Reviewed by
Coleen
Genre
Posted by
Countylib
Category
Posted
October 22, 2022
Michael Barnes aka Mickey 7 is part of the crew of the Drakkar, sent on a colonizing mission – his role – an expendable – the name says it all. He signs up as a human being, but dies and is regenerated – hence the 7 – he is the 7th clone of the original. Mickey, a would-be historian, introduces the reader to Earth’s colonizing of space, and the history and practice of cloning.
Edward Ashton uses humour to explore a relatively heavy topic – think of the debates on dolly the sheep, and you see where this is going. He has us questioning the morality of cloning by sending the former Mickeys to the ‘cycler’ to become part of the next clone ( soylent green alert), and doubles down with the captain of the ship and a few of the crew being Natalists – they do not hide their contempt for clones (aka the Mickeys) – who in fact have saved their lives seven times . . .
