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| Author: |
Edwina Harvey |
| Barcode/ISBN13: | 9780980699807 |
| ISBN: | 9780980699807 |
| Imprint/Brand: | Peggy Bright Books |
| Release Date: | Nov 2009 |
| Format: | B Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 230 |
| Price in AUD: | $19.95 |
| Categories: | Australian Author Book Science Fiction Young Adult |
In a future where whales and dolphins can communicate with humans, and where the Whale Nation has brought space travel back from the brink of extinction, humpback whales tour the galaxy in massive spaceships called “The Whaling Fleet” performing Whalesong to receptive audiences. Uki is a teenage Japanese girl who steals a file from a whale to impress a guy in her gang, but she gets caught, and has to perform restitution to Targe, the humpback whale she's stolen the file from, by touring the galaxy with Targe and his dolphin sidekick, Charlie. Uki doesn't like Targe, Targe doesn't like Uki, and Charlie thinks he's in for the worst tour of his life until they discover Uki has a special talent.
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Book review - The Whale's Tale by Edwina Harvey
It's the immediate future, and humanity has made it into space, created colonies & encountered aliens. The only problem is the fact that humans aren't responsible for these discoveries, the whales are. After discovering a way to communicate with the whales, 100 years on, the Whale Nation is one of the integral parts of Human society. In a similar style to David Brin's dolphins, whales have become the musicians of the Universe, travelling interstellar distances to put on performances as part of the 'Whaling Fleet'. Humans being the type of species that they are, there's a lot of issues with the fact that the whales are the inventors of star drives, anti-gravity and so on, whilst humans are no longer at the top of the tree. Uki is a Japanese teenager, who, when challenged by a gang boss, steals a computer file from a humpback whale called Targe. Unfortunately, she gets caught, and as rehabilitation is sent to tour with Targe & his dolphin sidekick Charlie. For Uki, this is Hell - she hates Targe, Targe hates her, and Charlie has to try to deal with both of them. En route, they discover that she has a talent for creating mental images which can be broadcast to match Targe's singing, and things start changing. Then the attacks start on the ship she & the whales are travelling in......
Definitely written for the teen / young adult reader, this was a fun, entertaining book. The author has a gift for writing, portraying well the thoughts & behaviour of a teenage girl trying to find her place in life as she grows up, and the novel definitely gets you intrigued, then hooked. Edwina also has a sense of humour in her writing, which makes the book far easier to read than one of the turgid sagas produced by many authors. Adult readers, please be advised that it is a novel for teenagers, albeit one that adults can read & enjoy for the story & writing style. Besides, who could resist a species that on starting talking to humanity, demands "I want a lawyer!"?
The Whale’s Tale by Edwina Harvey, reviewed by Len Newland.
Labelled as science fiction but actually political allegory aimed at children, The Whale’s Tale employs a grumpy old bachelor (played by a spacegoing humpback whale) suddenly responsible for a lonely attention-seeking 14-year-old girl (who is Japanese) to promote abhorrence of Japanese whaling. Published in Australia, the novel ignores blood on non-Japanese hands and makes no statement of the Japanese position on the issue. The publisher indicates target readership of secondary school age; I would think the 11-13 age group (pubescent girls).
Within its objective, The Whale’s Tale is a fun read that kept me smiling as The Whale and The Girl pit their wits against each other. The Whale is a singer who performs concerts for aliens. The Girl has a special but not unique imagery talent that facilitates the expected ultimate reconciliation. Referee is a dolphin who enjoys bubble baths and fried chicken, and all three characters go for chocolate ice cream.
I wouldn’t see the minor confusions of whales with fish, incorrect word concatenations, frequent point of view switching, saidisms and redundancies significantly disturbing a child’s reception of the story, so I offer The Whale’s Tale five stars out of five, but the question for parents is how you wish to raise your children. As propagandist literature for children, The Whale’s Tale is a good piece. Characters and plot are well presented, the graphical depiction of a Japanese whale hunt is effective, and the treatment of an invasion of bad guys is as non-violent and neatly handled as possible.
