Extremophile, Ian McKinley, TWB Press, horror

Combat engineer Dr. Bruce Roberts is tasked with collecting special microbes for a formula that can reverse the effects of aging and extend human life. These extremophiles thrive in blistering temperatures and high radioactivity. The best candidate for such a place is the nuclear waste storage caverns below Japan’s melted-down Fukushima power plant, one of the most hazardous environments on earth. Normally he’d never accept such a dangerous assignment, but his team is comprised of three contrasting women: a fiery turncoat mercenary, a buxom professor and Nobel-laureate, and a leggy blonde scientist, an endearing combination he’s compelled to protect. Opposing them is a powerful network of corporations and governments who would kill to steal the formula. As the team travels from Glasgow to Japan, attacks become more savage, forging strong emotional and sexual relationships between the team members. With the enemy at every turn, life and death is on the line for those seeking a technological Holy Grail that could further damage an already overpopulated world.

Extremophile (ik strēm′ ō fīl), n. 1. a microbe or ‘bug’ that thrives under extreme conditions, e.g. of temperature or radiation; and due to slow metabolism, often very long-lived. 2. someone who is attracted to extreme lifestyles involving wild sex, designer drugs, and physical combat; life expectancy very short.