With the sub-title “or I Know Why the Winged
Whale Sings” and a picture of a diving whale’s tail fin (or fluke) on the cover
it’s no surprise that the novel concerns the adventures of a small team of
whale song researchers.
Scientist Nate and photographer Clay spend
their time and other people’s money bobbing around the coastal waters of Hawaii
seeking, filming, recording, tagging and generally cooing over the various
species of whales. Also aboard are young cute research assistant Amy, who tests
Nate’s professional detachment, and white would-be hippy Rasta-boy Kona, who
tests his patience.
The banter and flirting aboard and baiting
of professional rivals ashore soon become secondary to a run of disturbing
incidents that threaten their research efforts. Is this just bad luck or is
there a mysterious force at work bent on scuppering their chances of
discovering some inconvenient truth?
Things go from bad to worse; and from
believable scientific fact to credibility stretching science fiction, as a
secret of the ocean deeps is discovered by Nate, and not in a pleasant way.
The writing is easy on the eye but the laid
back laconic style, while good for the banter and flirting, takes the edge of
the (many) cliff-hanging moments when a character is endangered.
In summary a light, imaginative read with
humour, likeable characters and dubious science.
I've read this book - and it was partly the cover which drew me in! Very silly book but I didn't mind - it's written with such wry humour and full of banter. Not much of a story but a fun read.
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