Mickey7

A Novel

By: Edward Ashton

Narrated by: John Pirhalla, Katharine Chin

Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

*Soon to be the major motion picture Mickey17*

The Martian meets Dark Matter in Edward Ashton's high concept science fiction thriller, in which Mickey7, an "expendable," refuses to let his replacement clone Mickey8 take his place.

Dying isn’t any fun…but at least it’s a living.

Mickey7 is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Whenever there’s a mission that’s too dangerous—even suicidal—the crew turns to Mickey. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. After six deaths, Mickey7 understands the terms of his deal…and why it was the only colonial position unfilled when he took it.

On a fairly routine scouting mission, Mickey7 goes missing and is presumed dead. By the time he returns to the colony base, surprisingly helped back by native life, Mickey7’s fate has been sealed. There’s a new clone, Mickey8, reporting for Expendable duties. The idea of duplicate Expendables is universally loathed, and if caught, they will likely be thrown into the recycler for protein.

Mickey7 must keep his double a secret from the rest of the colony. Meanwhile, life on Niflheim is getting worse. The atmosphere is unsuitable for humans, food is in short supply, and terraforming is going poorly. The native species are growing curious about their new neighbors, and that curiosity has Commander Marshall very afraid. Ultimately, the survival of both lifeforms will come down to Mickey7.

That is, if he can just keep from dying for good.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

*Soon to be the major motion picture Mickey17*

©2022 Edward Ashton (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"The audio narration for Marshall was fantastic–very ‘Full Metal Jacket drill Sgt.’"—FanFi Addict

"Narrated by John Pirhalla and Katharine Chin, the story was brilliantly performed and the personalities of the characters came through in the voicework."—The Bibliosanctum

"Mickey7 is a unique blend of thought-provoking sci-fi concepts, farcical relationship drama and exotic body horror. Edward Ashton keeps it all grounded via a protagonist who experiences the wonders of interstellar travel and alien contact while literally having the worst job in the universe. The result is alternately amusing, intriguing and horrifying, with each chapter seeming to engage a different part of your brain."—Jason Pargin, New York Times bestselling author

Loved it

Such a good listen. I can’t wait for the next book to see what happens next.

Entertaining, a little slow at times.

I liked the story and the performance was mostly good. It was a little slow and not really captivating.

Put it on to sleep and the could not

loved this story whole heartedly, i genuinely thought i was going to sleep to it. i stayed up all night laughing and listening to this.

Meh

The premise of the story is so good and so interesting but the actual book lacks… literally everything. Incredibly boring and I didn’t really enjoy the narrator. At no point was I hooked on the story and the ending was so blech. It just all kind of blended together and was boring and then it was over.

It's a fine novel but...

"Look," I said. She was staring at me for what seemed like ages. "The novel is fine, but this author guy, he really needs to mix up his writing, right?" She opens her mouth, then closes it again. "Anyway, it's not the narrator's fault, although the way he voices women is a little weird. The performance is great."

Incredible concept that left me wanting

I started reading this because of the upcoming film that was originally set to release in 2024. I continued on because the concept really grabbed me, and I was immediately intrigued by the characters. But I found myself getting to the end of the book and wishing I got to spend more time exploring the world that Ashton built. It's an incredible book in some ways, and the character development and world building is excellent, but the majority of the book feels a little limited and narrow for what I was hoping. Honestly, I kind of wish there was another book coming! This felt very much like the first book in a trilogy.

Great story but..

Yet again a man reading a great book but, ugh. The way he reads the female characters is completely ridiculous. These are fighter pilots and security personnel on a long distance space mission and the reader’s interpretation is to use a childlike voice as if they are prepubescent imbeciles. I’m sorry but if a man can’t read a woman’s character can Audible please find someone else to narrate? Or just have woman read those lines?

pretty good

if anyone remembers the Schwarzenegger movie 6th Day, the premise here is the same.
a lot is left unexplained so I assume this will be first in a series.
narration is good if slightly cartoonish.
some reviews have tried to put it in the same category as The Martian, I don't think that works, there isn't much wonky science and problem solving here, it doesn't have the same kind of technical depth, but it's a good yarn.

Interesting Premise that Failed to Deliver

This is fun but not a great story. I would recommend it for a car trip with teenagers or kids. The idea of duplication is interesting but in the end does not contribute much to the story or suggest anything philosophical. The two duplicates oddly seem to have different personalities and the narration only follows ones of them. It seems like an opportunity lost.

That being said, the story is fun - about colonization in a far away planet - and paints a vivid picture of a far away planet.

Ok

I found this to be an ok sci-fi book. Mainly because it was a new idea. Narration was just ok.