What a fast paced yarn with great depth (both in setting and character study.) As a Moby Dick fan I appreciated the detail about whale anatomy and function. Find out what it would be like to be swallowed by a whale! Anyone else read this exciting book want to comment? Please share.
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No, but it’s on my list! I loved Daniel Kraus’s latest (Angel Down).
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I haven’t, but very much want to based on your comments. Thanks for making my TBR list even longer!
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I haven’t read this yet, but is on my very long TBR.
Move it closer to the top of your lists! A movie is in the works, with tentative release date of Oct. 16, 2026. Daniel Kraus did the screenplay as well. Can’t wait (even tho’ the book is always better).
OK, just bought Whalefall by Daniel Kraus. If I have time, I’ll read it after The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I have a feeling that Angel Down is very different than Whalefall, so approach that one with caution. Angel Down is set in WWI, and if you’ve read anything about that war you know it was brutal; Kraus doesn’t spare the grisly details. It’s also a bit surreal (it does concern an angel found on the battlefield after all). If you’re interested in that one, you can take a look at my review.
(Edited to add author names. Did you know notice that books thumbnails are now showing up in a bar at the top & the bottom of this page? If you put in title & author, the system will add them in! It’s not perfect yet but it’s getting there! Thanks, Nick!!!)
Kim, I did read your great review on Angel Down yesterday. Yes, it sounds a bit brutal and also quite a different format - written as one long sentence. It also sounds like a great study of humans stretched to the limit yet tested to cooperate for the command good, if I understand the plot correctly - love that challenge. I will definitely give it a go in a couple weeks. I think you’ll find Whalefall a bit slimy, given the whales innards and Jays injuries, but his courage will overshadow the goop.
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I have read both Whalefall and Angel Down. Daniel Kraus is a very inventive writer very character -driven and descriptive. Gore- filled but with a purpose to illuminate the settings of his story not gratuitious.
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Well said, Jolene! Agree
I read it last March. I thought the mood of the story matched the setting–gray and bleak. I did however really appreciate the exploration of an age old question. Will she stay or will she go?
Barbara, I’m not sure you are talking about Whalefall…I don’t connect with the “will she stay or will she go” comment???
I started it but didn’t finish it. Found it boring.
Connie You are right. I was talking about Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor. I apologize for my careless reading of this thread. 
Barbara, no problem. In fact, your bringing up her version of Whale Fall got me so interested that I watched some interesting you tube reviews of it and have downloaded the book to my kindle. The two books could make an interesting contrast of applying the actual whale fall deconstruction to the plotlines. I’m intrigued!
Glad I helped you down the rabbit hole to a new book. The Kraus book looks a little too claustrophobic for my taste, but it does sound intriguing.
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