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hbic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
parkergarlough's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Transphobia
Minor: Bullying
thepeonyinink's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Terminal illness, and Blood
Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent
aposthuma's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What an INSANE book. As promised, it's 127 Hours meets the Martian meets Jonah from the Bible. This is possibly the goriest, grossest book I've ever read, but I could not put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
fatfatrat's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: Vomit and Pandemic/Epidemic
ricksilva's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A story about a diver who is literally swallowed by a sperm whale.
Much of the plot is spent awash in digestive juices. And symbolism.
This was really one 0f the more batsh*t-insane books I've read, and in spite of it's attention to realistic detail, it's really a succession of one ridiculously unlikely event after another to the point where it can't possibly get any more crazy. And then it does.
Seventeen-year-old Jay Gardiner spent his childhood trying to live up to his father's impossibly high standards as an ultra-macho legend in the Monterey Bay diving community. Until he finally couldn't take it and left home, leaving his father to die of cancer without a reconciliation.
Enter whale. Literally.
Jay struggles to escape the whale while he struggles with unresolved daddy-issues, and they whole thing is so completely over-the-top that it actually works. The realistic (if barely remotely possible) scientific details are great, as is the flavor of the setting and the dynamics of Jay and his family. Jay himself is an intriguing character, and a great foil for the also-over-the-top dad, Mitch.
This story is probably not going to appeal to everyone, and thalassophobes should definitely stear clear, but I found myself reveling in the absurdity and very much enjoying the ride.
Much of the plot is spent awash in digestive juices. And symbolism.
This was really one 0f the more batsh*t-insane books I've read, and in spite of it's attention to realistic detail, it's really a succession of one ridiculously unlikely event after another to the point where it can't possibly get any more crazy. And then it does.
Seventeen-year-old Jay Gardiner spent his childhood trying to live up to his father's impossibly high standards as an ultra-macho legend in the Monterey Bay diving community. Until he finally couldn't take it and left home, leaving his father to die of cancer without a reconciliation.
Enter whale. Literally.
Jay struggles to escape the whale while he struggles with unresolved daddy-issues, and they whole thing is so completely over-the-top that it actually works. The realistic (if barely remotely possible) scientific details are great, as is the flavor of the setting and the dynamics of Jay and his family. Jay himself is an intriguing character, and a great foil for the also-over-the-top dad, Mitch.
This story is probably not going to appeal to everyone, and thalassophobes should definitely stear clear, but I found myself reveling in the absurdity and very much enjoying the ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse
tertain's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Damn… so good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Blood, and Death of parent
cozmicdotcom's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Gore, Suicide, and Death of parent
c_dmckinney's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was dark and haunting and harrowing. I am certain it is going to stick to my ribs for a long time.
This book is about fathers and sons and family and grief. It is about love and loss and guilt and growth. It is about death and the desperate urgency to survive horrifying situations. It is about the ocean and the almost alien life inside it. It is about horrors both natural and man-made in origin and it is about hope.
I like my science fiction best when it is grounded firmly in realistic and believable science and Daniel Kraus met that expectation fantastically. The horror was built in layers of realism I genuinely didn't expect.
This book is about fathers and sons and family and grief. It is about love and loss and guilt and growth. It is about death and the desperate urgency to survive horrifying situations. It is about the ocean and the almost alien life inside it. It is about horrors both natural and man-made in origin and it is about hope.
I like my science fiction best when it is grounded firmly in realistic and believable science and Daniel Kraus met that expectation fantastically. The horror was built in layers of realism I genuinely didn't expect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
iam's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
To be completely fair to the book, I was fully aware that this wouldn't be entirely up to my speed. But I am committed to finding more SciFi/deep sea horror books, so I gave it a chance.
The SciFi part felt misleading to me. I guess it is a much broader term than I like to think, but for me it implied a futuristic setting, or speculating about sciences, but this was... none of that. Maybe some people count the "getting swallowed by a whale" scenario as speculative and scientific, but.... nah, not to me in this case. If it had been more focussed on the horror or science of it, maybe, but that's not what this way.
I cannot entirely speak to the realism and scientific accurary of the book, about sperm whale and other oceanic animal behaviour and anatomy.
That said, the main focus of the book was not the science or horror of getting swallowed by a whale. Instead it's about family relationships, maybe the dysfunctional dynamic between the protagonist, teenager Jay, and his father. I expected that, so I was ready for the constant and numerous flashbacks. I found them a bit disjointed, but they frequently fed perfectly into the happenings of the current "present tense" timeline, which I appreciated.
What I didn't entirely appreciate or expect was the almost spiritual elements. While inside the whale, Jay hears and talks to a voice, which is seemingly his father and the whale in one being. It was bizarre, though I sort of compmarentalized it as that phenomenon when someone in a life or death situation hears an outside voice telling them how to act. In a way that makes sense to me, too, as that is exactly what happens, with Jay remembering past conversations and experiences with his family that help him deal with the situations he's in.
However, some of the things just seemed a bit too convenient, or bizarre. Like the whale just HAPPENING to have swallowed exactly the things that Jay needs to survive. Or Jay being able to tell the whale to call for help when it gets attacked by Orcas, and there being a whole massive showdown between a pod of orcas and a bunch of sperm whales??? I may be completely wrong, but idk, that just broke my suspension of disbelief.
To keep it short: overall I this was a rounded story with a quite satisfying ending. However, I wasn't a fan of the execution or themes, but I knew that going in. It could have been a solid three star read for me, but the part towards the end that tries to absolve the abusive father of any guilt and says it's actually also the son's fault that he was abused, knocked that down for me.
The SciFi part felt misleading to me. I guess it is a much broader term than I like to think, but for me it implied a futuristic setting, or speculating about sciences, but this was... none of that. Maybe some people count the "getting swallowed by a whale" scenario as speculative and scientific, but.... nah, not to me in this case. If it had been more focussed on the horror or science of it, maybe, but that's not what this way.
I cannot entirely speak to the realism and scientific accurary of the book, about sperm whale and other oceanic animal behaviour and anatomy.
That said, the main focus of the book was not the science or horror of getting swallowed by a whale. Instead it's about family relationships, maybe the dysfunctional dynamic between the protagonist, teenager Jay, and his father. I expected that, so I was ready for the constant and numerous flashbacks. I found them a bit disjointed, but they frequently fed perfectly into the happenings of the current "present tense" timeline, which I appreciated.
What I didn't entirely appreciate or expect was the almost spiritual elements. While inside the whale, Jay hears and talks to a voice, which is seemingly his father and the whale in one being. It was bizarre, though I sort of compmarentalized it as that phenomenon when someone in a life or death situation hears an outside voice telling them how to act. In a way that makes sense to me, too, as that is exactly what happens, with Jay remembering past conversations and experiences with his family that help him deal with the situations he's in.
However, some of the things just seemed a bit too convenient, or bizarre. Like the whale just HAPPENING to have swallowed exactly the things that Jay needs to survive. Or Jay being able to tell the whale to call for help when it gets attacked by Orcas, and there being a whole massive showdown between a pod of orcas and a bunch of sperm whales??? I may be completely wrong, but idk, that just broke my suspension of disbelief.
To keep it short: overall I this was a rounded story with a quite satisfying ending. However, I wasn't a fan of the execution or themes, but I knew that going in. It could have been a solid three star read for me, but the part towards the end that tries to absolve the abusive father of any guilt and says it's actually also the son's fault that he was abused, knocked that down for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, and Alcohol