Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton

My thanks to Solaris for providing an Advance Reading Copy of this book. The views below are my own.

Dang, but this is an absolute corker of a book. It’s witty, sassy, funny in all the right ways, but deep and meaningful when it needs to be.

Mal is a free AI, happily observing the war between the Humanists and Federals but otherwise minding his own business, when he finds himself trapped in the corpse of an augmented mercenary with an apparently five-year-old child to look after, and no way to return to the freedom of the infosphere and his fellow AIs. What follows is an exploration of morality, ethics, warfare, and friendship that grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go until you’ve absorbed every last word.

This is the second book by Edward Ashton I’ve read, and compared to the earlier Mickey 7 (which was very good), this one is considerably better in every respect. The writing is superb, each of the main characters stands out in their own way, and the narrative just flows so easily from page to brain that it’s genuinely a pleasure to read. Ashton definitely makes this storytelling lark look simple.

If you like crazy military sci-fi with a darkly humorous edge and enough sass to sink an aircraft carrier, this is definitely one to watch out for. Not quite five full stars, but very danged close.