I loved nearly everything about this book. The idea is so neat and challenging to capture in such a way that the reader can comprehend the setting but Kraus does a great job of making the reader see, feel, smell, and hear all the things. My only criticism is that I think there are too many flashbacks. While mostly effective, they sometimes took me out of the story. It didn't take long to paint the picture of the kind of man Mitt was so some of the flashbacks were overkill. Maybe Mitt could have been less one-dimensional.

I'm a fan of Kraus' books despite being unable to finish at least one of them due to the gross factor and oppressively depressing atmosphere. If you can't handle body horror and animal harm, then skip this one. Looking past the conceit, this is truly a book about difficult father-son relationships, guilt, and letting go.

After reading Whalefall by Daniel Kraus, you can go ahead and add "being swallowed by a Sperm Whale and trapped in its stomach" to the list of things I'm now terrified of. Look, isn't it enough that I suffer from Thalassophobia and the idea of diving around the ocean gives me all sorts of goosebumps? No. Somehow I thought it would be a great idea to follow Jay Gardiner on his trip deep down into the waters and look for the remains of his father. Each new watery incident gave me another dose of anxiety, and with each falling PSI I could feel my pulse pick up. Let's just say this book is even parts terrifying and heartwrenching.

Kraus does an amazing job connecting the thoughts and experiences Jay has on his unfortunate diving trip to the memories he shares with his now-deceased father. Whether these memories are difficult or light-hearted, each of them paves Jay's way into the depth of the Pacific Ocean in his unexpected vessel. Whalefall is a powerful journey about coming to terms with the death of a parent and overcoming the resentment felt for them throughout childhood. It truly is a masterpiece.

The following review appeared in my June 2023 DISPATCHES newsletter. Thank you for providing an ARC! Great read!

"There’s so much buzz out there already concerning Whalefall, and with good reason. This is one of the best books I’ve read in ages. There’s something very special about this story. I couldn’t stop reading it. I was right there with every word. At first, the premise may seem unrealistic or far-fetched, but once you’re in the story, it feels true and terrifying. The research into diving and whale biology is terrific. The biggest truth centered around the fractured relationship between a son and his father. I don’t want to say more without spoiling anything. Whalefall accomplished something remarkable in making me see the world . . . my world . . . in a different way. This is an unforgettable tale. Magnificent storytelling."

Jay Gardiner has set himself on a mission - to bring back his father's remains (likely buried somewhere in the bottom of Monastery Beach's bay) and bring about some closure in his life (and maybe also proof that he's not as much of a lost cause and let-down like his old man had been). As the dive begins and he continues to mentally grapple with his father's suicide from a year ago (and all the years that led his father up to that point), things seem to go okay, though he has no luck finding any signs of his father's presence.

As he starts thinking he's run out of luck and perhaps the dive will be coming to an end, Jay finds himself literally face-to-face with a giant squid who's actually swimming for its life against an even greater predator: a sperm whale. Through a few catastrophic unfortunate events, Jay, along with the giant squid, are swallowed into the belly of the whale, and Jay only has about an hour left before his oxygen runs out - and his life. There, he will have to come to terms with more than just his tank running out.

What I really loved:
- This was a sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat survivalist horror/thriller set underwater, which feels like a bit of a rare kind of storyline to find these days. I loved how unique it was and how, in theory, it could be something that happens.
- I loved the facts about sea life that were absolutely strewn throughout the whole narrative. The author seemed to have consult a lot of folks in the scientific community and it would seem that those things were factual (though I'm not 100% certain, though I hope!). Not only was it a fast-paced read but I enjoyed learning things as well (about diving, about marine life, about whales especially and the food they feed on).
- I also really appreciated the author's acknowledgments in the back, with a bit of an explanation of the origin of this story, but also some resources at the end regarding help and support regarding suicide prevention. This section really showed the author's heart behind the story, I felt.
- As many have said before, this IS more a story of a young man and his relationship with his father, and the way the author was able to blend the reality of Jay's situation in this whale belly with that of his father was really well done and beautiful in its own way. The diving life, life in the sea, being caught inside this thing that was bigger than him, it was all a large metaphor for this stormy relationship between him and his father, along with regret, but also maybe redepemtion or at least some sort of closure and lessons learned.

What I didn’t love:
- There were a handful of times that I teared up - I was shocked that a horror novel like this could bring tears to my eyes, though the sadness was over animals rather than humans (which is entirely typical and characteristic of me as a person and reader). I always wish for better and the best possible outcome and I wasn't given that, though I understand that was part of the story and the way it needed to go.
- The story had a smidge of a slow start and the style of writing takes a little bit of getting used to before it seems to really hit its flow, so it required a little bit of patience. But once Jay his the water and the dive starts, things get rolling pretty quickly!

Overall:
What an unexpectedly wild ride this book was! I was able to read this through Netgalley as a ready-to-read eArc (approval not needed!), and if you know about these, sometimes they can be really hit or miss - sometimes they're books that desperately need some hype, and sometimes they're true gems that you've never heard of but are surprised by the end to find out you actually DO want to hype the heck out of it because it was actually really good! This was one of those - the really good ones. I definitely recommend this for those who like a solid bit of gore and horror added to their survivalist thriller stories. I would throw this book within the same family as The Troop or The Deep by Nick Cutter, or maybe even The Ruins but Scott Smith ... except underwater and in the belly of a whale.

Thank you to both MTV Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an early review copy!

WHALEFALL is an extraordinary book, a thrilling tale of survival-horror with genuine heart and soul. The prose is lean and clean, the story plotted perfectly, featuring set-ups with multiple pay-offs, and a structure that makes exposition a gift rather than a trudge (providing backstory piecemeal and out of order makes it feel “shown” rather than “told”). The book is awesome, but more than that it is AWE-some, filling the reader with terror and wonder. Phenomenal.

“Jay knows the figures. Seventy percent of the planet is water. Most of that water is deep ocean. The origin of everything. Less than five percent of the deep ocean is mapped. Humans know more about Mars. Anything could be down there. Therefore, everything is.”

This quote from Whalefall by Daniel Kraus helps to show what this book is about: a mixture of science and philosophy. A story of both survival and grief, Jay Gardiner has to use everything his loved ones have ever taught him after being swallowed by a sperm whale while searching for his father’s remains.

This is a beautiful book, and worth the read. While some parts made me anxious with the descriptions of what Jay had to do, the short chapters gave the book a quick pace and urgency that kept the story flowing. Intermixed with chapters of Jay’s past with his father, the novel paints a full picture of a young person coming to terms with life and death.

Like swallowed whale stories of the past, this one is also an allegory of the relationship between father and son, and how to survive when one is “swallowed” by grief. I appreciate that the author did tons of research to make this story as scientifically accurate as it could be. I found myself googling things about whales because the book made me more curious. Whalefall is an excellent book!

This one was just not my cup of tea. I went in with different expectation and I feel like it is more an introspective journey than a thrilling sea adventure. If you are into the deep look at family relationships and death this might be for you.

An excellent book that keeps you wondering "Could this really happen". I was hooked and couldn't put it down.

Thank you to MTV Books and NetGalley for providing a review copy.
I barely even know where to start with this book. It was beautiful, haunting, terrifying. It gave me actual anxiety - that hasn't happened since I read Bird Box years and years ago. I have always been fascinated by the ocean, but also incredibly scared of it. New fear unlocked.
I also lost my father a year ago and we also had a very complicated relationship. Whalefall was a gut punch on an emotional level, too. This book deserves to be famous, to be taught in high schools. It is absolutely astounding and like no other book I've ever read.

Grief. It can feel claustrophobic. Kraus's Whalefall reels you in to Jay's grief over the passing of his father and their strained relationship. What a meticulously researched and beautiful story. It was gripping and haunting. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy when it's released in August. Thank you, NetGalley, for an early ebook copy! It definitely lived up to my most anticipated release of the year!

Whalefall has a unique concept -- a diver gets accidentally swallowed by a whale and must find his way out before he's digested. Each of the whale's four stomach chambers is increasingly acidic and therefore deadly. I went in expecting and hoping for a survival thriller but what I what I got was mostly a father-son redemption story. There are an awful lot of family flashbacks, which I think would have been better if shortened and left at the beginning to establish the diver's reasons for being in those dangerous waters in the first place. The flashback really waterlogged the thrills and suspense, in my opinion. The book is well-written, but I did find myself skipping and skimming through a lot of it.

Whalefall is the story of 17 year old Jay, whose family has been recently devastated by his father’s suicide. The loss is further complicated by the fact that Jay and his father had been estranged for over a year. Mick was a larger than life, overbearing figure—a man who could never hold down a steady job, but who was revered by the local diving community for his exploits. Grieving the loss and seeking some kind of closure for his mother and sisters, Jay decides that he will dive into the bay where his father was last seen and retrieve his body.

The book bills itself as a scientifically accurate thriller about being swallowed by a whale. And yes, there’s lots of cool science, a sperm whale, and even a giant squid. But just as Moby Dick (referenced in the book’s epigraph) is less about a physical whale than what the whale symbolizes to the crew of the Pequod, Whalefall is not just about a guy getting swallowed by a sperm whale. It’s about survival, grief, and grappling with the thorniness of family relationships. It veers a little into the mystical even as it remains rooted in scientifically accurate whale anatomy (did you know sperm whales have multiple stomachs?).

If this sounds boring, it’s not. (Neither is Moby Dick!) I started reading and literally didn’t stop until I finished it. It’s very intense but also darkly funny. Kraus doesn’t shy away from gore, either. Google “the bends” if you want a disturbing mental image of what happens to the human body at certain depths. I loved this book and heartily recommend it to anyone who loves thrillers with a darkly beating heart.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

Jay Gardiner has taken it upon himself to locate his father's remains in the Pacific Ocean off Monastery Beach. He feels that by doing so it will help him with his guilt over not coming around during his father's cancer battle and later suicide the previous year. His father was a hard man who loved the ocean and was hard (too hard) on his son when it came to everything in Jay's life, resulting in Jay leaving his parents’ home as a teen and never coming back.

Everything is going well during the dive until he spots a giant squid which wraps its tentacles around him as a sperm whale begins to feed. As he and the squid are sucked into the whale's mouth, he soon finds himself in the Whale's first of four stomachs. With only one hour of oxygen left, he must find a way out.

This book was a very interesting surprise. Not only is this book about a man swallowed by a whale, but it is also family dynamics, guilt, depression, illness, emotional/verbal abuse, a father-son relationship, and survival. The descriptions in the book are vivid and put me right in the water and stomach of the whale. As Jay's oxygen levels begin to decrease, the tension mounts. Will he find a way out? Will he survive?

Whalefall had me on the edge of my seat and I found myself immersed in the book. This was a fast paced read which had me worried and hopeful all at the same time. I loved the dialogue that Jay had inside the whale. During his time in the whale there are flashbacks to the past which ultimately led him to this moment.

As I mentioned the descriptions in this book are vivid, which I loved but they are also vivid when it comes to what is inside the whale's stomach and the injuries Jay receives while doing his best to find a way out of the whale. Whew, what a page turner!

This was such a great book that was well written, fast paced, thought provoking, shocking and moving.

This book sounded really good but I definitely expected something hokie and kind of b movie-esque. I have a back ground in marine biology and more specifically with whales so I prepared myself for some eye rolls BUT this book surprised me in a big way. It did take me maybe 10-15% of the book to get thoroughly into it but once that hit it was SO intense. The strife with Jay and his dad and with Jay and the whale both were so deep and, at points, devastating. I was so invested in Jays survival and his redemption. It's a heartbreaking and anxiety inducing ride that genuinely didn't let up until the last page. The science was really good and I liked the progression of Jays mindset. His struggles with himself, his dad, and his own survival felt so real, it was like reading a memoir at times rather than a fictional story.

Also loved the short chapters and the pacing. I loved the writers clear dedication to this story. I loved how the ending was framed. I really really liked this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and MTV books for this ARC

Wow, this book is a tour de force. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from this but certainly not a riveting thriller in the belly of a whale. Like how The Martian brought impeccable research and scientific accuracy to space exploration, “Whalefall” does the same for the oceans.

“Whalefall” is the story of diver Jay Gardiner, wrestling with grief over the suicide of his father after a cancer diagnosis. His father was local diving legend whose shadow strangled Jay when he lived. They had a complicated relationship, one of those where the world only saw the legend and not the private cruelties.

Filled with regret at not being there for his dad at his bedside when his cancer got bad, Jay makes one final, challenging dive that he hopes will redeem him in the eyes of the diving community and his family.

But things go terribly wrong and Jay ends up trapped in the belly of a giant sperm whale with his oxygen running low. He must dig deep into his emotional reserves and the lore his father taught him to survive.

I found myself at the edge of my seat as Jay came close to death several times and each time found another way out. The character development was wonderfully rich and detailed; I loved how the chapters alternated between present day and flashbacks to Jay’s childhood, so that we really dug deep into his relationship with his dad, who in the end was not the villain Jay had always built him up to be.

This is a thriller about a dive gone wrong but it is also a story about family, fathers and sons, mental health, and the courage to be unconventional to survive.

I also loved the unusual narrative structure with very short chapters, sometimes only a paragraph, and the lyrical style of the writing, the use of dialogue and parentheses. I suspect that comes from the author’s graphic novel background.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

While diving in attempt to find his deceased father's remains, Jay witnesses something that few people have ever seen- a giant squid, alive and floating in front of him. The situation quickly turns deadly when a sperm whale comes to eat the squid and Jay becomes entangled in the squid's tentacles and is swallowed along with it.
I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and great for readers who like scientific elements included in their thrillers. I appreciated author's attention to detail, although warning to anyone with a sensitive stomach- there are some pretty gnarly descriptions of injuries and the contents of a whale's stomach. The discussions and realizations surrounding Jay's tumultuous relationship with his father gave the story real depth (pun intended), made me cry, and I think will resonate with a lot of people.
I would recommend this to people who enjoyed Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, Devolution by Max Brooks, and Artemis by Andy Weir.

This book completely blew my mind! It felt like a mix of Andy Weir-like factual science writing with the thrill of a rollercoster and throw in some profound realizations on life. I have never tried ayahuasca, but I imagine the emotional trip and spiritual awakening are a lot like this book. It seems ridiculous that a diver could be accidentally swallowed by a whale, but the lessons on relationships, and the connection between all living things are inspiring and true. Read this book if you want to read something completely unique, moving, and enthralling!

Thank you to netgalley and MTV books for a copy in exchange for an honest review

Whale fall is a one-sit read! It’s gross and gory and magical and scary! It’s a wild ride in the bell(ies) of a whale. And a story of grief, regret, self realization and forgiveness. I will never forget this book.

Moby Dick meets Pinocchio meets Look Homeward, Angel meets Jaws. Having abandoned his family as a teenager because he was never accepted by his tough-as-nails father, Jay Gardiner further turns his back at his dad's deathbed and suffers disdain by family and the diving community of Monterey Bay, who saw Mitt Gardiner as a living legend of the sea. Determined to set things right and be welcomed back home, Jay embarks on a perilous adventure to find his father's remains, lost at sea in the tumultuous bay, on an ill-advised solo dive. Loaded down with gear, but forgetting his all-important gloves, Jay dives too far into the deep zone searching for a bone, skull, anything to bring back and lay to rest in his father's empty grave. Suddenly sucked into the middle of a battle between mortal enemies - a giant squid and a sperm whale - Jay realizes the folly of his impulsive mistake too late as he and the cephalopod are sucked into the huge maw, then the throat, and finally the stomach chamber of the whale. Thus embarks one of the most harrowing, eerie, and blood-drenched nautical survival tales, and heart-wrenching self-discovery stories of the era, written by one of the best horror and YA authors of our time. Whalefall is fantastical, metaphorical, and cinematic in scope yet nuanced with precision and well-researched detail. Finely-crafted wordplay and mind-blowing inspiration combine with spine-tingling drama. Fans of Kraus's Rotters and The Shape of Water will recognize and applaud the writer's latest outrageous thriller, and new readers will yearn for more.