Book Review: Mickey7 by Edward Ashton
Title: Mickey7 (Mickey 7 #1)
Author: Edward Ashton
Release date: February 15th, 2022
I didn’t know about this novel until I saw the news the movie had been delayed. Crazy right? I mean, I do read sci-fi, just not in any sort of overabundance, but I certainly don’t follow big sci-fi book news or releases and for the most apart, my sci-fi ingestion is mainly from the Big Five Mainstream world, rarely from the indie world, which is kind of the exact opposite of my horror reading patterns. When I read the synopsis, I was sold and grabbed it immediately.
The whole idea of our main character, Mickey Barnes, being an Expendable, just had me hooked and not too long after grabbing it, I dove in, wondering just what I’d encounter.
What I liked: The story follows Mickey, on a distant planet, as some surviving humans attempt to set up a base to colonize the planet and build a new home for some of remaining survivors. There’s been attempts all around the universe – some successful, some not – but this one had all the hallmarks of being the perfect place. Until they arrived and it wasn’t. Mickey, as I mentioned, is an Expendable. What does that mean? It means, they’ve made a fully synthetic and digital version of Mickey Barnes aka #1, and when a job comes up that requires a human to do it, but that will result in them most likely dying, well, they call on Mickey. So, as the title suggests, we pick up with Mickey #7, who just happens to be dying, again.
One thing I typically struggle with while reading horror is humor. It just pulls me out if it’s not done spot on, even sarcasm. Well, this ain’t horror, and apparently, Ashton nailed the sarcasm/humor angle, because I was chuckling throughout. Much like Martha Wells does with her Murderbot series (yes, this feels similarish to that, but also very very different), Mickey’s sarcasm and desire to not die, even when that’s his main job, are front and center and as the story moves along, it works to alleviate tension, but also keep those who hate him pissed off.
There are two main plot points that drive this novel. The first is that somehow, a second Mickey was created. So, in theory, there are two Mickey 8’s, which makes for some hilarious moments. And the second is the strange, insect-like clawed creatures they call ‘creepers’ that seem to be planning to attack the inhabited dome where the humans currently live.
It’s those two storylines that make this for a fun back and forth between what Mickey needs to do and what he wants to do and unexpectedly, the novel asks a lot of philosophical questions about life, death, where our moral compass lies and what exactly, qualifies as a genocide.
What I didn’t like: I had a blast with this one from start to finish, so if I had to try and find something to be nit-picky about, it might be that the description of the dome was fairly weak, so I wasn’t totally sure if it was massive, medium, or mild in size. It would’ve been great to have that discussed more, so the reader would have a sense of scope.
Why you should buy this: This is essentially Murderbot meets The Martian. I really loved Ashton’s writing throughout, the characters were a blast and there was an odd, subtle tension that was held from page one until the very end, a sort of ‘Hey, you, come read this,’ tightness that never relented. And even though there is a sequel, this one ends perfectly to be a standalone singular read, which is always a wonderful thing.
5/5
