Synopsis:

The venomous lumpsucker is the most intelligent fish on the planet. Or maybe it was the most intelligent fish on the planet. Because it might already be extinct. Nobody knows. And nobody cares. Except for two people.

Mining executive Mark Halyard has a prison cell waiting for him if that fish has gone for good. And biologist Karin Resaint needs it for her own darker purposes. They don’t trust each other, but they’re left with no choice but to team up, pursuing the lumpsucker across the strange landscapes of near-future Europe. On the way, they are drawn into a conspiracy far bigger than one ugly little fish.

Gripping and singular, Venomous Lumpsucker is a comedy about environmental devastation that asks: do we have it in us to avert the tragedy of mass extinction?

And also: do we really need to bother?

Review:

What could a future look like if species extinction was treated as if it were a commodity? That is the state of our world in this novel, where extinction credits are bought and sold to allow companies to wipe species off the face of the planet. Our main characters are interested in just one of these, the venomous lumpsucker fish. Karin Resaint deems it intelligent and wants to save it. Mark Haylard is part of the company that wants to mine it’s home.

This is really a book about humans. It shows us how hate being inconvenienced by things like nature, and how we will do anything to make our lives more comfortable instead. We like to avert our minds from uncomfortable truths because if we don’t it means we have to accept that we are wrong and doing wrong all over the place.

The main characters are not particularly likeable, but they are great to follow. Resaint is curiously bent on finding an intelligent species that will take revenge on her for what the human race has done to them. Aside from this, she is something of an emotional optimist, which works well with the cynical character of Haylard who is obsessed with food and has bankrupt himself to keep his tastebuds happy.

This is another one of those eco-fictions that lays out a landscape that is not very difficult to picture. Lush habitats are now toxic wastelands, surveillance is everywhere and government schemes to aid nature have turned into money grabbing escapades.

It’s been described as funny, and it is to an extent. It’s not no much ‘funny ha-ha’ as it is, ‘laugh at the absurdity of it or I might cry’ (you know, due to the ecological collapse and all). The humour is dark, but it does work here.

Overall, a very clever, witty and somewhat alarming read. Buckle up for an absurd adventure, and be prepared to not root for humanity this time around.