The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles by Jason Guriel (ARC Review)

Title: The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles
Author: Jason Guriel
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Science Fiction, Poetry
Publisher: Biblioasis
Date published: August 1, 2023

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Biblioasis in exchange for an honest review.

The follow-up to Guriel’s NYT New & Noteworthy Forgotten Work is a mashup of Moby-Dick , The Lord of the Rings , Byron, cyberpunk, Swamp Thing , Teen Wolf … and more.

It’s 2070. Newfoundland has vanished, Tokyo is a new Venice, and many people have retreated to “bonsai housing”: hives that compress matter in a world that’s losing ground to rising tides. Enter Kaye, an English literature student searching for the reclusive author of a YA classic—a beloved novel about teenage werewolves sailing to a fabled sea monster’s nest. Kaye’s quest will intersect with obsessive fan subcultures, corporate conspiracies, flying gondolas, an anthropomorphic stove, and the molecular limits of reality itself. Set in the same world as Guriel’s acclaimed Forgotten Work , which the New York Times called “unlikely, audacious, and ingenious,” and written in rhyming couplets, The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles cuts between Kaye’s quest, chapters from the YA novel, and guerilla works of fanfic in a visionary verse novel destined to draw its own cult following.

⤖ My Review ⬻

I have to be honest. When I heard about The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles by Jason Guriel at a virtual book event last year, I was very excited to request an ARC and read it. I was psyched that the synopsis mentioned Newfoundland and Tokyo in a believable-sounding version of a future set in 2070.

I really struggled with this one, and don’t remember a lot of what happened because the writing style pulled me out of the story constantly. While I appreciate experimental writing styles, I found the rhyming couplets and constant shifts in perspective to be distracting for myself personally.

That being said, I think that there are definitely people out there who will absolutely love this writing style and book as a whole! So I do recommend checking The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles out if the synopsis sounds intriguing to you! Guriel’s inventive approach to storytelling will definitely resonate with readers out there.