Venomous Lumpsucker - GlaucaWyrm

No cover — Venomous Lumpsucker (2022, Hodder & Stoughton)

400 pages

English language

Published Aug. 10, 2022 by Hodder & Stoughton.

ISBN:: 9781473613553

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(2 reviews)

6 editions

heavyboots reviewed Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman

Probably my top book of the year

5 stars

This is a bleak and satirical look into one possible future that seems all too real, but also still kind of hilarious, as our two main characters bounce around the world looking for any remaining examples of the Venomous Lumpsucker fish while encountering every kind of corporate strangeness that the concept of "environmental credits" has spawned. (Environmental credit: a parody of carbon credits such that you need at least three of them to be allowed to cause the extinction of a species during a project; seven if its proven to above a certain intelligence threshold.)

Flippin' 'Eck, Reader reviewed Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman

A fast-paced satire that's all too believable

5 stars

Content warning Review contains minor plot spoilers

This book won the Arthur C Clarke award in 2023 and it's very well deserved.

Set not very many years at all in our future, the book deals with the effects of the ongoing and escalating mass extinction of species on our planet due to climate change and other manmade activities. The author uses the opportunity to make some sharp and well-placed digs at many targets, from carbon offsetting to tech billionaires, and like any good satire it's sometimes too close for comfort.

I've seen other reviews describe the plot as complicated, but I honestly didn't think that was the case at all. The eco-science concepts are well explained and make perfect sense, and the occasional important tech plot point is easy to grasp as well.

The main characters are well-rounded - there are no absolute shades of good or bad in this book, just like in real life. And the writing, although never dumbed down, is snappy and interesting and keeps you turning the pages.

Definitely recommended.