Neanderball — Sofia Diana Gabel

Geneticist Lucien Roux's cutting-edge experiment to clone Neanderthals blurs lines between ambition and ethics after the clones are stolen and forced to play a brutal and violent game dubbed Neanderball. Haunted by the realization that his hubris overpowered his morality, Lucien knows he must fix what he's done.Racing against time as a military faction and a sinister adversary close in, he has one chance to expose the real reason his research was taken. With his ex-Marine girlfriend, he sets out on a dangerous journey to save the Neanderthals before it's too late. It's an all or nothing fight for redemption, leading to a showdown for his survival, and freedom for the Neanderthals. (92,000 words)