The Sci-Fi Books You Must Listen To If You Loved Ray Porter's Project Hail Mary Narration

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's "Project Hail Mary" is easily one of the best sci-fi movies of the year. Even with the release of Steven Spielberg's "Disclosure Day," the two films complement one another instead of evoking unfavorable comparisons. After all, both "Project Hail Mary" and "Disclosure Day" appeal to our collective sense of empathy, our only guiding light in navigating the unknowable.

While Lord and Miller's blockbuster has "Project Hail Mary" author Andy Weir's enthused stamp of approval, part of the book's mainstream appeal can be attributed to Ray Porter's 2021 audiobook narration of the source material. In fact, Porter's narration is so impressive that it won the 2022 Audie Award for Science Fiction and Audiobook of the Year. This performance also got praise from Weir during a Reddit AMA, while Ryan Gosling (who plays protagonist Ryland Grace in the film) called it "a hard act to follow" in an interview that Porter shared on Instagram.

If you're a fan of Porter's rendition of Rocky, the adorable alien engineer in the story, or happen to appreciate his distinctive line delivery, you should check out his work for Dennis E. Taylor's "Bobiverse" novels. These books blend classic sci-fi tropes with pop culture elements while delving into the ethics of artificial intelligence and related consciousness. Porter's narration is fantastic, as his range allows him to bring the series' quirks to life — key among them being the protagonist's various clones, which demands skilled accent work. If reading the five novels that make up the "Bobiverse" sounds like a lot of work, Porter's audiobooks are a wonderful way to experience what this eccentric sci-fi world has to offer.

That said, what is the "Bobiverse" even about, and why are these stories worth checking out?

Spoilers for "Bobiverse" ahead.

The first entry in the "Bobiverse," titled "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)," introduces us to Bob Johansson, who looks forward to a life of leisure after selling his software company. Bob understands that life's purpose lies in relishing the quiet moments of solitary pursuits, such as engaging with art or traveling the world. Unfortunately, Bob dies while crossing the street and wakes up as a state-owned "corpsicle" (where only his head is cryo-preserved) a century later. 

Bob's consciousness has now been uploaded to a sophisticated system that is supposed to look for habitable planets, but this job is laden with risks that he doesn't anticipate. As the title indicates, Bob's original consciousness masters cloning to create a legion of Bobs — a decision that proves to be a double-edged sword.

Porter is a perfect match for the vibe Taylor's books convey. The "Bobiverse" explores ideas that can be classified as hard science fiction, but the overall tone is geeky and lighthearted. Porter's deadpan delivery as Bob, which later branches into clone-specific personalities, is the primary draw of these audiobooks, which help parse the more reference-heavy sections of the book. The same goes for the dramatic highs, as Porter is more capable of conveying gravitas — whenever the story veers into existential dilemmas or interstellar warfare, the tone is serious enough without being too grim.

While Porter has narrated all five books in the "Bobiverse," the series is far from over. At least two more books are supposed to be released in the near future, with the focus being on an expanded universe. Until then, it's a good idea to catch up on the audiobooks to discern whether the "Bobiverse" is your cup of tea.