For We Are Many

The second volume of this series suffers from “middle-of-trilogy” syndrome, serving as no more than a means to move between the start of the story and its concluding segment. It carries on directly from where the first book left off, following up on the various plot threads established in it, but few of them are resolved by the end.

Which is not to say that nothing new happens. In particular, a threat from an alien race rears its head, becoming prominent in the second half of the book, and presumably forming a major focus of the final volume. There's also a new plot thread with one of the Bobs falling in love, which is awkward when you're a ship-based AI.

And, of course, the existing threads do advance, with the book switching between different narratives as we follow the various things previously set up. In this respect, the series remains a story of humanity's expansion into space, with things continuing to develop, both in terms of where humanity (and the Deltans) are heading and how the community of Bobs is growing and changing from its original creator. It's not quite up to the strength of the original, partly because many of the initial obstacles to the Bobiverse have now been overcome, but there's still the sense of adventure and progress and some fun world-building on the way.

Plus the geeky references.