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In his entertaining adventure-in-whale-researching, Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings, Nathan Quinn, a prominent marine biologist, has been conducting studies in Hawaii for years trying to unravel the secret of why humpback whales sing. During a typical day of data gathering, Nate believes his mind is failing: the subject whale has "Bite Me" scrawled across its tail. Events become even stranger as the self-proclaimed "action nerds," Nate, photographer Clay, their research assistant Amy, and Kona, a white Rasta (a Jewish kid from New Jersey), encounter sabotage to their data and equipment. They also observe increasingly bizarre whale behavior, including a phone call from the whale to their wealthy sponsor to ask that Nate bring it a hot pastrami and Swiss on rye, and discover both a thriving underwater city and the secret to what happened to Amelia Earhart.

Thoughtful, irreverent, and often hilarious, Moore has crafted a tale that contains a bit of the saga of declining whale populations due to hunting and habitat destruction, as well as his over-the-top, decadent wit as applied to scientific methodology and professional jealousies. Moore notes a pasty, rival scientist "looked like Death out for his after-dinner stroll before a busy night of e-mailing heart attacks and tumors to a few million lucky winners," and that killer whales (which are all named Kevin), are "just four tons of doofus dressed up like a police car." Smart, sincere, and a whale of a story, Fluke is terrific. --Michael Ferch

From AudioFile
Nate Quinn is an easy-going marine biologist studying the "music" of humpback whales. Through Bill Irwin's narration, listeners can fully imagine Nate's shock when he sees the words "Bite Me" on the underside of a whale's tail. But when the rest of novel's large cast is introduced, Irwin's narration becomes problematic. His unmodulated reading prevents the science humor and numerous asides common to Moore's writing from shining through. Further, his attempt to add individualized voices for a very few characters, such as Kona, the "spliff-smoking Rastaman," distracts from the story. While Moore's humor is decidedly thoughtful and irreverent, Irwin's inconsistent delivery disappoints. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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First Sentence:
A my called the whale punkin. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
whaley kids, whale huggers, cetacean biology, humpback song, torpedo range, whale calls, dive computer, whale ship, back orifice, water guy, whale tail, whale song, big female, killing whales, wind line Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old Broad, Nathan Quinn, Christopher Moore, Cliff Hyland, Jon Thomas, Always Confused, Clay Demodocus, Coast Guard, Libby Quinn, Gilbert Box, Papa Lani, Tako Man, Constantly Baffled, Captain Tarwater, Maui Whale, Bwana Clay, Haile Selassie, Margaret Painborne, Amelia Earhart, Jet Ski, Auntie Clair, Captain Poynter, Cielle Nufiez, Discovery Channel, Elizabeth Robinson New!
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