The story is related by Mickey Barnes; he is part of a mission to establish a colony on the cold and forbidding distant planet of Niflheim. His role is that of the “expendable”; he is required to undertake all potentially fatal tasks, and if he should die, he is cloned and brought back with most of his memories intact. He is essentially immortal, but in probably the worst way possible.
An accident and a mix-up end with there being two copies of him, Mickey7 and Mickey8, but as the colony struggles for resources, they both have to work together to keep the duplicate existence under wraps. Coupled with a chief who is religiously opposed to the idea of cloning, and increasingly aggressive native life forms, things seem on the verge of falling apart.
Mickey7 eventually is instrumental in helping the team reach an understanding with the native life, as well as helping truly justify his “dual” existence. An fast-paced and fun read, the novel turns out to be multi-layered and insightful, wile remaining wildly entertaining. An all round great read.