Mal Goes to War

by Edward Ashton

The humans are fighting again. Go figure.

As a free A.I., Mal finds the war between the modded and augmented Federals and the puritanical Humanists about as interesting as a battle between rival anthills. He’s not above scouting the battlefield for salvage, though, and when the Humanists abruptly cut off access to infospace he finds himself trapped in the body of a cyborg mercenary, and responsible for the safety of the modded girl she died protecting.

A dark comedy wrapped in a techno thriller’s skin, Mal Goes to War provides a satirical take on war, artificial intelligence, and what it really means to be human.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Humor, Cyberpunk, War, Dystopia

304 pages, Hardcover

First published April 9, 2024

About the author

Edward Ashton is the author of the novels Mickey7, Three Days in April and The End of Ordinary. His short fiction has appeared in venues ranging from the newsletter of an Italian sausage company to Escape Pod, Analog, and Fireside Fiction. He lives in upstate New York in a cabin in the woods (not that Cabin in the Woods) with his wife, a variable number of daughters, and an adorably mopey dog named Max, where he writes—mostly fiction, occasionally fact—under the watchful eyes of a giant woodpecker and a rotating cast of barred owls. In his free time, he enjoys cancer research, teaching quantum physics to sullen graduate students, and whittling. You can find him online at edwardashton.com or on Twitter @edashtonwriting.

Reviews

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different than other AI stories I’ve read, the humor in this reminded me of Andy Weir but with artificial intelligence. To be honest, I’m not sure exactly what the plot was (it’s definitely character driven), maybe Mal discovering AI’s version of humanity as humans lost theirs? However, I found Mal’s dry wit and inner thoughts humorous and his literal interpretation and logic amusing as well. There were moments that make you think but for the most part this is lighthearted considering it takes place during a war.

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mal is a freely-roving AI who skips from host body to host body. Sometimes this host is a decaying corpse, sometimes Mal shares space with a living host. One host was the protector of Kaleigh, a girl who appears to be a young child, but due to modifications is actually a teenager. Uncharacteristically, Mal finds himself wanting to help the girl. He finds himself trapped by the continuing warfare between Humanists, who oppose all physical modifications of humans, and the Federals, who are gung-ho for enhancements. Either side will happily “kill” Mal and anyone else they encounter. Mal and Kaleigh pick up (not exactly voluntarily) a few other companions as they try to avoid being killed.

In tone, this book is similar to the author’s Mickey7 series. It’s dark comedy, sometimes violent and consistently entertaining. I enjoyed the snark of both Mal and Kaleigh. I wouldn’t mind if this is the start of a new series about Mal.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Video Review: https://youtu.be/Oh17of8BO7g

This is a light hearted sci fi story that will appeal to fans of John Scalzi, Dennis E Taylor and Peter Clines. The story plays with science fiction concepts but in a light hearted way that will appeal to readers who don't necessarily love hard science and technical explanations. I have come to prefer more meatier books in the genre, which is reflective in my rating here.

I had the opportunity to read this one via the audiobook and I highly recommend the version. The narrator was excellent and brought the humor to life.

I enjoyed this one but I personally preferred Mickey7 and its sequel. This is a standalone so new readers could start in either place.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[donna backshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mal is a free AI who isn't particularly likeable. He's basically malware (thus the name) and he lives down to that idea. His selfish "consciousness" bounces around through Infospace into anything computerized that can host him, from toasters to augmented humans. Truth be told, the humans are never very happy about it, and neither is he, since he considers the biology of human meatsuits disgusting. However, there's a world-wide war going on, between augments and humanists (purists), so he jumps where and when he's able, in order to preserve his code.

As for the humans, he doesn't have great regard for their lives. Or at least he doesn't until he happens to bounce into one augment who has been caring for an augmented human child. While he's still an AI and misunderstands a great deal of human emotion and morality, he does give the whole "giving a damn" thing a go. This struggle, through the war, helping some humans in the fight, provides the majority of Mal's story.

I usually don't care for AI stories, but this one was done really well, not pretending to anthropomorphize Mal or ultimately convert him into some kumbaya-singing human lover. Rather we're shown his steely cold personality, in a way that keeps things realistic and at times very entertaining.

It's always a fun ride when you're reading an Edward Ashton book. A big thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a chance to listen to this ARC.

[Mel (Epic Reading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

*yawn* If anyone needs a book to put them to sleep this might be a good choice, sadly. I was hoping for some sort of Murderbot, Sea of Rust style story with an AI I could connect with or even remotely be intrigued by. Instead I got a story that had no purpose or real direction until the last two chapters (should have been a short story!!). Mal, our AI MC, has a tone and rhetoric that made it seem like they were telling us they had ‘ethics’ because they had been programmed to; not because they had any sort of emotional attachment. I understand that any AI, even a sentient one, is subject to its originally coded parameters in most cases, or must have logic to override them (see I, Robot) and so maybe a very rigid personality makes sense. Unfortunately it’s just dull and makes for a very dry read.

For the plot, I wish more of the reasons for the war and the overall politics were discussed. It would have, maybe, made the reveal in the end more impactful. As it was, it’s a good ending yet it doesn’t make up for 300+ pages of fairly substandard writing and character development.

Thankfully, the audiobook enhances this novel. I listened to the last 25% on audio and it was a mild improvement over reading as the narrator is quite good. That said, I wasn’t a big fan of the sound effects used to convey when the bots were talking to one another without actual verbal audio (in their heads). But I haven’t come up with a better way to distinguish between when it was verbal audio and not in the audiobook (the print copy gives us italics versus quoted text).

This is my first Edward Ashton book, and I know everyone says Mickey 7 is fabulous, so I will try it still. Hopefully this is an anomaly for this writer. All that said, Mal Goes to War could make a good movie with the right actors to give the characters more emotional development. It would be interesting to see someone like Alan Tudyk do the AI voice that is never truly ‘embodied’. I think would be an interesting media for this story and might increase the likelihood of an attachment being built between the viewer and Mal (the AI MC).

If you’re a devoted sci-fi reader this might be okay for you. For me it was boring but the ending earns it enough stars to say it okay. If you’re newer to sci-fi I would recommend finding a more engaging story to start with. I’d hate for anyone for start here in sci-fi and never return. I promise it’s not always this dull!

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

[Kay West · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 - Mal is the sarcastic AI best friend you never knew you needed.

The squee I squeed when I heard John Pirhalla (who narrated Mickey7, also by Edward Ashton) as the main narrator in Mal Goes to War, was deafening. If you read Mickey7, you'll be thrilled to see Edward Ashton's unique, acerbic and visceral brand of humour coming through.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I hated when I had to to sleep and then loved listening first thing in the morning. It's so much fun to read. I loved following our sarcastic, ragtag group of characters as they ventured through a war-torn countryside.

Mal is a sentient AI who lives in 'info space', essentially the cloud, and finds itself inhabiting an augmented human body in the middle of a warzone. Humans have divided into two factions, one is against technology enhanced humans and the other is for it. Mal (short for Malware), realizes it is unable to return to info space within the warzone and is trying to leave when it befriends an augmented human, Kayleigh. From there Mal collects a odd group of 'friends?' as they try to survive.

The pacing is quick as the group stumbles from one calamity to the next. Because Mal is an AI, it is continuously inhabiting new bodies/technology as the old ones get destroyed in spectacular and appalling ways. Although I received this as an advanced listener copy, I've already pre-ordered it, because I have so many highlights and comments.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this advanced listener copy. Literally, cannot wait to re-listen to this ASAP.

This book is best read in a natural rock shelter, after you've been taken prisoner and are being used as bait to find the rest of your crew. Just remember to keep an eye on the sky, you never know what Mal might drop on the bad guys.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mel is a free AI, living in infospace and watching the Humanists fight a war against the augmented humans, on the off-chance that there might be something good to scavenge from the spoils of war. On one of those occasions Mal is trapped in a heavily augmented mercenary and inherits the job of protecting a girl. The girl is not what she seems at first, but looking out for her might get Mel to the next communications tower with access back into infospace, so Mel is coming along. In the process they pick up some other interesting characters.

Supposed to combine a dark comedy with a technological thriller and the ever-present AI topic, this fell a little flat for me.

Mel sounds much like Mickey7, but less entertaining or amusing. Its attempts to understand humans and to blend in are less than successful and not as amusing as they were probably intended to be. Shallow learning curve. Picture a very bland and less humorous version of Murderbot.

The other characters were pretty negativ throughout and not exactly lovable. Maybe if they had been more fully developed, I would have liked them better. As they were, I found it hard to care for any of them, including Mal. The two female characters were interchangeable. Pullman was the only one that grew on me a little. For a found family they were all way too bitchy with each other.

There wasn’t a lot of suspense either. Mal got into several dicey situations, but I never really felt any concern or dread for him. It was always easily resolved and Mal learned nothing from it. The plot felt aimless, despite there being a goal to it all. The final conflict was over so quickly, it barely registered. Event the revenge was meh.

I didn‘t feel it. 🤖🤖🤖½, downgraded to 3 stars.

[reherrma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein sehr guter Roman mit einem KI-Charakter, den man einfach gerne haben muss. Auf einer Erde der näheren Zukunft, oder besser gesagt, die Handlung spielt im Osten der USA, was für die Amerikaner wohl die ganze Welt ist. :=)
Es herrscht ein Krieg zwischen den augmentierten Menschen, die mit Technologie aufgerüstet sind und den Humanisten, für die diese Aufrüstung religiösen Teufelswerk ist. Dazu gibt es noch die Siliko-Amerikaner, KI's die im Infospace (einer Weiterentwicklung des Internets) leben und den Krieg beobachten. Mal ist einer dieser KI's, der die Kriegshandlung an Bord einer Drohne beobachtet, er kann sich in fast alle Speicher eines elektronischen Geräts einnisten, auch in augmentierten Menschen, wenn sie geeignete Speicher enthalten. Als es einer der Kriegsparteien gelingt, den Infospace zu zerstören, ist Mal auf sich alleine gestellt, er springt von Speicher zu Speicher und interagiert mit den jeweilichen Besitzern. Das ist sowohl spannend, informativ und erheiternd. Ich musste mehrmals vor lauter Lachen bei der Leküpre innehalten, man muss sich als Leser einfach mit Mal identifizieren, hier ähnelt es ein bischen wie bei Martha Wells "Murderbot"-Romanen, m.E. aber viel besser...
Hier zeigt Edward Ashton was in ihm steckt, mir hat dieser Roman noch besser gefallen als in seinen "Mickey 7"-Romanen...

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to the publisher for providing me an advanced review copy of this book, and I'm so glad they did. This was a really, really enjoyable reading experience. It was funny, charming, action packed, and had a very interesting plot throughout. While there were some issues with character development, what was done well made up for it.


Mal is software. Well, I guess the technical term is "free A.I." or sentient AI that lives in "infospace", away from the dirty, strange humans who are currently embroiled in a vicious war. The Humanists believe human augments and invasive technology has gone too far and are fighting against the Federals, the highly augmented, government backed force that is rumored to be developing technology that will give them full control of whomever they want. The free A.I.s regard humans with a sort of pitying curiosity, but when Mal finds himself temporarily controlling a drone as the local infospace comms tower is destroyed, he has no choice but to ally with a band of true misfits to try to get back home. However, the intense dangers of being on the front lines of technologically enhanced guerrilla warfare pose threats to Mal and the humans that Mal has to travel with (and usually travel inside the heads of). But through kidnapping, sabotage, and a lot of hacking, more nefarious details about the war are revealed to Mal, and his growing fondness of his human companions start to interfere with his race back to infospace.


There was a lot here that was done really well. Firstly, the story was very interesting and was a treat to follow. It flowed very well, and the story beats were paced precisely. There were no big blocks of exposition, and only a few times where I felt the story was rushed or underdeveloped. The humor here was done well, focusing less on "ha ha" moments, but rather more of a steady amusement at the stilted AI-human interactions, silly manifestations of programming, and the unfortunate circumstances our band of friends found themselves in.


Now while I really enjoyed the character of Mal, I did find much of the other character development to be a bit lacking. Mal, who is largely disgusted by humans, for some reason takes a VERY strong liking to the first human he meets, Kaleigh. But I don't feel that the narrative really built up or justified this strong bond. Particularly because it didn't feel as if it was reciprocated at all. Additionally, almost immediately after meeting Kaleigh, they join with another human named Asher who Mal never grows to like at all, despite Asher getting them (including Kaleigh) out of several dangerous situations that should have made Mal appreciate him more. I think the problem is that we spent so much time learning about Mal and Mal's introduction to humans, that we don't really get a chance to develop deeper appreciation of his human companions, so it felt odd when Mal had any strong feelings about any of them. Even though the humans were interesting at times, when any of them were in danger, I didn't feel much as the reader because I don't feel we got to know them very well. This, however, was the perfect way to manage lesser important human characters, and I feel the narrative was enhanced by our distance from less important human characters.


But as I mentioned before, this was a small gripe I had, and overall the strengths of the book really made me enjoy the whole reading experience. I'm finding that the science fiction sub-genre of "AI/robot grows connected to humans through dangerous circumstance" is one that really works for me. If you like Murderbot, the Ancillary trilogy, Sea of Rust, Partition, or even the Tea Monk & Robot books, I think you'll like this as much as I did.

[Emil · Rating 2 out of 5]

For most of this book, Mal doesn't really go to war. Instead, Mal is carried around in a conflict zone, being a passive protagonist to whom various things happen - some interesting, many not very interesting. Along the way, Mal finds time for slapstick, adopts a human for no clear reason, and generally stumbles from one mess to another with regard only for maximum plot drive.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mal (actual name Malware) is a free AI, or Silico-American as they prefer to be called, hovering in a drone over a battlefield where Humanists and Federals are doing their best to destroy each other, and the Humanists have the Federals on the run. Mal is intrigued by the action between the humans, or monkeys as they call them. But Mal's friends, other free AIs, can't see the point, as they're happy enough staying in infospace, commenting on the action. Mal decides to jump into the head (they and their friends use the term "puppeting") of one of the Federal soldiers, who have a number of software and hardware augments in their bodies, so Mal can get a better view.

Almost as soon as Mal takes over a soldier the soldier is killed, leaving its charge, a young girl, vulnerable. And more alarming to Mal, their connection to infospace is cut as the Humanists are bombing comm towers.

The girl, who appears to be a toddler, is actually a heavily modified human, with an extended childhood, a long lifespan, and a variety of other very expensive technological augments. Kayleigh might look like a young child, but she's eighteen, prone to violence and profanity, and a little scary. Kayleigh figures out the soldier has been taken over by a free AI, and she and Mal work out a bargain; Mal must protect her from Humanists, who are intent on burning to death all augmented humans.

The two begin the perilous trek to catch up with Federals, who can take Kayleigh in, and Mal can then hop back to infospace. If only it were simple… Mal loses this body, and decides to puppet a guy they run into who has some basic augments in his brain, but is, in every other way, ordinary. The small group is hounded, and Kayleigh manages to overpower one Humanist soldier, whom they coopt into helping them. There are numerous perils yet to come, and Mal makes many mistakes along the way in their attempt to defend Kayleigh, while we gain an understanding behind the opening scene in the novel, and what is actually going on between the two human factions.

Mal has a lively sense of humour, and a rich imagination based on the stories they have enjoyed. Mal also has only a rudimentary understanding of meat-based life, including humans' wish for sovereignty of their bodies and minds. Mal is often dismissive of their emotions or limitations, and prioritizes their own need to return to infospace over all else, often to the detriment of his desire to protect Kayleigh, at least initially. This lack of empathy gradually changes, as they get quite the education in morality and emotions with each human interaction they have, whether with the small group, or with various parts of the Humanist army. Mal's development is great to experience as they begin to understand the skills and value of each member of their group, culminating in Mal's willingness to think of the humans it knows as friends.

Much of the humour, and there's a fair bit, comes from Mal's misunderstandings or mishaps during puppeting. There is also plenty of action, as author Edward Ashton keeps things moving along at a good pace. The novel entails the group's moving from one crisis to the next, with the humans bashing things and Mal corrupting other software.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, unlike the author's earlier "Mickey 7", which lagged for me the closer I got to its end. Mal is a wonderfully flawed and oddly lovable character, and their journey worked wonderfully for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

[Angyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Mal Goes to War is a character driven story following Mal, an open AI who describes himself as a 'hermit crab' who enjoys hopping around from body to body, and the unlikely friends he encounters on his journey.

Mal has a very dry, sarcastic sense of humor which was so fun to read and came across really well in the writing. I also enjoyed the group dynamics with the different characters in here and I think they definitely grow on you as the story goes on.

Being a character driven story, the plot is kind of lost at times - was there even a plot? Idk but the journey was fun and this is a book I would easily recommend to sci-fi fans who enjoy AI characters.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one much in the same way I enjoyed Mickey7 — it’s fun, fast-paced and lighthearted. It has the reluctant hero/found family vibes of Murderbot, but still felt fresh to me.

My only complaint is that, also like Mickey7, it deals with some heavy topics but stays at too superficial a level to really do them justice.

[Karen’s Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read and loved Ashton’s Mickey7, I knew I had to read Mal Goes to War about Mal, a free A.I. who gets trapped in an augmented cyborg mercenary when infospace has been cut off.

Mal ends up traveling with a ragtag group of humans who are caught in between a civil war of puritanical Humanists and augmented Federals.

The story felt like a Bobiverse meets the MurderBot and I was all in. Mal ends up traveling from host to host while traveling with the group to look for a connection back to infospace and becomes friends with everyone, but especially the childlike Kayleigh. Mal does whatever he can to ensure Kayleigh’s safety. All the snark flying around is a hoot and I adored Mal and the rest of the characters.

*Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for the gifted eARC!*

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun take an a sci-fi book through the lens of a free ranging AI. You can check out my full review here! https://youtu.be/Kwj0ht0A5eY?feature=...

[BlurbGoesHere · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Blurb goes here]

Edward Ashton, who captivated us in 2022 with his novel "Mickey 7" (which garnered 3.78 stars on Goodreads), now delves into an entirely new realm. In this narrative, we find ourselves in a world where the Humanists and the Federals are locked in a relentless war. The Humanists vehemently oppose the augmentation of individuals, while the Federals show little regard for their wishes or preferences.

Meanwhile, within Infospace, a multitude of sentient AIs observe this conflict with a detached amusement, likening it to a battle between two foolish ant colonies. To these AIs, we humans are merely referred to as "monkeys" for good reason.

Enter Mal, a free-spirited AI with a peculiar fascination for inhabiting physical bodies, purely out of curiosity. Against the warnings of his fellow AI companions, he takes the plunge and transfers his consciousness into a drone, only to stumble upon a decomposing, albeit augmented, corpse. He decides to inhabit this lifeless body, only to discover that the deceased woman had been the guardian of a seemingly ordinary five-year-old girl with a mysterious secret.

When trouble arises, Mal hastily exits the body, only to realize that all nearby communication towers have been obliterated by the Humanists, leaving him stranded on Earth amidst the war between the two factions.

As Mal navigates through this strange predicament, he forges unexpected friendships and does his best to protect those around him. The story unfolds with a delightful and consistent sense of misadventure, keeping readers eagerly turning the pages.

Edward Ashton has unquestionably outdone himself in comparison to the first installment of "Mickey 7" with this action-packed science fiction adventure. His storytelling prowess shines through, and it's evident that he is an author worth keeping a close watch on.

This character-driven narrative offers a fast-paced and highly entertaining reading experience, making it an absolute must-read for fans of the genre.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading both Mickey7 books, and seeing this is about AI, I expect it to be excellent. But I mustn't set expectations too high. Some reviews imply messy, not logical, etc. - but others say Mal is only three months old (?) so if it's from his pov, well, if doesn't know what's what, why should we? Hmm....
---
About halfway. A little bit puppet master (Animorphs, The Host, etc.) and a little bit embodied sentient AI (Klara & the Sun, Murderbot). But very much in a class by itself. I especially appreciate that nobody is clearly good or evil, but just doing the best they can to do what they think leads to the ultimately correct end. I mean, even the Humanists with their burn pits have some people on their side that are appalled by that 'strategy.'
---
Ok done. All I want to say now is that, despite the fact that I don't like thrillers or adventures or violence etc., I really enjoyed this read. I do recommend it to all interested ... but probably not very many of my friends because most of you like 'nicer' things. Otoh that gore etc. is not spelled out in the foreground so it's bearable.

Anyway, it's also very witty. Sometimes even wise. Here's an example of when it's moderately clever: "The next hour provides Mal with an object lesson in the value of sleep. He'd never really understood the biological utility of the practice prior to now, but the idea of allowing this body to work through its issues without him is profoundly attractive."

[Kim Pelletier · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read an e-arc of this book.

I’m giving this book a 1 star out of 5, but this rating comes from someone who DNF’ed this book, so take my review and rating with a grain of salt. I got about 30% of the way through this book before throwing in the towel on it. It sounded so good, and I did genuinely like the idea and premise, especially with the story being told from an AI’s perspective, it’s a neat twist for a sci-fi book. However, even at just a third of the way through the book, I felt like it was just dragging far too much for me. A lot of what was happening didn’t seem to matter, a lot of the dialogue was just… there, it didn’t add too much. The growing and developing relationships between Mal, the AI, and the other characters of Kayleigh, Asher and Pullman were entertaining and fun to read, but it also felt quite rushed given how Asher, Kayleigh and Mal meet, and Pullman for that matter too. Given it’s almost 300 pages long, I feel like the relationships between the characters could have dragged on a little bit more before they got as close as they seemed to be a third of the way in, and I would have liked to have seen a little bit more progression in the plot by that point as well.

I wish I could have brought myself to finish this, but I just couldn’t. I hope that others who do get a chance to read Mal Goes To War enjoy it, unfortunately I will not be one of them.

[S. Naomi Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating : 4.5 of 5 stars

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.

[Ty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a roller coaster ride. The beginning had a rough start because we are dropped in a world that’s in the middle of a war and it felt like it was hard to determine what was happening. Then the ending of the book left me slightly confused and didn’t leave me with a satisfying conclusion. However, once the pieces started to come together the book became more enjoyable and easier to follow. I absolutely loved the characters in this book. This author has a way of developing characters that you would easily fall in love with. The main character Mal was delightful to follow and the character provided much of the humor in the story. The side characters were also great and having them all traveling together throughout the story made for a great time. This is not my favorite book by this author (that spot is currently taken by Mickey 7) but I can’t wait to read what this author puts out next!

[Brit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I had a bit of a tough time getting into this one, but that’s admittedly likely due to the fact that I’ve been out of the sci-fi genre for quite awhile. Once it got going though I really enjoyed the writing and I literally laughed out loud more than once at Mal’s dialogue. This was my first book by Edward Ashton and I really enjoyed it. I may just have to read Mickey7 as well before the movie comes out! Very grateful to have received an ARC of this novel.

[Lauralyrics · Rating 2 out of 5]

Downgrading from 3 stars to 2 because all the characters sound exactly the same. This reads like a screenplay and might actually make an ok action movie. But if you want to read a thoughtful and sometimes sarcastic examination of war, read Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. If you want to read about AI, read Murderbot by Martha Wells.

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton

challenging dark funny informative reflective sad tense

Medium-paced

Plot or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes

4.0 Stars

One thing that I've realized, after reading THREE Edward Ashton books...is that he's got a wicked sense of humour, and his writing style may be polarizing, but for the most part, I enjoy it.

This story is interesting. You do not get all the worldbuilidng that some authors might want/need to do, but because the main protagonist has a narrow minded view by origin, it works.

In a way, this book reminds me of Clair North's Touch and Martha Well's Murderbot Diaries. Neither book is a perfect comp, but they share enough, that it came to mind, as I am reading.

Clair North's book has the main character hopping from one "body" to another, by the use of touch. In this way, she's able to "inhabit" different genders and view the world through different eyes, and in fact, hijacking the bodies for a period of time.

This books does something similar, and it is fun and VERY scary. There are ethical quandries that the reader has to go through, and because of that, the main protagonist and the reader MAY not be on the same page (at all times). Hmmm.

This is where Martha Well's book comes to mind...for the character that we are reading from, is not a human character. Like Murderbot, the character is learning right/wrong, from things it's watched on TV, but also through the interactions that it has, and its current POV.

There is a character in the story...that if you met him, he would repulse you (or at least I felt repulsed, while he was being hijacked).

I'm enjoyed this story more than the previous books I've read from this author...so that's a plus.

This isn't a perfect story. Rare are those..at least from my experience, but it was fun while it lasted.

Earlier I mentioned ethical issues. Yeah, those are the ones that will scar me for life. I had never thought of the hijacking possibility, till this story...so NO, I would NEVER put augments into my body, for fear of this happening in real life. No thank you.

On to The Fourth Consort...to read and give an honest review.

[Zedsdead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mal is a free artificial intelligence who lives in the cloud. One day Mal gets trapped in a decomposing cyborg corpse and finds himself on walkabout with a 20yo toddler, a regular joe with brain implants that stream porn, and a Confederate soldier. He learns about human feelings, ethics, politics, and human limitations and relationships.

Very much a successor to Martha Wells' stellar Murderbot books. As does Murderbot, Mal explores non-human personhood and lets us glimpse what it means to be human from outside.

MGtW does all this with more humor, however; his aggressive rationality is incompatible with human behavior and his attempts to fit in and to cultivate friendships with various 'monkeys' make for funny commentary on the foibles of humankind.

Ashton also has things to say about war. The conflict that throws our merry band together pits a backward, reactionary redneck force against a technologically advanced government which could be the good guys but expressly is not. The pseudo-Confederates routinely murder children of the wrong 'kind' and ignore their own professed principles whenever doing so allows them to amass power; but the pseudo-Union casually genocides all existing sentient, independent AI's when that becomes expedient. Reminds me of the best parts of Brian Woods's thoughtful DMZ: war brings out the worst in everyone and renders the unthinkable mundane.

[Lilibet Bombshell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technothriller marries dark comedy and is seasoned liberally with satire. I’m down. I’m so down.

One moment, Mal is a free AI, just hanging out in infospace while riding inside a surveillance drone looking for decent pieces of technology to salvage. In the space of minutes, he’s riding inside the brain of an augmented mercenary who’s in charge of caring for a specially-augmented human child while her mother is overseas.

It’s a stupid war just like every stupid war before it and now Mal finds himself not only in the middle of it, but also invested.

This doesn’t meet the criteria for a technothriller for me, but I’m finding that to be okay on a personal level. While I could get along just fine with the computer terminology and vernacular, if it were more of a true technothriller I might have been lost. I suspect some readers might end up being lost as it is if they never had the luxury of knowing someone who worked in IT for years and years.

The dark comedy and satire, though? It hit and it hit hard. I was amused throughout the entire book by the entire cast, but especially Mal. Mal is an AI, so there are limits to his understanding of humans, but he’s definitely his own entity with a vivid imagination, moral compass, and sense of ethics. Watching him grow and learn as this book goes on is infinitely entertaining.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Satire/Sci Fi

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Mickey7 and the sequel. Mal Goes to War is not Mickey7.

If I didn’t know and love the Murderbot diaries by Martha Wells, I might have liked Mal Goes to War more? Maybe? Mal is an AI who can jump from technologically enhanced person to drone and back again. SecUnit is a cloned human/technology hybrid, and I had a much harder time accepting Mal’s need to acquire friends and desire to rescue people.

Lines like these seem taken directly from the Murderbot diaries (emphases mine):

“My understanding, which admittedly is gleaned primarily from review of serial dramas, is that talking through our emotional issues is the most common and effective way to correct these sorts of problems.” (p. 162 of the ARC)

“A quick survey when the blast wave has passed shows his body to be mostly functional, although he is leaking fluids from a number of places and his hearing appears to be offline." (p. 171 of the ARC)

There were parts that I enjoyed, but that was mostly the last 100 pages. Before that the book was slow and meandering and full mostly of Mal’s experiments with jumping around hosts. I never understood the war (which I guess, is true of all wars, so, fair) and the extreme brutality that shows up occasionally (like the burn pits) didn’t seem to fit with the overall tone of the book.

This book feels like an experiment, and I admire experimentation. While I won’t say it was a failure, it wasn’t wholly a success for this reader. Not sure I’ll read another Mal book by Ashton; I will read another Mickey7 book if one is published.

I did enjoy this in the author’s acknowledgements:
My sincere thanks also go out to (in no particular order):
…
Mickey, for understanding that I can’t keep writing about him exclusively for the rest of my life.

I read an advance reader copy of Mal Goes to War from Netgalley.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I have an early copy of the manuscript. Some elements may change and therefore make my parts of my review irrelevant when compared to the final published novel.

4.5 stars

This book is utterly unique and both not at all what I expected yet quite enjoyable for what it was. The world is fascinating and an absolute ton of fun, and the plot has the same quick, humorous tone that the prose does. I absolutely raced through this read, and I kept having to stop and slow myself down.

The POV character, Mal, is the strangest combination of completely alien and deeply human; insightful, oblivious, painfully dense at times and almost adorably idealistic at others. He’s incredibly contradictory, and it took me most of the book to realize that these contradictions were not a result of sarcasm, or any sort of ingenuity—that’s just who Mal is. And somehow all the characters in the book are like this a little, despite most being human.

My only critique was with the characters. Because we’re in Mal’s POV, I felt isolated from the other characters and could never bridge that gap. At the same time, I wanted more from Mal. I didn’t understand his motivations at times, and I had the sense that neither did he. I wanted more from him and from everyone. A little more connection, maybe even a little affection, and a little less snarky banter at each other’s expense with a void where the affection should have been beneath. At least, that’s how it felt to me—and again, I think seeing through Mal had something to do with the lack of emotional connections. But maybe you’ll feel differently. Regardless, it’s definitely worth a read.

[AltLovesBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mal (short for Malware) is an AI stuck in the world of humans. When a conflict between body-modded Federals and anti-modding Humanists breaks out, the larger information network is blocked, leaving Mal stuck inside whatever implant or device is large enough to contain him. In his quest to find a way back to the information network, he inhabits various drones, corpses, a few live humans, and finds a small group of friends along the way that he feels obligated to keep safe as well.

Mal has a very dry sense of humor, being AI, and the majority of this book is his wry observations about humans and human behavior. This is very much a character-driven story, in that the plot, such as it is, isn't really a factor until the last few chapters of the book. You have the backdrop of this large conflict, but you don't get a lot of backstory (or...forwardstory, for that matter) about what it is or why it's happening. Even the ending, where the plot finally appears, is kind of forgettable, because the rest of the book didn't really set you up to care about a resolution. I also found the conflict and resolution a bit messy, to be honest.

So, the humor was pretty decent, but the rest of the book was unfocused and didn't get me to care much about the ending. Kind of a miss, to be honest.

[Bookphenomena (Micky)]

DNF @ 20% unrated
I just could not get into this story, setting or characters. In fact, I disliked both the main characters and what a strange pairing they were. I am used to this author's comedic undertone to his writings but the funny didn't hit the mark this time, probably because I wasn't 'into it'. Thought it was best to throw in the towel with sadness.

[Sahitya · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a 3.5 but I’m rounding up.

I’ve been wanting to read Mickey7 for a while, especially because of its movie adaptation but have never gotten the chance yet. So instead I decided to listen to the audiobook of this novel by the author as I had access to the audiobook.

It’s best going into this one without much expectations coz I don’t know if it’ll live up to them. While the title may say “war” and the story takes place across a few days during a kind of brutal civil war, the tone of the novel is extremely in odds with it. It’s funny and snarky and our protagonist Mal is a sentient AI who’s extremely logical analysis and conclusions are just downright hilarious. But there is also a lot of violence happening, if not on page always, atleast on the periphery with a lot of body count. Despite all this, the book isn’t necessarily action packed and more slice of life and found family, highlighting themes like what happens when othering and discriminating a group of people is taken to extremes.

While I did enjoy reading it in parts, it’s the audiobook experience that really shines through. John Pirhalla as Mal is excellent at conveying his robotic but endearing thoughts and Katherine Chin’s inclusion at times makes for some great conversations. If you are looking for a chill dark comedy with bouts of violence and some unusual friendships, I’ll definitely recommend this one, especially the audio format.