Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton

"This is gonna be my stupidest death ever."

Mickey Barnes is an Expendable, the person who's given any and every hazardous assignment on Niflheim--a new colony on a nearly uninhabitable ice world--so that the other, more mission critical colonists don't have to risk their lives. When he falls into an ice crevasse, his friend decides it's easier to declare him dead than try and rescue him, because he knows the colony will just bring him back as Mickey 8. Only Mickey 7 doesn't die. And now there are two of him. Which is a very big problem. 

"I've died six times in the past eight years. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, wouldn't you? ... If I die now, though, there won't be another me coming out of the tank. The other me is already here, and despite all appearances, Eight is most definitely not a continuation of me. Honestly, he doesn't even seem to like me very much."

It's easy to like Mickey 7. He's a flawed, funny, and wryly self-deprecating narrator. He enjoys reading the histories of other failed colonies and is in a relationship with Nasha, a fierce combat pilot. And despite his job as an Expendable, he really doesn't want to die again. I was definitely rooting for him to figure out a solution to his problem. I also really like that colonizing-another-world trope in science fiction, and this new planet they're trying to colonize has some pretty unique aliens they call creepers on it, which added some nice tension. There's also a bit of a mystery in this one involving the death of Mickey 6. Because of all of Mickey's introspection and past memories of his other deaths, this isn't quite as action-packed or as fast-paced as I thought it would be going in, but it's still very interesting and entertaining. And the ending is great! I'd give it 4 stars.

Happy Reading! 

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