Not Till We Are Lost

"I'm at least as smart as you, so spare me the sermon"

The Bobiverse series has everything I need in a book: humor, adventure, action, and hard sci-fi. If I had to choose only one series to read forever, it'd be the Bobiverse and hope Dennis E. Taylor keeps ‘em coming.

After [b:Heaven's River|42950440|Heaven's River (Bobiverse, #4)|Dennis E. Taylor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593705196l/42950440.SX50.jpg|66753562], which felt a bit too long and wandered into some strange territory, Not Till We Are Lost brings the series back to what it does best. It's packed with creative space exploration, clever problem-solving, and plenty of that signature Bob humor. The book also hints at lots of new directions for future stories, which is exciting without feeling frustrating due to lack of resolution.

One of the things that always makes this series stand out is Bob himself. The idea of a regular geek turned into a von Neumann probe exploring the universe is so much fun, and Bob's perspective keeps everything grounded and relatable. This book dives into questions about long-gone galactic civilizations, FTL travel, and other classic sci-fi ideas, but it does it in a way that feels fresh and engaging. Even when the story slows down a little, the intriguing concepts and scenarios make up for it.

One small criticism for this installment: the individual Bob stories in this book don't feel as interconnected as they usually do. It's almost like reading separate novellas rather than one big, cohesive narrative. Still, each story is enjoyable on its own, and it feels like these threads are setting up some big arcs for the next books. That's something I'm definitely looking forward to.

On the flip side, something in [b:Heaven's River|42950440|Heaven's River (Bobiverse, #4)|Dennis E. Taylor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593705196l/42950440.SX50.jpg|66753562] that I didn't like and this book improves on:
The entire story arc of the Skippies in Heaven's River is very one-sided, where the old Bobs make it sounds like all of them are crazy. We hear a lot from Hugh, but he's the most "Bob" of them all. But the Skippies are Bobs too, it was obvious to me that hearing from their perspective first hand would be an interesting experience. And while Not Till We Are Lost doesn't give us a lot of that, the final conversation with Mud gives me enough to enjoy. Still, I'd love a small novella written from the POV of Fearless Leader.

Overall, Not Till We Are Lost is another fantastic addition to the Bobiverse series. It's funny, thought-provoking, and endlessly entertaining. If you've been following Bob's adventures, this book won't disappoint. Five stars from me!

That said, no one falls off their chair laughing. WTF was that?