Mal Goes to War
By Edward Ashton
I was so excited when asked by the publisher if I wanted to read and review this book! What? Of course I did! The author of Mickey7! Yes! Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me enjoy this fantastic read!
The main character in the book is a Silico-American. Yep, you heard that right. A free lance program (?) with free will and choices. He just has to occupy something electrical to continue to live. He lived in a drone, their version of the internet (but much more advanced), an Android, an enhanced human corpse, and even a human.
A war was happening, Humanist thought that anyone with any enhancements should die, even children. The Federalist were using people to make monsters out of tech. Mal was just watching and not taking sides until he meets a small but mighty girl. From there, things go crazy. He slowly, very slowly decides humans are worth being friends with. Action packed, humorous, very creative, and aggravating at the same time. There is a handful of characters that each have stubborn personalities and conflict with each other at times. But I couldn't help but love all of them!
I hope there will be a Mal 2!

This was my third book by Edward Ashton (I think I've read all his books), and definitely my favourite. He definitely has a unique way of mixing a light hearted and comedic vibe into a story about pretty serious things.

I really loved Mal and seeing him discover a world he'd never paid any attention to until he had to. I was engaged the whole time and never really knew what was coming next!

I think that fans of Becky Chambers will really enjoy this book! I'm looking forward to seeing what the author does next!

Mal Goes to War is a very snarky look at humanity from the perspective of an anthropologically inclined AI program that gains the ability to enter drones and humans via their cybernetic implants. This is a future where those implants are very ubiquitous for anything from military to entertainment purposes.
Mal approaches humanity with curiosity as their strange behavior includes a war between humanists attempting to reverse the implants/augmentations/gene editing and others. INeither side comes out looking very good as both are deceived by their leaders and ill-equipped for what they are facing.
Mal's perspective shines a light on the human condition and where we lay our misguided aims, as well as vivid imagery as he attempts to relate to the world through his training of romance movies and other skewed preparation for dealing with humans in the wild.

A good read-alike for people in love with Murderbot ([book:All Systems Red|32758901], etc.), as the AI narrator's voice is pretty similar. The interactions with humans and running-for-their-lives also contribute to the strong Murderbot flavor.

While the story is interesting, I found the lack of unique voice rather disappointing-- especially since [book:Mickey7|57693457] was such a fun read.

Readers looking for an introduction should look elsewhere. Not a required purchase.

eARC from NetGalley.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

Oh yeah, this is a good one. Really nice how the AI (Mal) is represented, not as human-like or even wanting to be human, but having to interact with humans and developing relations with some of them. Also loved the little set of epilogues. I'd definitely want Mal on my side in any battle.

As a science fiction fan, I am always excited to pick up a book with a sentient AI as the protagonist. Scorch from Emergent Properties, Murderbot from the Murderbot Diaries, CheshireCat from the CatNet series; Mal joins a prestigious lineup of not so human main characters keen to offer an objective opinion on the delights and shortcomings of the human race.
Speaking first to my favourite aspects of Mal Goes to War, it was definitely the characters. This is not a story that follows brave heroes looking to make a difference. Most, if not all, the characters present are either self-serving opportunists or narcissistic cowards. Pile on top of that that they bicker incessantly, and you have a scenario that should be frustrating and annoying, but instead just comes off as incredibly funny. Honestly, the back and forth dialogue was the best part about this book.
Moving on to what didn’t work so well. The setting of the world itself was in constant conflict with the jovial tone. I say this because the characters are literally travelling through a warzone and there isn’t any sort of attempt at rectifying the emotional gaps. You have moments where the characters are literally acknowledging they witnessed people being burned alive, but then in the next moment are making fart jokes—it just doesn’t fit together. While I do not deny it is possible to have funny mixed with tragedy, the way it is done here leaves no middleground, and therefore comes off as disjointed and a little jarring.
Overall I would still probably recommend this. It is still a fun read despite the disconnect.

Mal is an AI, although not exactly a great Mind. He's in suburban Maryland surveying a war between the Federals who embrace tech including computers, body mods, genetic engineering, and implants, and Humanists who only use that stuff when they really need it for the war. Actually everyday Humanists burn the tech when they find it either in machine or human form while their leaders are willing to compromise a bit to try to win.

In any case, Mal gets stuck on the ground when the Infonet is cut off in the area and is forced to jump from human to human to machine to human to get further north into Federal territory where he hopes the net is still working so he can bug out. He meets (and inhabits) a range of people and machines and saves the world.

It's a funny book but not awfully deep.

I fell in love with Edward Ashton's Mickey 7 and couldn't wait to read Mal goes to War. Once again he has made a group of characters that are funny and not always the most selfless.

The story is about a war between those that have technological implants and those that choose to live without called Humanist. For me this was even more interesting because of the location it is set, the DMV area. They wander the woods of Rock Creek park and end up in Silver Spring and Bethesda.

Ashton as always has a intriguing story that keeps you on the edge of your seats. Mal (an AI) gets bored and decides to jump into the body of a human with implants...but he ends up jumping into a body that has the care of a girl and now the links back are blocked. He desperately wants to get back and the girl refuses to be abandoned by him. Along the way we meet a unique cast of characters that all feel well flushed out and interesting.

Thank you Net Galley For the ARC.

I loved Mickey7 and the sequel. Mal Goes to War is not Mickey7.

If I didn’t know and love the Murderbot diaries by Martha Wells, I might have liked Mal Goes to War more? Maybe? Mal is an AI who can jump from technologically enhanced person to drone and back again. SecUnit is a cloned human/technology hybrid, and I had a much harder time accepting Mal’s need to acquire friends and desire to rescue people.

Lines like these seem taken directly from the Murderbot diaries (emphases mine):

“My understanding, which admittedly is gleaned primarily from <b>review of serial dramas,</b> is that talking through our emotional issues is the most common and effective way to correct these sorts of problems.” (p. 162 of the ARC)

“A quick survey when the blast wave has passed shows his body to be mostly functional, although he is <b>leaking fluids</b> from a number of places and his hearing appears to be offline." (p. 171 of the ARC)

There were parts that I enjoyed, but that was mostly the last 100 pages. Before that the book was slow and meandering and full mostly of Mal’s experiments with jumping around hosts. I never understood the war (which I guess, is true of all wars, so, fair) and the extreme brutality that shows up occasionally (like the burn pits) didn’t seem to fit with the overall tone of the book.

This book feels like an experiment, and I admire experimentation. While I won’t say it was a failure, it wasn’t wholly a success for this reader. Not sure I’ll read another Mal book by Ashton; I will read another Mickey7 book if one is published.

I did enjoy this in the author’s acknowledgements:
My sincere thanks also go out to (in no particular order):
…
Mickey, for understanding that I can’t keep writing about him exclusively for the rest of my life.

I read an advance reader copy of Mal Goes to War from Netgalley.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this novel about our possible future, spoiler its not great, technology and how caring for others is something that might be dying in humans, but in AI is just beginning.

There is much to do about AI, how it will change the world, the way we do things, the way we feel see and hear things. Film creators talk about AI manufactured films, if you don't mind your main actor having an occasional third hand. News media is planning anther pivot from whatever their last pivot was to AI based news gathering, all told as click bait. Maybe even AI politicians making important decisions based on real time polls to people who still answer polling questions for free, maybe with that extra arm referred to earlier. What might happen is that AI will be like the protagonist in this new book of science fiction. Soaring over our heads, watching the monkeys play, not caring a thought about humans in the slightest. Until it has to. Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton is a dark view of a possible America with and AI main character trying to find its way out of its current situation and fighting feelings it never thought it would have to deal with.

Mal, short for Malware, is an independent AI relatively new to the world but sufficiently unimpressed. The time is the future and America is involved in a revolution centered around the Bethesda area. Two sides, the Federals, augmented with technology and devices implanted like most of the people in the United States are fighting the Humanists who hate tech, hate Federals, and will destroy everything they can. The Humanists for some reason are starting to win, and have been killing augmented people in giant burn pits, which Mal has been watching in his hijacked drone over the battles. Mal doesn't care who wins, humans are monkeys fighting for bananas as far as Mal is concerned. However, Mal does like to play with technology and a recently deceased fully augmented soldier is too much for Mal to ignore. Once inside the corpse, Mal has full run of the body, but Mal finds that access to infospace, his escape out of the area, is blocked. And that the corpse was bodyguard to a young girl, who might not be what she appears in any way. Mal realizes that he needs the girl to get him out of the area, a problem Mal never thought would happen. Nor that Mal might start caring about what happens to this human.

This is the third book by Edward Ashton I have read, and I honestly think its his best. I really enjoyed the Mickey 7 book and its follow-up, but the confidence and the writing are so strong in this novel. The idea is good, probably based on the America that has come since COVID. The idea that a group of people could throw others into a burn pit for being vaccinated and or having Apple glasses installed in one's head, is easier to believe now than it would have been years ago. The story is violent and funny. Very funny in spots. Again like the current American scene. Mal is a very interesting character, one can agree with everything Mal thinks, even when it is totally wrong. The rest of the characters are well-developed also, and I do hope that we see more about these characters in the future.

Recommended for fans of the Murderbot series, or those who enjoy stories about technology being far different than people expect. I do hope this series continues, but I am sure that whatever Ashton writes next will be excellent. I really recommend all his books.

Narration: (5/5)

John Pirhalla and Katherine Chin deliver stellar performances that bring Edward Ashton's world to life. Each character voice is distinct and engaging, with Pirhalla's reprise as Mal (from Mickey7) a particular treat. The "radio communication" noises for Mal add a clever touch to emphasize his AI nature.

Story & Characters: (4.5/5)

Ashton takes the crown next to Martha Wells in my AI/sci-fi reads! This is a fun, feel-good story with a surprising depth. Mal, our witty AI protagonist, isn't as emotionally intelligent as Murderbot, but his flawed attempts to understand humans are both endearing and comical.

The war setting is unique, exploring human fear of technological advancement and the ethical dilemmas it poses. There's grimdark brutality, but Ashton's humor provides welcome levity.

Mal's misadventures with a modded teenager, a captured soldier, and a porn-viewing cyborg are hilarious as they navigate war-torn landscapes and unravel the hidden truth behind the conflict.

Overall: (4.5/5)

Highly recommend for fans of:

Mickey7: You'll love Ashton's signature humor again.
Martha Wells: Enjoyable AI protagonists with a similar "found family" vibe.
Sci-fi/AI satire: If you like witty commentary and lighthearted sci-fi adventures.
Highlights:

Satirical commentary: Mal's observations on humans are hilarious and insightful.
Unique characters: The ragtag group is entertaining and well-developed.
Fast-paced plot: Filled with action, twists, and unexpected alliances.
Minor nitpicks:

Can be dark at times (think burning people alive).
The character Kayleigh's name fluctuates between Katie and Kaylee in the review (easily fixable).
Final verdict: Don't miss this delightful and thought-provoking adventure! You'll laugh, you might cry, and you'll definitely be entertained.

This was a fun read, with compelling characters and lots of twists and turns in the plot. I especially liked Mal, the main character who is a free AI full of funny comments and who displays a fierce loyalty.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

I am a huge fan of Edward Ashton's Mickey7 and Mal Goes to War continues on the theme of consciousness. Mal is AI that jumps from modified body or computers, whatever is available to him. You see him growing and learning. Mal was funny but the book didn't grab me like the Mickey7 books.

withholding review due to the SMP boycott. thanks for it, and I'll be happy to review post-boycott, but for now it's being withheld

A funny take on AI and humanity and how the two interact. Well written, the characters grow on you as the story progresses.

A New Science Fiction Novel About an A.I. Stumbling into a War

I requested some books in random genres in this set just to do a brief review of what other types of books are being currently published outside of my standard interest in academic publishing. Classical British science fiction has been one of my favorite subjects, and I enjoy watching modern science fiction films and shows, so this seemed like a curious segway as the blurb introduces a funny concept of an unbound A.I. who un-formulaically seems to be on a curious journey of discovery.
After the classical literature I have been reviewing in this set, the opening page of this novel is refreshing in its relative originality. Ashton sets up some suspense at the onset by describing a battle, and yet the conflict is seen from an absurd perspective, as the artificial intelligence has no emotional response to deaths that this nonsensical conflict implies. Enough details are given for the reader to visualize what is taking place and where. On the other hand, many of the references are convoluted and confusing. For example, when !HelpDesk describes “heavily armed monkeys on both sides” it seems the reference is to humans, but it is unclear if it might instead be to mechanical monkeys; and if it is a reference to humans, it is unclear if this is meant to be a racist reference. A later passage from “Mal (not a robot)” seems to clarify that “monkeys” is being used as a synonym for “humans”. After this brief chat, readers learn that Mal is armed with a “twenty-millimeter cannon” in the drone his intelligence is operating. While the general lack of empathy for Mal is amusing, it is troubling that Mal then goes to the extreme of describing this warfare as the “Humanitsts” having “fun” mutilating bodies. Though several other strange developments follow, such as the A.I. invading the computerized part of a dead human girl called Mika, and being discovered in this invasion by a girl who is familiar with this deceased human. The conversation is more philosophical and interest-catching than some of the classics. For example: “He things to explain that he did not mean to disparage the quality of her mod package, but only to express sympathy with the fact that now that her guardian is no longer functional, she is highly likely to die in the very near future, probably in an extremely painful manner.”
This is a fun read for somebody with some free time who is interested in catching up on new science fiction releases. The contents of this book are exactly as-advertised, so they can be ranked as fully meeting the bar the blurb has set for it. Some of the conversation and details are not as imaginative as it could have been, but the author might be constrained by lowbrow requirements of keeping the vocabulary simple and the details at a semi-low level.

I’m giving this book a 1 star out of 5, but this rating comes from someone who DNF’ed this book, so take my review and rating with a grain of salt. I got about 30% of the way through this book before throwing in the towel on it. It sounded so good, and I did genuinely like the idea and premise, especially with the story being told from an AI’s perspective, it’s a neat twist for a sci-fi book. However, even at just a third of the way through the book, I felt like it was just dragging far too much for me. A lot of what was happening didn’t seem to matter, a lot of the dialogue was just… there, it didn’t add too much. The growing and developing relationships between Mal, the AI, and the other characters of Kayleigh, Asher and Pullman were entertaining and fun to read, but it also felt quite rushed given how Asher, Kayleigh and Mal meet, and Pullman for that matter too. Given it’s almost 300 pages long, I feel like the relationships between the characters could have dragged on a little bit more before they got as close as they seemed to be a third of the way in, and I would have liked to have seen a little bit more progression in the plot by that point as well.

I wish I could have brought myself to finish this, but I just couldn’t. I hope that others who do get a chance to read Mal Goes To War enjoy it, unfortunately I will not be one of them.

This was a witty, fast paced futuristic sci fi book about an artificial intelligence and his unusual collection of new friends.
Mal finds himself in the middle of a war he has no desire to be a part of, until he befriends a, let’s just call her a girl for simplicity, and quickly develops a strong bond with her. We see these strangers shoved together out of necessity to stay alive, and then slowly watch as they develop actual friendships.

I very much enjoyed Ashton’s Mickey books. In fact, they were some of my favorite recent science fiction. Naturally, I was very interested to see what he does post-Mickey. Apparently, after Mickey comes Mal. And Mal is great. Short for Malware, he’s as amusing of an AI as you’d want in fiction and is very much the character Murderbot has tried and failed to be over who knows how many books now.
But there is a good chance I had misjudged my book going into this book. Because I continuously found it too technical, too something … too sciencey over fictional? Either way, it was sort of drawing me out of the story, although the awesome characters did their best to drag me back in.
Maybe I’m not a techno-thriller fan? I’m not sure. But I am an Ashton fan. I love his irreverent jocularity, snappy pacing, and creative ideas. This book, despite the technical difficulties such as they were, was still loads of fun to read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

An interesting philosophical perspective on what it means to be human from the lens of an AI finding its place in the world. Edward Ashton brings the AI to life with colorful strokes of vivid imagery that breathes soul into each character.

Full review to be posted on https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com/kashif-hussain