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liesthemoontells's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I was so disappointed in this sequel. I loved the comedic tone and absurd humour in Mickey7, and found the MC's narration extremely likeable to the point where I was able to gloss over the book's flaws (weak plot, derivative worldbuilding, badly written female characters). Sadly, those elements weren't nearly as strong in this book, and the weaknesses in the writing and narrative were much more apparent.
I think maybe Edward Ashton just isn't very good at writing high stakes. The first book was more of a farce comedy set in a miserable space colony than a gritty colonisation sci-fi. This book tries to make its plotline far more grandiose and meaningful by introducing warring factions and a colony-ending dilemma, but I felt like I was reading a very badly written Halo/Mass Effect combat fanfic.
Every decision that every character makes is stupid. The first book was also full of people making extremely stupid decisions, but their bad decisions were hilarious. In this book, they're just frustrating and extremely unlikeable.
It also doesn't help that Mickey7 is no longer an Expendable, removing the key premise of the entire series and taking much of the tension with it. Instead he's just some mid dude making terrible decisions. And even though he's not dying anymore, we're still being constantly hammered with Ship of Theseus metaphors!
The one good thing I can say about this book is that it's extremely readable and I finished it very quickly. I am grateful for that.
I think maybe Edward Ashton just isn't very good at writing high stakes. The first book was more of a farce comedy set in a miserable space colony than a gritty colonisation sci-fi. This book tries to make its plotline far more grandiose and meaningful by introducing warring factions and a colony-ending dilemma, but I felt like I was reading a very badly written Halo/Mass Effect combat fanfic.
Every decision that every character makes is stupid. The first book was also full of people making extremely stupid decisions, but their bad decisions were hilarious. In this book, they're just frustrating and extremely unlikeable.
It also doesn't help that Mickey7 is no longer an Expendable, removing the key premise of the entire series and taking much of the tension with it. Instead he's just some mid dude making terrible decisions. And even though he's not dying anymore, we're still being constantly hammered with Ship of Theseus metaphors!
The one good thing I can say about this book is that it's extremely readable and I finished it very quickly. I am grateful for that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer and Pregnancy
azrah786's review against another edition
3.5
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury, body horror, death, medical trauma, genocide, war, colonisation, terminal illness
--
Kicking off 2 years after the closing events of Mickey7, Antimatter Blues has us returning to the ice planet Niflheim and following (almost) everybody’s favourite and now retired Expendable as he faces a new conundrum.
I’m not going to give too much of the plot away so as not to spoil aspects of book 1 but this book can be classed as a standalone. That being said for the best experience I would recommend checking out Mickey7 before picking this one up as it does continue certain plot points from its predecessor.
Once again the story is easy to follow and Edward Ashton balances all the science and action perfectly with humour. Mickey is one of those easily likeable characters that will have you smiling and facepalming in equal measure and I really enjoyed being back with him and co for a new adventure. The banter between the characters was great.
There is a bit of an expansion to the specific world they live on in terms of what else is there but otherwise I would say this story didn’t add a lot when it came to wider worldbuilding.
The main reason I’d say I enjoyed this a little less than book 1 has to do with the pacing. The middle of the book did drag at times and this made the concluding events seem rushed and wrapped up extremely quickly.
I’d say this continuation was not really needed but it was an highly enjoyable read all the same though and I look forward to reading more from Edward Ashton in the future!
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Star
CW: violence, blood, injury, body horror, death, medical trauma, genocide, war, colonisation, terminal illness
--
Kicking off 2 years after the closing events of Mickey7, Antimatter Blues has us returning to the ice planet Niflheim and following (almost) everybody’s favourite and now retired Expendable as he faces a new conundrum.
I’m not going to give too much of the plot away so as not to spoil aspects of book 1 but this book can be classed as a standalone. That being said for the best experience I would recommend checking out Mickey7 before picking this one up as it does continue certain plot points from its predecessor.
Once again the story is easy to follow and Edward Ashton balances all the science and action perfectly with humour. Mickey is one of those easily likeable characters that will have you smiling and facepalming in equal measure and I really enjoyed being back with him and co for a new adventure. The banter between the characters was great.
There is a bit of an expansion to the specific world they live on in terms of what else is there but otherwise I would say this story didn’t add a lot when it came to wider worldbuilding.
The main reason I’d say I enjoyed this a little less than book 1 has to do with the pacing. The middle of the book did drag at times and this made the concluding events seem rushed and wrapped up extremely quickly.
I’d say this continuation was not really needed but it was an highly enjoyable read all the same though and I look forward to reading more from Edward Ashton in the future!
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Star
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, and War
inirac's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Medical trauma
Minor: Suicide