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willrefuge's review against another edition
4.0
8 / 10 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/03/14/antimatter-blues-by-edward-ashton-review/
Two years have passed since the events of the first book. Mickey Barnes (Mickey #7) is happily enjoying his retirement from being the colony’s expendable, instead performing menial grunt labor and mucking out rabbit hutches. It’s not a glamorous job, but it definitely beats dying for a living.
The Creepers are still nearby, but the threat of a shared bomb leaves them—and their human neighbors—at an uneasy détente.
Niflheim has warmed considerably since the old days, but another, colder winter is looming just over the horizon. A winter that humanity hasn’t faced the likes of before, and one they must prepare for sooner rather than later.
But, wouldn’t you know it, the antimatter reactor is on the fritz, and suddenly the colony’s reserve of fuel is at dangerously low levels. And so, to make it through another winter—and to make it TO another winter—Mickey is sent to retrieve the bomb that he gave to the Creepers in the first place.
A bomb that they’ve since given away.
Paid, it seems, as tribute to a rival collective. One that is entirely more dangerous and under no compulsion to return it. So it comes to Mickey to step back into the line of duty, find the bomb, pacify this new threat, and return with the antimatter before winter and the deaths of everyone he holds dear.
Now if only he had a plan…
…but he doesn’t.
—
Darius Blank and his torture machine might have been my motivation for signing on to this gig, but my own stupid brain was the root cause.
—
So, to sum up, my continued survival is based almost entirely on an extremely shaky tower of lies.
—
The sequel to Mickey7 returns to the wonderful world of Niflheim—a death-trap with a human-killing problem, and sentients that are more than happy to share their bountiful world. Or… something like that.
Mickey reprises his role as Creeper bait, though he’s well out of practice in dying lately. Nasha and Berto return as well—the former having grown quite attached to Barnes not dying; while the latter has rekindled his friendship with the Expendable, which is honestly better than its ever been. In addition, Kat, Quinn, and Marshall return to reprise their respective roles as well. With the previous Creepers now acting as uneasy allies, there exists one new, interesting character. Because there aren’t any others. Okay, okay, Antimatter Blues also introduces Jamie and Lucas, but neither are very deep, nor are they well explored. They’re included more in the event that someone needs to die, as Barnes can’t just pop back to life anymore.
Other than the lack of new characters, and a relatively straightforward fetch-quest plot—I have very little but praise for this sequel.
The humor from the first installment returns, and while Mickey can’t get into any more shenanigans with himself, he’s still bleak, disruptive, unconfident, and impulsive. If anything, two years of not dying has honed these talents to their most useless, as he’s just been carrying boxes around and playing with bunnies in that time. As such, what could’ve been a straightforward “go here and get this” turns into a spontaneous mad-scramble, complete with half-assed plans, promises and betrayals, and less of the gungho, cavalier attitude he could afford when there was always the promise of a new him fresh out of the tank when he screwed up and died.
TL;DR
In a sequel where humanity needs to undo most of the events of the previous book, find new friends, and prepare for a new, harder, and longer winter—they struggle to achieve any of these. In fact, Mickey, former Expendable, is now their only hope for success. Antimatter Blues builds little on the roots that Mickey7 put down; returning the core cast but adding little else, expanding the world and its inhabitants but not lingering on their description, sticking to a fairly straightforward plot, while throwing impediments up to hamper its progress. Still, it maintains the same smartassed tone, the same humor, the same impromptu approach to life, and the same spark of interest found in the first book. Therefore… if you enjoyed the first book and wouldn’t mind more of the same—this one’s for you. But if you were torn on the first book and wanted to see the second expand upon it and grow as a brand—you’ll likely be disappointed. I quite liked Mickey7, however, so Antimatter Blues gets a thumbs-up from me!
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/03/14/antimatter-blues-by-edward-ashton-review/
Two years have passed since the events of the first book. Mickey Barnes (Mickey #7) is happily enjoying his retirement from being the colony’s expendable, instead performing menial grunt labor and mucking out rabbit hutches. It’s not a glamorous job, but it definitely beats dying for a living.
The Creepers are still nearby, but the threat of a shared bomb leaves them—and their human neighbors—at an uneasy détente.
Niflheim has warmed considerably since the old days, but another, colder winter is looming just over the horizon. A winter that humanity hasn’t faced the likes of before, and one they must prepare for sooner rather than later.
But, wouldn’t you know it, the antimatter reactor is on the fritz, and suddenly the colony’s reserve of fuel is at dangerously low levels. And so, to make it through another winter—and to make it TO another winter—Mickey is sent to retrieve the bomb that he gave to the Creepers in the first place.
A bomb that they’ve since given away.
Paid, it seems, as tribute to a rival collective. One that is entirely more dangerous and under no compulsion to return it. So it comes to Mickey to step back into the line of duty, find the bomb, pacify this new threat, and return with the antimatter before winter and the deaths of everyone he holds dear.
Now if only he had a plan…
…but he doesn’t.
—
Darius Blank and his torture machine might have been my motivation for signing on to this gig, but my own stupid brain was the root cause.
—
So, to sum up, my continued survival is based almost entirely on an extremely shaky tower of lies.
—
The sequel to Mickey7 returns to the wonderful world of Niflheim—a death-trap with a human-killing problem, and sentients that are more than happy to share their bountiful world. Or… something like that.
Mickey reprises his role as Creeper bait, though he’s well out of practice in dying lately. Nasha and Berto return as well—the former having grown quite attached to Barnes not dying; while the latter has rekindled his friendship with the Expendable, which is honestly better than its ever been. In addition, Kat, Quinn, and Marshall return to reprise their respective roles as well. With the previous Creepers now acting as uneasy allies, there exists one new, interesting character. Because there aren’t any others. Okay, okay, Antimatter Blues also introduces Jamie and Lucas, but neither are very deep, nor are they well explored. They’re included more in the event that someone needs to die, as Barnes can’t just pop back to life anymore.
Other than the lack of new characters, and a relatively straightforward fetch-quest plot—I have very little but praise for this sequel.
The humor from the first installment returns, and while Mickey can’t get into any more shenanigans with himself, he’s still bleak, disruptive, unconfident, and impulsive. If anything, two years of not dying has honed these talents to their most useless, as he’s just been carrying boxes around and playing with bunnies in that time. As such, what could’ve been a straightforward “go here and get this” turns into a spontaneous mad-scramble, complete with half-assed plans, promises and betrayals, and less of the gungho, cavalier attitude he could afford when there was always the promise of a new him fresh out of the tank when he screwed up and died.
TL;DR
In a sequel where humanity needs to undo most of the events of the previous book, find new friends, and prepare for a new, harder, and longer winter—they struggle to achieve any of these. In fact, Mickey, former Expendable, is now their only hope for success. Antimatter Blues builds little on the roots that Mickey7 put down; returning the core cast but adding little else, expanding the world and its inhabitants but not lingering on their description, sticking to a fairly straightforward plot, while throwing impediments up to hamper its progress. Still, it maintains the same smartassed tone, the same humor, the same impromptu approach to life, and the same spark of interest found in the first book. Therefore… if you enjoyed the first book and wouldn’t mind more of the same—this one’s for you. But if you were torn on the first book and wanted to see the second expand upon it and grow as a brand—you’ll likely be disappointed. I quite liked Mickey7, however, so Antimatter Blues gets a thumbs-up from me!
hrgisahero's review
4.0
Decent, humorous, not always the best decisions by characters but overall enjoyable and thank you for Speaker
emessana's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kifkathleen's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
beth_c's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
irreverent's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
If you liked the first book, you will enjoy this one as well. I'm really enjoyed action in his one and character development from Mickey7. I was so entertained by both books and I can't wait for a movie.
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
laurareane's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
These are fun books. I often find myself laughing out loud when listening, which is signs of a good book. I like the stories and the pace.
sianyp's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
curtisshmurtis's review against another edition
5.0
I need the next 3 in the series asap 😅 anyone out there have any snarky sci-fi, make a joke while looking at your doom recs?