“Apparently three hours of training lectures aren’t enough to overcome a billion years of ingrained instinct for self-preservation.”
One of the most popular sci-fi books from 2022 and the first entry in his bestselling series, Edward Ashton introduces readers to Expendable Mickey7 in Mickey7. Deployed on an expedition to the world of Niflheim, whenever an iteration of Micky dies, a new body regenerates with the memories from the past still intact. After six deaths, Mickey is sent on a scouting mission only to disappear. When he returns, another clone, Mickey8, has begun performing his duties. The idea of two clones running amock at the same time is abhorred, meaning he is forced to keep his existence a secret from his human crew, just as resources begin to dwindle and the native species of the planet grows increasingly curious. If you love stories of clones, space exploration and themes around individuality and purpose, join us at What We Reading for the best books like Mickey7!
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
First stop on our list of books like Mickey7 is Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. Ryland Grace is the lone survivor on a desperate, do-or-die mission to save both the Earth and humanity along with it. Except, at the moment, he’s unable to recall his own name, let alone what his assignment is or how he might go about completing it. All he knows is that he has been asleep for a very long time, and he has woken up with just two corpses for company.
Ryland soon realises the impossible task facing him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to discern a scientific impossibility and overcome an extinction-level threat to our species. Worst of all, with the clock ticking down and the nearest human entire light-years from him, he has to do it all by himself.
Check Out The Best Books Like Project Hail Mary
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1) – Martha Wells
In a corporate-dominated space-travelling future, all planetary expeditions must be approved by the Company. For their own safety, all teams must be accompanied on their missions by a Company-supplied security android. Yet, in a galaxy where contracts are handed out to the lowest bidder, safety is rarely a major concern.
On a far-flung planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface experiments. They are joined by their Company-issued, self-aware SecUnit that has christened itself ‘Murderbot’. Resentful of humans, Murderbot wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a neighbouring mission goes dark, it is up to Murderbot and the scientists to unearth the truth. Similar to Mickey7, Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries is a story of purpose, survival and personal identity.
Redshirts – John Scalzi
Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Capital Ship Intrepid, the crown jewel of the Universal Union. It’s a posting to be proud of, and Andrew is more than giddy to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory. That is until Andrew begins to realise that every away mission seems to end in a deadly confrontation, that the ship’s captain, chief science officer and handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations and that at least one lowly crew member is always killed in the process.
Unsurprisingly, there’s a rush in the lower decks to avoid having to tag along for these away missions. Andrew then stumbles upon information that completely upends both his and his fellow crew members’ understanding of what the Intrepid is. Like Mickey7, Redshirts is a self-aware sci-fi story where the infamous expendable lives in shows like Star Trek make for a nice crossover with Ashton’s novel.
The Space Between Worlds (The Space Between Worlds #1) – Micaiah Johnson
In The Space Between Worlds, multiverse travel is finally possible; but, with one crucial condition: no one is able to travel to another universe where their counterpart is still alive. Cara’s parallel selves are all exceptionally skilled at having their lives cut short. In total, she has died in 372 worlds so far. Identified as a perfect candidate on the back of this, Cara works alongside the enticing, yet frustratingly aloof Dell, collecting off-world data for the Eldridge Institute.
As long as she is able to keep her head down and steer clear of trouble, she is sure she is on a path toward citizenship and security. But, her best-laid plans are soon brought into jeopardy when one of Cara’s eight remaining doppelgangers dies under mysterious circumstances. She is thrown into a new world with a devastating new secret that, similarly to Mickey in Mickey7, will soon reveal her crucial role in a plot that will threaten the entire cosmos.
Semiosis (Semiosis #1) – Sue Burke
When they are forced to land on a planet they weren’t prepared to visit, a group of human colonists are forced to depend on a finite collection of resources for survival. The planet provides them with a lush but inexplicable landscape – the trees present edible, addictive fruit one day and poison the next. The alien beings that humans inhabit on the planet are entwined at the roots of this strange world.
Soon, conflicts between generations break out as they all struggle to understand one another and grapple with an unknowable alien consciousness. One shared communication can allow an agreement to be reached that mammals are more than just tools. Like Mickey7, Sue Burke’s Semiosis is a gripping sci-fi story that focuses on human survival and cooperation with the unknown.
Six Wakes – Mur Lafferty
It wasn’t a common occurrence to wake up in a cloning vat streaked with drying blood. At least, Maria Arena had never had that experience before. She had no memory of how she died. Before, when she had woken up as a new clone, her first memory was of how she had perished in the iteration before.
Maria’s chamber was in front of six vats. Each one of them was holding the clone of a crew member belonging to the starship Dormire, each clone waiting for its previous incarnation to die so that they could awaken. And Maria wasn’t the only one to die recently. One of the best books similar to Mickey7 about cloning and the cycling of lives, Mur Lafferty’s Six Wakes is a thrilling space-based whodunnit where the clones of a murdered crew must unmask their killer – before they strike again.
Recursion – Blake Crouch
Another one of the best books like Mickey7 that explores the effects of multiple lives comes from Blake Crouch in Recursion. NYC officer Barry Sutton is investigating a devastating phenomenon that the media have taken to dubbing False Memory Syndrome – a jarring condition where victims are driven mad by memories from a life they haven’t lived. Helena Smith is a neuroscientist committed to creating a technology that allows people to hold onto their most treasured memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to relive their first kiss, the birth of a child or their final moments with a loved one.
As Barry attempts to unearth the truth, he comes face-to-face with a foe more terrifying than any disease. Its effects soon begin to dissolve the world as people know it. Barry and Helena soon find themselves as the only people in the world capable of defeating it. But, how can they make a stand when the very fabric of reality is shifting and crumbling around them?
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
