Mal is a Silico-American, a sentient AI who exists above the human world, currently embroiled in a battle between the Federals, modified by new technology, and the Humanists, who reject human alteration. When Mal decides to go exploring on the ground, he ends up trapped and cut off from infospace. Mal is stuck in the body of a dead woman, and now has to accompany a child, Kayleigh, to safety out of the warzone. Mal is forced to confront the human battles head on as he hops between safe spaces for him to upload to. Mal and Kayleigh encounter more fighters on both sides and those caught in the crossfire trying to escape a war-torn Bethesda (the DC suburbs setting a geographical locations were very fun to imagine in the context of the book as someone from the area).

Mal Goes To War is another darkly comedic science fiction thriller from Edward Ashton. I enjoyed both Mickey7 books so I was looking forward to Mal and was not disappointed. Ashton creates an exciting band of weirdos to follow through his invented warzone. The characters all have unique backgrounds and conflicts over their views of the world that makes the book easy to follow and enjoyable when they continually bicker. Mal and his new friends have to make their way thorugh a series of tense and increasingly complex encounters. The world expands more and more with each chapter as Mal learns alongside the reader about the intricacies of the Federalist-Humanist war. Ashton wrote a book that examines our relationship with technology and how we can use technology to help and harm eachother. It fits very well in the genre of "robots learning what it means to be human." I recommend this to those who want a fun sci-fi read and anyone who enjoyed Mickey7.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of Mal Goes to War in exchange for an honest review.

Technothriller marries dark comedy and is seasoned liberally with satire. I’m down. I’m so down.

One moment, Mal is a free AI, just hanging out in infospace while riding inside a surveillance drone looking for decent pieces of technology to salvage. In the space of minutes, he’s riding inside the brain of an augmented mercenary who’s in charge of caring for a specially-augmented human child while her mother is overseas.

It’s a stupid war just like every stupid war before it and now Mal finds himself not only in the middle of it, but also invested.

This doesn’t meet the criteria for a technothriller for me, but I’m finding that to be okay on a personal level. While I could get along just fine with the computer terminology and vernacular, if it were more of a true technothriller I might have been lost. I suspect some readers might end up being lost as it is if they never had the luxury of knowing someone who worked in IT for years and years.

The dark comedy and satire, though? It hit and it hit hard. I was amused throughout the entire book by the entire cast, but especially Mal. Mal is an AI, so there are limits to his understanding of humans, but he’s definitely his own entity with a vivid imagination, moral compass, and sense of ethics. Watching him grow and learn as this book goes on is infinitely entertaining.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Satire/Sci Fi

The Good
I loved every second of this funny, found family-esque quest for freedom set in a completely feasible version of future we're all headed towards. I liked all the characters, despite the fact that ever single one was annoying in some way. It's the first time in a long while (probably since reading the first Murderbot book) where I had fun reading a book that wasn't pure escapism or fantasy. It hit on things, scary things, that I could absolutely see happening in the future without self-indulgently giving into despair. There should be more like this.

The Bad
It's not as detailed as I feel it could have been. On the one hand, I feel like this is to help the reader better associate with Mal, racing through, touching on data without lingering, taking things in without caring. He is the main character, after all. The other characters, however, feel a bit dismissible to Mal. There isn't a lot of emotional connection to the characters. There's Kayleigh, who comes across as Borderland's Tiny Tina, and whom Mal seems to like, but she's a very slight exception, This lack of detail extends to the setting as well. I can imagine a lot of it, but it makes a lot of the story feel thin. To be clear, they don't feel like flat characters or a lack of setting, just that the bits I got to see weren't enough for me to really feel like I knew any of it.

So, to a certain extent, I think this is what causes the reduction in tension...

The Ugly
It doesn't really live up to the techno thriller claim. It's an adventure, a fun ride, but I never lost the feeling that I was on a ride. I loved the ride. I will recommend this ride to anyone who likes dry MC's in near future settings, but it was still a ride.

Different than other AI stories I’ve read, the humor in this reminded me of Andy Weir but with artificial intelligence. To be honest, I’m not sure exactly what the plot was (it’s definitely character driven), maybe Mal discovering AI’s version of humanity as humans lost theirs? However, I found Mal’s dry wit and inner thoughts humorous and his literal interpretation and logic amusing as well. There were moments that make you think but for the most part this is lighthearted considering it takes place during a war.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this arc.

I freely admit that I came to this book for a sort of Murderbot. I arrived knowing full well that others have stated that they feel this is a much darker and grimmer version. I absolutely agree with that. There is some disturbing shit that goes down in this story. Readers looking for another version of our favorite SecUnit while waiting on Martha Wells to write one will do well to not think they’re getting that.

This book is grim, filled with dark humor, and more grimness with the addition of lots of brutality tossed in. There’s a weird levity to this story which has the main characters discussing the burn pits (for modded humans) then cracking sarcastic jokes about their situation. Sometimes this worked for me and other times had me grimacing. Kayleigh latches onto friendship with another person who never treats her like the child she isn’t despite what she looks like.

One person Kayleigh argues to save might not have wanted what he got but wasn’t given any choice about consenting to the life altering event. The last person joins the (not) merry band under particularly ghastly circumstances as something is happening to Mal’s “meat jacket.” Chuck is brutally honest about his shortcomings in the face of the violence – both threatened and actual – that he faces.

Mal is, of course, the main character and the one most described in the omniscient present tense voice. I grew to “see” Mal as a cross between Sheldon Cooper and Professor T. Mal has always viewed human “monkeys” as annoyances and good for – well, not much actually. The war that is going on before he gets stuck away from infospace means nothing to him. The limitations of the meat suits means that for the first time, he is dependent on them – to a degree – and through the course of the story, he has to decide what he wants to do and for whom he’s willing to do it. Mal has his favorite but it’s for a reason. In other circumstances, even if he had them, I doubt Mal would have lifted a finger to save most of the characters. In the end, he’s blunt in confronting humans who have engineered something he views as genocide.

I laughed at the dark humor – most of it anyway. But at a point, the resolution of the fighting is just skipped over. There’s a bit of an epilogue through some scenes but readers will be left to figure out exactly what they think happened based on a few clues provided. I enjoyed the book but, even if it looked as if there might be a sequel, I’m not sure I’d jump at reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the early read. If you enjoyed Edward Ashton's Mickey series, you'll definitely enjoy this new Sci Fi book. Ashton is on fire right now!

Very fun read! I really enjoy Edward Ashton's storytelling style. The humor in this one was particularly a delight! Mal's voice definitely reminded me of SecUnit from The Murderbot Diaries. If you enjoyed Mickey7, I would recommend this one too.

Mal Goes to War
By Edward Ashton
I was so excited when asked by the publisher if I wanted to read and review this book! What? Of course I did! The author of Mickey7! Yes! Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me enjoy this fantastic read!
The main character in the book is a Silico-American. Yep, you heard that right. A free lance program (?) with free will and choices. He just has to occupy something electrical to continue to live. He lived in a drone, their version of the internet (but much more advanced), an Android, an enhanced human corpse, and even a human.
A war was happening, Humanist thought that anyone with any enhancements should die, even children. The Federalist were using people to make monsters out of tech. Mal was just watching and not taking sides until he meets a small but mighty girl. From there, things go crazy. He slowly, very slowly decides humans are worth being friends with. Action packed, humorous, very creative, and aggravating at the same time. There is a handful of characters that each have stubborn personalities and conflict with each other at times. But I couldn't help but love all of them!
I hope there will be a Mal 2!

This was my third book by Edward Ashton (I think I've read all his books), and definitely my favourite. He definitely has a unique way of mixing a light hearted and comedic vibe into a story about pretty serious things.

I really loved Mal and seeing him discover a world he'd never paid any attention to until he had to. I was engaged the whole time and never really knew what was coming next!

I think that fans of Becky Chambers will really enjoy this book! I'm looking forward to seeing what the author does next!

Mal Goes to War is a very snarky look at humanity from the perspective of an anthropologically inclined AI program that gains the ability to enter drones and humans via their cybernetic implants. This is a future where those implants are very ubiquitous for anything from military to entertainment purposes.
Mal approaches humanity with curiosity as their strange behavior includes a war between humanists attempting to reverse the implants/augmentations/gene editing and others. INeither side comes out looking very good as both are deceived by their leaders and ill-equipped for what they are facing.
Mal's perspective shines a light on the human condition and where we lay our misguided aims, as well as vivid imagery as he attempts to relate to the world through his training of romance movies and other skewed preparation for dealing with humans in the wild.

A good read-alike for people in love with Murderbot ([book:All Systems Red|32758901], etc.), as the AI narrator's voice is pretty similar. The interactions with humans and running-for-their-lives also contribute to the strong Murderbot flavor.

While the story is interesting, I found the lack of unique voice rather disappointing-- especially since [book:Mickey7|57693457] was such a fun read.

Readers looking for an introduction should look elsewhere. Not a required purchase.

eARC from NetGalley.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

Oh yeah, this is a good one. Really nice how the AI (Mal) is represented, not as human-like or even wanting to be human, but having to interact with humans and developing relations with some of them. Also loved the little set of epilogues. I'd definitely want Mal on my side in any battle.

As a science fiction fan, I am always excited to pick up a book with a sentient AI as the protagonist. Scorch from Emergent Properties, Murderbot from the Murderbot Diaries, CheshireCat from the CatNet series; Mal joins a prestigious lineup of not so human main characters keen to offer an objective opinion on the delights and shortcomings of the human race.
Speaking first to my favourite aspects of Mal Goes to War, it was definitely the characters. This is not a story that follows brave heroes looking to make a difference. Most, if not all, the characters present are either self-serving opportunists or narcissistic cowards. Pile on top of that that they bicker incessantly, and you have a scenario that should be frustrating and annoying, but instead just comes off as incredibly funny. Honestly, the back and forth dialogue was the best part about this book.
Moving on to what didn’t work so well. The setting of the world itself was in constant conflict with the jovial tone. I say this because the characters are literally travelling through a warzone and there isn’t any sort of attempt at rectifying the emotional gaps. You have moments where the characters are literally acknowledging they witnessed people being burned alive, but then in the next moment are making fart jokes—it just doesn’t fit together. While I do not deny it is possible to have funny mixed with tragedy, the way it is done here leaves no middleground, and therefore comes off as disjointed and a little jarring.
Overall I would still probably recommend this. It is still a fun read despite the disconnect.

Mal is an AI, although not exactly a great Mind. He's in suburban Maryland surveying a war between the Federals who embrace tech including computers, body mods, genetic engineering, and implants, and Humanists who only use that stuff when they really need it for the war. Actually everyday Humanists burn the tech when they find it either in machine or human form while their leaders are willing to compromise a bit to try to win.

In any case, Mal gets stuck on the ground when the Infonet is cut off in the area and is forced to jump from human to human to machine to human to get further north into Federal territory where he hopes the net is still working so he can bug out. He meets (and inhabits) a range of people and machines and saves the world.

It's a funny book but not awfully deep.

I fell in love with Edward Ashton's Mickey 7 and couldn't wait to read Mal goes to War. Once again he has made a group of characters that are funny and not always the most selfless.

The story is about a war between those that have technological implants and those that choose to live without called Humanist. For me this was even more interesting because of the location it is set, the DMV area. They wander the woods of Rock Creek park and end up in Silver Spring and Bethesda.

Ashton as always has a intriguing story that keeps you on the edge of your seats. Mal (an AI) gets bored and decides to jump into the body of a human with implants...but he ends up jumping into a body that has the care of a girl and now the links back are blocked. He desperately wants to get back and the girl refuses to be abandoned by him. Along the way we meet a unique cast of characters that all feel well flushed out and interesting.

Thank you Net Galley For the ARC.

I loved Mickey7 and the sequel. Mal Goes to War is not Mickey7.

If I didn’t know and love the Murderbot diaries by Martha Wells, I might have liked Mal Goes to War more? Maybe? Mal is an AI who can jump from technologically enhanced person to drone and back again. SecUnit is a cloned human/technology hybrid, and I had a much harder time accepting Mal’s need to acquire friends and desire to rescue people.

Lines like these seem taken directly from the Murderbot diaries (emphases mine):

“My understanding, which admittedly is gleaned primarily from <b>review of serial dramas,</b> is that talking through our emotional issues is the most common and effective way to correct these sorts of problems.” (p. 162 of the ARC)

“A quick survey when the blast wave has passed shows his body to be mostly functional, although he is <b>leaking fluids</b> from a number of places and his hearing appears to be offline." (p. 171 of the ARC)

There were parts that I enjoyed, but that was mostly the last 100 pages. Before that the book was slow and meandering and full mostly of Mal’s experiments with jumping around hosts. I never understood the war (which I guess, is true of all wars, so, fair) and the extreme brutality that shows up occasionally (like the burn pits) didn’t seem to fit with the overall tone of the book.

This book feels like an experiment, and I admire experimentation. While I won’t say it was a failure, it wasn’t wholly a success for this reader. Not sure I’ll read another Mal book by Ashton; I will read another Mickey7 book if one is published.

I did enjoy this in the author’s acknowledgements:
My sincere thanks also go out to (in no particular order):
…
Mickey, for understanding that I can’t keep writing about him exclusively for the rest of my life.

I read an advance reader copy of Mal Goes to War from Netgalley.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this novel about our possible future, spoiler its not great, technology and how caring for others is something that might be dying in humans, but in AI is just beginning.

There is much to do about AI, how it will change the world, the way we do things, the way we feel see and hear things. Film creators talk about AI manufactured films, if you don't mind your main actor having an occasional third hand. News media is planning anther pivot from whatever their last pivot was to AI based news gathering, all told as click bait. Maybe even AI politicians making important decisions based on real time polls to people who still answer polling questions for free, maybe with that extra arm referred to earlier. What might happen is that AI will be like the protagonist in this new book of science fiction. Soaring over our heads, watching the monkeys play, not caring a thought about humans in the slightest. Until it has to. Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton is a dark view of a possible America with and AI main character trying to find its way out of its current situation and fighting feelings it never thought it would have to deal with.

Mal, short for Malware, is an independent AI relatively new to the world but sufficiently unimpressed. The time is the future and America is involved in a revolution centered around the Bethesda area. Two sides, the Federals, augmented with technology and devices implanted like most of the people in the United States are fighting the Humanists who hate tech, hate Federals, and will destroy everything they can. The Humanists for some reason are starting to win, and have been killing augmented people in giant burn pits, which Mal has been watching in his hijacked drone over the battles. Mal doesn't care who wins, humans are monkeys fighting for bananas as far as Mal is concerned. However, Mal does like to play with technology and a recently deceased fully augmented soldier is too much for Mal to ignore. Once inside the corpse, Mal has full run of the body, but Mal finds that access to infospace, his escape out of the area, is blocked. And that the corpse was bodyguard to a young girl, who might not be what she appears in any way. Mal realizes that he needs the girl to get him out of the area, a problem Mal never thought would happen. Nor that Mal might start caring about what happens to this human.

This is the third book by Edward Ashton I have read, and I honestly think its his best. I really enjoyed the Mickey 7 book and its follow-up, but the confidence and the writing are so strong in this novel. The idea is good, probably based on the America that has come since COVID. The idea that a group of people could throw others into a burn pit for being vaccinated and or having Apple glasses installed in one's head, is easier to believe now than it would have been years ago. The story is violent and funny. Very funny in spots. Again like the current American scene. Mal is a very interesting character, one can agree with everything Mal thinks, even when it is totally wrong. The rest of the characters are well-developed also, and I do hope that we see more about these characters in the future.

Recommended for fans of the Murderbot series, or those who enjoy stories about technology being far different than people expect. I do hope this series continues, but I am sure that whatever Ashton writes next will be excellent. I really recommend all his books.

Narration: (5/5)

John Pirhalla and Katherine Chin deliver stellar performances that bring Edward Ashton's world to life. Each character voice is distinct and engaging, with Pirhalla's reprise as Mal (from Mickey7) a particular treat. The "radio communication" noises for Mal add a clever touch to emphasize his AI nature.

Story & Characters: (4.5/5)

Ashton takes the crown next to Martha Wells in my AI/sci-fi reads! This is a fun, feel-good story with a surprising depth. Mal, our witty AI protagonist, isn't as emotionally intelligent as Murderbot, but his flawed attempts to understand humans are both endearing and comical.

The war setting is unique, exploring human fear of technological advancement and the ethical dilemmas it poses. There's grimdark brutality, but Ashton's humor provides welcome levity.

Mal's misadventures with a modded teenager, a captured soldier, and a porn-viewing cyborg are hilarious as they navigate war-torn landscapes and unravel the hidden truth behind the conflict.

Overall: (4.5/5)

Highly recommend for fans of:

Mickey7: You'll love Ashton's signature humor again.
Martha Wells: Enjoyable AI protagonists with a similar "found family" vibe.
Sci-fi/AI satire: If you like witty commentary and lighthearted sci-fi adventures.
Highlights:

Satirical commentary: Mal's observations on humans are hilarious and insightful.
Unique characters: The ragtag group is entertaining and well-developed.
Fast-paced plot: Filled with action, twists, and unexpected alliances.
Minor nitpicks:

Can be dark at times (think burning people alive).
The character Kayleigh's name fluctuates between Katie and Kaylee in the review (easily fixable).
Final verdict: Don't miss this delightful and thought-provoking adventure! You'll laugh, you might cry, and you'll definitely be entertained.

This was a fun read, with compelling characters and lots of twists and turns in the plot. I especially liked Mal, the main character who is a free AI full of funny comments and who displays a fierce loyalty.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

I am a huge fan of Edward Ashton's Mickey7 and Mal Goes to War continues on the theme of consciousness. Mal is AI that jumps from modified body or computers, whatever is available to him. You see him growing and learning. Mal was funny but the book didn't grab me like the Mickey7 books.