Review of “The Biohunter” by Ingrid Moon

Score: 94/100 (9.4 out of 10)

The Biohunter is yet another thrilling, character-centered sci-fi novel by Ingrid Moon! It follows in the footsteps of The Handler's Gambit, one of our favorite novels from 2024, and recycles some of the same concepts and ideas. The Handler's Gambit is a tough act to follow, but it did have a winning formula. So, how did The Biohunter do by comparison?

Well, The Biohunter is a thought-provoking, compelling novel in its own right.

The book takes us to the dystopian future of 2114, a post-apocalyptic world that follows the cataclysmic and catastrophic event known as “the fracture.”

In the midst of the fracture, vast areas of the planet became wastelands, uninhabitable due to extreme weather, mutated wildlife, and lack of resources.

Governments fell apart, leading to the rise of corporate entities like Imperium Enterprises, the villainous organization in the book, which seized control of critical resources. Cities were abandoned or fortified (e.g., Springfield, Indiana), and humanity splintered into isolated groups like the outlanders and the corporate elite.

The fracture also seems to have triggered mutations in wildlife, creating the intelligent and dangerous creatures hunted by biohunters like Axel Mercer, the novel's central protagonist.

Certain humans, like Mira Shane (the book's deuteragonist), may have developed unique abilities like accelerated healing or regeneration as part of genetic adaptations or scientific experiments.

The book follows Axel Mercer, a morally-gray, hit-for-hire specialist known as a “biohunter”--akin to a bounty hunter (in fact, he's similar in role and function to Foxhound in Hounds of Gaia by Sean Tirman). The unscrupulous Imperium Enterprises hires him to hunt and/or obtain valuable biological organisms/specimens for them.

And, no, Imperium isn't led by someone named Gunther.

Think of Imperium as a mix between Shinra Inc. and the Umbrella Corporation. These aren't necessarily good guys who have the betterment of humanity in mind, at least not all of them. Instead, Imperium Enterprises seems driven by greed and power—the things that make this world go 'round.

They're led by CEO Zara Drake, a ruthless individual with a single-minded pursuit of profit and control that contrasts sharply with the outlanders’ fight for survival.

Imperium also includes Thomas Shelley, whose strategic thinking and calculated actions make him a compelling secondary antagonist, balancing Drake’s overt ruthlessness with a more subtle approach. His name, by the way, may be an homage to Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein--which this novel definitely shares some comparisons with.

There's also Plymouth Harlo, the chief scientist and kinda the Hojo/Dr. Birkin-like figure in all of this. The activities and scientific research performed by Imperium range from questionable to outright immoral, sadistic, and evil.

Sorta like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, this really makes you think about the ethical implications of experiments on animals (as well as humans, in the case of Mira).

At what point is scientific research and advancement less important than the health, safety, and rights of these creatures?

Should we be causing undue harm and suffering to these creatures in the name of science?

That remains the primary ethical question throughout the book.

Axel starts this book as a hardened mercenary who does what he can to make enough to survive. However, that all comes into question when he bonds with the target he has been sent to capture: Mira, a teenage human girl and outlander who seems to have developed the ability to rapidly regenerate.

The character dynamic between Axel and Mira is actually very similar to the one between Boone and Elyon in The Handler's Gambit. Axel is partly Mira's captor/keeper while also being her protector, guardian, and eventually friend and ally.

Really, the highlights of this book are when Axel and Mira banter back and forth.

Unlike Elyon in The Handler's Gambit, who was mostly stoic and mysterious, Mira is much more loud, boisterous, and outspoken. When Axel says something dumb, like about why Mira even needs to drink or eat if she has a superpower, Mira is quick to bark back.

All around, this is a solid and good sci-fi novel.
However, in comparison to The Handler's Gambit, something seems strangely... missing.

We can't exactly put a finger on it, but the flow and pacing of this book isn't nearly as great as the aforementioned book, and neither are the characters.

Perhaps it's the fact that villains like those found at Imperium just aren't on the level of Vindik from The Handler's Gambit. Vindik just had a coolness and an intimidation-factor about him that those like Drake just can't match. It's almost like comparing Sephiroth to Hojo or President Shinra (or Albert Wesker to Dr. Spencer, the founder of Umbrella). One is just so much cooler than the others.

Speaking of coolness, Elyon is also decidedly cooler and more compelling than Mira is for the most part. That's not to say that Mira is bad. No, she's a good character in her own right. However, Elyon was on another level with her mystery and intrigue. She didn't have to say or even do much to come across as important and compelling in her book.

At the same time, we still felt for Mira enough to want her to be safe from the cruel experiments of Imperium.

Axel is another mixed bag. See, Axel fits a particular archetype of a gray mercenary character. He's actually a bit like Kai Lovac from The Third Estate by D.R. Berlin, a guy who forms a personal bond with his target that softens him. It's a beautiful and touching dynamic, but it's also something we've read a bunch of times before (including in Moon's own work).

With that said, this book still contains impressive world-building and characters that is sure to impress sci-fi readers.

Check it out on Amazon!