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Extremophile
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Expected 10 Mar 26Charlie and Parker are punks by night, biohackers by day, living in the stuttering decay of 2043 climate-collapse London.
They pay for the beer they don't steal with the money from ZODIAC CODE, a DNA astrology site, and Charlie makes bio-bespoke augments for criminals, punks, and eco-warriors. They have to deal with disgruntled clients, scene kids who don't dig their band, and navigating a city owned wholly by the violence of corporate interest and criminality.
Their world is split into three GREEN – still trying to save the world; BLUE – trying to profit while they can, and BLACK – who see no hope left.
When a group of extremist GREEN activists hire them for a series of jobs ranging from robbery to murder, Charlie knows they should walk away. But Parker wants to make a difference, and for Charlie maybe these are the jobs that will make them feel anything other than BLACK.
Facing off against faceless corporations, amoral biohackers, and criminally insane cyberpunks in an escalating biological arms race, Charlie will have to choose what she believes in. Is there still hope, and does she have a right to grab it?
They pay for the beer they don't steal with the money from ZODIAC CODE, a DNA astrology site, and Charlie makes bio-bespoke augments for criminals, punks, and eco-warriors. They have to deal with disgruntled clients, scene kids who don't dig their band, and navigating a city owned wholly by the violence of corporate interest and criminality.
Their world is split into three GREEN – still trying to save the world; BLUE – trying to profit while they can, and BLACK – who see no hope left.
When a group of extremist GREEN activists hire them for a series of jobs ranging from robbery to murder, Charlie knows they should walk away. But Parker wants to make a difference, and for Charlie maybe these are the jobs that will make them feel anything other than BLACK.
Facing off against faceless corporations, amoral biohackers, and criminally insane cyberpunks in an escalating biological arms race, Charlie will have to choose what she believes in. Is there still hope, and does she have a right to grab it?
320 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2024
52 people are currently reading
968 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
May 18, 2024
DNF
The concept of a kind of biopunk thriller set in a dystopian future sounded interesting enough for me to want to request an ARC when I saw this in my recommended section on NetGalley. Unfortunately, this might be my worst read of the year.
I couldn’t even give you a proper description of the plot if I tried as I was far to distracted by the nails-on-chalkboard writingstyle. It’s often something I can get past if the story is decent: not in this way.
The writing is clearly going for an urban/gritty tone to convey how cool and gangster our protagonist are. The result is a jumble of dialogue that reminds me of poorly written game-dialogue… think Forspoken meets GTA.
Additionally, I’ve done you a favour and counted the amount of times the word “fuck” is used. 368. It’s 368 times. In a 315 page book…
Utterly unreadable.
There is an audience for this book, but I’m obviously not it.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The concept of a kind of biopunk thriller set in a dystopian future sounded interesting enough for me to want to request an ARC when I saw this in my recommended section on NetGalley. Unfortunately, this might be my worst read of the year.
I couldn’t even give you a proper description of the plot if I tried as I was far to distracted by the nails-on-chalkboard writingstyle. It’s often something I can get past if the story is decent: not in this way.
The writing is clearly going for an urban/gritty tone to convey how cool and gangster our protagonist are. The result is a jumble of dialogue that reminds me of poorly written game-dialogue… think Forspoken meets GTA.
Additionally, I’ve done you a favour and counted the amount of times the word “fuck” is used. 368. It’s 368 times. In a 315 page book…
Utterly unreadable.
There is an audience for this book, but I’m obviously not it.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
October 22, 2025
This is a pretty good near-future cyberpunk/biopunk SF that revels in the music, the light anarchy, and the breaking out of the fascist pressures.
In other words, it's a fitting tale for us. Just throw a bunch of gene editing, rocker status, and some cool fights in the mix, and you've got yourself an entertaining ride here. It's a richly imagined cyberpunk world. Definitely worth the read.
Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.
Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Arctunn.com
In other words, it's a fitting tale for us. Just throw a bunch of gene editing, rocker status, and some cool fights in the mix, and you've got yourself an entertaining ride here. It's a richly imagined cyberpunk world. Definitely worth the read.
Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews is be interested in reading my SF (Very hard SF, mind you), I'm open to requests.
Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Arctunn.com
September 6, 2025
Cyberpunk with tons of texture, most of it grime. Atmo + style are top notch, but hard to read in large part due to the elimination of quotes for dialogue. The story is a bit fleeting and the ending too convenient. Would totally watch a limited series based on this book though.
August 28, 2025
Anche qui vorrei dare più di 5 stelle...
Non mi aspettavo davvero un libro così!!!!
Prendete il Gibson più recente e mixatelo con i primi film di Guy Ritchie, tipo Lock & Stock o meglio ancora Rockenrolla, e declinate il tutto in chiave Bio-punk!!! Ecco! La follia creativa e stilistica che otterrete!!
Il principale Pov è Charlie, accompagnata dal suo ragazzo Parker.. fanno coppia e fanno band.. punk rockers futuristici, in una Londra semi post apocalittica.. dopo ondate di pandemie e pestilenze, innalzamento delle temperature e dei mari, guerre e sfighe varie, l assetto globale e politico è mutato un bel po'.. la popolazione è in forte diminuzione, come anchea tutte le risorse.. Charlie, bio-hacker, oltre che a truffare con il dna-oroscopo, e a suonare punk, manipola geni per amici e conoscenti in modi originali ma anche credibili.. tutta la parte pseudo-scientifica mi è piaciuta tantissimo, molto originale e ben trattata senza risultare mai pesante..
Alternandosi ai suoi capitoli, troviamo altri personaggi fantastici: Ghost il bio-hacker perfido e con tutte le sue perversioni generiche; Mole la bambina trasformata in Talpa umana nelle miniere (la sua storia è di una tristezza immane); e poi Scrimshank, il rockenrolla, il pazzo assassino con innesti cyber e la sua devastante velocità..
Insomma le idee in ballo sono davvero tante, dalle bio modifiche, alla musica, dalle corporazioni assurde all eco-terrorismo, da veleni atroci a rave nei cimiteri, dalle AI ai cervelli umani trapiantati in un maiale, da droni ai Denti di Leone.. il tutto scritto in uno stile sferzante e molto punk, che si prende svariate libertà linguistiche e di sintassi, che crea qualcosa di incredibile, davvero di alta qualità, divertente e frenetico, ma anche profondo ed emozionante..
Mi sono piaciuti tanto anche tutti i personaggi creati, sia principali che secondari, i loro background e i loro archi narrativi.. Per essere un libro non eccessivamente lungo, succedono tante cose, tutte ben calibrate e originali.. forse il finale l'ho trovato un po' brusco, ma vabbè, era comunque ottimo e mi è piaciuto molto anche il tocco più sentimentale ma non buonista che Green gli ha dato.. uno dei libri più punk dell'epoca moderna!!!!
Non mi aspettavo davvero un libro così!!!!
Prendete il Gibson più recente e mixatelo con i primi film di Guy Ritchie, tipo Lock & Stock o meglio ancora Rockenrolla, e declinate il tutto in chiave Bio-punk!!! Ecco! La follia creativa e stilistica che otterrete!!
Il principale Pov è Charlie, accompagnata dal suo ragazzo Parker.. fanno coppia e fanno band.. punk rockers futuristici, in una Londra semi post apocalittica.. dopo ondate di pandemie e pestilenze, innalzamento delle temperature e dei mari, guerre e sfighe varie, l assetto globale e politico è mutato un bel po'.. la popolazione è in forte diminuzione, come anchea tutte le risorse.. Charlie, bio-hacker, oltre che a truffare con il dna-oroscopo, e a suonare punk, manipola geni per amici e conoscenti in modi originali ma anche credibili.. tutta la parte pseudo-scientifica mi è piaciuta tantissimo, molto originale e ben trattata senza risultare mai pesante..
Alternandosi ai suoi capitoli, troviamo altri personaggi fantastici: Ghost il bio-hacker perfido e con tutte le sue perversioni generiche; Mole la bambina trasformata in Talpa umana nelle miniere (la sua storia è di una tristezza immane); e poi Scrimshank, il rockenrolla, il pazzo assassino con innesti cyber e la sua devastante velocità..
Insomma le idee in ballo sono davvero tante, dalle bio modifiche, alla musica, dalle corporazioni assurde all eco-terrorismo, da veleni atroci a rave nei cimiteri, dalle AI ai cervelli umani trapiantati in un maiale, da droni ai Denti di Leone.. il tutto scritto in uno stile sferzante e molto punk, che si prende svariate libertà linguistiche e di sintassi, che crea qualcosa di incredibile, davvero di alta qualità, divertente e frenetico, ma anche profondo ed emozionante..
Mi sono piaciuti tanto anche tutti i personaggi creati, sia principali che secondari, i loro background e i loro archi narrativi.. Per essere un libro non eccessivamente lungo, succedono tante cose, tutte ben calibrate e originali.. forse il finale l'ho trovato un po' brusco, ma vabbè, era comunque ottimo e mi è piaciuto molto anche il tocco più sentimentale ma non buonista che Green gli ha dato.. uno dei libri più punk dell'epoca moderna!!!!
September 11, 2024
Review originally on JamReads
Extremophile is a risky and innovative biopunk thriller set in a dystopic future written by Ian Green (The Rotstorm Trilogy), and published by Ad Astra. In a climate-collapse London, Charlie and Parker are punks and biohackers; when they are offered a job by a group of Greens (activists that still think there is hope to save and revert the situation), Charlie was sure they should reject, but Parker convinces him there's still something to do for the world, throwing them in an incredible mission that will make them face corporations, amoral biohackers and criminals.
Kill the Ghost. Steal the Flower. Save the World.
With this premise, Green weaves a frenetic and intense story that screams punk all the time, from the own characters and their mission, to even the writing style. A job that is bigger than Charlie and Parker, and that will put them in the middle of the bullseye, while making them to rethink about their own convictions; a contrast between the nihilism bordering the Black associated with Charlie with the hope and idealism that still exists inside Parker.
The main characters are well fleshed, offering a really intimate look into their ideas and opinions, which also are affected by their contact with this group of Greens that hire them. We can appreciate how there's still a shade of hope inside Charlie, and how even if she doesn't believe that the solution for the world is hidden in a flower; the secondary characters play key roles in the plot, and we even get to follow the villain, an amoral biohacker that seemed a bit inspired by Mengele's actions.
Not only we have an excellent cast of characters, but a quite hooking plot that ties all together while being a thought provoking; not only putting the spotlight onto themes such as bio-augmenting and the price paid as a consequence of corporate greed, but also into the importance of community and the balance between optimism and nihilism.
The writing style is quite particular, reinforcing that punk essence of this book; from the use of multiple POVs to the absence of quotation marks, giving you a more intimate following of the characters. Descriptions are evocative, almost poetical.
The worldbuilding is effortlessly integrated into the narration, not being too extensive and focusing more on what we can learn through the characters' lives and actions; climate-collapse is a reality, and this Britain is mostly a hyper-capitalist dystopia in the control of corporations. We also dive into punk and music, and I loved how the Extremophile is full of small nerdy (and accurate) genetic details, making the biohacking to feel more authentic.
Extremophile is an excellent novel; from the writing style to the characters, I found every aspect of this book to complement each other to deliver an incredible and hopeful story. Definitely one of the candidates to be my book of the year, as Ian Green has absolutely nailed it!
Extremophile is a risky and innovative biopunk thriller set in a dystopic future written by Ian Green (The Rotstorm Trilogy), and published by Ad Astra. In a climate-collapse London, Charlie and Parker are punks and biohackers; when they are offered a job by a group of Greens (activists that still think there is hope to save and revert the situation), Charlie was sure they should reject, but Parker convinces him there's still something to do for the world, throwing them in an incredible mission that will make them face corporations, amoral biohackers and criminals.
Kill the Ghost. Steal the Flower. Save the World.
With this premise, Green weaves a frenetic and intense story that screams punk all the time, from the own characters and their mission, to even the writing style. A job that is bigger than Charlie and Parker, and that will put them in the middle of the bullseye, while making them to rethink about their own convictions; a contrast between the nihilism bordering the Black associated with Charlie with the hope and idealism that still exists inside Parker.
The main characters are well fleshed, offering a really intimate look into their ideas and opinions, which also are affected by their contact with this group of Greens that hire them. We can appreciate how there's still a shade of hope inside Charlie, and how even if she doesn't believe that the solution for the world is hidden in a flower; the secondary characters play key roles in the plot, and we even get to follow the villain, an amoral biohacker that seemed a bit inspired by Mengele's actions.
Not only we have an excellent cast of characters, but a quite hooking plot that ties all together while being a thought provoking; not only putting the spotlight onto themes such as bio-augmenting and the price paid as a consequence of corporate greed, but also into the importance of community and the balance between optimism and nihilism.
The writing style is quite particular, reinforcing that punk essence of this book; from the use of multiple POVs to the absence of quotation marks, giving you a more intimate following of the characters. Descriptions are evocative, almost poetical.
The worldbuilding is effortlessly integrated into the narration, not being too extensive and focusing more on what we can learn through the characters' lives and actions; climate-collapse is a reality, and this Britain is mostly a hyper-capitalist dystopia in the control of corporations. We also dive into punk and music, and I loved how the Extremophile is full of small nerdy (and accurate) genetic details, making the biohacking to feel more authentic.
Extremophile is an excellent novel; from the writing style to the characters, I found every aspect of this book to complement each other to deliver an incredible and hopeful story. Definitely one of the candidates to be my book of the year, as Ian Green has absolutely nailed it!
May 15, 2024
Netgalley ARC, dnf'd at 51%.
I feel literally awful that I dnf'd Extremophile, but I can tell that I'm not the target audience of this book.
The plot moved too slowly for my enjoyment and the writing style caused confusion. I found it hard to keep track of the characters, and I struggled with visualising the world-building. I also have a personal pet peeve regarding books that don't include " " quotation marks around dialogue, because I struggle to read them. All-in-all, dnf'ing this book was very much a it's not you, it's me move.
That being said, I definitely think that there is an audience for this book. If you feel passionately about finding new forms of sci-fi, futuristic literature not set in space and/or environmentalism, Extremophile would be a good suit for you.
I feel literally awful that I dnf'd Extremophile, but I can tell that I'm not the target audience of this book.
The plot moved too slowly for my enjoyment and the writing style caused confusion. I found it hard to keep track of the characters, and I struggled with visualising the world-building. I also have a personal pet peeve regarding books that don't include " " quotation marks around dialogue, because I struggle to read them. All-in-all, dnf'ing this book was very much a it's not you, it's me move.
That being said, I definitely think that there is an audience for this book. If you feel passionately about finding new forms of sci-fi, futuristic literature not set in space and/or environmentalism, Extremophile would be a good suit for you.
January 20, 2025
More accurate rating: 7/10.
Enjoyed this more than I thought I would when I started it!
● The plot had good pacing, maintained mostly evenly throughout.
● There were distinct character voices for each POV, though it's arguable whether all of said POVs were strictly necessary from a narrative standpoint.
● The 'biopunk' motif/vibes blended very well with the "ecoterrorism" plot, or sub-plot (depends on how you look at it I suppose). I was vaguely reminded of the movie The East, which I enjoyed at the time I watched it. The world-building was decent overall; at the very least, it was what it need to be to keep me going with the story and its stakes. Nice bits of writing about cellular and molecular biology; skirted with but never fully dove into info-dumping.
● Honestly decent, and emotionally touching theming on Nature, its intrinsic value, humanity's place within the Web of Life, and hope in the face of overwhelming, negative odds – especially as it relates to ecocide and our looming self-destruction (honestly point for not having to deal with yet another nihilistic tale).
My eyes watered at the end of this one, which is definitely not something I expected when I picked it up, free of charge, at World Con last Summer! It was solidly good, and certainly an encouraging start to this reading year. 🙂
Enjoyed this more than I thought I would when I started it!
● The plot had good pacing, maintained mostly evenly throughout.
● There were distinct character voices for each POV, though it's arguable whether all of said POVs were strictly necessary from a narrative standpoint.
● The 'biopunk' motif/vibes blended very well with the "ecoterrorism" plot, or sub-plot (depends on how you look at it I suppose). I was vaguely reminded of the movie The East, which I enjoyed at the time I watched it. The world-building was decent overall; at the very least, it was what it need to be to keep me going with the story and its stakes. Nice bits of writing about cellular and molecular biology; skirted with but never fully dove into info-dumping.
● Honestly decent, and emotionally touching theming on Nature, its intrinsic value, humanity's place within the Web of Life, and hope in the face of overwhelming, negative odds – especially as it relates to ecocide and our looming self-destruction (honestly point for not having to deal with yet another nihilistic tale).
My eyes watered at the end of this one, which is definitely not something I expected when I picked it up, free of charge, at World Con last Summer! It was solidly good, and certainly an encouraging start to this reading year. 🙂
April 10, 2025
Probably the only book ever that I wished had a playlist.
What a weird tale - full of biology, punk, philosophy and dystopian action - and I had an amazing time reading it. The formatting made it a bit harder to get through, but not using quotation marks made it feel more stream of consciousness, which just worked perfect for the story.
I'm already loving this more just thinking about it, and will be rereading Extremophile at some point.
What a weird tale - full of biology, punk, philosophy and dystopian action - and I had an amazing time reading it. The formatting made it a bit harder to get through, but not using quotation marks made it feel more stream of consciousness, which just worked perfect for the story.
I'm already loving this more just thinking about it, and will be rereading Extremophile at some point.
July 6, 2025
Extremophile is set in London about forty years from now, after 2.8 degrees of global warming. The main protagonist Charlie is a biohacker in a punk band with her partner. The other three point of view characters are two amoral criminals and a person who had horrific body modifications done to her as a child. The plot is essentially a crime thriller, complete with heist scenes and car chases, garnished with masses of impressively unsettling body horror. After finishing it, I realised that structurally Extremophile reminded me of a Guy Ritchie cli-fi movie. As I have a soft spot for his stupid crime capers, someone should pitch this to him. Scrimshank in particular is an extremely Guy Ritchie character.
The world-building is interesting, although it gets rather overshadowed by action scenes. This was also the case in the last biohacker sci-fi novel I read, Darkome by Hannu Rajaniemi. The villains in Extremophile are extravagantly, cartoonishly evil in their actions (e.g. ), while the biohacker punks take on wacky freelance jobs. This didn't really leave space to explore how the technologies of extreme genetic and bodily modification have changed society, or even how they are used more generally. Nonetheless, I appreciated the concept of the Wet Market where biohackers show off their skills and do some raving. Future London felt vivid and visceral. The extrapolation of corporate greed in the face of ecological collapse seemed depressingly convincing.
Perhaps the most thoughtful elements of the novel are Charlie's conflicted feelings about whether there is any hope for the future, when climate change has caused global catastrophe yet fossil fuel burning continues. The novel sets out three remaining broad political groups: Green (fight for a better future), Blue (make as much money as you can), and Black (despair). Using the term Black for a political group is frankly rather awkward, as Black already means something that is pretty damn political. I think Grey might have worked better. Terminology aside, I liked how Charlie struggled to feel any hope; her discussions with people of Blue and Green tendency were often brief, but still striking. Extremophile manages to be both bleak and hopeful. It certainly has more to say about the politics of climate change than most cli-fi. However these quieter moments are rather crowded out by the crime thriller of it all. I would have preferred to spend less time with Scrimshank and Ellis, who are frankly not at all interesting, and more exploring Charlie's London neighbourhood. The crime shenanigans are fun, but there was more gore than seems necessary. Guy Ritchie's film version would definitely get an 18 rating.
The world-building is interesting, although it gets rather overshadowed by action scenes. This was also the case in the last biohacker sci-fi novel I read, Darkome by Hannu Rajaniemi. The villains in Extremophile are extravagantly, cartoonishly evil in their actions (e.g. ), while the biohacker punks take on wacky freelance jobs. This didn't really leave space to explore how the technologies of extreme genetic and bodily modification have changed society, or even how they are used more generally. Nonetheless, I appreciated the concept of the Wet Market where biohackers show off their skills and do some raving. Future London felt vivid and visceral. The extrapolation of corporate greed in the face of ecological collapse seemed depressingly convincing.
Perhaps the most thoughtful elements of the novel are Charlie's conflicted feelings about whether there is any hope for the future, when climate change has caused global catastrophe yet fossil fuel burning continues. The novel sets out three remaining broad political groups: Green (fight for a better future), Blue (make as much money as you can), and Black (despair). Using the term Black for a political group is frankly rather awkward, as Black already means something that is pretty damn political. I think Grey might have worked better. Terminology aside, I liked how Charlie struggled to feel any hope; her discussions with people of Blue and Green tendency were often brief, but still striking. Extremophile manages to be both bleak and hopeful. It certainly has more to say about the politics of climate change than most cli-fi. However these quieter moments are rather crowded out by the crime thriller of it all. I would have preferred to spend less time with Scrimshank and Ellis, who are frankly not at all interesting, and more exploring Charlie's London neighbourhood. The crime shenanigans are fun, but there was more gore than seems necessary. Guy Ritchie's film version would definitely get an 18 rating.
May 28, 2025
Fantastically paced SF which reminds us of the punk in cyberpunk a very plausible dark future and yet still this tale has a lot of hope to find in it. Highly recommended
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
August 17, 2025
I like this book a lot. Reading the comments, my concerns were very different than those I read. I don't mind the lack of quotes. I am not confused about what is going on. I'm okay with the swearing. My concern is when I lose suspension of disbelief. A poorly planned heist works. Okay, they got lucky. A group of poor but plucky kids take on a massive evil megacorp. That's okay to a point, but eventually I'm like, really?
So there are a few negatives, but many positives. There is so much to ponder / discuss in this book that I'm going to recommend it for our next book club. The unusual writing style. The vision of the future. The green / blue / black distinction. Do some people fit none of the above? The complete lack of gender or race from the two main protagonists and how it didn't matter at all. The power and danger (and sometimes implausibility) of basement gene splicing. The blurring of good-guy / bad-guy (e.g. Scrimshank and Chef). I think it earned those 5 stars.
So there are a few negatives, but many positives. There is so much to ponder / discuss in this book that I'm going to recommend it for our next book club. The unusual writing style. The vision of the future. The green / blue / black distinction. Do some people fit none of the above? The complete lack of gender or race from the two main protagonists and how it didn't matter at all. The power and danger (and sometimes implausibility) of basement gene splicing. The blurring of good-guy / bad-guy (e.g. Scrimshank and Chef). I think it earned those 5 stars.
November 1, 2024
A fascinating thing about this book is that the writing style is very reminiscent of early cyberpunk works I've read, yet it really shows that it's written in the 2020s. The state of the world in the book is a slight extrapolation of the world we live in today - which is, of course, sort of the idea with cyberpunk and its subgenres.
The lack of speech marks is a choice that didn't hinder my reading but that I didn't really understand the purpose of. I would guess it's to keep the writing fast and punchy - which, well, the writing is, even if the plot isn't.
The story takes a long time to get going, but I found the characters and setting interesting enough to see where it all went. The pay-off is fine. This is a book where I see the vision, but I didn't resonate with it particularly. Glad to have read it, though.
The lack of speech marks is a choice that didn't hinder my reading but that I didn't really understand the purpose of. I would guess it's to keep the writing fast and punchy - which, well, the writing is, even if the plot isn't.
The story takes a long time to get going, but I found the characters and setting interesting enough to see where it all went. The pay-off is fine. This is a book where I see the vision, but I didn't resonate with it particularly. Glad to have read it, though.
May 26, 2024
I recently read a book that I found quite challenging. Despite being initially attracted to it due to my enjoyment of the author's previous work, I struggled with the slow pace of the plot and the writing style, which made it difficult for me to grasp the concept and caused some confusion. Keeping track of the characters was also a challenge for me. Although I usually enjoy dystopian stories, it took me a long time to become engaged with the characters and the structure of the book. While I prefer not to give negative feedback about books, providing honest reviews is part of the responsibility that comes with having access to advance reader copies. I am sure some readers gonna enjoy this book lots but maybe it wasn't the right time for me to read it
August 11, 2025
My rating is probably a bit closer to 3.5 stars, but I really did like the book and I can see why it was shortlisted for the Clarke award. It takes place later in the 21st century, with runaway climate change, pandemic disasters and a world where corporations have the real power. Biohackers - independent genetic engineers - offer all sorts of exotic services (squid chromatophores anyone?). The main character is one of these biohackers and the action is pretty much nonstop. In some ways, the story reminded me of Gibson's Neuromancer, but with gene editing instead of cyberspace. The main reason I gave it only 3-4 stars is that I found the writing style a bit choppy. However, I would still recommend giving it a try. I enjoyed it and I think you will too.
March 21, 2025
I'm grateful to Ian Green and Head of Zeus for providing me with a copy of this book via LOST ART magazine (which he previously wrote for). This energetic biopunk thriller follows two punks taking on the corrupt corporations that have reduced their world to a dystopia, with Green applying his scientific background to craft startling and plausible depictions of how genetic engineering, AI, and rampant capitalism might transform society and ecosystems—and how we might respond to such a corrupt status quo.
EXTREMOPHILE's complex web of characters and worldbuilding, as well as its narration's breathless, slangy style, makes for sometimes confusing storytelling. However, at its best this book reminded me of J G Ballard 's grungy charm, envisioning creatively gruesome applications of genetic technology that are all still dwarfed by the nastiness of human greed.
EXTREMOPHILE's complex web of characters and worldbuilding, as well as its narration's breathless, slangy style, makes for sometimes confusing storytelling. However, at its best this book reminded me of J G Ballard 's grungy charm, envisioning creatively gruesome applications of genetic technology that are all still dwarfed by the nastiness of human greed.
December 15, 2025
Bio-cyber-climatepunk adventure
Great heroes. Evil villians. Complex sexuality without explicit slimeyness. I am excited to have found Ian Green. Ian, if you are reading this, there is a character on your keyboard that looks like this ". Many authors have found it useful. Love you anyway.
Great heroes. Evil villians. Complex sexuality without explicit slimeyness. I am excited to have found Ian Green. Ian, if you are reading this, there is a character on your keyboard that looks like this ". Many authors have found it useful. Love you anyway.
May 28, 2025
FUCK YES.
December 28, 2024
If Trainspotting and Fight Club had a cyberpunk baby, it would grow up to be Extremophile. It’s unabashedly punk, a heavy guitar riff of a book that’ll make the rebel side of your brain chant and cheer at full, ear-splitting volume.
Biopunk is having a bit of a moment right now, and rightly so. There’s so much new ground to explore in the potential of genetics and bio-engineering, and if you’ve got any doubt of that, then this book will definitely put those doubts to rest. It rides the line between intriguing and outrageous, plausible and wild, and it does so without missing a beat.
The absolute highlight of the book, for me, is its characters. Four primary points of view are straddled, with Charlie filling the role of protagonist. Charlie’s awesome. She rocks. It’s as simple as that. She mods out her friends and engages in high stakes espionage-like heists for secretive corporations on the side, all while pursuing her main passion in life — playing in her punk rock band. If you don’t instantly fall in love with Charlie, then you might need to retune your imagination a few notches.
But Extremophile isn’t content to just sit back and settle for having one excellent character. Instead, it gives us three more voices that are so diverse and different from each other that I’m still flabbergasted at how Ian Green has managed to pull it off. It’s got everything from the poetic journey of a biologically altered girl who escapes underground mines and emerges into the real world, to a psychopathic villain who is one of the most dastardly, inhuman scientists I’ve encountered in fiction. But the absolute best of the bunch is the insane, egotistic, and out of control Scrimshank — a force of nature that can’t be summed up in words. He’s not just dialled up to eleven, eleven is dialled up to him. Your jaw will drop every time his chapters come around at the sheer bombast of his personality, and how unhinged he is from any sense of reality. He’s like a living, breathing Carlsberg commercial — ‘Carlsberg don’t write book characters, but if they did, they’d probably be the best book characters in the world.’ You won’t trust him. You won’t like him. But you won’t want to stop reading about him.
What’s so great about the sheer diversity of the voices in this book is the emotional beats it throws at you. One minute, you’re laughing, the next — you’re reaching for your hankies to wipe away a tear. There’s such a rich tapestry of emotions that hits you in the feels, it provides a really satisfying experience from beginning to end, swinging you one way and then another, until it leaves you exactly in the place you should be.
Plot-wise, there’s a top-notch structure to the book as Charlie moves from heist to heist, trying to complete a ridiculous mission without getting caught. The whole time, you’re trying to figure out what the overriding agenda is, and why certain strings are being pulled. It all fuses together in a thrilling way. And as far as comeuppances go, this has got some absolute classics in the way it twists and turns.
It engages every sense. Taste. Sound. Smell. Especially smell — you’ll know the scene when you get to it. But some of the most luscious and rewarding scenes are the ones where Charlie’s just rocking out with her band or playing a concert. You’ll feel synergised with the characters and music in such a way that you can close your eyes and almost hear the bass.
Stylistically, it’s got literary sensibilities, while also being completely filthy. If you don’t enjoy reading swear words, then this isn’t the book for you. But it’s so much more than just a load of profanity thrown at the page. There are layers and depth and allegory and meaning and all that good stuff to feed your imagination, and you won’t ever look at a dandelion in quite the same way, and that’s a good thing. Trust me.
Sci-fi doesn’t come more extreme than this. I absolutely loved the sheer outrageousness of this excellently paced, immersive biopunk delight. It’s got such a brilliant atmosphere, and the future it imagines is complex and gritty, but most of all — it’s fun. Sure, it’s poignant and beautiful and all of those other things, but the smile on your face will outlast the questions it leaves you pondering. What more could you ask from a book than that?
Biopunk is having a bit of a moment right now, and rightly so. There’s so much new ground to explore in the potential of genetics and bio-engineering, and if you’ve got any doubt of that, then this book will definitely put those doubts to rest. It rides the line between intriguing and outrageous, plausible and wild, and it does so without missing a beat.
The absolute highlight of the book, for me, is its characters. Four primary points of view are straddled, with Charlie filling the role of protagonist. Charlie’s awesome. She rocks. It’s as simple as that. She mods out her friends and engages in high stakes espionage-like heists for secretive corporations on the side, all while pursuing her main passion in life — playing in her punk rock band. If you don’t instantly fall in love with Charlie, then you might need to retune your imagination a few notches.
But Extremophile isn’t content to just sit back and settle for having one excellent character. Instead, it gives us three more voices that are so diverse and different from each other that I’m still flabbergasted at how Ian Green has managed to pull it off. It’s got everything from the poetic journey of a biologically altered girl who escapes underground mines and emerges into the real world, to a psychopathic villain who is one of the most dastardly, inhuman scientists I’ve encountered in fiction. But the absolute best of the bunch is the insane, egotistic, and out of control Scrimshank — a force of nature that can’t be summed up in words. He’s not just dialled up to eleven, eleven is dialled up to him. Your jaw will drop every time his chapters come around at the sheer bombast of his personality, and how unhinged he is from any sense of reality. He’s like a living, breathing Carlsberg commercial — ‘Carlsberg don’t write book characters, but if they did, they’d probably be the best book characters in the world.’ You won’t trust him. You won’t like him. But you won’t want to stop reading about him.
What’s so great about the sheer diversity of the voices in this book is the emotional beats it throws at you. One minute, you’re laughing, the next — you’re reaching for your hankies to wipe away a tear. There’s such a rich tapestry of emotions that hits you in the feels, it provides a really satisfying experience from beginning to end, swinging you one way and then another, until it leaves you exactly in the place you should be.
Plot-wise, there’s a top-notch structure to the book as Charlie moves from heist to heist, trying to complete a ridiculous mission without getting caught. The whole time, you’re trying to figure out what the overriding agenda is, and why certain strings are being pulled. It all fuses together in a thrilling way. And as far as comeuppances go, this has got some absolute classics in the way it twists and turns.
It engages every sense. Taste. Sound. Smell. Especially smell — you’ll know the scene when you get to it. But some of the most luscious and rewarding scenes are the ones where Charlie’s just rocking out with her band or playing a concert. You’ll feel synergised with the characters and music in such a way that you can close your eyes and almost hear the bass.
Stylistically, it’s got literary sensibilities, while also being completely filthy. If you don’t enjoy reading swear words, then this isn’t the book for you. But it’s so much more than just a load of profanity thrown at the page. There are layers and depth and allegory and meaning and all that good stuff to feed your imagination, and you won’t ever look at a dandelion in quite the same way, and that’s a good thing. Trust me.
Sci-fi doesn’t come more extreme than this. I absolutely loved the sheer outrageousness of this excellently paced, immersive biopunk delight. It’s got such a brilliant atmosphere, and the future it imagines is complex and gritty, but most of all — it’s fun. Sure, it’s poignant and beautiful and all of those other things, but the smile on your face will outlast the questions it leaves you pondering. What more could you ask from a book than that?
January 8, 2025
I’m gonna go 4.5 and round up. Really enjoyed this – Green takes chances with his writing style but after you get used to it it really does suit the frenetic pace of the story. I was reminded a bit of BR Yeager’s Negative Space with the alternating viewpoints and the gender non-conformity. I know the main character Charlie is written as female but with the relationship between Charlie and the NB Parker, I really pictured them both as changing gender – sometimes I pictured Charlie as male, sometimes female, sometimes NB – this is a minor thing (I would LOVE to see how Green pictured them!) but it kinda fits into the world – there’s enough description to give you a sense of what this bio-altered environment would be – never really escaped the Blade Runner/Strange Days (the club in Strange Days at least) but the super deadly poisons and genetically modified people were well done – and the stink! Loved the Onyx lenses too.
In that respect, I’ve been meh on both Neuromancer and Snow Crash – largely because I felt I was reading them 20/30 years after the fact. Extremophile is much more current – and I LOVE me some metaphor exploration of extremophile life on earth – is this where we are going? Climate crisis pervades this, with some corporate shenanigans. And as bleak and dirty as this one gets, I did appreciate the aspect of hope – Green is very clear that inaction and succumbing to apathy (going black), even when the sky is darkest (or clouded by toxic fumes or pollution), is not the path. Horse Theory keeps playing shows, because that next one might be the best you’ve played.
I will say that the climactic chapters took a few rereads on my part – the action gets a bit off the rails and I had a bit of trouble figuring out exactly how people got to places and what-not. Like the energy of the story infected Green and he was just like “they’re there now, deal with it” – was reminded a bit of Rudy Rucker’s Wetware and of course Greg Egan’s Morphoptrophic and Cronenberg – if the flesh can take it, the science can change you. This basic gist seems to come through in what “biopunk” I’ve read – for better and of course for worse. It’s probably me but I enjoyed this more than the Wind-Up Girl, which seems to be the current standard for the biopunk evocations. Would like to read more Green stuff set in his grimy funky punky London.
In that respect, I’ve been meh on both Neuromancer and Snow Crash – largely because I felt I was reading them 20/30 years after the fact. Extremophile is much more current – and I LOVE me some metaphor exploration of extremophile life on earth – is this where we are going? Climate crisis pervades this, with some corporate shenanigans. And as bleak and dirty as this one gets, I did appreciate the aspect of hope – Green is very clear that inaction and succumbing to apathy (going black), even when the sky is darkest (or clouded by toxic fumes or pollution), is not the path. Horse Theory keeps playing shows, because that next one might be the best you’ve played.
I will say that the climactic chapters took a few rereads on my part – the action gets a bit off the rails and I had a bit of trouble figuring out exactly how people got to places and what-not. Like the energy of the story infected Green and he was just like “they’re there now, deal with it” – was reminded a bit of Rudy Rucker’s Wetware and of course Greg Egan’s Morphoptrophic and Cronenberg – if the flesh can take it, the science can change you. This basic gist seems to come through in what “biopunk” I’ve read – for better and of course for worse. It’s probably me but I enjoyed this more than the Wind-Up Girl, which seems to be the current standard for the biopunk evocations. Would like to read more Green stuff set in his grimy funky punky London.
August 24, 2024
Really enjoyed reading this eco-punk (?) story! Crazy story with crazily imaginative future biotech elements (taken to some very dark places) that also finds some quiet tender moments between the blaring and rapid action scenes. There are some lovely characters that I found myself caring about, and I'm curious if we'll meet them again! (hopefully as a Netflix animation series?)
Although some reviewers have noted issues with the flow-y style of writing (without the use of quotation marks for dialogs), I didn't find it difficult to read. It seemed quite clear who is talking at any point, and this style adds to the frenetic, superwired pace of the story.
It could have had a bit more worldbuilding and nuance around how the future society looks like, and how regular people are making do in this tough future version of London - beyond the cyberpunk cliche of corpos vs punks. Nonetheless, I do enjoy cyberpunk stories, and this one is pretty great!
As a bonus, also loved the band names!
Although some reviewers have noted issues with the flow-y style of writing (without the use of quotation marks for dialogs), I didn't find it difficult to read. It seemed quite clear who is talking at any point, and this style adds to the frenetic, superwired pace of the story.
It could have had a bit more worldbuilding and nuance around how the future society looks like, and how regular people are making do in this tough future version of London - beyond the cyberpunk cliche of corpos vs punks. Nonetheless, I do enjoy cyberpunk stories, and this one is pretty great!
As a bonus, also loved the band names!
December 29, 2024
I feel a little bit more Green rather than mostly Black after reading this book. It was an injection of hope, somehow, despite being set in a bleaker world than ours. Or maybe because of it? Who knows. All I know is that I related to the main character's world view more than I probably should.
This was not quite what I expected it to be, but in a good way. There was more actual science than I expected and more, well, relationships, I guess? Not romance but just... people and how they work together (or don't). And somehow I quite liked it, which is not a given in my case.
And yes, there were some onion cutting ninjas in the room with me reading the last pages, but I still think I feel slightly better now than I did before this book. At least for now. But there is only so much one book (or person) can do, and doing anything is better than nothing.
This was not quite what I expected it to be, but in a good way. There was more actual science than I expected and more, well, relationships, I guess? Not romance but just... people and how they work together (or don't). And somehow I quite liked it, which is not a given in my case.
And yes, there were some onion cutting ninjas in the room with me reading the last pages, but I still think I feel slightly better now than I did before this book. At least for now. But there is only so much one book (or person) can do, and doing anything is better than nothing.
May 21, 2025
Exceptional! Mad, pacy, original, violent and poetic biopunk
The most exciting book I’ve read for a while. It takes the style of cyberpunk, and makes that into something completely fresh and new.
Set in a post-eco-collapse London, the story centres on Charlie and her crew of bio-activists, who are pulled into a plot to assassinate the loathsome Ghost, a corporate bioscientist-for-hire.
The action proceeds at breakneck speed, laced with the darkest of humour and a sense of moral outrage. Our protagonist’s crew put everything on the line.
Green takes a (punk?) poet’s pleasure in assembling a gorgeous, funny, impactful sentence, making this book a pleasure to read.
The most exciting book I’ve read for a while. It takes the style of cyberpunk, and makes that into something completely fresh and new.
Set in a post-eco-collapse London, the story centres on Charlie and her crew of bio-activists, who are pulled into a plot to assassinate the loathsome Ghost, a corporate bioscientist-for-hire.
The action proceeds at breakneck speed, laced with the darkest of humour and a sense of moral outrage. Our protagonist’s crew put everything on the line.
Green takes a (punk?) poet’s pleasure in assembling a gorgeous, funny, impactful sentence, making this book a pleasure to read.
July 8, 2025
A very cool postapocalyptic London in a Cyperpunk/Biopunk style, with some ok characters. It's a cool idea, but my god the writing is absolutely horrible. Messy long sentences with loads of commas, perentices and at least 4 swearwords. The use of loads of psuedoscience terms and no quotation marks when people are talking are the biggest problem. It's a confusing mess. Sideplots that went absolutely nowhere and the villain is just a boring douchebag.
There were some cool action scenes and gory experiments that I liked. So that gets some credit. I also appreciate the hopeful massage at the end. But man, this was a chore to finish.
There were some cool action scenes and gory experiments that I liked. So that gets some credit. I also appreciate the hopeful massage at the end. But man, this was a chore to finish.
March 25, 2025
Bold, stylish, bursting with ideas.
December 14, 2024
Very very enjoyable modern cyberpunk - the Mole character in particular is horrific, inventive and very affecting. It’s a bit chaotic at times but it’s always a good ride.
December 26, 2024
Interesting setting and story, and as someone in the biotech field I liked getting into the science of biohacking.
Would overall have given this 4 stars, but I absolutely cannot get over the lack of quotes when people are speaking. It made it difficult to tell what was being said and I had to regularly re-read sections because of this. Maybe I’m just not used to this writing style but I don’t understand why it was chosen to do this.
Would overall have given this 4 stars, but I absolutely cannot get over the lack of quotes when people are speaking. It made it difficult to tell what was being said and I had to regularly re-read sections because of this. Maybe I’m just not used to this writing style but I don’t understand why it was chosen to do this.
April 21, 2025
Very cool dystopian biohacking heist.
May 27, 2025
Arthur C. Clarke 2025 award with a 90s feel let's GO.
I am a big fan of 90s cyberpunk, and damn I would bet that Ian here loved a good Neuromancer or Snowcrash too, because it really felt like it at some point. Punk anti capitalism marginal character *check*, bioweapon warfare shit *check*, with a bit of climate crisis nicely put on top and some cacling villains in the dark - I liked it.
The only thing I did not like were the dialogs - no "" is a crime, and I cannot imagine having a reading impdiment and trying to decide whether what I am reading in a line of dialog or whatever.
I am a big fan of 90s cyberpunk, and damn I would bet that Ian here loved a good Neuromancer or Snowcrash too, because it really felt like it at some point. Punk anti capitalism marginal character *check*, bioweapon warfare shit *check*, with a bit of climate crisis nicely put on top and some cacling villains in the dark - I liked it.
The only thing I did not like were the dialogs - no "" is a crime, and I cannot imagine having a reading impdiment and trying to decide whether what I am reading in a line of dialog or whatever.
August 11, 2024
“They want to play free market capitalism, we play free market fucking capitalism. See how their bottom line looks with a gunshot in it.”
This was a great little book. The pacing was fantastic, the voices of each character were really strong, and the themes and plot were powerful and hopeful.
I stormed through Extremophile, going “one more chapter” every night until I stayed up a bit too late, pulling it out in lulls at work, just wanting to find out what happens next. I think part of this was the way it was written: it’s a very maximalist style of writing. It doesn’t use one word where a paragraph will do and I love that. The description was evocative and full of metaphor, always illuminating the setting. There are no speech marks in the book, which pulls you into the head of each character, and which makes some scenes feel fast and frantic. It makes others feel intimate and revealing. I’ve read books which have used similar gimmicks around speech but never to such powerful effect.
I liked the characters and believed in their relationships. Even side characters felt rounded and bright, well-suited to their roles. When a side character is killed near the end of the book, I felt a twinge — I had really hoped he would make it out alive. The different points of view were well-differentiated, each character having their own speech and thought patterns, which was very effective. Also, none were the weakest link. Often in a multi-POV book one POV is weaker than the others and you find yourself wishing you could skip and get to the next bit. Not so here. Each time we moved to a new POV character there was a good reason for it, that change never felt arbitrary.
The plot was a little incestuous (this person happens to know this person) but it’s set in a subculture of London-based biohackers so it didn’t quite strain credulity. Everything tied together well and felt satisfying when wrapped up. I liked the themes of community, of how far you’re willing to go for your beliefs, of the use of nihilism and optimism. It felt to me a good reflection of hyper-Holocene Britain overtaken by corporations and private venture. The rest of the world is hinted at through throwaway comments (“what’s left of the US”), there’s no comfortable and boring exposition about what happened. Global warming. And then some. Let’s get on with things.
Ultimately I would absolutely recommend Extremophile to people who enjoy sci-fi and cyberpunk genres. It’s a hopeful story about fun, silly sci-fi nonsense and about human communities and how they keep us sane. Easily one of my favourite books this year.
(I was given a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!)
This was a great little book. The pacing was fantastic, the voices of each character were really strong, and the themes and plot were powerful and hopeful.
I stormed through Extremophile, going “one more chapter” every night until I stayed up a bit too late, pulling it out in lulls at work, just wanting to find out what happens next. I think part of this was the way it was written: it’s a very maximalist style of writing. It doesn’t use one word where a paragraph will do and I love that. The description was evocative and full of metaphor, always illuminating the setting. There are no speech marks in the book, which pulls you into the head of each character, and which makes some scenes feel fast and frantic. It makes others feel intimate and revealing. I’ve read books which have used similar gimmicks around speech but never to such powerful effect.
I liked the characters and believed in their relationships. Even side characters felt rounded and bright, well-suited to their roles. When a side character is killed near the end of the book, I felt a twinge — I had really hoped he would make it out alive. The different points of view were well-differentiated, each character having their own speech and thought patterns, which was very effective. Also, none were the weakest link. Often in a multi-POV book one POV is weaker than the others and you find yourself wishing you could skip and get to the next bit. Not so here. Each time we moved to a new POV character there was a good reason for it, that change never felt arbitrary.
The plot was a little incestuous (this person happens to know this person) but it’s set in a subculture of London-based biohackers so it didn’t quite strain credulity. Everything tied together well and felt satisfying when wrapped up. I liked the themes of community, of how far you’re willing to go for your beliefs, of the use of nihilism and optimism. It felt to me a good reflection of hyper-Holocene Britain overtaken by corporations and private venture. The rest of the world is hinted at through throwaway comments (“what’s left of the US”), there’s no comfortable and boring exposition about what happened. Global warming. And then some. Let’s get on with things.
Ultimately I would absolutely recommend Extremophile to people who enjoy sci-fi and cyberpunk genres. It’s a hopeful story about fun, silly sci-fi nonsense and about human communities and how they keep us sane. Easily one of my favourite books this year.
(I was given a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!)
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