Edward Ashton is the author of the novels Three Days in April and The end of Ordinary, and short fictions including Unifiers, Wormwood, Wolves, Dahlia, and over a dozen more. While Ashton has appeared in various types of publications for writing one thing is clear, he enjoys being with his family. Ashton lives in upstate New York, with his wife and daughters, in a cabin in the woods with an adorably mopey dog named Max. In his free time, he enjoys cancer research, teaching quantum physics to sullen graduate students, and whittling. Ashton had someone option his book Mickey7 a while back, but as he told us exclusively in a podcast (coming soon) that authors are used to that. Books get optioned all the time and nothing ever comes from it. However, all of that changed one day when he woke up to see an article that they were moving forward with the adaptation and that the cast assembled to play the parts he had only imagined would be one of the biggest A-list casts of all time.
This will be his first movie adaptation and will be directed by none other than Oscar winner, Bong Joon Ho, and cinematographer Darius Khondji who has previously worked on Uncut Gems and The Lost City of Z. Bong’s adaptation of Mickey7 will be his third English-language film, and his first film back since his 2019 South Korean masterpiece Parasite shattered box office records worldwide.
Courtesy of Deadline
The film features an all-star cast will be lead by Robert Pattinson, playing protagonist Mickey Barnes. Pattinson broke the hearts of millions as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and in being an overnight success in the Twilight Saga franchise as Edward Cullen. He has since gone on to turn his career into one of the most interesting independent movie careers ever seen. Pattinson spends time picking and choosing exactly which roles he wants to play. After years of doing indie films and getting some critical acclaim, Pattinson threw his name in the ring for The Batman which thrusted him back into the spotlight making him one of the most famous people on the planet. Joining Pattinson are a cast full of award winning actors that have careers some of us could only dream about. You have Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo, Steven Yeun, and Naomi Ackie to name a few. While they have been announced, there has not been any details about which character the actors will play. One can assume based off of the novel as we wait for an official confirmation. So that brings us to the book, so what is Mickey7 about?
Mickey7 centers around Michael Barnes who was a historian on a planet similar to that of Earth that is falling apart. In an effort to save themselves and civilization missions begin to find other planets and colonize them. These missions bring the best and brightest as there is a limited spot on each vessel. Unfortunately that is not Barnes, there is really no need for a historian to help colonize a new planet. So Barnes has pretty much the same luck as Leonardo DiCaprio did when his character Jack Dawson won that last minute ticket to board the Titanic. Barnes gets a seat on the vessel if he agrees to become an expendable. This means that once on the new planet, Barnes would have his thoughts and personality uploaded on a regular basis to the tank and be put to task doing jobs that no one wants to do (basically suicide missions). If he dies, they clone him and upload the memories to a new Mickey and repeat. The book starts off with us meeting Mickey7 so its a safe assumption that Barnes has already died six times before you even begin finishing page one (think Black Mirror meets Upload).
However, its not long before you learn about the planet everyone is trying to colonize. Niflheim is an ice world which sounds completely horrible. Familiarity with Norse Mythology will lead you to recognize this name, as it’s one of the Nine Worlds. It’s a homeland of primordial darkness, cold, mist, and ice, a poetic embellishment of ‘Hel,’ the world of the dead. Ashton’s use of Niflheim throughout his novel doesn’t go unnoticed and emphasizes not only the setting of a snow icy planet, but the strong unavoidable truth that the planet may become everyone’s undoing.
Right away, we meet Mickey7 who is on a mission. However, something happens and he losing his footing and finds himself at the bottom of a hole. His friends want to help him, but Barnes figures he is dead so he sends them back to the home base while he basically waits to freeze to death or die. Due to a little help from a friend (depending on your view this can be deemed good or bad) Mickey7 is saved. He heads back not knowing that his crew has already deemed him dead, replaced him with a doppelgänger and uploaded his most recent memories to him. Mickey7 comes face to face with his double Mickey8. With two alive at once, all bets are off as expendable doubles are not welcome on this planet. So the two must do whatever they have to in order to survive as the colonization of their world takes a turn for the worse, leaving the fate of civilization in the hands of the Mickeys. So, basically, Dostoevsky in space? I mean, why not.
Ashton’s novel is a must read for anyone who loves Science Fiction and Space Travel and Quantum Physics. but all of those pages are not only fun filled, but they also reveal a simple, expertly built word and a clever narrative, intricately woven into a wonderful adventure of colonizing new planets and humanity’s journey beyond Earth. The moment I started this novel I couldn’t put it down. With twists and turns that will leave you on the edge of your seat, you will be brought into this scientific world of endless possibility. Is Mickey7 the same person he was before all of the uploads? Are we the same people we were a decade ago? Would you want to live an immortal life? Is climate change going to cause an issue for us in a a couple hundred years time that will make this fictional book seem more like non-fiction? As you read this book you will begin to go down the rabbit hole of all of these types of questions and more. This book is fast paced, written with precision and accuracy, and told in a way for all to understand. The new technological devices are described in a really cool way making it seem like the Jetson’s in outer space. Between the science, the technology, the descriptions of the crazy planet and creepers that appear on it (don’t worry you will get there), this is a must read. Just carve out some time because once you begin you won’t be able to put it down. Ashton is a master writer and with his background has such an intelligent brain it makes you wonder just how realistic this might become.
Mickey7 (the film) has begun shooting at Leavesden Studios in London, England. No release date has been announced but it can be assumed it will be released sometime next year. But don’t worry you have plenty to do in the meantime. First go pickup a copy of Edward Ashton’s book, Mickey7. Then check out the sequel which is available for preorder called, Antimatter Blues here. This will be available in March.
Then head over to social and follow Ashton online here or on Twitter @edashtonwriting.
*Also coming soon is our interview with Ashton where we discuss the book, the movie, Robert Pattinson, his conversation with Bong, and the sequel. So look out for that on our podcast, Silence on Set.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
