"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 is 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?" 

For the first meeting of our new book club we'll be talking about Ned Beauman's darkly satirical new novel Venomous Lumpsucker, reviewed in the London Review of Books, the Observer, the Guardian and the Financial Times..

Vegan supper provided, bring your own beer or wine.

Location: Kairos, The Bookroom, Essex Hall, 1-6 Essex Street, WC2R 3HY
6.30pm for drinks, discussion starts at 7pm
Tickets: Free for Kairos members, £5 for non-members. Includes food. BYOB.