A review by silodear
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

This is one of the worst books I’ve read in a long time. The writing is painful, the story is comically terrible - at times I felt like I was watching the campiest horror movie. Yet, it was compelling enough that I (hate?)read this entire book in 24 hours and it’s existence doesn’t harm anyone, so I feel two stars were earned. 

Working through your parental trauma in the belly of a whale is some next level strangeness. And I have to say, it wasn’t executed well. The gore in this book was horrifying, and that’s saying a lot given I very recently read Hell Followed with Us.  All in all, a strange way to spend several hours of covid isolation. I audibly whispered “what the fuck?” too many times to count.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings