Mickey7

Cover of Mickey7 by Edward Ashton
Edward Ashton
Star Rating
★★★★
Reviewer's Rating
Feb 15, 2022

Sometimes a sci-fi novel comes along with such a knockout premise that even readers of other genres cross over to take a peek and see what the fuss is about. Take Andy Weir's 2011 breakout smash THE MARTIAN: what if one astronaut was stranded on a planet all alone after a botched Mars expedition, and the rest of Earth raced to save him? After ten years, a flopjillion copies checked out, and a Matt Damon movie later, we still get patrons at the library asking for readalikes who never normally ask for sci-fi. Today's #NewTitleTuesday selection is a bit similar, in that it has such a killer premise that it has the potential to be a excellent word-of-mouth hit. (A movie, though? We'll see. Depends on what Matt Damon's asking price is these days.)

Edward Ashton's MICKEY7 is set on a stubbornly inhospitable planet named Niflheim where a group of colonizers is attempting to eke out an existence. Assisting them is Mickey, who is the lowest rung on the ladder: an expendable. He gets all the really tough jobs. Dangerous jobs. Deadly jobs. When Mickey dies during one of these missions, he's cloned with memories of his previous life and is sent out again. One day, Mickey7 - the seventh version of Mickey - is left for dead. He recovers and limps back to base only to discover that there's a Mickey8 already running around. Since resources, particularly food, are so precious in this world, Mickey7 soon realizes he might get scrapped for parts if the colony finds out, so he must unravel the mystery of his accident: WAS it an accident? Is Mickey8 different somehow than Mickey7? And how do the original beings on the planet the colonizers are trying to exist alongside somehow tie in to all this? An intriguing mix of action, humor, philosophy, and sci-fi adventure, MICKEY7 tells its story in a non-technical, insightful, ever-so-slightly breezy way that will absolutely appeal to casual readers that shy away from harder sci-fi titles. (A sequel is already in the works, so maybe a Netflix version isn't too far off the mark.) Absolutely put this on your hold list.

Thanks for joining us for the latest version of #NewTitleTuesday. We'll see you next time!

 

Reviewed by Gregg W.
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