite love it as much as some of the strongest entries in the Bobiverse. There are plenty of things I liked, especially the exploration of the wormhole network, the continuing evolution of the Bobs, the technical problem-solving, and the return of those wonderfully nerdy conversations where several Bobs can spend an absurd amount of time debating the best way to accomplish something.
The story also leaves me with plenty of curiosity about where Taylor takes things next. The revelations surrounding the ancient Federation and the new technology feel like they are setting up even bigger possibilities.
