I really enjoyed this one! It was very emotional with Jay grappling with his emotions and getting closure about his relationship after the death of his father. I learned a lot about whales and diving from this book which was a nice surprise!

"Whalefall" by Daniel Kraus is an intriguing and thought-provoking read that offers a unique blend of horror, mystery, and coming-of-age elements. Kraus's storytelling skills are on full display here, creating a captivating narrative that had me engrossed from start to finish.

The novel's premise, revolving around a mysterious disappearance and the eerie discovery of a dead whale, sets the stage for a suspenseful and atmospheric story. Kraus does an excellent job building tension and keeping you guessing about what's really going on beneath the surface.

The characters are well-crafted and relatable, particularly the young protagonist, who undergoes a compelling journey of self-discovery and growth throughout the book. Their interactions and relationships with others in the small coastal town add depth to the story.

While "Whalefall" excels in many areas, I felt that the pacing was a bit uneven at times. Some sections moved briskly, while others felt slower, which affected the overall flow of the narrative.

Additionally, the novel delves into some dark and unsettling themes, which may not be to everyone's taste. It's a book that lingers in your mind, and its unsettling moments can leave a lasting impression.

A perfect metaphor for dealing with grief, Whalefall is both horror and inspirational. It was exciting, informative, and really examined what a person goes through after losing a loved one. I want to read more from this author and would recommend this to horror, thriller, and sci-fi fans alike.

Wow! To be able to tell a story that takes place with essentially one character and one location is an incredible feat, and Daniel Kraus delivers such an engaging tale that is remenicent of lore.

I wanted this to be the same vibes as Project Hail Mary but under water and feat a whale….this was not that.

I was so bored and confused that I truly could not keep reading. Pretty sad I Dnfed this at 30%

Absolutely loved this book! The writing is superbly beautiful, parts so tense my heart was pounding. A little bit of a lull in the middle (most books have this) but a great ending. I've been thinking about it for weeks since finishing it.

I didn’t completely dislike this, it just felt a little underdeveloped. Like there was another layer of storytelling that should have been there, but was missing.

For me, the likeability of a main character is not always paramount to a good story, but in this case it really would’ve made all the difference. Instead of rooting for the MC because you liked him (you really didn’t), you were rooting for him because of the circumstances he finds himself in. Honestly, as the reader, I couldn’t have cared less if he made it out of this situation alive.

I kept seeing comparisons, so I expected this to be a little bit like The Martian (except inside a whale), and to a small extent it was. But much more than that, it was about a son seeking reconciliation with his dead father and finding catharsis while trapped in the belly of a whale. The pairing of daddy issues and whale facts was strange and a bit off-putting. Overall, the book left me wanting more of the scientifically-accurate sea thriller that was promised, and less of the family drama.

And as long as we’re using the Martian as a blueprint for this kind of story, it’s notable to mention that the main difference between the two lies in their tone. Where the Martian uses humor and lightheartedness to offset the dire circumstances and seriousness of the predicament (not to mention all the scientific jargon), Whalefall fully embraces the bleak and sad tone, and offsets a serious situation with flashbacks to another serious and bleak situation: the estrangement and subsequent death of the MC’s father. In my opinion, this book could have really benefited from having more humor and a less depressing tone. I wish it leaned in to some of playful lightheartedness the Martian did, despite its serious subject matter. I think doing so would’ve gone a long way to endear the MC to the reader—*ahem make him more likeable*—and give the reader some stakes in the outcome.

I can’t say I would recommend this for everyone, but I think it could be enjoyable for the right person at the right time. It was well written, and had an almost cinematic quality to it that I think many readers would enjoy. I will not be surprised when this is adapted for the screen.

I tried very hard with this one.

I think it’s an incredibly ambitious concept but the slow burn and the constantly changing timelines really ruined the story for me. Apart from that, I failed to feel any emotion from what should have been a deeply affecting drama.

I know many have loved Whalefall and I’m sure it’s simply that I was not the right reader for it.

I am immensely grateful to Atria Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

4 star read. What happens when you're swallowed by a whale and you only have one hour of air to survive? What an intense, unusual read. It was a story about family. About father and son. The challenges of both roles. It invoked a claustrophobic feeling. I was right there with the character. My breathing became shallow. The pain was intense. I was scared to be experiencing what he was. For me, all I had to do was stop reading/listening to get away. The character? He was stuck. It was horrible what he went through. This has the makings of a great horror film.

#NETGALLEY. #WHALEFALL #DANIEL KRAUS

This is an incredible book from start to finish. Jay is a compelling character and the story moves at the most perfect pace for the kind of narration it is, taut and urgent. Excited to read more from this author.

Whalefall has an exciting premise and combined with some interesting backstory and character building makes for a solid story overall. I think unfortunately for me when you read the comparison to books like "The Martian" you get an unrealistic expectation of what this book is. Sure, there is quite a lot of scientific information here but the pace is considerably slower and you do not get those constant "MacGyver" moments. This is not a fun story either. It's sad and stark and brutal.

I did really like how the story gives a sense of scale inside the whale and you feel the claustrophobia and helplessness of the situation weighing heavy on Jay throughout. It feels like very real desperation and you experience the conflicting emotions of the instinctual fight for survival and the willingness to just lay down, close your eyes, and let it all be over. While the confluence of events that lead to Jay ending up in the belly of a whale seem pretty unrealistic, once you accept it has happened the struggle inside feels authentic. There is nowhere to go and the cramped confines and limited resources as Jay's disposal fuel the despair.

As far as the structure of the book goes, I think the constant flashbacks to Jay's life, mostly concerned with the complicated relationship he has with his father, really bog down the pace and take you out of the action and drama unfolding. These interludes often serve to setup the next escape attempt, but ultimately I think it takes the foot off the gas a little too much for a story like this. It feels less like a pulse-pounding countdown from 60 minutes of air than I think it should.

In the end there is lots to like here and while I wish the pace were ramped up a little bit, it still moves quick and has lots of action and surprises in store. For a story about someone swallowed by a whale and fighting for his life to escape, there is surprisingly deep character development and while that was not what I expected and hoped for necessarily based on the premise, it works pretty well.

This book started out as a slow burn for me, especially for about the first 30 percent of the book. Once passed that mark it was unlike any other book I had read, Once the main character ends up in the whale’s stomach it gets very descriptive and the author did a great job of making you able to envision what he was going through. Very intense and disturbing at times but every bit worth the read!

Amazing. A beautiful, tense, wonderful, loving, terrifying story. It is what it is: a story of a man swallowed by a whale, and about a father-son relationship, and dealing with death. Gripping, readable, meaningful, deep as the ocean.

🐋 This book was much more profound than I could have ever expected. I anticipated a crazy scary read about a teenage boy swallowed by a whale. I did not anticipate the emotional depth I experienced in the backstory about the boy and his father.

🐋 This book is so claustrophobic! I honestly felt like I was holding my breath during the whale scenes, and then finally breathing again during the backstory chapters.

🐋 The relationship between the boy and his now deceased father was insightful and genuine, but also heartbreaking and tragic. They had a complicated relationship, which added a lot of depth to the story.

🐋 The present-day chapters (when the boy is in the whale) are labeled with the amount of air he has left in his tank. It was unbelievably stressful watching that number drop with each turn of the page! Such a simple, yet effective way to draw the reader into the story and amplify fear.

🐋 Some of the whale scenes get a bit gory, but it was realistic, not gratuitous.

🐋 Interestingly, while I hoped the boy would rescue himself from the belly of the whale, I actually started feeling sympathy for the whale as well.

🐋 Look at that cover!!! It is amazing!

🐋 This book isn’t just about a boy being swallowed by a whale. It is also about relationships – the ones we have with other humans and the ones we have with nature and other living creatures. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you @NetGalley and @atriabooks @mtvbooks for an eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This year seems to be the one where all my anticipated reads are actually not good at all. In fact, this one became a hate read.

This book is sold as “scuba diver gets eaten by whale” but we are given “guy does everything he’s not supposed to do and finds out the consequences” but you’re also just super bored while reading it at least until he finally gets stuck in the mouth of a sperm whale. Honestly just skip to around 30% to when he finally gets swallowed to get to the good stuff. It’s much like taking a ride on the Magic School Bus through the indigestion system of a whale.

To begin though, I have so many problems with this book

Why is the main character speaking in third person? It was so disorienting how we are omniscient. The writing is also clipped which I noticed seems to be a popular style in horror novels but to me just reminds me of “why waste time say lot word when few word do trick.” Like literally “Eyeball pain.” was considered a full complete sentence.

The back and forth between past and present every other page (bc the chapters are only 3 pages long) was unneeded and just dumped so much useless information about the dad. We get it, he was the best guy to others and you’re not. We didn’t need example after example written in soliloquy of him. And the way his entire family chooses to ignore his trauma and disrespect his boundaries just to guilt him over and over again really made this an annoying read. None of the characters were likable at all.

The fact that it’s set after 2020 and we bring up the pandemic for a whole added subtext like really I’m trying to escape reality where that didn’t happen LOL there was no reason to throw that in there. The dude is here to get eaten by a whale I don’t care about a pandemi lovato that wasn’t even explained just assumed that we all know. Future generations reading this will be like “what does this have to do with whales or the story?” and my answer is “I have no fcking clue.”

So funny enough, I’m very familiar with Monterey Bay and Carmel, California as that’s where my family would often go for vacations! I have never known anyone to spot as many animals as this guy did in his one dive. First a freaking MOLA MOLA while diving right off the beach? Then he spots a giant squid (at regular depths mind you). Then gets eaten by the sperm whale that’s obviously it’s competitor. Also orcas show up? No way all that happened in the same dive. The bay is known for its whale watching bc of the underwater canyon said to rival the Grand Canyons depth but youre not gonna see every single rare sea animal.

Also the whole point of him traveling down there is for his fathers remains from 2 years ago. He wants to find the bones of a human which only last 3 to 6 months. The book is named “whale fall” which is what happens when a whale carcass falls to the bottom of the ocean and creates almost its own ecosystem of food. Those last up to a decade bc it’s a giant freaking body! It makes NO SENSE why you would think ur dad, a regular human, would just be right on the floor of the ocean. Next to a chasm. Deeper than the grand canyon. *yeah okay gif*

The rules of scuba diving that this guys father instilled in him and that we are forced to learn are just thrown out the window. I’ve never known someone so unprepared for something they over prepared for. He forgets his gloves when he will be using his hands 90% of the time. (This is actually common tho). He doesn’t have a diving knife?? That’s literally a necessity for any scuba diver. He let his hands go just to readjust his mask when he could’ve held out till he reached a place he could hold on with his feet. Like was there no research put into this? For someone who was supposedly drilled on the in and outs of diving, he honestly deserved to die cause my god.

Like I said, once you reach almost halfway, you take a journey through the digestive system of a whale. This is where the horror/splatter punk comes to play finally. With grotesque descriptions of choking on vomit, to burning in stomach acid, to being stuck in the stomach like a body bag suit was enough to even make me wiggle with claustrophobia. So the descriptions and talent for the grotesque are there, it’s the plot that is lacking in weight and plausibility.

When he finally gets in the stomach though, he literally does nothing. The entire time, nothing. “If I lay here. If I just lay here.” Stabs the whale once and then just turns into a worm. Useless. Somehow still describing the events happening outside the whale in perfect clarity though. It’s like he’s Bran Stark watching through the eyes of the raven, I mean whale.

A fellow reviewer described this book as “daddy issues inside a whale” and I couldn’t agree more.

Don’t waste your time with this novel. The concept is intriguing but the execution leaves much to be desired. Wait till someone else tries their hand at it and we will be all the more better for it

This was claustrophobic, wild, and so entertaining. I really felt this whole book. You were rooting for our MC to make it the whole time. I can't wait to read more from the author.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

A solid thriller similar to Andy Weir's The Martian. The experience was surreal and executed well. I wanted a bit more detail from the family relationships and father figure backstory. The novel barrels through with a quick paced read but ends a little too quickly.

I thought this was going to be silly but it wasn’t at all and I loved it! It was really well written and my only downside is that it wasn’t super fast paced. It took me forever to read but the short chapters and writing style keep you hooked.

Thanks to NetGalley and MTV Books for the advanced copy of this book. I was so intrigued when I read the description of this book...so unusual...a story about being eaten by a whale! Of course it's much more than that as you discover the complicated relationship between father and son. I highly enjoyed that aspect of the book and I did enjoy the literal ride through the whale to keep reading. Of course it all seems highly ridiculous however the underlying themes of family relationships vs a survival story does compensate for that!

This book is such an adventure. The concept of this story just hooks you from the start. it’s really a few stories within one main story. It’s a tale about a son, Jay and his late father, Mitt. I love the way the story unfolds with present and then looking back at past events. Jay has committed himself to recovering his dad’s remains off the coast of Monterey Bay. Seems like a lost cause but he is determined to try to locate them. AS Jay embarks on his adventure with each step of the way there is flash backs to moment in his life with people close to him. The story is engaging, thrilling, and told beautifully. There is grief, sadness and healing all within the story. Many thanks to Atria Books, MYV Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.