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A review by roadtripreader
From the Belly by Emmett Nahil
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
All the prayers on the Merciful were answered. The answer was Nope...no mercy for you lot. If the sea is a tempest - then it stands to reason that the creature who dies(cheats death) and is reborn from that tempest (in a dead whale no less) is not to be trifled with.
I loved having a hundred questions jostling for attention as I read: The All-knowing Man From Inside The Whale - is he a sea-god? A sea-monster? An inbetween? Is Essex a manifestation of that Essex ship?!? So many questions I could eat them
I was firmly in his corner from the start. Well, him and Isaiah Chase - something about tortured souls aboard a ship whose only purpose is to torture and murder whales really drew me in. Poseidon was asleep during the whaling era. The Man From The Belly of the whale was not.
Plot/Storyline/Themes:
Ah yes. Get even. Even Steven? Square. The chaotic beauty of slow-marinating revenge sanctioned by The Gods Below is a far better tool for karma.
So if you find a "dead" man in a whale, maybe check that he's dead first before talking smack about him and threatening to throw him overboard🤷🏽♀️ See I love a story about vengeance and this feels not just like vengeance or revenge - this feels like beautiful, terrifying wrath. I love it. Plus I hate whalers so I'm okay with everyone on the Merciful suffering.
Two Sentences, A Scene or less - Characters:
Captain Coffin is a powertripping alcoholic nepo-baby trash. Man fvck him.
The Man From The Whale brought the ocean with him and I had to wonder if this ship would become an island ship complete with skeletons of the crew, lush greenery poking through and supernatural keeping it tethered to one spot. Maybe not but I was not disappointed with the outcome.
I don't know whose past was more intriguing- The Man from the whale or Isaiah Chase.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene:
🌸The storm kills men up-top, and the man from the Belly of the whale wakes up. Not ominous at all.
🌸Captain Coffin's greed: dumping the boon for cruelty's sake.
🌸Isaiah's Dream: deceased dad with a message and picture. Whale
🌸Isaiah and The Bucket
🌸Bye Bye Bellamy - you had it coming.
🌸Fallon and Isaiah in the brackish ocean inside The Hold
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
🖤 “Let me out of this cell, and you will know exactly what a curse feels like.” (I love a good cures. Release the God from the Belly of The Whale already.)
🖤 “What you let me see in sleep, Gods Deep and Gods Above, let me see in waking.” (Chase the Seer)
🖤 “Whalers deal in death. They go bloody wherever they travel. They revel in it. I can’t just stop what’s been set into motion” (Essex)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
■The hum, Essex and the shadow
■Whaler's Contract
■Captain Johanna Briggs
■Isaiah's instant deep healing vs Merciful's Rot
■ A rich boon of fish
■ The ocean in The Hold
■Dreams of The Seer
■Bellamy's Eye and The Whale
GR/SG Rating: 3.75
CAWPILE: 7
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Horror (Fantasy) Books by 2025
I loved having a hundred questions jostling for attention as I read: The All-knowing Man From Inside The Whale - is he a sea-god? A sea-monster? An inbetween? Is Essex a manifestation of that Essex ship?!? So many questions I could eat them
I was firmly in his corner from the start. Well, him and Isaiah Chase - something about tortured souls aboard a ship whose only purpose is to torture and murder whales really drew me in. Poseidon was asleep during the whaling era. The Man From The Belly of the whale was not.
Plot/Storyline/Themes:
Ah yes. Get even. Even Steven? Square. The chaotic beauty of slow-marinating revenge sanctioned by The Gods Below is a far better tool for karma.
So if you find a "dead" man in a whale, maybe check that he's dead first before talking smack about him and threatening to throw him overboard🤷🏽♀️ See I love a story about vengeance and this feels not just like vengeance or revenge - this feels like beautiful, terrifying wrath. I love it. Plus I hate whalers so I'm okay with everyone on the Merciful suffering.
Two Sentences, A Scene or less - Characters:
Captain Coffin is a powertripping alcoholic nepo-baby trash. Man fvck him.
The Man From The Whale brought the ocean with him and I had to wonder if this ship would become an island ship complete with skeletons of the crew, lush greenery poking through and supernatural keeping it tethered to one spot. Maybe not but I was not disappointed with the outcome.
I don't know whose past was more intriguing- The Man from the whale or Isaiah Chase.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene:
🌸The storm kills men up-top, and the man from the Belly of the whale wakes up. Not ominous at all.
🌸Captain Coffin's greed: dumping the boon for cruelty's sake.
🌸Isaiah's Dream: deceased dad with a message and picture. Whale
🌸Isaiah and The Bucket
🌸Bye Bye Bellamy - you had it coming.
🌸Fallon and Isaiah in the brackish ocean inside The Hold
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
🖤 “Let me out of this cell, and you will know exactly what a curse feels like.” (I love a good cures. Release the God from the Belly of The Whale already.)
🖤 “What you let me see in sleep, Gods Deep and Gods Above, let me see in waking.” (Chase the Seer)
🖤 “Whalers deal in death. They go bloody wherever they travel. They revel in it. I can’t just stop what’s been set into motion” (Essex)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
■The hum, Essex and the shadow
■Whaler's Contract
■Captain Johanna Briggs
■Isaiah's instant deep healing vs Merciful's Rot
■ A rich boon of fish
■ The ocean in The Hold
■Dreams of The Seer
■Bellamy's Eye and The Whale
GR/SG Rating: 3.75
CAWPILE: 7
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Horror (Fantasy) Books by 2025