Extremophile follows Charlie and Parker in future dystopian London as they play music and run side gigs on the biohacking scene. They get invited to do a big job for eco-terrorists and become entangled in their plans.
I really loved all the sci-fi, dystopian, biohacking that's at the heart of Extremophile. One of my favourite games is Cyberpunk 2077 so it tracks that I'd enjoy a book with similar vibes. Combined with a heist, a lot of grey characters, and the background of an ever present and dooming climate crisis and it's really a fun read once it picks up.
I found the layout style, with no speech punctuation, quite difficult to get into to begin with and there's a lot of technical biohacking explanation in sections which can be a bit overwhelming.
Totally recommend picking this up!
Thank you so much to @netgalley and @headofzeus for my arc copy!

I found this to be fast-paced, and really liked the worldbuilding. I was invested in the characters, and ended up reading through the whole thing quicker than planned.

Extremophile plunges readers into the gritty, chaotic world of 2043 climate-collapse London, where Charlie and Parker navigate life as punks by night and biohackers by day. Their survival relies on the profits from Zodiac Code, a DNA astrology site, and Charlie’s creation of bespoke bio-augments for a clientele that includes criminals, punks, and eco-warriors. This world is divided into three factions: Green, who still hopes to save the planet; Blue, who seeks to profit from its decline; and Black, who has abandoned all hope.

When a radical group of Green activists hires them for a series of increasingly dangerous jobs, including robbery and even murder, Charlie knows they should turn back. However, Parker yearns to make a difference, and Charlie begins to wonder if these jobs might be their chance to break free from the despair that pervades their lives.

The narrative unfolds against a backdrop of corporate greed and violence, forcing Charlie to confront the harsh realities of a society where amoral biohackers and deranged cyberpunks dominate. As the plot thickens into an escalating biological arms race, Charlie must grapple with her beliefs and decide if hope is worth pursuing, even in a world that feels overwhelmingly bleak.

What makes Extremophile truly captivating is its exceptional cast of characters and its thought-provoking themes. The story tackles critical issues such as bio-augmentation, the consequences of corporate exploitation, and the vital role of the community, all while exploring the delicate balance between optimism and nihilism.

The writing style perfectly captures the punk essence of the narrative, employing multiple perspectives and omitting quotation marks to create an intimate reading experience. The evocative and almost poetic descriptions bring the characters and their world to life, enhancing the book's immersive quality.

Overall, Extremophile is an outstanding book that masterfully weaves together its elements to deliver a powerful and hopeful story. From its engaging characters to its compelling plot, every aspect works in harmony to leave readers contemplating the future long after they’ve turned the final page. Highly recommended for those who enjoy a mix of thrilling action and deep philosophical inquiry in a dystopian setting.

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Extremophile by Ian Green is a speculative, biopunk, dystopic romance and it is outstanding. Charlie and Parker are a couple, biohackers and musicians and they have heists in mind

Set locally in London and globally in a dystopic future, the Extremophile is a clarion call, a voice resounding across the globe from past to present and everything in-between

Dynamic chaos, electric and fast-paced, I could not get enough of this duo, the multiple voices, the dynamics between a colourful cast and the grounding in global issues that scream loudly from every corner of our aching earth.

Absolutely blinding!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Head of Zeus | Head of Zeus -- an AdAstra Book and Ian Green for this ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Firstly I want to say that I loved the premise of a bio-punk thriller in the setting of a dystopian future but this was just not for me. I think it will definitely be for other people but I am just not the biggest fan of it. I think for me, the writing style and story ended up just not working and found myself debating DNFing a few times.

Irregardless, thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!

Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy. I really loved the book and its characters. I can see that the author spent a long time on worldbuilding and forming 3 dimensional characters. This was already on my wish-list for the year, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. I loved the read and can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next!

Cyberpunk, biohacking and corrupt corporations trying to make a buck off a dying Earth. Faced with overwhelming odds, Charlie is recruited by extremists who are fighting to keep the Earth alive through crime and acts of terror. At points, Extremophile felt almost Mad Max-esque with faceless villains racing to achieve their own corrupted agenda in a world devoid of hope and renewal.

A cyberpunk story that gives relevance to biology: virus, implants, etc. It is placed in a near future London where, in addition to an outrageous capitalism, climate change has shaped the city and the lives of anyone there. There are multiple factions (as nowadays) fighting to either save the world or give a shit about it. Various POV, changing all the time in each quite short chapter. Good reading but the thing I most engage was with the city and worldbuilding around technology and science. Plot and characters, I did not care that much about them, to be honest.

definitely some introspective, original prose and I quite enjoyed the solarpunk vs cyberpunk aesthetics. however, this would have been improved by either being a series of short stories or novellas.

In Extremophile, Ian Green delivers a fusion cyberpunk, biopunk novel with lashings of rock and roll and plenty of body horror. This framinng is important because in many ways Extremophile is style (in particular the styles referenced) over substance. In this vein, the first third of the book is scene setting and character sketches, before the plot itself kicks into gear.
That plot, a heist/revenge tale, anchors around Charlie and her partner Parker, who are not only bioengineers but also members of a band who possibly are about to hit the big time (or at least the bigger time). Other characters get POV chapters but these are more for colour and filling in gaps as the narrative always comes back to Charlie.
In the end Extremophile struggles to step beyond its sometimes very dark, violent stylings, which are likely to turn readers off rather than keeping them turning the pages.

An interesting plot with interesting characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the plot. Although I did have some difficulties getting into the writing at first as the dialogue is not clearly stated with quotation marks, so this writing style might not be suitable or enjoyable for everyone.

I really enjoyed the dystopian setting and the science incorporated in this book.

Plot interesting. I read the book in a night, enjoying this story is quite simple. Characters are good structured and the reader can interpreter all the sentiments in this story.

The premise sounded good, but the writing style was not my cup of tea. I understand that the style was modelled on the topic/genre/MCs of the story, but no quotation marks indicating direct speech are a no-go for me. Gorgeous cover, good premise, but not for me.

Extremophile immerses readers in a near-future London grappling with climate collapse. The world is divided into three broad groups: the idealistic Greens, profit-driven Blues, and the despairing Blacks. The novel’s premise is a potent blend of technology, biology, punk culture, and activism. The biohacking elements add a layer of intrigue, making it stand out in the speculative fiction landscape. Certainly, the concept of biohacking is one for which I have already expressed an interest, as longtime blog readers will be aware.

While Green’s unconventional narrative style can be intriguing, it also poses challenges. The absence of speech marks around dialogue creates ambiguity, occasionally making it hard to follow conversations. Readers may need to retrace passages to discern who is speaking. Clearer formatting would enhance readability. It’s something that starts off as a notable stylistic choice but ultimately becomes a little annoying.

The protagonists, Charlie and Parker, straddle the line between hope and cynicism. Their internal struggles mirror the fractured world they inhabit. However, deeper exploration of their emotions and motivations would elevate the character arcs.

Extremophile tackles urgent themes: environmental collapse, corporate greed, and grassroots resistance. It invites readers to question their own roles in shaping the future. The novel’s rage and wild hope resonate, urging us to consider our impact on the planet.

As a concept, Extremophile is a bold experiment that pushes boundaries. As a novel, it’s definitely imperfect, but it does spark conversations about our world’s trajectory. If you’re willing to navigate its unconventional structure, you’ll find glimpses of brilliance within its pages. For me, though, it became a little bit of a chore to finish. This is a pity, because I am the target audience for this book. I love the concept, and elements of this novel tick so many boxes for me. It just fell flat in its execution, though.

Rating:
🌟🌟 (2/5) – A compelling premise that ultimately gets buried under its own weight.

If you told me a book featured cyberpunk and solarpunk elements, an edgy rock band, and angry youth navigating a climate-collapse London, I'd say, "Sign me up!" Extremophile by Ian Green seemed to check all my literary boxes, but to my surprise, it left me more puzzled than pleased.

Plot and Setting:
Set in a near-future London that's teetering on the brink of ecological disaster, the book follows Charlie and Parker, biohackers by day and punks by night. Their world is divided into three factions: the Green activists trying to save the world, the opportunistic Blues, and the nihilistic Blacks. The concept is intriguing and ripe for exploration, but somewhere along the line, things get muddled.

Characters:
Charlie and Parker have potential. Charlie's bio-bespoke augments could have made for fascinating storylines, and Parker's idealism provides a nice counterbalance. Yet, they never truly come alive on the page. I found it hard to connect with them, and their motivations often felt flat.

Execution:
The book's pacing is like a runaway train, and not in a good way. There's an ambitious attempt to weave together themes of corporate corruption, environmental activism, and the personal struggles of our protagonists, but it often feels like the story is trying to juggle too many balls at once. The result is a narrative that's hard to follow and characters that feel more like archetypes than real people.

Final Thoughts:
Extremophile is a classic case of a great idea getting lost in translation. It has all the right ingredients: a gripping setting, a diverse cast, and a relevant social commentary. Unfortunately, the execution leaves much to be desired. If you enjoy piecing together chaotic narratives and appreciate the vibe over the story, you might find something to like here. For me, it was a miss.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley.

I absolutely love Cyberpunk, there’s been quite a few recent books coming out exploring cyberpunk themes and aesthetics and this was a good one. It applied cyberpunk well without being confusing or requiring any previous knowledge of the genre.

This was a really cool book that had a focus on body augmentation, gene editing. We see some interesting applications of this and the disparity between those who can afford expensive mods and those who have to use more questionable means, we also see the issues that occur when these go wrong and the harm it can cause, along with how people are hugely exploited and experimented on in horrific and harrowing ways.

This is set in a near future london in a world ravaged by climate change. People now call into one of three categories, green are still trying to make a difference, blue want to make as much money as they can from the situation and black just don’t care and are going to party as the world burns. We see anti-establishment groups emerge who are doing illegal acts to try and stop those exacerbating climate issues for profit. I would have liked to see this explored more, this wasn’t a particularly long book and it felt like there was space to explore the different groups and their approach to the climate and the issues being faced.

I really liked the ideas in this book and it was interesting and I was rooting for the characters. I did find I struggled with parts of it though because of how it was written. No speech marks were used and I was sometimes confused and a bit lost where the speech was just merged into the action. It was confusing and I didn’t understand why speech marks hadn’t been used. It made a really interesting book jarring and hard to follow.

“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 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.

I found this book quite difficult to read, I think that some of the references and concepts would be appreciated by a younger (not pensioner) age group. The story itself and it's telling were interesting but perhaps not for me.

Biopunk romantic dystopia - the genre lives!

I've read more than a few of these this year—is this a movement? A genre? A coinkydink?

Anyway, set in a rapidly chaos ascendant London, full of biomodded, jacked-in, punk musicians and kitchen sink scientists, the shifting voices of Extremophile shine a light on the local and the global, the problems of our currently suffering Earth extrapolated to a world of extremities: the haves with everything, the have-nots with what they can eke out from a world slowly going to the dogs.

At the heart of the novel are Charlie and Parker, an unbreakable duo in music, biohacking and life. Thanks to well-timed drops of backstory, the threats from past, present and future coalesce into a series of heists and adventures that hum and explode with thrills and spills. The ensemble cast around them is well-defined too, allies, enemies and strangers alike given their time in the sun, fully realised people with other lives, other concerns, but coming into focus in Charlie and Parker's odyssey at just the right moment.

With each chapter alternating between voices, each still manages to contribute to the tapestry of history, violence and revenge, building up to a final chapter narrated by the very extremophile in the title, filled with hope and a happy ending of sorts.

Four and a half stars, so five really.

DNF @ Chapter 6

I was so excited going into this based off of the cover and the premise I was expecting to absolutely devour this but unfortunately the writing style/format of this one completely ruined the experience for me and I just couldn't get into it at all