Biohack

Gender Wars, Book 1

By: J. D. Lasica

Narrated by: Denise Howell

Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

What would you give for a second chance?

Valerie Ramirez, a special ed teacher still haunted by her toddler’s drowning accident, faces a fateful decision when she’s admitted into an exclusive program run by a mysterious biotech company.

Kaden Baker, an elite hacker who dabbles in covert ops, finds her life turned upside down when she discovers her parents turn out to be imposters. Where does she come from? Who’s been financing her high-stakes secret missions?

The answers lead back to the same sinister biotech firm. As Kaden and Valerie become allies, they make one startling discovery after another about the company’s dark intentions. But each step closer to the truth puts their lives at greater risk.

The stakes couldn’t be higher - for Kaden’s freedom, for Valerie’s fate, and for the future direction of humanity itself.

Get it now! Biohack is a roller-coaster thrill ride that appeals to both the head and the heart - with a shocking twist you won't see coming.

Perfect for fans of the late, great Michael Crichton's science thrillers and fans of Lee Child, A.G. Riddle, and Tim Tigner.

©2018 Joseph Daniel Lasica (P)2018 Joseph Daniel Lasica

Critic reviews

“Biohack is the perfect thriller for our anxious age when biology has become hackable and the future of our species hangs in the balance.” (Jamie Metzl, former NSC official and author of Eternal Sonata and Genesis Code)

“Well-drawn characters and heart-stopping action combine to make Biohack an adrenaline rush of excitement!” (Chris Patchell, author of the thrillers Dark Harvest and Vow of Silence)

“Biohack is the Dan Brown-meets-Laura Croft-meets-Michael Crichton thriller we’ve been waiting for.” (Saul Tanpepper, author of the thriller/sci-fi series Gameland)

Interesting start to what could be a good series

This one was all over the place for me, but it wasn't without promise. I liked the premise and the characters, but there were some pacing issues and other things that could very well be ironed out as the series progresses. I think there is a solid foundation for some good sci-fi entertainment to mined from, and I will check out the next book.

The narration by Denise Howell showed some promise but also had some issues. She hits some good points when things get going and have decent voices to spread around, but some of the time she will get a little monotone when doing the general narration. I have no doubt she will flesh that part out in future narration, and I feel like when she is hitting her stride it is quite good and she just needs to keep that going throughout the rest of her work.

If you want a sci-fi tale that deals with some dicey subject matter in what is a possible future, and all of the sides that could exploit or encounter these technologies or changes, and are willing to give some leeway in the hope that it all comes together I recommend giving it a chance. There is definitely a lot going on in this book, and it is quite ambitious and I hope it can grow and succeed.

I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

A great example of this genre

Biohack: Gender Wars, Book 1. Gripping gets you on the 1st chapter and holds you till the last sentence, and leaves you wanting more, I do hope there is a book2 as suggested by the title. Fast paced with lots of action and maybe closer to the truth than we think.
Well written and edited, Beautifully narrated.
I was given a free copy of this audiobook at my own request, and voluntarily leave this review.

Exciting story, subpar narration

Valerie Ramirez is promised a miracle at a mysterious biotech company: using his deceased child’s DNA to give life to a new child. But this company has more clients, and they are all offered babies with almost any genetic enhancements they can imagine if they can pay for it. Kaden, with special military training, and hacking abilities, is hired by this company to recover human remains from tombs where famous men in history are buried. Valerie and Kaden will meet and discover the dark secrets this biotech company is hiding.

I tend to enjoy technothrillers, they have enough of science-fiction and enough of thriller to keep get me hooked to a story. This one was no exception. Biohack also has interesting characters, and the main ones are developed enough to be able to root for them, which is not always the case when reading a thriller. There also were a good number of secondary characters that were less developed, but it helped to make the story richer. I didn’t find issues keeping track of all, as they were all clearly presented.

The book kept me interested and entertained from beginning to end, and I found the science and technology plausible in the near future. It also was a quick-paced book, with several parallel stories that came together towards the end. It was a bit scary to see what can be possible thanks to advanced technology when some people are willing to keep secrets and cross moral boundaries. I enjoyed the possibilities and felt intrigued by the lies they were telling their clients. It was clever!

I found the narration of this book not great, though, and I think it is such a pity to pair an inexperienced narrator with a great book. Denise Howell tried to provide decent character interpretations, and she did well imitating the voice of the AI, but I had issues to differentiate some characters during dialogs. The audio production also had some issues, like background music, background noises, and audible breathing through the nose. It is true that the quality of sound improved a bit after a while, but sadly I can’t consider this narration worthy of this story.

Biohack

A thrilling story that could become a very real possibility in our not too distant future. It really makes you think about the ethics of what could be possible. J. D. Lasica really drew me in to this storyline.

Denise Howell did a decent job with the narration. I was a little worried when a first started listening... the introduction has some sound quality issues, but things improve greatly once the story gets started.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

all in all pretty good

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I really enjoyed this story. That being said, the narration was hit and miss for me. Sometimes it was really engaging but others it kind of lapses into a dry place that had me starting to lose interest. All in all, though, this was a good book and I'd be open to more in the series.

Great Start to This Series!

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

First a disclaimer, I actually listened to the second book in this series before the first. i Really enjoyed it, and was happy to get an opportunity to listen to this book right after finishing it. Thanks so much JD!

The story starts out as one would expect, establishing the main character’s back story. This was super interesting and answered a lot of questions I had from the second book. Kaden is really a well balanced yet almost fatally damaged character; so compelling.

I’m not going to spoil the story, but I can say that the future tech coupled with well written action worked really well. Characters are sympathetic, vulnerable, and tragic.

Narration, in my opinion was better in this book than the second, primarily because I enjoyed hearing a female voice that matched so well with Kaden. It just felt right. That being said, the narration in the second book was good; just not quite as good as in the first.

I can’t wait to see what happens next!

I Was Whelmed By Biohack (Not Over or Under)

Biohack by JD Lasica was one of those books that I got excited when I saw the cover. Once I started to get into the book I wasn't over or underwhelmed. I was just... whelmed, which I don't think is a real word.

(gif from 10 Things I Hate About You)

There was something about it that tickled my fancy but also some parts of it (and maybe a little bit caused by the narration) that weren't perfect.

I can tell that Lasica did his research while prepping this book. The two main parts split between hacking and genetics. And I didn't feel like any of it was too "far out" and some of it was like "oh yeah, that makes sense". A cool concept for a near future book for sure.

Sometimes when there are a lot of characters in a book there can be too many. I think that Biohack flirted the line with this from time to time.

Overall, it was a book that I enjoyed but I didn't love. I was "whelmed" by it and I would be potentially interested in diving into this world in the near future.

Great Scifi thriller, but with a cliffhanger

It's great listen, with action, intrigue and the technical side genetics. Honestly it first peeked my interest because the main character looked like the mc in Appleseed. It was well paced and managed now to make the more sciency parts boring or dry. The narrator did a great job, with different, distinct voices and production above average, but had a mostly constant static like background noise or other noises. The ending seem somewhat rushed, reaching the climax and shortly after, the end. Would be interested in seeing where the story is going from here.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Decent story but not much of a build up

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."
Overall the story was decent but there's not much of a build up to story line. In my opinion the story is flat, there's not much of a build up. You have a pretty good idea where the story is heading within a couple of hours into the book. It could do with more action and adventure.

Promising story but not without issues.

I have to admit I came close to bailing on the book more than one, but I'm glad I stuck with it because there is an interesting and promising story in Biohack. The problem is that it just takes too long for it all to come together. I know this is Mr. Lasica's first novel, and I don't doubt he'll improve with more experience. I'd definitely be willing to give the next book a chance.

This is the first book I've heard narrated by Denise Howell, and I have to say I am left conflicted. I'm going to give her 3 stars but I feel I'm being generous with that rating. There were definitely moments where I found her narration to be quite good, but I also have to be honest and say there were also long stretches where it felt completely lifeless. And I don't mean that there was no inflection in her voice, but at times it seemed like she was just saying words one after another. What do I mean? There were times when it was just one long monotone reading of words, where you couldn't tell where one sentence started and another began. It's a shame, because I heard real potential at times, where there was real passion in her narration, but those times were few and far between. Checking on Audible I see this is the only narration credit to her name, so perhaps this was her first time and she's just getting the hang of audio narration. I hope that's the case. After all everyone has to start somewhere and as I said there were moments where she sounded quite good. Hopefully she continues to grow as an artist.

I received a copy of this audio title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.