Venomous Lumpsucker is a scathing and hilarious satire of late stage capitalism as a means to solve climate change created by capitalism.
That sentence is a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it? But don’t worry, this novel is about a fish, except it is and isn’t, it’s about all fish, mammals and animals facing extinction.
Set in the near future, Venomous Lumpsucker follows Mark Halyard, an unscrupulous capitalist who hopes to ulimately profit from his companies mining operation by commissioning a marine biologist to write a study determining that the Venomous Lumpsucker is an unintelligent species unworthy of preserving. But Haylard didn’t reckon on the integrity of Karin Resaint, an incorruptible marine biologist, who declares the fish intelligent after Haylard’s company accidentally premepts the report and destroys its habitat. Resaint is determined to save the species from extinction and this unlikely pairing pursue rumoured sightings of the fish across the globe.
Their journey takes them to uncharted places, which may or may not exist, as world wide developments and a conspiracy soon becomes evident when all digital animal cloning records are mysteriously destroyed. But hope remains when it’s revealed there may still one last haven for all animal life on planet earth.
I loved this novel’s scope and biting satire of humanities blind descent into climate disaster and its inept half measures which allow profiteering from destruction. At times hilarious and entertaining, and other times thoughtful and prescient.
As the world burns you have to laugh or you might just cry.