Whalefall: A Novel

(Hardback)

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Description

The Martian meets 127 Hours in this powerfully humane (Owen King, New York Times bestselling author) and scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver whos been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.

Jay Gardiner has given himself a fools errandto find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. He knows its a long shot, but Jay feels its the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dads death by suicide the previous year.

The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squids tentacles and drawn into the whales mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run outone hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale.

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 lifeonly to find a reason to live in the most dangerous and unlikely of places.

Reviews

"Whalefall is a rare thing: a page-turning, hold-your-breath, man-vs-nature thrill ride, but also a gripping exploration of the unnavigable relationship between parent and child. It's an anguished cry from the depths of that struggle. Bravo!" -- Christopher Golden,New York Timesbestselling author ofRoad of BonesandAll Hallows
"A moving character study disguised as a riveting, cinematic survival thriller...The pacing is relentless, the aweastounding, and the tensionpalpably constricting, even as Kraus takes time to provide necessary details both scientific and visceral." * Booklist *
A brutal, unsparing, wildly uplifting book. The sheer buoyancy had me breathless by the end. -- Clay McLeod Chapman, author ofGhost EatersandWendell & Wild
Astoundingly great.Whalefallis, quite simply, a beautiful novela must-read story of the sea, the nature of awe, and the briny relationships between fathers and sons. -- Gillian Flynn, #1New York Times bestselling author
Brave, bold, epic, propulsive.Whalefallis a deeply moving thriller that holds a planets worth of hope in the pit of its stomach. -- Joshua Ferris, National Book Award finalist
The primordial nightmare at the core ofWhalefallis fantastically gripping. A character study developed in the most intense crucible imaginable, Krauss latest novel is smart, surreal, and powerfully humane. -- Owen King,New York Timesbestselling author
"A masterpiece. I haven't felt so alive reading a book in a long, long time." -- Alissa Nutting, author ofMade for Loveand creator of the HBO Max series
One of our oldest stories, one of our greatest fears, and one of our most capable writers. Stranger things than being swallowed by a whale have probably happened, but they've rarely been told so well. -- Stephen Graham Jones,New York Timesbestselling author
Whalefallis a mind-blowing, take-your-breath-away adventure, but its 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. -- Dan Chaon, National Book Award finalist and New York TImesbestselling author ofSleepwalk
Unexpectedly emotional and wildly entertaining,Whalefallis the tense revampof Jonahs tale you didnt know you needed." -- Gabino Iglesias, award-winning author ofThe Devil Takes You Home

Author Bio

Daniel Kraus is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and graphic novels. He coauthored The Living Dead with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. With Guillermo del Toro, he coauthored The Shape of Water, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Also with del Toro, Kraus coauthored Trollhunters, which was adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix series. He has won two Odyssey Awards (for Rotters and Scowler), and The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch was named one of Entertainment Weeklys Top 10 Books of the Year. His books have been Library Guild selections, YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults picks, Bram Stoker finalists, and more. His work has been translated into over twentylanguages. Daniel lives with his wife in Chicago. Visit him at DanielKraus.com.