Welcome to the land of wonders, where time travel is possible, space travel a reality, and "what ifs" come to life. Join me as I explore new worlds--and old ones--filled with scientific wonders, new civilizations, and strange new mysteries to consider.
This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.
That said, on to the review!
Humanity isn't the only sentient race on the planet. Since the evolution of the human race the cetaceans of the world--dolphins in particular--have attempted to bridge the communication gap. They succeeded for a time, but an erupting volcano destroyed that time of harmony and growth. Now, dolphins are trying again, but they face incredible odds: fewer sensitives among the humans, the slaughter of their species by desperate tuna fishermen, and the reluctance/outright refusal of the orcas to initiate the contact. However, an event soon occurs that forces eager dolphins, reluctant orcas, and disbelieving humans to rediscover what their races lost so long ago: the threat of a new volcano right off the coast of Santa Barbara, California! Their ancestors died in one eruption centuries, perhaps millennia ago. Can they, fragmented as they are, succeed where their unified ancestors failed?
A warning to the wise: this book is not for the close- or narrow-minded. You need to be willing to accept that dolphins possess greater intelligence than humans, or you'll hate the book. Overcome this obstacle and you'll have no problem. The book itself goes a long way towards reconciling the reader to the fanciful--or maybe not so fanciful--premise by "humanizing" the dolphins that appear in the novel. The dolphins are perhaps freer in their morals than humans--multiple sex partners despite having mates--but they have desires and needs as humans do, feel emotion and pain as humans do, and have cultures and different languages as humans do. It may be easier to view the dolphins as humans in dolphin form than as dolphins, but this is a conundrum that has no simple way to resolve it. Still, the dolphins are entirely believable as individual characters.
The human cast deserves mention as well. Doctor Sheila Roberts comes across as she should be: driven, forceful, and intelligent. This is no shying violet but a determined--"stubborn" might also fit the bill--woman striving in the face of skepticism and denial. I like Daniel Colter, the newspaper reporter--I really do--but he could use some work: I found him somewhat bland, despite the time spent on developing his backstory, though he comes alive towards the end when he, too, realizes that the dolphins are intelligent. Antonio Batera, the Portuguese-American fisherman, is perhaps the most noteworthy human character. In him we see a truly torn man who must re-evaluate his life and lifestyle late in life and, coincidentally, close to his death.
The premise might require some internal adjustment in the reader, the scientific discoveries might be far-fetched, and the ending might seem just a tad contrived, but the book is still a very good one, and Ken Grimwood's style of writing is easy to get into. I wouldn't anticipate any movies of this book, though: some scenes are too racy for viewing, and the scenes involving dolphins, orcas, whales, sharks, otters, and seals are probably much to difficult to film. Besides, the best place to see a movie is in your mind, and Into The Deep is definitely a must-see, er, read!
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