A review by singalana
Mickey7 by Edward Ashton

adventurous dark lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was a bit of a letdown. I want to like light sci-fi books so bad, but this just didn’t do it for me.

We follow a character called Mickey, who is an expendable at a newly established colony on a icy planet. That means that whenever something dangerous probably resulting in death needs to be doing, Mickey is the guy they sent to do it. Because every time Mickey dies, they make a new copy of him, with all the memories of the past Mickeys. Except this time things go wrong and now there are two Mickeys.

The book is told through Mickey’s POV, and few other notable characters are Mickey’s best friend (Berto), a woman he has a relationship with (Nasha) and the base’s commander Marshall. The characters lack depth, and even the relationships feel disingenuous. And it bothered me how Nasha’s and Mickey’s relationship played out in the book. Marshall is the most infuriating character of them all. 

Something about this book just felt off. The tone is light and bantery at the beginning, but then things take a slightly darker tone. At first I wanted to learn more about other colonies that failed and other expendables, but when the author delivered, it felt lukewarm at best. And in the beginning of the book we have a deus ex machina moment, and the ending is way too neat.

This book needed to pick out a tone and stick to it, give the characters more depth and explain the issues the characters are dealing with a little bit better. Now the plot feels paper thin. 
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