 | |
| Author | Edward Ashton |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | St Martin's Griffin |
Publication date | February 15, 2022 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print, e-book, Audiobook |
| Pages | 369 pp. (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 9783641280543 (Hardcover) |
| Followed by | Antimatter Blues |
Mickey7 is a 2022 science fiction novel by Edward Ashton.
Its sequel, Antimatter Blues, was released in March 2023. [1]
A film adaptation directed by Bong Joon-ho is scheduled to be released in 2025. [2]
Space colonist Mickey Barnes, a.k.a. Mickey7, tries to survive in a beachhead colony on an alien world. The job he reluctantly signed up for is to be "expendable", undertaking all of the most dangerous tasks necessary for a mission to colonize the ice world Niflheim. When one Mickey dies, another is cloned in his place with most of his memories intact, but at significant cost to the colony. Mickey's survival difficulties mount as the colony struggles for resources, native life forms become increasingly threatening, and circumstances result in the accidental creation of two Mickeys.
Ashton started writing the book in 2015. [3] Ashton wanted to explore the teletransportation paradox in a shorter novella but was urged to write more by Navah Wolfe.
Discussing the background of the novel, Ashton said: "I wrote a short story a number of years ago that explored...a sort of crappy immortality.... I liked the idea and wanted to see how that could be expanded if you coupled it with an exploitative social structure." [4]
NPR included it among its list of the Best Sci-Fi Books of 2022. [5]
Writing for Locus, Gabino Iglesias called the book a "multilayered, wildly entertaining story" and wrote, Mickey7 has something for everyone while also putting a fresh spin on the idea of clones." [6]
Writing for Transfer Orbit, Andrew Liptak praised it as a "fun sci-fi romp, part Andy Weir's The Martian and John Scalzi's Old Man's War and Sue Burke's Semiosis ." [7]
Writing for New Scientist , Sally Adee called it "the first novel I have come across that properly explores the philosophy behind (uploaded consciousness)". [8]
It was nominated as one of the Best Science Fiction books of 2022 by Goodreads. [9]
A sequel, Antimatter Blues, written as a result of a film adaptation of the original novel entering production, was released in March 2023. [1]
The book is being adapted into a film directed and written by Bong Joon-ho and starring Robert Pattinson as Mickey, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Naomi Ackie and Mark Ruffalo. [10]
When asked about the adaptation, Ashton responded that Bong is "going to change a lot about the book", but said he is not nervous and described Bong as a "genius". [3] Filming began in August 2022 and wrapped in December. The film was scheduled to be released theatrically on March 29, 2024, but had been pushed back to January 31, 2025, due to delays related to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike then to April 18, 2025 and finally moved up by six weeks to March 7, 2025.
John Michael Scalzi II is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his Old Man's War series, three novels of which have been nominated for the Hugo Award, and for his blog Whatever, where he has written on a number of topics since 1998. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 2008 based predominantly on that blog, which he has also used for several charity drives. His novel Redshirts won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel. He has written non-fiction books and columns on diverse topics such as finance, video games, films, astronomy, writing and politics, and served as a creative consultant for the TV series Stargate Universe.
Memories of Murder is a 2003 South Korean neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Bong Joon-ho, from a screenplay by Bong and Shim Sung-bo, and based on the 1996 play Come to See Me by Kim Kwang-lim. It stars Song Kang-ho and Kim Sang-kyung. In the film, detectives Park Doo-man (Song) and Seo Tae-yoon (Kim) lead an investigation into a string of rapes and murders taking place in Hwaseong in the late 1980s. The film is based on the real life killings carried out by Lee Choon-jae.
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean filmmaker. The recipient of three Academy Awards, his work is characterised by emphasis on social and class themes, genre-mixing, dark comedy, and sudden tone shifts.
The Host is a 2006 monster film directed and co-written by Bong Joon-ho. It stars Song Kang-ho as vendor Park Gang-du whose daughter Hyun-seo is kidnapped by a creature dwelling around the Han River in Seoul. Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, and Bae Doona appear in supporting roles as Gang-du's father, brother, and sister respectively. A co-production between South Korea and Japan, the film was produced by Chungeorahm Film with Showbox and the Japanese financier Happinet presenting.
Plan B Entertainment, Inc., more commonly known as Plan B, is an American production company founded in November in 2001 by Brad Pitt, Brad Grey, Kristin Hahn and Jennifer Aniston. The company first signed with Warner Bros. as a replacement for Brad Grey Pictures, a company operated by Brad Grey. In 2005, after Pitt and Aniston divorced, Grey became the CEO of Paramount Pictures and Pitt became the sole owner of the company. The president of the company was for many years Dede Gardner, but she and Pitt named Jeremy Kleiner co-president with Gardner in 2013. Three of the production company's movies, The Departed, 12 Years a Slave and Moonlight, have won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Matt Reeves is an American filmmaker who first gained recognition for the WB drama series Felicity (1998–2002), which he co-created with J. J. Abrams. Reeves came to widespread attention for directing the hit monster-film Cloverfield (2008). He also directed the vampire drama Let Me In (2010), and the critically acclaimed science-fiction sequels Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). He directed the superhero film The Batman (2022), which stars Robert Pattinson as the titlular character.
Daniel Edwin Henshall is an Australian actor. Following his film debut in Snowtown (2011), for which he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Henshall appeared in films such as The Babadook (2014), Okja (2017), Acute Misfortune (2018), and Catch the Fair One (2021).
Snowpiercer is a 2013 post-apocalyptic action thriller film based on the French climate fiction graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho and written by Bong and Kelly Masterson. An international co-production, the film marks Bong's English-language debut; almost 85% of the film's dialogue is in English.
Parasite is a 2019 South Korean black comedy thriller film directed by Bong Joon-ho, who co-wrote the film with Han Jin-won. The film, starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Jang Hye-jin, Park Myung-hoon, and Lee Jung-eun, follows a poor family who infiltrate the life of a wealthy family.
Naomi Sarah Ackie is a British actress. She is known for her television roles in The End of the F***ing World (2019) and Master of None (2021) and her film roles in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022), and Blink Twice (2024).
Mattson Tomlin is an American filmmaker and writer.
Mickey 17 is an upcoming science fiction black comedy film produced, written, and directed by Bong Joon-ho, based on the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. The film stars Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo.
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean film director, producer, and screenwriter who began his career in 1994 after creating the short films White Man, Memories in My Frame, and Incoherence. In 1997, Bong wrote the feature film Motel Cactus, for which he also served as an assistant director. Two years later, he wrote Phantom: The Submarine, and later made his feature-length directorial debut with Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000). In the following years, Bong wrote and directed Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006), Mother (2009), and Snowpiercer (2013), films which received "universal acclaim" from critics.
Remote Control is a 2021 science fiction novella by Nigerian American Nnedi Okorafor. It is Okorafor's first novella after the Binti Trilogy and is set in the same universe as Okorafor's Who Fears Death and The Book of Phoenix.
Sharon Choi is a South Korean interpreter and film director. She came to prominence as director Bong Joon-ho's Korean–English interpreter during the 2019–2020 film awards season, which saw Bong's film Parasite winning the Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Picture. During both ceremonies and others, Choi assisted Bong and other Parasite cast and crew members, such as actor Song Kang-ho, in delivering award acceptance speeches. During such appearances, Choi's interpreting skills garnered significant media attention and praise.
Snowpiercer: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the album consisting of the original score composed by Marco Beltrami, for the Bong Joon-ho directorial Snowpiercer (2013). The album was published by CJ E&M Music, and released in South Korea on 21 August 2013, followed by an international release on 9 September. The soundtrack for the North American release, was distributed by Varèse Sarabande, and saw an official release on 11 June 2014.
Companion is an upcoming American horror film starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid that follows a weekend getaway among friends at a remote cabin, which unravels into chaos after a revelation that one of the guests is a companion robot. The film is written and directed by Drew Hancock and produced by Zach Cregger, Roy Lee, Raphael Margules and J. D. Lifshitz. Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén and Rupert Friend also appear in supporting roles.
Antimatter Blues: A Mickey7 Novel is a 2023 science fiction novel by Edward Ashton. It is a direct sequel and picks up two years after the events in the 2022 novel Mickey7.