This hard sci-fi thriller is full of cinematic and wild suspense and would be great for fans of Andy Weir."— Library Journal, starred review

Whalefall Relates a Primal Oceanic Fear Come True - Gizmodo Whalefall Relates a Primal Oceanic Fear Come True - Gizmodo

I think if you let yourself just sink into this one, let the story wash over you and really feel it, this could be an equally powerful read for you. Astoundingly great. Whalefall is, quite simply, a beautiful novel - a must-read story of the sea, the nature of awe, and the briny relationships between fathers and sons." - Gillian Flynn Whalefall is a mind-blowing, take-your-breath-away adventure, but it’s also a tender and moving story of the relationship between a father and son. Daniel Kraus is a writer I greatly admire. He can do anything, and does.” Some time later, Jay finds himself at Monastery Beach, a place in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Most people don’t dive there, as there is a canyon as deep as The Grand Canyon under the surface, and it’s easy to lose your way. Jay wants to find his dad’s bones, but can’t dive down into the canyon because he only has oxygen. You need specialized equipment to keep you from getting nitrogen narcosis, a deadly disease that causes confusion and hallucinations in divers. I haven’t read writing like this since Erika Ferencik’s “Girl In Ice”. The visuals seemed like you are RIGHT THERE in the stomach with Jay, and it was both beautiful and barbaric. The author wanted to make this as scientifically accurate as possible, and it made for a fascinating book. The entire story is good, but the mental pictures it gives are breathtaking. As with “Girl In Ice”, this is one of the most thoughtful, stunning horror/thriller books I’ve ever read. It gets nothing less than five stars!I look across the dimensional expanse and I stare into Daniel Kraus’ eyes and I say, “Dude. Are we really doing this? Really? Ok. Let’s go.” 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.

Book Marks reviews of Whalefall by Daniel Kraus Book Marks Book Marks reviews of Whalefall by Daniel Kraus Book Marks

To say I was surprised by how much I enjoyed WHALEFALL is a gross understatement. I'm not a huge fan of "horror", but there was something about this story that spoke to me. From early on, it's clear this is so much more than just a story of a boy surviving being swallowed by a whale. While that plot line is intriguing, it's the emotional journey of Jay clawing his way from the dark, desolate depths of depression, despair and grief that drew me in and held me captive. Kraus's writing is hypnotic and oddly soothing, like the gentle waves of the ocean cradling you in the depths of its beauty and serenity, luring you in like a siren's song while blinding you to the danger lurking. Like Jay, I became mesmerized by the amazing visual canvas of the underwater world expertly painted by this talented author, enhanced by the power of his lyrical prose as he delivers a tale of hope in the face of indescribable grief and horror. Through short past/present chapters, the author delivers a masterpiece while utilizing Jay's inner dialogue with his father to capture the essence of his broken heart and dreams. As his oxygen decreases and hallucinations set in muddling his thoughts and memories, Jay's driven onward by his father's voice in his mind - Sleepers, Arise! One of the most intense — and moving — stories that will grace the bookstores in 2023…what Daniel Kraus has created here is something that can’t be quantified.” —Cemetery Dance io9: There’s something very alien about a lot of deep sea creatures; how did you approach writing details to work in a way that seems both plausible and otherworldly in their strangeness?BRILLIANT!! Thank you NetGalley and Atria, MTV Books for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review. io9: The structure of this novel shifts in between father-son lessons and the present moment–how did you balance the tension in between those two modes? A moving character study disguised as a riveting, cinematic survival thriller...The pacing is relentless, the awe astounding, and the tension palpably constricting, even as Kraus takes time to provide necessary details both scientific and visceral."— Booklist, starred review Suspenseful and cinematic, Whalefall is an “astoundingly great” (Gillian Flynn, New York Times bestselling author) thriller about a young man who has given up on life…only to find a reason to live in the most dangerous and unlikely of places.

Whalefall review: Stunning novel about being swallowed by a

A New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV and film, known for his collaborations with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, Kraus teamed with The Shape of Water filmmaker on that Oscar-winning feature’s novelization, after working with del Toro to develop the original idea for the film over a decade ago. Kraus also co-authored Trollhunters with del Toro and saw that work of fantasy be developed into an Emmy-winning Netflix series, additionally collaborating with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero on the novel The Living Dead. Also behind The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, which was named one of Entertainment Weekly‘s Top Ten Books of the Year, Kraus had additionally won the Bram Stoker Award, the Scribe Award and two Odyssey Awards, at the same time seeing his works repeatedly named as Library Guild selections, YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults and more. Jay is a 17-year-old boy who recently lost his Dad, Mitt, to mesothelioma and suicide. Mitt spent much of his life in the water, so when he saw the end coming, he weighted himself down and did a whalefall into the ocean. The father and son didn’t have the best relationship, and diving was about the only activity they did together. Jay was Mitt’s only boy, but he is small in stature and sensitive, leading to a lot of ridicule from his father. When Mitt was dying, he begged the family to make Jay come visit him, but Jay refused. Entering the water is like separating from the rest of the world. In complete silence, Jay enters the dark, cold waters of the ocean's depths. So, I'm gonna say right up front here, before I do a (pardon the pun) deep dive, that I've read only one other Kraus novel—which was also highly recommended by someone who's opinion I trust—and that book was Rotters. And I remember not really enjoying that novel, and now I think I know why.

Each chapter has a heading at the top letting us know the PSI Jay has for this singular dive–the time left before he must surface. This becomes very important to the story and it’s an effective tool. While on the dive, Jay is confronted by a giant squid who Jay later determines to be a sperm whale’s latest meal. As Jay attempts to remove himself from the chaos, part of his gear gets caught in the squid’s tentacles. Struggling to get free was fruitless. In a flash, Jay is swallowed whole and finds himself in the belly of the whale beast with only less than an hour left of oxygen to escape his living hell.

Book Review: ‘Whalefall,’ by Daniel Kraus - The New York Times

The primordial nightmare at the core of Whalefall is fantastically gripping. A character study developed in the most intense crucible imaginable, Kraus’s latest novel is smart, surreal, and powerfully humane.” A moving character study disguised as a riveting, cinematic survival thriller...The pacing is relentless, the awe astounding, and the tension palpably constricting, even as Kraus takes time to provide necessary details both scientific and visceral."— Booklist, starred review I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. Somehow they all bore the same vanilla personality. It’s possible that the family conflicts overshadowed the character development, making all the characters one in the same. Or, I may have been more interested in the escape process, instead.

This book WOWED me in so many ways! It's a book about a relationship between a father and son that is totally mismatched. He thought his father hated him at times. His father also was "a drunk" and couldn't hold a job down. He had once been a great diver. The only thing that they have in common is the love of the ocean.