I bought this book because I thoroughly enjoyed "Fool" by this same author, but the horrible, awful, emotionless reading by Bill Irwin killed it for me. Parts that should have been funny could not even warrant a chuckle because of the disservice Irwin does to this book. I will never buy anything he reads again. I will give Moore's work a second chance, never Irwin. It's a let down for the author and especially the listeners.

I liked this book a lot. I am a Christopher Moore fan, so I enjoy his unique style and wit. Although this one did have as many "laugh out loud" moments as some of his others, it still had the rich variety of characters and humor. I will recall this story each time I hear the word "goo." Compared to his other books, I think this has been my favorite. I read for many different reasons and when it is just for something light and fun, I can always count on Moore to exceed my expectations in those areas.
The narration was well done. I did not have trouble with tone or the character voices. It was easy to listen. This is not the type of book if you are looking for something serious, but it is a wonderful way to add some fun to a drive.

Yeah, as stated by others, the narrator is really bad; by far the worst I've heard reading one of Moore's books. The voices are decent, but this guy seems the easily confused type. Still, it's not fatal, and the text makes up for the narration. A worthy listen!

I really enjoyed other books by the same author, but I just couldn't get over the horrible narration of this one. The narrator seemed bored by the whole book and always spoke in monotone, except when he's completely mangling hawaiian words. The story itself is just ok.

I wouldn't say this is one of Moore's best books. It didn't grab my funny bone and leave me smiling in the same way that "Dirty Job" or "Lamb" did.

Christopher Moore is really good at creating interesting, memorable characters. I wish he'd put his usual amount of effort into that aspect for this book.

Kona, the fake Hawaiian/Jamaican Surfer Dude is up to standards for sure. But most of the rest of the characters have nary an interesting personality quirk between them.

The "Old Broad" is also an interesting character, but she's hardly even in the story. A few other ancillary characters show some promise as well. But as far as the main characters go, they're not much to speak of.

The general ideas expressed in the book are amusing. For example, the notion that all Killer Whales are named Kevin, and biological technology that involves a lot of sphincter usage.

In general, though, I felt that this book just didn't live up to Christopher Moore's other works. It just didn't have the same humour and soul that I've enjoyed from his other books.

But the plot was interesting enough, as were the ideas and settings. So I can't say that I regret buying this book.

The narrator did a passable job. He's okay at voices and his rhythm is good. He'd be better if he could narrate in less of a monotone.

I understand there's a version of this story narrated by Fisher Stevens. I really like some of Stevens' voices - but his rhythm is terrible, and he often assigns the exact same voice to different characters making it hard to differentiate between them when they're having a conversation.

I personally appreciated having a different narrator for this book. I'll admit though, it's hard to find the perfect narrator. It's a very difficult skill.

All in all, I'd recommend buying this book. Even though I'm more lukewarm about it than Moore's other books, I still believe that it's a worthwhile read.

I have to agree with the previous review, the narration is awful. This book deserves and upbeat, sharp fast narration, not this slow dull rendition. I've several times thought the narrator did not read the book first as many lines have rather stilted or awkward delivery.

What starts out rather seriously, whale researchers in Hawaii, quickly becomes an amazing tale that really keeps you wondering what the heck is going on! I loved the characters, the reading style, the story line and the crazy ideas. When it was all over, I kind of think to myself, hmmm, what about those whales, maybe there is more to them than we know. The whaley boys are hilarious, the ship is imaginable and there's even a love story or two.
What a wonderful, fun, goofy book!
Christopher Moore is the best!!

This is one of Christopher Moore's best books (as far as plot goes - similar to Dirty Job). There are plenty of twists and turns. It really kept me guessing! The characters are awesome, as always. Kona's pigeon speak is hilarious! I do agree that Bill Irwin was a little monotone in the beginning, but it gets better as the story progresses.

This might help your experience:
1. Do not listen to this right after listening to chronicles of Abby Normal. Susan Bennett did such a wonderful job and she is a tough act to follow.
2. Try listening to a non-fiction book with a lot of facts first. Then this might suck you in right from the beginning.

In preparation for tackling Moby Dick, I though this would be a nice whale tale. It was. The plot twists and turns. Christopher Moore's stories are alway interesting and funny.

Christopher Moore - YES
Bill Irwin - NO!

It was all quite interesting.

He was very flat and lacking in inflection. Narration was nearly painful. I only finished the story because I spent a credit on it. Irwin should be banned from Audible.

I was mostly irritated due to the poor narration.