Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton
Reviewed By: Jeremy Zentner, Reference Assistant
Genre: Science Fiction
Suggested Age: Adults/ Teens
What is This Book About? Mickey Barnes is an Expendable. Or at least, he used to be a couple years back. Expendables were sent on perilous missions on new colony worlds, specifically with the intent to die. They would then be reborn in cloned bodies with their last uploaded memories. In this way, nonexpendable colonists could order high risk missions without losing their people. But Mickey’s retired from all of that, now. He’s just trying to live the best life he can on the colony Nilfheim. There’s a problem though. Winter is coming, and their dome’s antimatter powerhouse is running out of fuel. The colony barely survived with fuel last winter and not having power this winter will turn their dome into a giant tomb. So, Mickey has been pulled out of retirement and reenlisted to perform another perilous mission. Get a fresh batch of antimatter fuel before winter sets in. To do this, however, Mickey will have to march into the middle of an alien war.
My Review: This is the follow-up sequel to Mickey7 and it did not disappoint! This book does a great job of illustrating what a rough “pioneer” life might look like on a colony planet. Some of the most dangerous situations were as simple as someone falling at the worst possible time. Preconditions and a lack of medical facilities also show up as a simple, yet very real threat. And, of course, there are the elements, such as the impending winter, low water supply, limited power, and carnivorous predators. We also get an interesting glimpse of what diplomacy with an alien species might look like as Mickey tries to retrieve an antimatter bomb. Negotiating with the aliens is a lot more complex than simply learning a foreign language. Mickey must convince the indigenous species that every human being is an individual lifeform and not just an ancillary limb that can be disposed of at any time. Mickey also has to navigate through interspecies conflicts and politics as two of the native species are actively at war with each other. It’s a quick read with a lot of action and snark.
Three Words that Describe this Book: sci-fi, space, aliens
Give This A Try if You Like… The Martian, Old Man’s War, The Expanse series, All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries
Rating: 4/5
