DNF: The Beast of Cretacea by Todd Strasser

The Beast of Cretacea
written by Todd Strasser
published by Candlewick Press, 2015

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Book Depository, Goodreads

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange  for an honest review.

Where I stopped reading: The end of Chapter 34 — page 166 of the ARC.

Why I stopped reading: I wanted to like this book. I really did. I had high hopes that my memory of being forced to read Moby Dick in high school would be swept away by a new, awesome, sci-fi version of the same story (ish). <sigh> It’s the COOL version of Moby Dick. I just don’t like it. Mr. Strasser can awesome it up all he wants . . . I’m just not into ocean beast hunting.

What others have rated this book: According to Goodreads, the average rating for The Beast of Cretacea is 4.27 stars. It looks like a majority of readers gave this book 5 stars. There were 2 5-star reviews on Amazon. Just because I didn’t finish this book doesn’t mean you won’t.

About the book – from Goodreads: Master storyteller Todd Strasser reimagines the classic tale of Moby Dick as set in the future—and takes readers on an epic sci-fi adventure.

When seventeen-year-old Ishmael wakes up from stasis aboard the Pequod, he is amazed by how different this planet is from the dirty, dying, Shroud-covered Earth he left behind. But Ishmael isn’t on Cretacea to marvel at the fresh air, sunshine, and endless blue ocean. He’s here to work, risking his life to hunt down great ocean-dwelling beasts to harvest and send back to the resource-depleted Earth. Even though easy prey abounds, time and again the chase boat crews are ordered to ignore it in order to pursue the elusive Great Terrafin. It’s rumored that the ship’s captain, Ahab, lost his leg to the beast years ago, and that he’s now consumed by revenge. But there may be more to Captain Ahab’s obsession. Dark secrets and dangerous exploits swirl around the pursuit of the beast, and Ishmael must do his best to survive—if he can.