Horror Reanimated… the home of Bloody Books

Andy Remic interview by JD’L

February 12th, 2009

Joining us today at Horror Reanimated is Andy Remic.

His novels, Spiral, Quake and Warhead are published by Orbit, and War Machine and BIOHELL are published by Solaris. Andy writes SF but his work contains a plethora of horror elements, as I discovered when I read his latest offering, BIOHELL.

The novel is a high-adrenaline rollercoaster ride stacked with mutant zombies and gore galore. The characters, mostly members of an elite force known as Combat K, are in constant danger right from the opening page and fight their way out of dozens of major scrapes. BIOHELL is hardcore action from start to finish but the blend of SF and Horror is very satisfying – much like the mix in Aliens.

I had a chat with Andy on Facebook to find out more about his work and his influences.

Joseph D’Lacey: Hi Andy and welcome to Horror Reanimated – where blogging is HELL!

May I offer you a slice of cold brain? Some fermenting lung tissue, perhaps? We recently butchered a Bloody Books intern and I must say, she’s been rather tasty. Sadly the only drink on offer is Editor’s urine. We never seem to run out of that. If none of this takes your fancy, we’ll move onto the entertainment – digital amputation. We like to make our visitors as welcome as possible, you understand…

Andy Remic: I’ll have a glass of piss, please. It can’t be any worse than the toxic hydrochloric acid “in a glass” offered at my local hostelry. And a slice of brain, on toast, with a side serving of Heinz baked beans sounds just great, mate. Unless you have some Cadbury cream eggs? Covered in Hippo sperm? Yum.

JD’L: At last, a guest with my own tastes! Now then, to business: What do you think is the percentage genre-split of Horror to SF in BIOHELL. Was it a conscious decision or did it just happen that way?

AR: I think, in all honesty, BIOHELL is probably a 50/50 SF/horror split. It wasn’t necessarily a conscious decision, just the way the novel turned out. It was one of those mad projects where the characters come alive, put a boot up the arse of your carefully scripted plan, and run riot in the little mental sandbox you’ve created. It was a halluva lot of fun to write, and hopefully the scripted hedonism transfers to the reader through sheer exhilaration and character enjoyment.

JD’L: I certainly felt you enjoyed yourself writing it. It comes through in the exuberance of your style.

I mentioned Aliens in the intro – a film that really did justice to the genre mix. Would you say Aliens has any influence on what you do or did you have other inspirations for your SF?

AR: I love the Alien films, and indeed much of Cameron’s work. I was a wee nipper when I saw the first Alien film and that brooding dark atmosphere has always stayed with me. Mostly, though, with this novel I was influenced by Shaun of the Dead. I just love that film, and after watching it a few times I thought, I must write a zombie novel, but twist it with modern technology. Hence, my “Microsoft and Tits” philosophy was born, and I invented the Biomod Human Upgrade as an excuse for a contemporary twist on the zombie theme. Other than those elements, my influences are subliminal and subconscious. I try damn hard to be original .

JD’L: Apart from the fact that your characters are never more than three feet from a zombie, the barrel of a gun, an angry robot (we’ll come back to that later…) or all three, the aspect I most enjoyed in BIOHELL was the humour. I laughed out loud many times. How important is humour in your work? What about in your own life?

AR: I have a very good, very dark, and very twisted sense of humour. I believe the world is a giant comedy platform, and we are merely puppets acting out one huge improvisation for the benefits of a bored omniscient audience. Or something. I suppose you’ve got Ben Elton, Blackadder and Red Dwarf during my formative years to thank for that…. so yes, the humour is important to me, but I don’t crowbar it in. As I’m writing, humorous situations or dialogue just present themselves, and if they fit they go in. If the humour doesn’t fit, it stays out of a scene… but my main character, Franco, sexual deviant, ex-mental patient and an expert with demolitions, is prone to many proactive angles of black humour and masochism.

JD’L: In your acknowledgements you mention manic depression and semi-alcoholism among your own characteristics. Your characters Franco and Keenan reflect these traits to a degree. Was that intentional?

AR: Yup. I drink. I wish I didn’t. I’m affected by the weather. Who isn’t? I moan about it. Humans do. Ho hum. And then my characters suck out my innards zombie-eating-intestines style, in order to populate their own deformed minds with my mutated personal defects.

JD’L Apart from being mad, drunk and ginger, Franco has suffered other indignities in his life. For instance he’s no stranger to Sexually Transmitted Diseases and appears to have caught many of them from aliens. How many aliens have you slept with, Andy?

AR: Haha, I thought you were describing me then!! Well, I’ve tried a few aliens, mate. It all stems down to an obsession with tentacles, suckers and beaks, you know, the sort of things you only usually find in a McDonnies double cheeseburger.

JD’L: Yummy!

I’d like to point us back in a horror direction now. What are your views on the development of Horror? Do you see it as something that died and has been stinking the place up? Did it never die? Or do you see a particular upsurge in the genre more recently?

AR: I think there came a point when sales slumped, and films died, and people watched and read far less in the horror genre. I’m not quite sure why that happened; for a while it might have had something to do with subliminal toxic poisoning of minds, maybe Chernobyl fallout, maybe Government-planted chemicals in the water supply. Or maybe just aliens living amongst us. Whatever it was, I think there is a resurgence wave and horror is on a strong rebound right now. Praise the Lord!!

JD’L: Or Satan…

What works of Horror, if any, do you remember from your childhood, teens and twenties?

AR: I consumed lots of horror early on, from about the age of 13, and The Fog and The Rats by James Herbert, which circulated my school like a plague of ebola. I read a fair bit of Steve King, and the really *bad* Guy N. Smith books about an ex-Priest ex-SAS guy called Sabat, which were totally gross, but great fun nonetheless. So, you could say I was into sophisticated misogynistic torture porn from an early age.

JD’L: You’ve come to the right place, then! Such happy memories!

If you were to write a pure horror novel, what subject or subgenre would you pick?

AR: Genetics and mutations, probably. It’s an area which fascinates me, horrifies me, and usually worms into every single novel I write in some way at a molecular level. My first 3 Spiral novels concern a race of creatures called the Nex, a blend of cockroach and human, so, men and women with increased insectile responses, chitin woven into their skin and eyes, and natural protection against NBC warfare… for example.

JD’L: Your work strikes me as absolutely perfect for adaptation to Graphic Novel and Game Script formats. I think Combat K could become legendary if they had more exposure in visual media. Have you thought about this? Perhaps work is already afoot…

AR: I would welcome anybody wishing to convert my works in the graphic novel or game arenas – even at an indie level. I love all this stuff, but have no real skill myself… as Clint Eastwood said in Dirty Harry, a man has to know his limitations. Ho ho. Good ol’ Clint. So – open invitation to artists and game developers. Drop me a line

JD’L: HR readers with these skills, take note!

It’s rumoured that you have fiction of a slightly different kind being released shortly by the brand new Harper Collins imprint Angry Robot. What can you tell us about that?

AR: Nothing has been officially announced yet, but contracts are currently in negotiation. If it all comes off, I’ll be writing a very nasty hardcore fantasy trilogy. Think David Gemmell crossed with James Herbert, with maybe a bit of Hemingway tossed into the fantasy frying pan. At least, that’s the plan

JD’L: Lastly, we have a job for you. You have been given the power to make two awards. First, The Sword of the Ultimate Darkness for the work of horror in any medium which you believe is a timeless classic.

Second, you may banish to The Plague Pits the very worst work of horror in any medium.

I’ll be interested to hear the views of a not-strictly-horror-dude on this one.

AR: Timeless horror classic. Hmm. My all time favourite goes to the Steve King novel, The Shining. Flawless plotting, immaculate characterisation, and just a beautifully constructed and written book. Perfect, in fact. It does not have a single element which could be improved. Steve King – you’re a bastard. In a nice way. Let me buy you a beer, you damn genius.

With regards to banishing work to the Plague Pits, I’m going to quote David Gemmell on this, because I thoroughly agree. As writers, we all work damn hard on our little babies, so I’m going to keep my big mouth negative vibes to myself. I’m happy to sing the praises of anything I like, but keep my mouth shut on anything I don’t. After all, that would only be my pathetic and possibly hypocritical personal viewpoint anyway, right? And being half-zombie, I think I don’t really qualify as totally human anyway.

Now, Joseph, can I have my severed fingers back please? I did what you asked….. come on, be a sport!!

JD’L: Well, it’s nice to see a vote for Mr King – and I applaud your nobility on the Plague Pits decision. Such honour! Maybe HELL just isn’t the place for you…

Andy, I want to thank you for coming to visit us today and for being such a good sport. I hope you enjoyed the digital amputation. Bill’s been practising on his family members (or was that his family’s members?) Digits are non-returnable, I’m afraid. Let’s see you write a novel now you’ve got no fingers…

Mwa Ha! Mwa! Mwa Ha Ha Ha Haaaaaaaa!

Entry Filed under: The Infection Spreads