Audiobook Review: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Thriller, Science Fiction

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (August 8, 2023)

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Author Information: Website

Narrator: Kirby Heyborne

Throwing us into the belly of the beast—quite literally!—Daniel Kraus pens a “scientifically accurate thriller” in Whalefall, challenging the boundaries of traditional genres while submerging readers into the depths of suspense and emotion.

Our story follows Jay Gardner, a teenager with a complicated relationship with his father. The youngest of three children and the only boy, Jay never felt like he was good enough for Mitt, an accomplished diver who often grew frustrated that he could not inspire the same sense of adventure in his son. His tumultuous upbringing eventually drove Jay away, and for two years he refused to return home, until it was too late. Dying of cancer, Mitt decided he would go on his terms, drowning himself off the coast of his beloved Monastery Beach.

Burdened with grief and guilt, Jay sets out to redeem himself with a solo dive into the Pacific Ocean to recover his dad’s remains. But what began as a quest for closure swiftly becomes a nightmare when our protagonist encounters a colossal squid—as well as the sperm whale hot on its tail. To his horror, Jay finds himself entangled with the squid, becoming indistinguishable from prey. Unwittingly swallowed, his only hope of survival now rests on navigating the unhospitable innards of the whale, with only one hour left of his dwindling oxygen supply.

One thing I’ve observed from reading Kraus’ books, from his co-authored works The Shape of Water and The Living Dead to his children’s and YA titles Bent Heaven and The Teddies Saga, is that he often employs a direct approach in his writing. Themes are hammered home with the subtlety of a…well, 50-ton whale, favoring explicit narration over implication. While his prose can be quite vivid and beautiful, the complexity of his sentence structures and use of over-the-top expressions and language can sometimes make his writing feel unnecessarily wordy and convoluted. I feel obligated to mention this because in audio, which is the format I listened to, these particular affectations in his style are made even more obvious and were somewhat distracting.

Kraus is also constantly drawing parallels between Jay’s literal struggle within the whale’s physical belly to the emotional turmoil stemming from the unresolved issues with Mitt. The bad blood in their strained relationship has been internalized as deeply as he himself has become embedded in the giant creature’s guts. The path to letting go is to literally break free, clearing the way to a metaphorical rebirth. It’s a clever premise, I’ll give it that, but Kraus tends to tell all this rather than show, leaving little room for the reader’s own inference or interpretation. In fact, the whale even “speaks” to Jay as his father at many points.

As you might have guessed, my favorite thing about Whalefall was the survival aspect, though this was surprisingly not the book’s main focus. Instead, most of the story deals with the dynamic between Jay and Mitt, inserting flashbacks to the protagonist’s poignant experiences and memories of his father. Much of the book’s middle is dedicated to this exploration which results in uneven pacing because a lot of the “science-ing” which Jay turns to for solutions on how to escape doesn’t actually come in until near the very end. To the author’s credit though, Whalefall is clearly grounded in meticulous research and attention to detail with regards to nautical science, diving procedure, and marine life.

I was also touched by the emotional weight of the ending, which made up for the novel’s imperfections, making the overall experience worthwhile. There’s no doubt Whalefall is a lot more than a tale of survival, and not just because Daniel Kraus is constantly making it a point to remind you. True, I had some issues with this book, but they were minor gripes. The touching conclusion offers a familial resolution, which goes beyond the sum of the novel’s parts.  As a parent, I understand the desire to want the best for your kids. Sometimes, we can also be the hardest on those we love most. Credit also goes to the narrator’s heartfelt performance, which left me misty eyed.