Pub Date: 03/14/23
CW: minor depictions of violence

Before I dive into my review, I’d like to thank NetGalley and Edward’s publisher for approving me for an eARC.

So first: oops.

And the only reason I say oops is because I requested Antimatter Blues without realizing it was a sequel. I saw the cover, thought “ooh pretty”. Read the description, thought “oh hello”. Hit request.

So. Oops.

But that didn’t really matter, if I’m being honest. Am I a bit mad at myself for not realizing it was a sequel before requesting? Sure. Did it make any difference as I read the book? Ehhh not really. While obviously events from Mickey7 were referenced, I didn’t really find myself struggling to follow along. It’s an incredibly easy book to read and follow along with.

Did I also go get Mickey7 the first chance I got? You fing bet I did.

Mickey’s personality is TOP FRICKIN NOTCH. He’s such a sarcastic little shit I love it and his narration is absolutely the best. I love his character. Edward Ashton did AMAZING with Mickey’s character.

THE STORY?! I MEAN??? YALL??!!

If book two was this good, I can only imagine what book one is gonna be like.

Ugh I am forever envious of some author’s brains. They’re such amazing little globs of goo.

If I could rate this book more than five stars, I would in a heartbeat. No doubts.

PLEASE.

do yourself a favor and buy the series.

Blog Post Review goes live on Feb 28th 2023

It’s not very often I read a book and immediately go lower my rating on the first one because the second one really just beat home the flaws and issues of the first one.
Antimatter Blues takes place - supposedly 2 years after the events of the first Mickey7 book. Mickey is still alive and he’s been puttering around the colony, seemingly fine and unbothered by everyone. Now - I say supposedly because several pages just past the opening we have a scene with Berto and Mickey in which Mickey brings up Berto’s abandonment of Mickey in the beginning of the first book. Almost as if they hadn’t spoken in two years. That strange exchange of telling us one thing but the characters definitely not acting appropriately set the tone for the entirety of this book.
Mickey is no longer an Expendable at the time of this book. Instead he’s a rabbit feeder/tomato tender/useless bum but somehow - based entirely on his fictional ‘ambassador’ status to the Creeper colony outside their Dome. As you can expect this unravels very quickly (especially since it doesn’t seem to make any sense in the first place). The bomb that Mickey hid is missing and he in fact DOES become an ambassador to the Creepers to try to locate and return it.
My list of problems with this books is long and frustrating. We’ll make it short. I'll focus on the characters - starting with Mickey himself who is the ultimate Mary Sue. Bad things happen - but not to Mickey. He is never really held accountable for his actions, he doesn’t truly actually have any trauma from his time as an Expendable (besides a vague feeling of ‘I don’t want to do that’ when things seem familiar), and ultimately he’s just fine. The secondary characters are simply devices to prop up Mickey. Nasha is a glorified sex pillow with a sad family backstory to give her the façade of a personality (she never actually changes, just develops a dangerous brain tumor that fuels Mickey - which is a WHOLE other can of worms). Speaker is the ‘cute animal companion’ we didn’t need. Berto is still a unnecessary asshole whose only contribution or change is his fancy new glider. No one else mattered - except the Marshall who heroically sacrifices himself. A fact of which Mickey gets jealous.
It's really easy to ignore the plot because ultimately isn't important. Mickey fixes everything. As mentioned above, he's right all the time. Things might surprise him but ultimately it all works out. The people who end up hurt are the people who doubted him so we clearly aren't meant to care about them anyway. And honestly, they are the ones who carry the consequences of all of Mickey's actions. So no need to beat those two poor dead shells of characters.
This book reminds me of Ready Player One. And it’s not a good reminder. I don’t recommend this one. I barely recommend the first one.
One Star. I can’t even make a fun rating out of this one. One Star - do not recommend.

If you liked the first book then you have got to get your hands on the sequel. The same snark and wit from our main character Mickey but in a faster pace story that I could not put down. I loved getting to go deeper into the interactions with the creepers and seeing more of how they think. It gave me Project Hailmary and Murderbot Diaries vibes while still being its own unique story.

The adventures of Mickey7 continue on Niflheim. After Mickey resigned from his position as an expendable 2 years prior, he must set out to complete a task only he can accomplish - retrieve an antimatter bomb from a bunch of alien creepers without getting eaten.

An entertaining and enjoyable follow up to Mickey7.

What an interesting and disturbing concept! I loved the narrator and his sarcasm. I'm always amazed at the imagination of good Sci Fi authors to present scenarios that are believable for the future. Well done.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4+ stars

Mickey Barnes has been working random jobs on the Niflheim colony but hasn’t been an expendable. The colony is running low on power and Mickey needs to retrieve a bomb he hid a while ago. Mickey reconnects with the local creepers and goes on an adventure to recoup the bomb. Along the way he makes some friends and enemies.

I love the MC Mickey and enjoyed the second book a good deal.

loved it! This is a littler busier, a little quicker-paced than Mickey 7 but a good continuation. The story feels adequately complete but still leaves the door ajar for further books in the series. This storyline is more quest-y and explored a little more of the world.

Readers should definitely start with the first book for the best reading experience. The series as a unit is highly recommended for general sci-fi readers. The snarky main character will appeal to fans of Andy Weir.

eARC from NetGalley.

Received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest opinion.
I loved the first book, I love this book, I just love Mickey! I love all the characters actually, even Marshall. The way this one ended leaves it open for another one, hopefully. I'll have it on my radar so I can read it too.
It's 2 years from the last book, and a lot has gone on, but they're still no closer to figuring out the planet. This one gives us a little bit more information on the people or creatures that live on the planet currently, and just a little bit of their mythology which is interesting. Great ending, I can't wait to see where this goes!