Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

7 reviews

crykea's review

challenging informative tense fast-paced

• 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

This is the kind of book I've just finished but is not finished with me. I will be thinking if this for a long time and have already pre-ordered the paperback so that I may one day own a copy for myself

---

Content Warnings

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

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

bootsmom3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Medical content, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gore, Animal death, Medical trauma, and Confinement

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

majestictrilobite's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Medical content, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Terminal illness, Vomit, Bullying, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicide

tasnim_2000's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Animal death, Death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

tasnim_2000's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Cursing, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Animal death

Moderate: Cancer

sarahbythebook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

3.5

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

I expected more of a thrilling tale of harrowing escape. I got a psychedelic trip with a sentient whale and a young man capable is withstanding insane amounts of physical pain. 

Whalefall is less about Jay’s struggles inside an aged sperm whale and more about his horrible relationship with his father, now totally lost to him due to suicide. 

Was this the book I was expecting? No. But I did still enjoy it. 

The oceanic science and research into whales is clearly well done. It’s easy to get a bit lost in the technicalities of diving equipment and marine life that sets the backdrop to Jay’s misadventure. Since the ocean freaks me out, I was expecting the thriller aspect to be a bit stronger, but the constant back and forth in time and the self-reflection broke that up in the first half. The second half flew by. 

There were a few things that threw me off totally enjoying this book:
1. At some point, the human mind will shut down from pain and a person will pass out. The amount of injuries Jay sustains makes me think he would have been well past that point, making survival unlikely. 
2. The sentient whale/dad was confusing and seemed like a step away from the careful research that went into whale biology. Not bad, just weird. 
3. This boy needs therapy, and the experience in the whale does not take away from the horrid childhood Jay. I don’t like that the ending makes it seem like all is understood. And shame on his mom and sisters for pressuring and blaming him through the whole thing. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Grief

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic