# All These Worlds

![Book cover of All These Worlds](/books/covers/all_these_worlds.jpg)

by [Dennis E. Taylor](/books/authors/dennis_e_taylor/)
Book 3 of [Bobiverse](/books/series/bobiverse/)
★★★☆☆

## Review

_All These Worlds_ is the third book in the _Bobiverse_ series. It continues the story of the war with the genocidal Others
started in [_For We Are Many_](/books/for_we_are_many/).

Once again, _All These Worlds_ features multiple, independent storylines, some
new and some continuing from [_For We Are Many_](/books/for_we_are_many/) and even [_We Are Legion (We Are Bob)_](/books/we_are_legion_we_are_bob/). The ones that
resonated with me most were:

- The war with the Others, the defense of Earth, and the destruction of the
  Others' homeworld.

- Life as an android, exploring the legal rights and the ethical implications
  of deciding what happens to one's mind after death.

- The revolution on Poseidon against the authoritarian council.

My main critique of the [_Bobiverse_](/books/series/bobiverse/) is that storylines are always wrapped
up too neatly and in favor of the Bobs. There are occasional
setbacks---Medeiros wins a few battles, as do the Others, and Homer is
captured---but inevitably Bob triumphs in a power-fantasy satisfying sort of
way. It feels like a continuation of the "this book is like a TV show" theme:
keep things moving, close out stories, and give the viewers something
viscerally satisfying. Books have the potential to be deeper, but [_Bobiverse_](/books/series/bobiverse/) isn't.

I previously compared [_For We Are Many_](/books/for_we_are_many/) to the [_Commonwealth Saga_](/books/series/commonwealth_saga/), but one
significant difference is that no one seems to care about the destruction of
the genocidal Others. The Bobs destroy the Others' home system and their Dyson
Sphere by colliding two planets into the star and setting off a supernova.
Even the un-warlike Bob realizes it was the only option, unlike many of the
characters in [_Pandora's Star_](/books/pandoras_star/).

_All These Worlds_ was another fun read, but I'm going to take a break and
re-read [_A Fire Upon The Deep_](/books/a_fire_upon_the_deep/) for my book club before continuing with [_Heaven's River_](/books/heavens_river/).

## Reviews that mention _All These Worlds_
- [_All Systems Red_](/books/all_systems_red/)†
- [_Burning Chrome_](/books/burning_chrome/)†
- [_For We Are Many_](/books/for_we_are_many/)
- [_Heaven's River_](/books/heavens_river/)
- [_Mona Lisa Overdrive_](/books/mona_lisa_overdrive/)†
- [_Neuromancer_](/books/neuromancer/)†
- [_Not Till We Are Lost_](/books/not_till_we_are_lost/)
- [_On Basilisk Station_](/books/on_basilisk_station/)†
- [_There Is No Antimemetics Division_](/books/there_is_no_antimemetics_division/)†
- [_Ubik_](/books/ubik/)†
- [_Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories_](/books/valuable_humans_in_transit_and_other_stories/)†

† _Mentioned via a link to the series._

## Related Books
- [_We Are Legion (We Are Bob)_](/books/we_are_legion_we_are_bob/) by [Dennis E. Taylor](/books/authors/dennis_e_taylor/) --- ★★★☆☆: We Are Legion (We Are Bob) is a pop sci-fi book, the first in the Bobiverse series. It follows Bob Johansson, who dies, gets his brain frozen, and awakens to find himself press-ganged into piloting a von Neumann probe.
- [_For We Are Many_](/books/for_we_are_many/) by [Dennis E. Taylor](/books/authors/dennis_e_taylor/) --- ★★★☆☆: For We Are Many is the second book in the Bobiverse series. It focuses on the Others storyline while also continuing many of the side stories begun in We Are Legion (We Are Bob).
- [_Heaven's River_](/books/heavens_river/) by [Dennis E. Taylor](/books/authors/dennis_e_taylor/) --- ★★☆☆☆: Heaven’s River is the fourth book in the Bobiverse series. It starts a new storyline and changes the way the stories are told.