Reviews

Mickey7 by Edward Ashton

burnsdillion's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I enjoyed 'Mickey7'. The book presents intriguing concepts and delivers them with a good dose of humor. While I found that some characters, apart from the main one, were somewhat annoying, the book as a whole offered a compelling and enjoyable read.

mindthegap92's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

deadwolfbones's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

lai90's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

trinepiirmets's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.0

hannchilada's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.5

Solid 3.5 stars. 

I’m so torn about this one. I love clone/living-organ-donor as a sci-fi genre, and I can even see how the everyman viewpoint would make the philosophy more appealing, since you’re not being talked down to. And it’s impressive just how many moral quandaries were explored.

That being said, I was left only with a shallow sense of the themes? As well as a shallow attachment to the characters, but that might be because I don’t relate to the “everyman” protagonist.

Overall, I think the pacing and tension was somewhat off, and resolutions between characters left a lot to be desired.

sleepy_yoshi's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Extremely fast read due to it's casual/conversational writing style. It's got a pretty interesting premise, but it doesn't really go much beyond said premise. I'd go as far to say If you read the synopsis you already understand 75% of the book.

There is a plot of sorts, but it's pretty underwhelming and not the focal point of the novel. It's a fun read though and I had a few chuckles, but ultimately wish it had more depth.

singalana's review against another edition

Go to review page

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. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

rightfulruler's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

4.0

readerbot_lu's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
Did I like it? Yes
Do I recommend it? Yes

Positives

I found the world-building interesting and the humor entertaining. Mickey7’s expendable status (and how that questions his humanity) reminded me a lot of Murderbot. 

Negatives

Not many of the characters are fleshed out all that much. Like, they are flawed, but they still feel pretty two-dimensional (especially Nasha, it’s not clear why she loves Mickey but she is his reliable ally; what would he have to do to lose her?). 

I also felt like the plot wasn’t very structured; most of it is escaping detection and Marshall’s dislike of Mickey. Actual stakes were kind of shoved in near the end with the last chapter being used to erase potential moral complications and show how smart the characters are.