Simone and Her Books

It’s a weird “chicken and egg” moment in a reader’s life when they come across a book through the trailer of a movie. What came first? Interest in the story because of the synopsis or because Robert Pattinson is starring in the Bong Joon-ho adaptation of said book? While I do know I have a deep appreciation for both Pattinson and Bong Joon-ho, it was the premise that finally got me picking up a copy of Mickey7, a sci-fi thriller about a guy named Mickey who’s reborn just to die all over again.

From the trailer, the overall premise of the book is there. It’s about a guy named Mickey Barnes who decides to escape his current planet (not Earth) by becoming an Expendable on a new colony ship checking out the validity for sustainable life on a far away planet. However, what he doesn’t realize is that the position of Expendable is not a popular one and before Mickey took the job, they considered making it a conscription for some convict. Because the job requires you to pretty much be the guinea pig for any and all dangerous and life-threatening missions.

That’s why you see a number at the end of Mickey’s name. He’s copy number seven.

While working on his most recent mission, Mickey7 is thought to be taken by these mega gross creatures called “Creepers.” But Mickey7 was able to escape and return to the ship only to find that they’ve already made Mickey8. Having multiple copies of yourself is forbidden due to some major damages the creator of the copy machine made when he churned out thousands of multiples to live on his very own planet. The main plot is watching Mickey7 and Mickey8 try to dupe everyone into believing there’s only one Mickey and definitely not die.

What’s so good about this book is how Edward Ashton builds this world. Through the stories Mickey tells of each of his iterations, you learn more about the colonies, humanity’s plan for survival on other planets, and the technology that’s really come a long way over the thousands of years. With each chapter, you’re given more background on how humans got to this pretty wild point in future history and really shows the level of creativity Ashton put into building this world. Let’s not forget that this book is also less than 300 pages long, so it says a lot that you’re able to explain a whole world without sacrificing pacing.

The realistic storytelling also played a huge factor in my love for this book. I mean, when the author teaches quantum physics, you expect there to be some details in the book that can truly mimic real life. Which is why I felt like the characters in this book felt realistic as well. From religious nuts to egotistical jocks, each character held their own and made the story so much more enjoyable to read. But not only that, the deep explanations on the history of this world, the technology that is used, and even the rationing of food on the ship all made sense if the reader were really in that situation. Alongside it’s very dark humor, which I absolutely adore, this one really worked for me on many different levels. I think fans of Andy Weir and John Scalzi will really appreciate this deep dive into the “science” part of science fiction.

And yet, I feel the only fault this story had is that it felt like a lot of it was trying to get you excited for book two. There’s so much introduced here thematically like the political systems, the Creepers and how they function, the technology that’s so intricate and involved, the morality of being a copied human (is he actually Mickey Barnes if he’s been copied so many times). There’s even a religion that’s introduced that I would love to know more about. Honestly, there’s makings for an entire series from what Edward Ashton introduces in this book. And I know that there’s another book out there, but what I struggled with here is that it felt like we’re being led to book 2. Instead of it being its own book, it felt like the preamble to another book in the series, which doesn’t leave a very satisfying reading experience when you get to the end.

You can definitely tell there’s some changes to the story in the trailer. The most obvious one is the fact that there’s now 17 iterations of Mickey rather than 7. And there’s characters that were mentioned in the book maybe once who now play a much bigger role in the movie. But I do hope that the plot and world of this book remain the same because they were the ones that really entertained me throughout. I already know I’m going to watch the movie, but now I have the added benefit of having read the book.