Mickey 17 Original SF Novel — Book Recommendation: 'Ship of Theseus'

In February 2025, director Bong Joon-ho new film Mickey 17 opened to global SF fan expectations. With Hollywood top star Robert Pattinson in the lead and director Bong Joon-ho handling screenplay and direction, Mickey 17 has high potential to become another masterpiece. But before the film arrived, we needed to read the original novel Mickey 7 (by Edward Ashton) first. Mickey 7 premise: in a future where human cloning technology has advanced, the story of Mickey, an "Expendable" who is repeatedly reprinted (cloned) to perform dangerous missions for a planet colonization program. Theseus Ship paradox connection: the book recommendation "Ship of Theseus" examines the same philosophical question -- if all components of a ship are replaced one by one, is it still the same ship? Applied to human identity: if all cells in your body are replaced (which happens over ~7 years) but you retain memories, are you the same person? Mickey 7 makes this abstract question viscerally concrete -- Mickey watches himself die, gets reprinted with his memories, and must decide whether the new Mickey is him or a different person who merely has his memories. Why read the source material: Bong Joon-ho adaptation of the novel involves significant creative interpretation; understanding the original helps appreciate where the film diverges and why; the novel deeper exploration of Mickey philosophical crisis around identity may be compressed in the film for pacing; readers who engage with the source material often find both the book and film more rewarding experiences.