Mickey7 by Edward Ashton

Pros: great premise, interesting characters

Cons:

Mickey Barnes is the expendable for the Niflheim beachhead colony, which means if there’s a dangerous job, he’s the one doing it. So it’s not surprising that when his seventh iteration falls into a deep hole he’s left for dead. Unfortunately when he makes it back to base a new copy of himself is sleeping in his bed. Multiples are the biggest taboo, so the Mickeys must hide what they are even as trouble is brewing with the planet’s indigenous lifeforms.

This book was a lot of fun to read. It’s quick paced and engaging, with Mickey7 including important incidents from his past while narrating the events of the present.

I went from thinking of Mickey7 as a decent guy, then kind of a jerk, then back to being a decent guy. Some of his history paints him in a bad light though it seems dying multiple times has improved his character somewhat. I really liked Nasha and thought their relationship was great.

The book poses some interesting ethical questions without delving too deeply into them or dwelling on them for long. It’s mostly a lighthearted read.

The world-building was great. There was a lot more explanation about the larger universe than I expected, with Mickey explaining things about life on his homeworld, Midgard, and some of the other colonies (successful & failed).

The ending ties together all the various narratives Mickey throws at you. I especially loved how his study of history gave him insight into how to think of the native species.

If you like easygoing, sometimes humorous, sometimes serious SF, give this a go.

I saw a reference to “The Martian” in the blurb, but the actual blurb reminded me a bit of the plot from the movie “Moon”. Both are excellent, so that’s a good starting point.

Mickey7 is the seventh iteration of Mickey Barnes, the only person to ever volunteer to be an Expendable. They’re humans who can be ordered to do things that would otherwise be considered suicidal, because their body can be reconstructed, and their mind downloaded to the last save point. Why use humans instead of machines? We’re very hardy and can continue working for a time even if we’ve been irradiated to the point we’re going to die horribly. Plus Expendables are the first ones exposed to a new environment so scientists can figure out what’s going to kill humans so they can work on cures and treatments before risking everyone else.

Mickey7 is written off as dead at the start of the book (and needs better friends), but manages to make his way back to base. He hopes he’s made it before he’s reported dead and Mickey8 is created in a vat, but he’s too late. There’s a religious group that already views Expendables as not human (as in they don’t have a soul), but there’s an outright taboo against having multiple versions of the same person running around. Yet neither version of Mickey is ready to willingly die, even though some view them as essentially immortal. Dying still hurts, and you will either remember it, or be shown the video of it if possible.

Mickey has a love of history, but not enough talent to get on a colony ship except as an Expendable. As he delves into the history of other colonies that have succeeded and failed, we get bits of the reasons behind certain events, such as the rule against multiples and why Mickey was willing to volunteer. We also get glimpses into the previous iterations Mickey has experienced, and how they died.

There’s an ongoing theme asking whether or not the various Mickeys are “real” or at least the same as the original. Like the Ship of Theseus, all of his original parts have been replaced. He has the memories of the original Mickey, as well as memories recorded from other iterations, but does that make him Mickey, or someone else? Which begs the question of whether the original gave consent to be experimented on, while the others have no choice.

I could easily see other books set in the same universe, with the many mentions of other colonies and that the don’t currently know what happened to Earth. Did it manage to recover, or are the colonies the only home for humans?

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had the worst book hangover after reading this. It's one of those books I wish I could forget, just so I can read it again for the first time. In fact, I may go read it again now, just because. Excellent.

Mickey is an Expendable, the person designated to do the dangerous work for a planet colonizing crew. Mickey is on his 7th iteration, basically he's died seven times. While out on a mission, Mickey 7 is presumed killed so the 8th Mickey is produced. But, oops, there can't be more than one Mickey at a time. What to do? If the powers that be find out, both Mickeys could be killed.

First off, thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy for an honest review. Second, this book was actually quite enjoyable. It's a bit space opera, a bit The Martian. The characters were authentic and at times annoying. The setting was well written and visually clear. I definitely don't have a desire to colonize any planet after reading this. Ha! There were some tedious parts, the reason the the 4 stars. A bit draggy in certain areas, but overall very good science fiction.

The Martian is one of my favorite books, so when I saw it mentioned in the blurb, I couldn't wait to read this. I loved the Martian-like tone and pacing of this book, as well as the world the author built. It struck a good balance between science and story-telling, making it a quick and accessible read.

When I read the description of Mickey7, which is describes as The Martian meets Dark Matter (two books that I thoroughly enjoyed), I instantly knew this was a book and I wanted to read. And I was not disappointed. What a fun book. What Edward Ashton has done with Mickey7 is to create one heck of an adventure. Mickey7 is an Expendable, aka a disposable human who is part of a mission sent to colonize a new world. Expendables do the jobs that are too dangerous for other because … well as the name implies, they are expendable, meaning if they die a new body is grown and their memories are downloaded into, basically making them immortal. But immortality isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. As you might have guessed from the name Mickey7, Mickey has already suffered six deaths. After going missing while on another mission, Mickey7 is presumed dead and when he returns he discovers a new Mickey (Mickey8) has already been created to replace him, but there being multiples of any Expendable is frowned upon, thus they must keep it a secret because of course neither Mickey is too thrilled with the idea of having to die. This was a wildly imaginative story and I loved Mickey7’s sarcastic personality. This is definitely a book I will read again in the future. And speaking of the future, I look forward to seeing what Edward Ashton comes out with next.
I’d like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the chance to read and review the eARC of Mickey7.

In a far-flung future, space missions like to include one person whose job is to be the expendable, assigned the most dangerous jobs and then re-created if they die. In this adventure, Mickey desperately takes on the job of expendable in order to escape his life threatening debts at home, and as the story opens he is on his 7th incarnation, memories mostly intact. As the narrator of the events, Mickey's attitude is both irreverent, entertaining, and engaging, and his descriptions of his fellow shipmates razor sharp. Unfortunately there can be only one incarnation of him at a time, but his best friend's mistake causes another Mickey (#8) to be made, and so the subterfuge begins. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the planet the crew is researching seem very dangerous, but Mickey has a different opinion and must risk his #7 life again. The action is compelling and the characterization and future vision are thought-provoking.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect but this was a fun read. Not too hard and heavy with the sci-fi and just enough technical type info for you to understand what is going on and why. I was definitely rooting for Mickey7 to the end.

I thought this was pretty interesting. I know of a handful of patrons who will definitely enjoy it, so we will purchase several copies. Thank you

Based on the teaser, I thought this novel was going to focus on Mickey7, a human who can be regenerated in the lab, and the native life on this foreign planet. Instead, 90% of the action takes place inside the humans' space station, as Mickey7 and Mickey8 navigate the problems resulting from both iterations of the same man existing at the same time. The backstory of how humans ended up leaving Earth rings ominously plausible; this is sci-fi based on reality. Mickey7 is a likable protagonist, and the plot is succinct and entertaining. A great read!

I don't read a lot of science fiction. So much of the genre is space-operish. Mickey7 is different. Yes, there are alien life forms and interstellar travel, but the book doesn't make these aspects the main theme. Mickey7 is an Expendable, a person whose main function is to perform the most dangerous and deadly jobs in the colony. When, not if, he dies, he is regenerated with all the memories and quirks of his just dead predecessor. Mickey7 is the 7th such iteration. The fun begins when he is dropped into a chasm and presumed dead. When he works his way back, he has already been replaced.
I liked the pace and writing of this book. The author provided a nice mix of science and alternate history as Mickey7 struggles with his role. I think even readers who don't like Sci-Fi would enjoy this one.
As about the closest thing to a real life Expendable, I felt a true connection with Mickey7. He kept on keepin' on in spite of the disdain felt toward him by most of the other colonists.

ARC given in exchange for an honest review.

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this story! All of the lingo and other worldly places were very easy to understand and I enjoyed the glimpses into Mickeys’ past to see where he came from and what he was running from. I don’t think I would ever have it in me to be an expendable if our world ever came to that! There was only one part of the story that seemed very out of character for the main three people (no spoilers) that I didn’t feel needed to be in the story to be relevant. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book and hope there’s a sequel in the future!

This was a sold sci-fi with an interesting premise. I enjoyed the world building in this book and would like to see more books set in. this universe since so much set up was laid.
No gratuitous language was a definite plus. The nook is written in 1st person but it would e nice to find out the motivations of a few of the other characters.
This is a quick read and you will not be disappointed!

This was a very satisfying book to read on many levels. I enjoyed the philosophizing of Mickey7 and his general will to live (despite signing up for dying). I also found the universe building, as it were, interesting. I'm curious to know more about the creepers and would enjoy a sequel.

I haven't read much compelling sci Fi recently, but this definitely ranks up there. While it's a concept I've occasionally seen in movies, this was a wholly new exploration of the concept of immortality/replication and I really enjoyed it.

I wanted to like this book more than anything else, but it just feel flat for me. I think the genre was off for me.
Thank you though to #Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Interstellar travel is hard.

And seeding a colony world can be dangerous.

Meet Mickey - an Expendable. When Mickey dies, he is able to be rebuilt, and his consciousness downloaded. Have a mission with guaranteed mortality? Send Mickey. Has your food source been contaminated? Have Mickey try it. Not exactly a difficult job.

But when a newly landed colony finds an alien race, Mickey may be the only person standing between the colonists and genocide.

While I don't agree with the description that this book is a mix between Dark Matter and The Martian, it does contain some similar elements to both books, but is mostly a fun, smart space colony story, that was very easy to read.

As a useless historian, the only way Mickey could get a spot on the colony Niflheim was to have his brain copied and downloaded into a fresh clone every time they need a grunt to do something lethally dangerous. His seventh iteration just fell down a chasm while surveying. He would've been a goner if the horrifying local fauna, known as creepers, hadn't helped him out. By the time he gets home, though, they've already grown Mickey8. Both Mickeys are dead men if anyone finds out. The life-or-death shell game still leaves time for pondering the nature of identity and everyone's struggle to survive on a planet that hates humans.

Mickey's job is to die. As an expendable, he is sent on dangerous missions by the colonist, where his chance of survival is nil. Once he dies, his body is reprinted and his memories uploaded to the new iteration. When sent on a routine mission, he falls into an underground tunnel system and is presumed dead. Before he can rejoin the colony, a new Mikey is printed. Duplicates are both feared and loathed, causing Mickey7 and Mickey8 to hide for fear of being recycled. Terraforming is going poorly, calories are limited, and the local lifeforms seem to be attacking the colony. Just when things can't get worse....they do.

This was an extremely dynamic story. The world was well formed and developed and both the society and technology seemed believable. I would love to read more from this author. 5 out of 5 stars.

This is science fiction. I have loved science fiction since I was a child.
I give it 3-1/2 to 4 stars.
Sometimes, you read a book that reminds you of another book. That happened to me with this book. There was also a movie with a similar story-line (Edge of Tomorrow).
However, it was engaging. The main character (Mickey) and several other characters were well-drawn. The writing style of the book may not be to everyone's liking.
The crux of the story is that Mickey keeps getting killed, and a clone of him is created and his memories are downloaded to the clone. You have to accept this to enjoy the book (which I did).
I don't want to give away more. There are plot twists.