Moore, Christopher: Fluke

  Amazon  

Christopher Moore's books are all about playful dialogue and weird creatures. They're fun to read. And I really did like aspects of Fluke: a likeable foursome--a marine biologist, a photographer, a faux-Rastafarian, and...Amy--are studying whales off of Hawaii hoping to learn why the mammals sing, and in the process they throw around a lot of witty banter and get themselves in trouble in a big, this-could-lead-to-the-end-of-the-human-race kind of way. I liked the banter part. But the story dragged for me as soon as the weird creature came on the scene. It's not a likeable weird creature, and that's part of the problem. It's the sort of thing you'd want to stomp on with your shoe if its size didn't make that impossible. But also I think the plot dragged once the beastie hove into view. The story became less about the interaction of the principals and more about the biology and history of the creature, which wasn't particularly interesting. So, read it for the dialogue and the interaction, maybe, but if you might be turned off by cetaceous goo and/or living quarters fitted out with more than the usual number of sphincters, maybe give this one a pass.