Are fish intelligent?
You may be surprised to learn that some species of fish demonstrate high levels of intelligence. Fish have been known to use tools to crush shells, deceive and manipulate predators, and even use massage to regulate stress. A fictional creation of author Ned Beauman, the venomous lumpsucker, is the subject and title of a cautionary science fiction novel set in the near future.
Venomous Lumpsucker paints a bleak but comic portrait of an environmental apocalypse and is part of a growing subgenre of books called eco-thrillers.
In Venomous Lumpsucker, commercial interests have decimated animal habitats worldwide. Mass extinctions are so common that many species exist only as DNA versions housed in biobanks. In the unlikely event that hospitable environments can be found, there's a small chance of resurrecting a few pandas and polar bears.
An animal behavior expert seeking signs of nonhuman intelligence becomes convinced she’s found just that in an unsightly bottom-dwelling fish that delivers retribution as efficiently as the Korean mafia. Though she’s determined to save the lumpsuckers, human error and corporate greed seem to thwart her at every turn.
If you enjoy fiction with an ecological theme, check out Clean Air by Sarah Blake, a book about deadly pollen, Project Namahana by John Teschner, a suspense thriller set in Hawaii, The Disaster Tourist by Ko-un Yun, a darkly humorous novel about tourism, or Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer, a novel about conspiracy, extinction, and ecoterrorism.
Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist
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