The Beast of Cretacea by Todd Strasser (review)

Ishmael needs to adjust quickly to the new planet on which he’s just arrived, because the lives of those he loves back on the dying Earth depend on his earning money for their transport by serving on a boat. Ishmael doesn’t know oceans, islands, fish, or even fresh food, but he soon becomes the natural leader of his small group of newbies. He also rapidly ascertains that his boat is captained by a maniacal man whose only focus is finding and killing the Great Terrafin, and he’ll take everyone down in his pursuit if necessary. There’s a whole lot of book here: gripping descriptions of an Earth polluted beyond belief, time travel, long passages featuring gory sea battles, mystical island folk, and, of course, the overlaps with a very famous book, but other than occasionally flat characterization, the mix works quite well. Additionally, it won’t take more than a few pages for even the uninitiated to catch that this is essentially Moby-Dick in sci-fi form. There is significant richness in potential comparisons that will be lost if the reader doesn’t know Moby-Dick, but even taken as a standalone title, this is an intriguing, complex book.