The Whale Warriors

By: Peter Heller

Narrated by: James Boles

In the tradition of The Perfect Storm, The Whale Warriors takes us on a hair-raising journey aboard a whale-saving pirate ship with a vigilante crew whose mission is to stop illegal Japanese whaling in the stormy remote seas off Antarctica.

For two months, journalist Peter Heller rode aboard the vegan pirate ship Farley Mowat as it stalked its prey, a Japanese whaling fleet, through the storms and ice of Antarctica. The ship is black, flies under a jolly roger, and carries members of the Sea Shepherd Society, a radical environmental group who are willing to die to stop illegal whale hunting.

The Sea Shepherd ship, led by the charismatic Captain Paul Watson, a modern-day anti-Ahab, takes extreme risks in defense of whales and ratchets up the stakes. The ship is almost sunk twice, once in a force gale. Heller re-creates a nail-biting showdown when Watson and the crew attempt to ram an enormous Japanese whaling ship on the high seas, trying to tear open its hull with a steel blade called a "can opener". The crews on board both ships know that there will be no assistance in this desolate part of the ocean. In 35-foot seas, it is a deadly game of Antarctic chicken and a fast-paced, rollicking adventure in which the stakes cannot be higher.

©2007 Peter Heller (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"A convincing, passionate account that both educates and infuriates." ( Kirkus)
"A lot of nail-biting action, plus good information." ( Library Journal)

Good book

If you could sum up The Whale Warriors in three words, what would they be?

Intense but radical

Who was your favorite character and why?

Peter Heller. I liked the way that he called a spade a spade. Animal Planet shy's away from the eco-terrorist subject, but Heller brings it right up.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it was too long for that.

Ugh the narrators voice

Great book but could barely get through it because every sentence sounded like a news anchor.

The concept seemed great

What did you like best about The Whale Warriors? What did you like least?

The premise of adventure in Antarctica.The monotonous voice of the reader who didn't vary the voices despite a plethora of characters.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The crazy captain who was willing to risk his life to save whales from the Japanese.The slow unfolding of the details of the various crew members lives was used to create suspense,but instead made me think that there would never be any real action.

What aspect of James Boles’s performance would you have changed?

Vary the voices and give the charecters life.Maybe it would have been better to read this one instead.

Do you think The Whale Warriors needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Absolutely not.It could have been done in a third less space.There was too much time devoted to the mundane facts of peoples lives.In an adventure book the reader or listener wants action.

Any additional comments?

The premise of the book was better than the book itself.I did sort of figure out that Japanese people want to kill the whales not so much for the sake of killing the whales,but perhaps to increase the fish stocks.They are greedy and malevolent people when it comes to the ocean.They also fish off the coast of Somalia and dump their toxic waste there.No wonder Somalia pirates want to hi jack ships.

Excellent book, monotonous reading

Would you listen to The Whale Warriors again? Why?

Excellent, lively story about a thought-provoking topic.

Would you be willing to try another one of James Boles’s performances?

No, he's a terrible reader. Sounds almost computer-generated.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended.

Information activism and adventure in protecting mammals in the ocean.

It is difficult to listen to this without Feeling guilty for the Bed behavior of Human kind. This is both an adventure and a true story and a little bit of science and a few scenes that are tear jerkers. It could have been improved if the reading had been. Red with a little bit more passion. I believe the voice was arbitrarily keeping neutral. It's worth it and it makes you wanna do something

Fascinating

Heller recorded his impressions during a trip on the Farley Mowat. It's a sympathetic but not uncritical view of Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd. You get a much better idea of them than from the TV series. Very well read.

Yes, the narrator is truly terrible.

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

Sadly, no, I wouldn't recommend the audio version. I did, however, buy the paperback edition to give to a friend.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Whale Warriors?

The game of "chicken" the ship played with the Japanese. Even the narrator didn't ruin that.

How could the performance have been better?

Different narrator.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

How disappointed I am in Green Peace.

The Narrator is AWFUL!

What did you like best about The Whale Warriors? What did you like least?

It's a good story, very educational.

What could Peter Heller have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Pick a better narrator.

How could the performance have been better?

He really makes it hard to want to continue to listen too. He's monotoned, has no inflection, no differences in voices for characters; it almost sounds computer generated. He needs to add life to the characters.

Was The Whale Warriors worth the listening time?

I'm struggling with this one because the story is good but the narrator makes it hard to justify the time.

Narrator just destroys this book.

I’ve read other books by Peter heller and quite enjoyed them, but this narrator could make intense action packed fiction sound dry boring and without emotional content. As heller is describing aquatic encounters that have affected his life forever and brought tears to his eyes the narrator sounds like he’s reading instructions on how to program your vcr. So. Read the book. And I do mean read.

A book everyone needs to read!

I thought I knew something about ecology and whaling until I read this book. I didn't. I had no idea of how brutal whaling is and how much we've already damaged the oceans. But the author lays it out clearly. "Gripping" is kind of overused, but it's the word that comes to mind when I try to described this book. After finishing it, I looked up the Sea Shepherd web site and became a supporter. I hope other people will enjoy this book and perhaps also become supporters of Captain Watson's organization.