Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Whalefall

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

b00murded's review

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adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

2.5

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ataylor8's review

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It was SO BORING. The main character hates himself and his dad, and for the first 15% that’s all that we learn. The main character is so full of hate that I would be in a bad mood anytime I picked up the book (but that could be a me problem). I really wanted to get to the thriller part, but I got stuck in the swamp of sad backstory and couldn’t get out.

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thepeonyinink's review

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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

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tortle's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

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ricksilva's review

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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.

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cozmicdotcom's review

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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

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c_dmckinney's review against another edition

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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.

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