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ababytapir's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Easy to read, an enjoyable sci fi adventure set on a new planet that doesn't make you think too hard, but does contain a sprinkling of ethics around cloning and colonisation. The main character is kinda dumb and I enjoyed that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
singalana's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail