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Mech #1
Mech
An alien-infested colony. A trapped platoon. The one man who will stop at nothing to lead his unit to safety. Rade Galaal and his team of special operators are deployed to a colony under attack by a strange new alien race. Their find the extraterrestrial base and destroy it. The operation should be easy, given that his men pilot Brigand massive, 25-foot-tall war machines armed to the teeth with electrolasers, rockets, incendiary throwers, and more. But it's not easy. Rade and his team soon find themselves in over their heads. Surrounded by an entire world of enraged aliens, they must rely on their wits, their training, and their mechs to survive. Because their only way out is each other.
- GenresScience FictionAudiobook
436 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 10, 2019
262 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Hooke
102 books509 followersIsaac Hooke is the best-selling author of the Ethan Galaal series of thriller novels, as well as the SF-themed ATLAS trilogy. When Isaac isn't writing, publishing, and blogging, he's busy cycling and taking pictures in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He has a degree in Engineering Physics.
You can follow Isaac on Twitter @IsaacHooke and his website http://IsaacHooke.com.
You can follow Isaac on Twitter @IsaacHooke and his website http://IsaacHooke.com.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 29, 2019
This is my first novel by Mr. Hooke, and quite frankly, I cannot fathom how how he could be a "bestselling" author of anything if this drivel is an average example of his work.
Rife with juvenile references to sexual conquest and stereotypical character descriptions boarding on racism (if not over the line), I was stunned to find this book was published this year and not a couple of decades ago where it might have been explained away as a novel that has just not "aged well".
Steer clear of this stinker!
Rife with juvenile references to sexual conquest and stereotypical character descriptions boarding on racism (if not over the line), I was stunned to find this book was published this year and not a couple of decades ago where it might have been explained away as a novel that has just not "aged well".
Steer clear of this stinker!
November 12, 2019
Hits the ground running, but not in a good way. We're in the middle of action and info dumps and no idea what's going on.
There is no character development and the dialogue is absolute juvenile drivel. I didn't finish.
There is no character development and the dialogue is absolute juvenile drivel. I didn't finish.
June 10, 2019
I’m not sure why this book and it’s companion, “Mech 2” have come out. We’re well beyond this stage in Rade Galaal’s career. He’s left his job as a MOTH a long time ago and took most of his team with him. Now, we’re back to when he was the Chief of MOTH Team Eight, Alpha Platoon. I did like this period of time since the MOTH’s were fighting for United Systems and the team was not a foul-mouthed as in later books. Oh, don’t get me wrong, they are plenty of foul-mouthed episodes in this book, but at least it appears the Rade is attempting to shut his guys up some.
So the Team is on a mission to a planet to find out why nothing is coming from the forward operating base previously established on the planet. It doesn’t take them long to run into trouble. The support fleet orbiting the planet are also engaged and seemingly not doing so well. Rade and his Team take off across the desert desperately trying to not tangle with thousands of Draactals, four legged, vicious animals, that could literally tear anything apart. They had overtaken the city and the forward operating base.
Rade and his men only had a short supply of oxygen left in the Brigands so they needed to find some place and some way to replenish what they had and soon. The came upon a cave in the desert and from it came several Hoplites and other mechs. Rade soon found that these mechs had no human operators. Apparently, the enemy had used some kind of gamma ray that destroy humans, but left machinery intact and unharmed. These mechs invited Rade’s team into the cave and Rade reluctantly allowed his team to move forward until they came to a strange looking plant. At about the same time, they found a civilian scientist named Cynthia. From that point on, things don’t go as they appear.
This book seems like it comes in two parts, but that’s not the way it is written. It’s a good lengthy book and I liked the story, but with the ending of this one as it was done, I’m not real sure what “Mech 2” will be about. I guess I’ll find out since I’ve already downloaded it, but I do find myself getting a little tired of this whole Rade Galaal story and especially his team of foul-mouthed idiots (smart idiots). And I say that even though in my youth, I was a sailor, but I never ran into a bunch of military types who are as vulgar as this bunch.
So the Team is on a mission to a planet to find out why nothing is coming from the forward operating base previously established on the planet. It doesn’t take them long to run into trouble. The support fleet orbiting the planet are also engaged and seemingly not doing so well. Rade and his Team take off across the desert desperately trying to not tangle with thousands of Draactals, four legged, vicious animals, that could literally tear anything apart. They had overtaken the city and the forward operating base.
Rade and his men only had a short supply of oxygen left in the Brigands so they needed to find some place and some way to replenish what they had and soon. The came upon a cave in the desert and from it came several Hoplites and other mechs. Rade soon found that these mechs had no human operators. Apparently, the enemy had used some kind of gamma ray that destroy humans, but left machinery intact and unharmed. These mechs invited Rade’s team into the cave and Rade reluctantly allowed his team to move forward until they came to a strange looking plant. At about the same time, they found a civilian scientist named Cynthia. From that point on, things don’t go as they appear.
This book seems like it comes in two parts, but that’s not the way it is written. It’s a good lengthy book and I liked the story, but with the ending of this one as it was done, I’m not real sure what “Mech 2” will be about. I guess I’ll find out since I’ve already downloaded it, but I do find myself getting a little tired of this whole Rade Galaal story and especially his team of foul-mouthed idiots (smart idiots). And I say that even though in my youth, I was a sailor, but I never ran into a bunch of military types who are as vulgar as this bunch.
June 2, 2021
Raid and his commando team of Moths, are deployed on a colony world to defend it against an alien attack. Finding themselves cut off, and with limited oxygen they come too a loss for what to do. That is until an AI controlled Mech, approaches them and offers them the barest of hopes.
Inside a cave, a colonist and a new Alien creature lurk, and if the Squad will only help them, they will help save the squad as well. But not everything is what it seems, and the team feels an ominous dread building as they get closer to their objective, and their enemies change tactics and methods in puzzling ways.
I have to say I know nothing o this writer, prior to finding this book, but once I had found him, I was surprised at how many novels he has out there. For a moment I thought I stumbled upon a treasure trove that would keep me in reading material for months. After reading Mech, I am not so sure.
Mech reads like a soap opera in my view, the characters too dramatic, too one dimensional. At one point Raid, the leader basically goes from team member to team member hearing them come to their self reflective truths. "I'm not a bad ass man, I'm a coward. I just tattoo my face to hide it!"
From the bad monologuing, to the evil genius routine I was passively entertained, and mildly annoyed by the novel. However I did love the game mechanics. I suspect if the author ever got into Lit RPG, he would knock it out of the park.
Inside a cave, a colonist and a new Alien creature lurk, and if the Squad will only help them, they will help save the squad as well. But not everything is what it seems, and the team feels an ominous dread building as they get closer to their objective, and their enemies change tactics and methods in puzzling ways.
I have to say I know nothing o this writer, prior to finding this book, but once I had found him, I was surprised at how many novels he has out there. For a moment I thought I stumbled upon a treasure trove that would keep me in reading material for months. After reading Mech, I am not so sure.
Mech reads like a soap opera in my view, the characters too dramatic, too one dimensional. At one point Raid, the leader basically goes from team member to team member hearing them come to their self reflective truths. "I'm not a bad ass man, I'm a coward. I just tattoo my face to hide it!"
From the bad monologuing, to the evil genius routine I was passively entertained, and mildly annoyed by the novel. However I did love the game mechanics. I suspect if the author ever got into Lit RPG, he would knock it out of the park.
May 13, 2019
Pretty decent story here. It's hard to find a decent mech story where mechs remain mechs, and spacecraft remain spacecraft. I've never been a big fan of the mechs that take different shapes depending on what they're doing, I like the ones that remain in one shape, and just slug it out with their opponents, relying on tactics and guile to win the day when their armor and load outs won't suffice. This book has plenty of that, and that makes for a fairly decent story. There is of course, the ever present political bs to go along with the story, and in this case, I can't complain about that, even though I generally don't care for it, in this case, it was an integral part of the story, and it was handled well, so good for the author for that. If you're a scifi fan, and you like space battles, lots of ships blowing up, and aliens fighting on earth's doorstep, then you might get a bit of what you want in this book, but if you like mechs slugging it out on alien worlds with aggressive species trying to remove humans from the equasion, and even some AI action thrown in to keep things hopping, then you're in luck, this is exactly that kind of story, and I certainly enjoyed it, so I hope you will too.
March 3, 2022
This book is a faced paced military SciFi full of relationships and sacrifice.
As a former service member that conversations are fun and realistic. You get to know the squad and the world-building is done subtly. I will always have a soft place for mech-based stories as I cut my reading teeth as a young man on the Battletech series. This was written better than many of those stories.
There are a few cons especially early in the book. The pacing of the book sacrificed some depth of explanation and there were many plot conveniences to keep the plot moving. Didn't get anything from the twist because if you are well-read you have seen the setups before. Some of the language may be off-putting to some.
The work provides an excellent pallet cleanser and has some good drama for the type of book it is. I liked it and recommend but avoid if you prefer epic SFF, flowery prose, or deep characterizations.
As a former service member that conversations are fun and realistic. You get to know the squad and the world-building is done subtly. I will always have a soft place for mech-based stories as I cut my reading teeth as a young man on the Battletech series. This was written better than many of those stories.
There are a few cons especially early in the book. The pacing of the book sacrificed some depth of explanation and there were many plot conveniences to keep the plot moving. Didn't get anything from the twist because if you are well-read you have seen the setups before. Some of the language may be off-putting to some.
The work provides an excellent pallet cleanser and has some good drama for the type of book it is. I liked it and recommend but avoid if you prefer epic SFF, flowery prose, or deep characterizations.
February 25, 2021
It was a fun ride once it got going but the start was definitely rough. Took me a bit to get into it, and then there were several random moments where characters just spilled out their whole life's story at once.
But once it got going I thought the premise was interesting and the fighting was fun. The characters feel real and some of the stuff they say is just hilarious. People will definitely see them as crass or juvenile and if that's a problem you're gonna wanna skip this one.
I think the worst part of the book for me was when things got lewd toward the end but that's not what I read books for. But eh, I didn't care enough to hold it against it, I just moved along but I figured it'd be worth mentioning for someone that might see it as an issue.
But once it got going I thought the premise was interesting and the fighting was fun. The characters feel real and some of the stuff they say is just hilarious. People will definitely see them as crass or juvenile and if that's a problem you're gonna wanna skip this one.
I think the worst part of the book for me was when things got lewd toward the end but that's not what I read books for. But eh, I didn't care enough to hold it against it, I just moved along but I figured it'd be worth mentioning for someone that might see it as an issue.
May 15, 2019
Gotta love Mechs
Isaac has a way of writing stories that are indeed complicated, and don't let you get away until the last page is done, when he reveals a human side to his protagonist. Descriptions of event and decisions that are made in milli seconds, under fire, are believeable and really add to the mental movies that his books make it easy to sink into. This book has the Moths out of their Mechs at a time of extreme danger, which also let's us see the relationships that can develop between a Moth and it's AI. Quite revealing and adds a new dimention to the characters. Great read, have the next book on preorder.
Isaac has a way of writing stories that are indeed complicated, and don't let you get away until the last page is done, when he reveals a human side to his protagonist. Descriptions of event and decisions that are made in milli seconds, under fire, are believeable and really add to the mental movies that his books make it easy to sink into. This book has the Moths out of their Mechs at a time of extreme danger, which also let's us see the relationships that can develop between a Moth and it's AI. Quite revealing and adds a new dimention to the characters. Great read, have the next book on preorder.
June 9, 2019
Good read
I have it a 4 because it wasn't perfect. I'm out lives not much is. The battles were good, great action but some went on a bit to long for my personal enjoyment but, hey, that's just me. I read 3 or 4 books at a time and always in a hurry to get to the end. The characters in this series were very good. The interpersonal relationships and interaction between them were/was very entertaining. I reckon I'll be reading some more Isaak Hooke in the future. Keep read'n and if ya ever have the chance to teach an adult to read please help. Can you imagine how you'd feel of you couldn't read to a child? All y'all have a great life.
I have it a 4 because it wasn't perfect. I'm out lives not much is. The battles were good, great action but some went on a bit to long for my personal enjoyment but, hey, that's just me. I read 3 or 4 books at a time and always in a hurry to get to the end. The characters in this series were very good. The interpersonal relationships and interaction between them were/was very entertaining. I reckon I'll be reading some more Isaak Hooke in the future. Keep read'n and if ya ever have the chance to teach an adult to read please help. Can you imagine how you'd feel of you couldn't read to a child? All y'all have a great life.
February 5, 2023
This is my first novel by Mr. Hooke, and quite frankly, I cannot fathom how how he could be a "bestselling" author of anything if this drivel is an average example of his work.
Rife with juvenile references to sexual conquest and stereotypical character descriptions boarding on racism (if not over the line), I was stunned to find this book was published this year and not a couple of decades ago where it might have been explained away as a novel that has just not "aged well".
Steer clear of this stinker!
Rife with juvenile references to sexual conquest and stereotypical character descriptions boarding on racism (if not over the line), I was stunned to find this book was published this year and not a couple of decades ago where it might have been explained away as a novel that has just not "aged well".
Steer clear of this stinker!
June 3, 2019
Isaac Hooke is all the Rage..
Isaac Hooke is hands down one of the best sci-fi mech writers I have ever read. This book follows a group of MOTHS ( seals, recon,airborne,of the future all wrapped up in one) and specifically the team leader. The team are inside giant mechanical A.I. Driven bots and fight aliens. Of course this is a gross simplification of the book but Dang it is sooo good , I don’t want to give anything away..just buy it and read..
Isaac Hooke is hands down one of the best sci-fi mech writers I have ever read. This book follows a group of MOTHS ( seals, recon,airborne,of the future all wrapped up in one) and specifically the team leader. The team are inside giant mechanical A.I. Driven bots and fight aliens. Of course this is a gross simplification of the book but Dang it is sooo good , I don’t want to give anything away..just buy it and read..
June 10, 2019
Enjoyable but not always action
Enjoyable but not always action which for me sometimes made me think have I finished the book. I did enjoy the characters and the story it's just not used to reading a story that includes so much about the characters drip fed through the whole book. Keep them coming I shall be looking for some of the earlier books.
Enjoyable but not always action which for me sometimes made me think have I finished the book. I did enjoy the characters and the story it's just not used to reading a story that includes so much about the characters drip fed through the whole book. Keep them coming I shall be looking for some of the earlier books.
June 14, 2019
Mr. Hooke does it again.
Mech is military/science fiction in the old school style. It has all of the elements of powerful storytelling, solid believable actors, action, drama, adventure, and an unusual love interest. When I wasn't reading the book I was wondering what the characters were up to… This is the only five-star rating I've given this year. A most enjoyable read.
Mech is military/science fiction in the old school style. It has all of the elements of powerful storytelling, solid believable actors, action, drama, adventure, and an unusual love interest. When I wasn't reading the book I was wondering what the characters were up to… This is the only five-star rating I've given this year. A most enjoyable read.
July 18, 2019
Men at work.
A small group of men fight together for each other and duty. I did not give the last star because for me there were more than a few times where canned dialogue made the smooth easy reading seem over the top. This is, however, a solid well written story of killing big bad bugs with computerized AI power robots.
A small group of men fight together for each other and duty. I did not give the last star because for me there were more than a few times where canned dialogue made the smooth easy reading seem over the top. This is, however, a solid well written story of killing big bad bugs with computerized AI power robots.
May 19, 2019
Excellent book.
Love the continuing adventures of the Argonauts while they were in the military. The book was fast-paced full of action and humor. These are the characters we’ve grown to know and love keep them coming.
Love the continuing adventures of the Argonauts while they were in the military. The book was fast-paced full of action and humor. These are the characters we’ve grown to know and love keep them coming.
May 27, 2019
Rade and his men are semt into another planet supposedly on a simple mission but as usual nothing is simple for the team and in typical Isaac Hooke fashion there is plenty of action. A good read as usuual
April 17, 2023
horrible. I guess just about anything can get published if enough words are strung along. this book is base stereotypes heaped on top a jumbled story that doesn't know if it wants to be sci-fi, military action, or some strange human - AI love story. worth avoiding.
May 12, 2019
So Glad He's Back!
I really enjoyed this book. Isaac Hooke's books are one's that you re-read when you want a good adventure. And I am hooked on the Mechs.
I really enjoyed this book. Isaac Hooke's books are one's that you re-read when you want a good adventure. And I am hooked on the Mechs.
May 18, 2019
Try it...You'll like it!
Another great book from Isaac Hooke. Waiting for the follow-up. If you like action packed adventure, it's hard to beat a Hooke book.
Another great book from Isaac Hooke. Waiting for the follow-up. If you like action packed adventure, it's hard to beat a Hooke book.
May 23, 2019
A thrilling military sci-fi action novel
I enjoyed reading this book and I enjoyed the interaction between the characters, human and A.I.
I look forward to more from this author
I enjoyed reading this book and I enjoyed the interaction between the characters, human and A.I.
I look forward to more from this author
May 30, 2019
Gr8 book!
I'm not a good book reviewer but I do know what I like and I have read a lot of the books w/Rade as the main character! I have thoroughly enjoyed ever one of them!
I'm not a good book reviewer but I do know what I like and I have read a lot of the books w/Rade as the main character! I have thoroughly enjoyed ever one of them!
July 12, 2019
The boy's are back
Really enjoyed this book and I was lost in the characters that were not your average group but they will grow on you.
Really enjoyed this book and I was lost in the characters that were not your average group but they will grow on you.
May 26, 2021
Dialogue could've been way better, but the story was decent.
October 29, 2021
Dropped 5 chapters in, clearly not for me
July 4, 2022
Really nice first book of the trilogy. Good action, good story.
December 11, 2022
Perverted toxic masculinity but fun listen
February 9, 2024
Man has sex with his mech, and his squad is made up of stereotypes. That is all I remember. That is more than I care to remember.
January 31, 2026
This book got me hooked on the series.
October 8, 2021
The story was fairly good overall. The overall nihilism was a little bit disappointing, but you can see shades of the changing in future books as the story comes to a close.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews