I wasn’t really sure what to expect but this was a fun read. Not too hard and heavy with the sci-fi and just enough technical type info for you to understand what is going on and why. I was definitely rooting for Mickey7 to the end.

I thought this was pretty interesting. I know of a handful of patrons who will definitely enjoy it, so we will purchase several copies. Thank you

Based on the teaser, I thought this novel was going to focus on Mickey7, a human who can be regenerated in the lab, and the native life on this foreign planet. Instead, 90% of the action takes place inside the humans' space station, as Mickey7 and Mickey8 navigate the problems resulting from both iterations of the same man existing at the same time. The backstory of how humans ended up leaving Earth rings ominously plausible; this is sci-fi based on reality. Mickey7 is a likable protagonist, and the plot is succinct and entertaining. A great read!

I don't read a lot of science fiction. So much of the genre is space-operish. Mickey7 is different. Yes, there are alien life forms and interstellar travel, but the book doesn't make these aspects the main theme. Mickey7 is an Expendable, a person whose main function is to perform the most dangerous and deadly jobs in the colony. When, not if, he dies, he is regenerated with all the memories and quirks of his just dead predecessor. Mickey7 is the 7th such iteration. The fun begins when he is dropped into a chasm and presumed dead. When he works his way back, he has already been replaced.
I liked the pace and writing of this book. The author provided a nice mix of science and alternate history as Mickey7 struggles with his role. I think even readers who don't like Sci-Fi would enjoy this one.
As about the closest thing to a real life Expendable, I felt a true connection with Mickey7. He kept on keepin' on in spite of the disdain felt toward him by most of the other colonists.

ARC given in exchange for an honest review.

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this story! All of the lingo and other worldly places were very easy to understand and I enjoyed the glimpses into Mickeys’ past to see where he came from and what he was running from. I don’t think I would ever have it in me to be an expendable if our world ever came to that! There was only one part of the story that seemed very out of character for the main three people (no spoilers) that I didn’t feel needed to be in the story to be relevant. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book and hope there’s a sequel in the future!

This was a sold sci-fi with an interesting premise. I enjoyed the world building in this book and would like to see more books set in. this universe since so much set up was laid.
No gratuitous language was a definite plus. The nook is written in 1st person but it would e nice to find out the motivations of a few of the other characters.
This is a quick read and you will not be disappointed!

This was a very satisfying book to read on many levels. I enjoyed the philosophizing of Mickey7 and his general will to live (despite signing up for dying). I also found the universe building, as it were, interesting. I'm curious to know more about the creepers and would enjoy a sequel.

I haven't read much compelling sci Fi recently, but this definitely ranks up there. While it's a concept I've occasionally seen in movies, this was a wholly new exploration of the concept of immortality/replication and I really enjoyed it.

I wanted to like this book more than anything else, but it just feel flat for me. I think the genre was off for me.
Thank you though to #Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Interstellar travel is hard.

And seeding a colony world can be dangerous.

Meet Mickey - an Expendable. When Mickey dies, he is able to be rebuilt, and his consciousness downloaded. Have a mission with guaranteed mortality? Send Mickey. Has your food source been contaminated? Have Mickey try it. Not exactly a difficult job.

But when a newly landed colony finds an alien race, Mickey may be the only person standing between the colonists and genocide.

While I don't agree with the description that this book is a mix between Dark Matter and The Martian, it does contain some similar elements to both books, but is mostly a fun, smart space colony story, that was very easy to read.

As a useless historian, the only way Mickey could get a spot on the colony Niflheim was to have his brain copied and downloaded into a fresh clone every time they need a grunt to do something lethally dangerous. His seventh iteration just fell down a chasm while surveying. He would've been a goner if the horrifying local fauna, known as creepers, hadn't helped him out. By the time he gets home, though, they've already grown Mickey8. Both Mickeys are dead men if anyone finds out. The life-or-death shell game still leaves time for pondering the nature of identity and everyone's struggle to survive on a planet that hates humans.

Mickey's job is to die. As an expendable, he is sent on dangerous missions by the colonist, where his chance of survival is nil. Once he dies, his body is reprinted and his memories uploaded to the new iteration. When sent on a routine mission, he falls into an underground tunnel system and is presumed dead. Before he can rejoin the colony, a new Mikey is printed. Duplicates are both feared and loathed, causing Mickey7 and Mickey8 to hide for fear of being recycled. Terraforming is going poorly, calories are limited, and the local lifeforms seem to be attacking the colony. Just when things can't get worse....they do.

This was an extremely dynamic story. The world was well formed and developed and both the society and technology seemed believable. I would love to read more from this author. 5 out of 5 stars.

This is science fiction. I have loved science fiction since I was a child.
I give it 3-1/2 to 4 stars.
Sometimes, you read a book that reminds you of another book. That happened to me with this book. There was also a movie with a similar story-line (Edge of Tomorrow).
However, it was engaging. The main character (Mickey) and several other characters were well-drawn. The writing style of the book may not be to everyone's liking.
The crux of the story is that Mickey keeps getting killed, and a clone of him is created and his memories are downloaded to the clone. You have to accept this to enjoy the book (which I did).
I don't want to give away more. There are plot twists.

This was a uniquely different story that I enjoyed. It also made me think about is the new expendable the same "person" or someone different just with the same memories. I would recommend this highly entertaining and fascinating read.

You thought your job was tough. Meet Mickey, an expendable for a beachhead colony on a frozen planet with a bug problem, a very large bug problem. Expendable job duties include dying, being regrown in a vat, and dying again, as needed. Except, things never work out as planned.

Mickey7 follows the seventh iteration of Mickey, a human who has signed his life away as an Expendable, meaning that he does all of the dangerous jobs on his colonization mission on a distant planet, usually ending in his imminent death. He will then re-emerge as the next version of himself to continue to be used by the mission for the “greater good”.

But Mickey7 did not die on a routine planetary scouting mission as expected, and back in the dome they already created Mickey8, resulting in the comedic issue of two Mickey’s co-existing at the same time, and sharing the same poor rations while trying not to get caught.

This was a light and irreverent sci-fi! There was also a touch of humor and breaking the fourth wall in this that made this a delight and a quick read. I also thought it was interesting that it brought a religion, Natalism, into it - Natalists believe that Expendables, or the humans that sign up to be reprinted and upload their consciousness, are soulless monsters. I also really enjoyed reading about the various colonizations throughout history that had failed or succeeded, adding in world building and history into this world. I also thought that the small romance was well-done and woven in well, resulting in being believable.

My only qualm(s) with the novel was I wish we got a longer, more resolute ending and some more of the present timeline throughout the book to really root more for some of the main characters. I would have preferred to get more involved with the current issue at hand (the Creepers) and learn more about them and the war between the colony and them. I would be interested in other stories set in this universe!

**Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!**

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. I will update Netgalley once I read & review a physical copy.

My review will be based on the physical ARCs I read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars

I loved this book! It was so different and really made me think. This was a fast paced novel with fascinating technology, space colonization and exploration.

Mickey7 is an expendable--his job on the mission to colonize the planet Niflheim is to do all the dangerous jobs. When he dies, his clone is given his memories. On a mission, Mickey7 is presumed dead and so Mickey8 is created. The two Mickey's try to hid that there are two of them and to figure out how they can survive.

Mickey7 is a great character. He's funny and irreverent. Mickey7 reminds me of Nelson DeMille characters.

This was a great read. Perfect for those fans of Andy Weir and Becky Chambers. A nice plot and enjoyable writing. Felt new and exciting versus so many other copycat plots in books lately. I hate saying this but would really love to see this adapted for tv. I kept thinking Josh Brolin would be perfect for Marshall.

All in all a great space romp.

The concept of this book had great potential. But the set up took too long and the payoff was too fast and thus felt unearned. Way too much time was spent going through the minutiae of the diet (how many kcals does Micky have left now?) and not enough time spent with the antagonist. I was pretty disappointed!