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maaartha's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Vomit, Death of parent, Suicide, Terminal illness, Cancer, Blood, Body horror, Death, Confinement, and Gore
crykea's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Animal death
Moderate: Suicide and Terminal illness
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
It was enjoyable for the most part, but I don’t think it was my cup of tea. I can see this really working for others; the writing was great, the descriptions vivid and visceral, the science was fascinating, and it had family drama to boot.
Whalefall is a “scientifically accurate thriller” about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by a sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. it’s claustrophobic and horrific. But in large part it’s about the relationship between a father/son, intolerable grief, forgiveness and survival.
For me: it sucked to listen to all of the abuse that was directed specifically at Jay from his father Mitt. It was textbook narcissistic behavior of singling someone out, and the rest of his community though Mitt was the greatest. While important for both the narrative/themes and people to read about… it’s usually something I avoid because it can be triggering.
I really dislike when stories take somewhat abusive/toxic people and try to redeem them in death.
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide, Vomit, Alcoholism, and Terminal illness
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
thepeonyinink's review
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Terminal illness, Gore, Blood, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent and Suicide
aposthuma's review
- 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
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Medical content, Vomit, Blood, Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Grief
ricksilva's review
- 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
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.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Cancer, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Animal death
Moderate: Child abuse
c_dmckinney's review against another edition
- 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 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.
Graphic: Gore, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Fire/Fire injury
cluelessavian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Blood, Gore, Animal death, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Cancer, Suicide, and Confinement
Moderate: Alcoholism and Child abuse
Minor: Car accident
Father against "Fragile Masculinity," Acid Burnssofiaaaaa's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Gore
inirac's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Medical content, Cancer, Body horror, Blood, Grief, Terminal illness, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders