Review: And the Ocean Was Our Sky

And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is up there with A Monster Calls as Patrick's finest work. This is amazing, a fantastic re imagining of Moby Dick from the whale's point of view, with real thought put into how the whale society functions. Absolutely amazing. I'll be looking forward to seeing the real illustrations, but even the samples here add immeasurably to the story. Just fantastic.


Update: I've now seen the finished work, and it's amazing. Dream like pictures in just enough detail; most are in black and white, so the occasional flash of colour really pops and stands out. Buy this for the illustrations, even if you don't like the story.


Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.


"I do not wish to kill you," I said, surprising myself by saying it out loud, though quietly, for only Demetrius to hear.
"That much is obvious," he said, though not happily. "You have let me live far beyond kindness out of your own fear." He dropped his head. "But you will kill me. Before the end. And nothing between whale and man will ever change."
I breathed from the bubble in my throat. There was no further delay I could make. He said he did not know what the upside-down ship meant, so he was right:
I would kill him.
And that would be the end. So many ends.

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