Customer Reviews

Biohell (Combat-K)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book, Biohell, was an impulse buy for me. I was in the market for a new book to tide me over until R.A Salvatore released the third book in his Legend of Drizzt Transitions series, before it came out. I saw the cover, read the back blurb and thought to myself, What do I have to lose? Only money, I guessed. I'm a Sci-Fi/Fantasy nerd so books in that spectrum can either offend my sensibilities or intrigue me.

And that's what Biohell is, an intriguing book.

It's a military action thriller with gore, guns, macho B.S. and a heck of a lot of fun. Andy Remic writes in a semi-silly manner, full of curses, comedy, and cynical contemplation of ex-soldiers who've seen too much. In a way, it's slightly satirical, poking fun of itself and the genre, but it's not meant to be read that way. It's not meant to be taken super seriously, though, and if one does, the book tends to make you scratch your head.

Biohell is the latest installment in a series that I've never heard of before, and so, I've only read this one so far. You don't necessarily need to read the others ( think there are like four or so predating this one) but it might help in character development, and certain plot points. The main characters are elite spec-ops sort of guys that've seen it all and been through hell. Now, they have to contend with mutants hopped up on designer drugs that were intended to make the user more beautiful, faster, stronger, etc. There is a layer of intrigue that must be peeled back like an onion to figure out just what exactly is going on before our intrepid heroes succumb to the Biohell around them.

Now, for the skinny:
-the Good: If you like lots of action, gore, sexuality, and swearing, then this is the book for you. Everything is fast paced, and after the fire-fights end, there's always something entertaining happening, some might argue too much. The characters are interesting, and it makes you wonder how or why people like them ever were put in the same squad. You find yourself caring about whether or not the characters will find what their looking for, how the infected will ever be cured, and if certain characters will escape their inner and outer conflicts.

-the Bad: Andy Remic writes in a fashion that might not make sense entirely to people not familiar with British English slang and spellings. It wasn't so much of a problem for me, but it might irk others, and that's something to take into account. Certain plot elements might come off as a bit predictable at times, but the sheer fun of it all tends to lessen the overall impact of that. A good read doesn't need to necessarily be a complex read. It's also a little long, so unless you read super fast, it might take a while.

-Overall: I found myself thoroughly enjoying reading this book even if I missed out on some of the references to the earlier installments. It's a good read, even if it isn't quite on par with famous works of literature by Dickens or Agatha Christie. For those of us who don't care, pick up the book. If you are offended by R-rated materials, don't like explosions and blood, swearing, and sexual themes, don't bother.

This was one of the best Sci-Fi books I have read in a while. It was action-packed right from the very beginning. It also incorporated very believable war scenes and riveting characters. I have read all of the Combat K novels and enjoyed everyone of them more than the last.

It seems like some readers/reviewers want to take this author too seriously. "Biohell" is not a serious book and neither was War Machine (Combat-K), first book in this series.

They are rollicking, raunchy, violent irreverent space operas. "Biohell" takes place mostly on The City - an entire planet that in the past practiced unsafe sex (human and alien alike), all types of illegal activities, and was dedicated to pleasure and chaos.

Franco, one of the Combat-K "heroes" from "War Machine," has fallen in loooove and plans on marrying his sweetheart and giving up his perverted lifestyle.

Well, then the fun really starts - junks, zombies, biomods, nanobots, REALLY disgusting descriptions of an eight-foot tall zombiette, world invasions, the Hammer Syndicate, Knuckles and his gang, double and triple crosses, an upgraded Cam, weapons, weapons, and more weapons, AI killers, MICHELLE ma belle.

Are the science facts all correct in the book? I don't know. Did I really care while I was reading? Not so much. I just let myself be swept along in the Combat-K world. I enjoyed the book.

Thanks to the number of 1 star reviews, I almost didn't read this book. Fortunately, I did.

There was a lot of non stop action, funny pre battle banter between Franco and Keenan, new and interesting characters, new tech, and in the last 20% of the book it takes a more serious plot twist which is linked to the first book.

I'm about 150 pages into book 3 now and enjoying it.

I have a feeling that if you are a die hard military sci fi reader, you might not like this series. Perhaps, as one reviewer said, the written English is UK Enlgish, not USA English, so the constant UK slang might seem too fareign for them to connect with.

Should you read this book?

Yes, but not as a stand alone book. It's best if you read book 1 first- War Machine.

After reading War Machine, I was seriously looking forward to the next installment of the Combat K series by Remic. This one however, despite a promising open, fell flat. While the War Machine held the elements of the typical military sci-fi novel, heaped in with humor, expletives, and some just plain crude, but hilarious, language, this novel felt as if Remic had just gone overboard. The characters are cookie cutter, the jokes are repeated, and the gore got boring. The constant sarcasm and attempts at humor just did not come through successfully. Also, the constant references to how "these zombies don't act like the ones in the movies" got real old real fast. Remic even threw in a jab at pulp sci-fi novels, which I could help apply to this book.

Despite all of this, the book did end on a good note. While the plot was certainly contrived, and thing fell together much too well too easily, I has set the stage for a potential good next installment. I plan on taking a break from Combat K, however, because if Hardcore is anything like Biohell, I may not be able to finish it.


In short, unless your 14 and love crude language and constant gore, just have a need for approximately 300 pages of mindless plot and violence, or want to see what Remic can do with Combat K (which I wanted, and hopefully Hardcore will be back in track with War Machine) I wouldn't suggest picking up this book.

Remic, my apologies, I know you've got some talent, but this was way over the top.

I purchased this book and "War Machine" before deploying on a eight or so weeks long exercise with the army. I had no idea what I was in for, had never heard of the writer and was forced through sheer boredom to read both. In retrospect, I should have volunteered for tower duty or foot patrols. This book is crap. War Machine was just badly written and contrived. This however, was complete garbage. The characters are less likeable and less functional than before; despite 100% predictability in their actions, the main character keeps working with them, even though one is a complete detriment to any mission he's on. You'd think weird, nano/cyber zombies might at least help, but no, they actually make it all worse. The universe this is set in is not a stable one in any sense of the word, where technology goes unexplained (I guess you have to find the first book to figure it all out), and Remic tries hard to create the sense of a powerful all controlling government that can do anything... except tame one planet ruled by various mobs or take direct action against galactic level threats that should probably be dealt with by the military, not a bunch of ex-SF (and crap SF at that) burn outs who can't function. What does it say about your characters and writing when you have to deus ex machina them into staying together?

I read this because I had little else to do. So unless you're in a similar situation, or say, trapped in Antarctica but don't have to burn things to keep warm yet, don't waste your time on this book. Don't even read the back cover.

This book vacillates between hard sci-fi and some kind of space comedy. Page after page is filled with bad cliches and broken plot devices that are held loosely together with an over reliance on deus ex machina. The author has some kind of weird dependence on the word 'slam' which is used roughly once a page, if not more.

I could only make it 15 pages in. It was just plain horrible! The main character (I assume he was the main character cuz he was the only person in the book who was talking/monologuing), was just some emo, whiny, biker with a deathwish because his wife and child died so he chases down some zombie bikers.

Yes, this book had zombie bikers.

Don't waste your money.

I can't even believe this got published. the topic and size of this book made it an impulse purchase; by page 27 i couldn't stand it anymore. Cliche after cliche, it reads (at least until page 27) like an English 101 paper stuffed with filler. i just didn't want to waste 651 pages of my life to this book. i was sorry i spent 27 pages on it. i only gave it one star because there wasn't a lower option. save your money. if you like space opera, try brian green. if you like space military try steven l. kent.