336 pages
English language
Published June 17, 2023 by MTV Books.
Whalefall is a scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.
Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. He knows it’s a long shot, but Jay feels it’s the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dad’s death by suicide the previous year.
The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid’s tentacles and drawn into the whale’s mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he …
Whalefall is a scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.
Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. He knows it’s a long shot, but Jay feels it’s the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dad’s death by suicide the previous year.
The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid’s tentacles and drawn into the whale’s mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run out—one hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale.
Whales don't have hands, but if they did they would look miniscule in comparison to the hamfistedness of Failwhale.
Ok, THIS is the vacation read you need, the book you can devour in a single afternoon on the beach. If you don't mind reading something that is occasionally very gory and very disgusting. Because it delivers exactly what it promises: a scientifically accurate thriller about a dude who gets swallowed by a whale.
Jay is processing his estranged father's death by trying to retrieve his remains from Monterey Bay, on a particularly dangerous dive that he is no way prepared for. And then, well, let's just say things get a little out of hand. I described it to my mom as "a guy processing his trauma by undergoing a much more dramatic and life-threatening trauma."
I'm a sucker for survival stories, and I couldn't stop reading this. I also could not stop telling my family sperm whale facts. (Sorry guys.) I bounced off the writing at first, but ultimately …
Ok, THIS is the vacation read you need, the book you can devour in a single afternoon on the beach. If you don't mind reading something that is occasionally very gory and very disgusting. Because it delivers exactly what it promises: a scientifically accurate thriller about a dude who gets swallowed by a whale.
Jay is processing his estranged father's death by trying to retrieve his remains from Monterey Bay, on a particularly dangerous dive that he is no way prepared for. And then, well, let's just say things get a little out of hand. I described it to my mom as "a guy processing his trauma by undergoing a much more dramatic and life-threatening trauma."
I'm a sucker for survival stories, and I couldn't stop reading this. I also could not stop telling my family sperm whale facts. (Sorry guys.) I bounced off the writing at first, but ultimately found that the staccato style really helped drive the urgency and maintain the tension. Might make a good movie, if only our protagonist did not spend the majority of their time being digested.
This short novel, described as a scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver swallowed by a sperm whale, was not for me. It seemed to be chapter after chapter of either repetitive daddy issues, long-winded descriptions of diving and diving equipment, or tedious descriptions of escape attempts. The writing was marred by flourishes clearly meant to ramp up tension but which just became extremely annoying. I almost put it down multiple times, but forced my way to the end. I wish I hadn't bothered.
