Orca

By: Arthur Herzog III

Narrated by: Mark Moseley

Orca - the killer whale - is one of the most intelligent creatures in the universe. He hunts in packs, like a wolf. Incredibly, he is the only animal other than man who kills for revenge. He has one mate, and if she is harmed by man, he will hunt down that person with a relentless, terrible vengeance -across seas, across time, across all obstacles.

©1976, 2003 Arthur Herzog (P)2014 Arthur Herzog

revenge....mercy.....

a superb story of profound meaning and depth and feeling for anyone willing to plumb its dephs.

Orca the Killer Wale

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Because it is a wonderful book

What other book might you compare Orca to and why?

None other like it

Which scene was your favorite?

The ending

If you could rename Orca, what would you call it?

The Killer Whale

Any additional comments?

Orca is also movie,

A Story to be Known

Orca is definitely a great book. The story might sound weird but the execution is fantastic. The story of a killer whale that searches vengeance at least in my opinion is far better that the killer shark Peter Benchley imagined; well, at least in the book. The book makes you think and analises both sides of the conflict, with a magnificent resolution that puted this book as my best read of the quarentine. I don't have any issue, but the book would be perfect with multiple voices and orca sound effects in the scenes the whale appears. MAGNIFICENT MASTERPIECE.

Same story, different attitude

So if you’re like me and you sought this book out because you’re a fan of the movie, you both will and won’t be surprised. You won’t be in that it mostly follows the same plot of a man pitted to do battle with a ‘revengeful’ killer whale in a coastal New Foundland village, the only major plot difference being the extended Miami opening. In terms of a lead character, Jack Campbell is very different from the Nolan character from the film, with a very different backstory; neither is better or worse than the other. Nolan’s backstory in the film is much more tragic, which I feel works a bit better in how he relates to the main orca. On the other hand, while he isn’t necessarily more likeable, Jack feels a bit livelier. I suppose it boils down to personal preference, but I feel all the characters in the book have a bit of a better characterization.
As for the plot of the film, the extended Miami opening, while maybe a bit superfluous, gives the book an extra little bit of an adventure feel. Still, while there are a few moments of intensity, it’s better to think of this story not as a horror piece, but as a contemplation filled drama; the big hook of the story is to imagine if it was Moby Dick who wanted revenge, and then Captain Ahab just wanted to be left alone. I will say the book has quite a few scientific inaccuracies, and Jack’s relationship with Rachel leads to some questionably outdated narrative moments. What saves it, for me anyways, is the titular orca himself, Nickfin, who comes off as both truly intimidating and tragic.
I also like the cold New Foundland setting, which feels quite different from, sigh, Amity Island’s warm New England setting. Speaking of which, in terms of narration, while the main narrator is a fine if basic choice, he absolutely nails the few New Foundland accents found sprinkled through the book, hence the 5 star rating.
To summarize, I dug this book. The main thing I guess is that if you like the movie, you’ll like the book. In some ways, the book is a bit more upbeat than the dour movie, and while that leads to some things feeling a bit flat in comparison, you can’t help but like the way the characters are written here. At about 5ish hours, I guess this is a good book to listen to if you want an alternative to Jaws, or are, like I was, feeling moody on a perfectly pleasant Summer day.

The Townspeople Stole The Show

The protagonist starts out as a pretty unlikeable guy and he stays unlikeable for most of the story. He sort of redeems himself by falling in love, but not really. I didn't care for or understand most of his crew, either, except for the wise old sea dog, Gus who loves the protagonist and his sister like they were his own children. Still, the main character is a jerk and it was hard for me to get past that. The interesting characters were the mayor, constable, and marina owner. The mayor is all for catching the whale until things go south. Once the whale starts attacking the village, the whole town turns against our hero. When our hero decides to go after the whale, the town rallies behind him. I liked the machinations of the mayor and the fickle nature of the townsfolk. The narrator was really good. Nice flat voice for most of the narrative and really came alive with the French and Newfie accents with the villagers. When the protagonist comes unhinged and screams at the whale, he gave him a whiny kind of screech, which did nothing to endear me to the main character. I plan to seek out other audiobooks he's done. I really can't recommend this book. If you have fond memories of the movie, it's interesting to learn the source material. There are some good action sequences and a surprising revelation from one of the characters near the end that, I thought, added some depth.

A Dolphin By Any Name…..

Loved the orca’s view point! Once again MAN was the real killer. It was better than the movie! One should always read “based on” books! JB