Whale Adventure

Hal & Roger Hunt Adventures #5

by Willard Price

On the high seas, hardships and horrors fill old-fashioned whaling techniques.

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, Childrens, Young Adult, Action, Novels, Indonesian Literature

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Willard DeMille Price was born in Peterborough, Ontario, and moved to the US when he was four. He got his MA and Litt.D from Columbia. He held a special interest for natural history, ethnology and exploration and made numerous expeditions for the American Museum of Natural History and the National Geographic Society. Price also went on to edit various magazines on travel and world affairs and spent six years working in Japan as foreign correspondent for New York and London newspapers. He travelled in seventy-seven countries before his death in 1983.

Reviews

[DJ_Keyser · Rating 4 out of 5]

My three most fondly remembered of Willard Price’s formative Adventure series were Amazon Adventure, African Adventure (which I will revisit next) and this one, which sees Hal and Roger hit the high seas on the deck of an old-school whaling vessel, searching for blubber. It’s a departure from previous entries, as there is no capture here. Instead, the boys are party to the now widely-considered barbaric practise of harpooning the magnificent beasts of the ocean and stripping them unceremoniously from top to tail for oil. It’s unpleasant business for all concerned, but Price’s descriptions of the practise make for an incredibly transportive and utterly visceral read. It’s like taking a time machine back to a completely different day and age, one where blood was the accepted cost of commerce, with the hard graft of desperate men the means. Thankfully society has at least moved some way forward in this respect, although we can still be just as ruthless in our efficiency today.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Willard Price's take on Moby Dick treads a little too close to its source material. Whilst referencing the fate of the Essex, which in turn inspired Melville's epic, Price nonetheless avoids any allusion to Ahab or the white whale in his own voyage of shipwreck and mutiny. In this fifth adventure, the boys embark on a voyage aboard the Killer, an old fashioned whaling ship to see how the grisly business was done in days gone by. Captaining the ship is the sadistic Grindle, a swaggering bully determined to make his crew's lives a misery. Also aboard is a scientist from the American Museum who wants to study the habits of whales.

Unlike the other books in the series, the prime focus here is on wholesale slaughter. It's the nastiest, bloodiest of them all and has the protagonists up to their knees in guts, reluctantly murdering the gentle giants of the seas. Price describes killer whales as malicious sea devils and goes on to relate numerous false claims of attacks on humans. We now know the killer whale to be a sensitive, peaceful animal. Later, the boys get to experiences the 'wonders', although in my opinion the 'horrors', of a modern factory whaler. The statistics of the annual number of whales killed by the industry are supposed to be impressive, yet the modern reader is more apt to turn away in disgust. A squalid little book that dips in quality from the rest.

[James Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to rate all of the Willard Price books as four stars. Not because I think they're all that special (hell, they're basically the works of an eco-terrorism apologist), but because, when I was twelve, they were THE BEST BOOKS I'D EVER READ. I lapped them up. Loved 'em.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently rediscovered in the attic. I originally read the entire collection while I was in primary school.

[Soho_Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since the first few Hal & Roger Hunt adventure novels were involved in capturing animals alive, the series has veered away from that aspect of their lives to examine other, more scientific subjects. This continues with “Whale Adventure”, but this time their scientific investigations also involve directly killing animals, which is a complete turn around from where they were before.

After their previous adventures, Hal and Roger have signed on to accompany a scientist on board an old-style whaling ship to examine life on board and see how conditions compared to modern whaling vessels. Unfortunately, conditions are tough and every situation is fraught with danger, as the whales can capsize a small boat quite easily and even when the whales aren’t nearby, the captain of the ship is a bully and treats the brothers even worse than he does the rest of his crew.

Even given Price’s fast writing style, the pace of this book is very high, as it seems that there is always something going on aboard a whaling ship. Catching a whale certainly isn’t the end of it, as the whale then needs to be cut up and have the oil removed for storage, which seems like a pretty tough job. However, Price’s quick style and the brevity of all his books does mean that no aspect of the process is properly explored. The ship itself sounds like a beauty and there are many parts to catching and processing a whale, but each is only skimmed over, with Price’s main point of interest being what a whale can do to the men. It’s not a surprise to find that in a battle between men and whales that Price would be on the whales’ side, but it is a shame that so little time is spent on this.

What is also a shame is that so little time is spent on character building, although this isn’t a surprise as that’s the weakest part of Price’s writing. The only character outside the brothers who is explored in any depth is Captain Grindle, with the rest of the crew having names and the occasional identifying characteristic, but little more than that. Even the scientist who accompanies the brothers onboard gets little mention, which seems unusual considering how prominent the scientists in the last couple of books in the series were.

This book feels very much as if Price had an idea, but very little enthusiasm for it and that makes me wonder if the idea was even his own to start with. The novel does tie into the series well, but it feels as if it’s only skimming the surface and Price’s expertise has run out at this point. When he’s talking about marine creatures, particularly in the encounter with killer whales and a mako shark, the tone feels more involved, potentially down to the author feeling more interested in those sections.

“Whale Adventure” just seems to be lacking something compared to the rest of the series and I believe that maybe it. The pace of the writing and action is as high as ever, but it doesn’t feel quite as engaging as the others. This is a more people-driven than animal-driven novel and is largely about killing animals, whereas all the previous novels have involved taking them alive, where they appear at all. It feels that this change in direction has lessened the author’s engagement and, unfortunately, this does show in the writing and takes something away from this novel compared to the others in the series.

[Pranav · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Call me Ishmael" would have been a fitting start for Whale Adventure !!

Hal and Roger embark on an old fashioned whaling expedition aboard the aptly named ship 'Killer' along with Scott , a scientist researcher . The boys are introduced to the brutal reality of a whaler's life with graphic descriptions of harpooning, abandonment of lives in favour of profit and the tedious and filthy task of trying out the carcass. Despite the grotesque nature of the whole business, hearing Bloooooooows and experiencing the launch of whale boats is thrilling.

Surprisingly, Hal and Roger's greatest enemy during the trip is not a furious whale but the wicked and brutal Captain Grindle. A big ruffian who specialised in devising banned methods to punish his crew such as the Cat O' nine tails and keelhauling. A well developed character who meets the definition of sadistic, the reader is entertainied by the crew's plan to Mutiny against him. Most of the crewmembers were rough but kibdly and became firm friends with the boys.

Hal and Roger are heroic in this book. From fighting off killer whales to steering a whale and perhaps most bravely challenging Captain Grindle's authority and then saving his life , the boys did their reputation a lot of credit.

Despite being the main casualty, whales are the stars of the show. Price as usual feeds the reader with interesting facts and anecdotes. The theme throughout the book was "Can a Whale sink a ship" ?

Perhaps the most touching chapter in the book is when Hal is moved by the groans of agony the whale suffers making him realise whales too possess emotions.

It is obvious that Price is uncomfortable with whaling but is yet fascinated by it. Thankfully, there are treaties against mass commercial whaling now which did not exist when the book was written.

Some readers incorrectly noted that the depictions of killer whales as brutal in the book were misleading. Lacking no natural predators , Killer Whales are the most dangerous denizens of the sea and have ripped apart blue whales and great whites alike.

I was enthralled by this book but saddened by events the book so realistically potrayed. At least , the ending was happy. For the boys and the crew that is not Captain Grindle thankfully.

As in Moby Dick , Whale Adventure ends the same.

Men vs Whale. Whale Wins.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really did not enjoy this one. The boys were sent on an old fashioned whaling ship to hunt whales. I dont buy that they would slaugjter innocent animals. I also dont get the character of the captain (grindle) who seemingly would be quite happy to see a 13yo boy plummet to his death or eaten by sharks, or flog Hal. Especially as they wrte guests. Their dad would surely not subject them to that. The captain did not really het his comeuppance at the end either other than not being allowed to command a ship again. He had shot at some of his crew earlier and murdered a crew member due to kheelhauling.

Also like the last book thete was no animal specimen collection, and wad basically just about hunting whales. The opposite to preserved and protecting the animals we have had in earlier books.

I think this is one of three i hadnt previously read, with Amazon Adventure and Arctic adventure. The book ends with the boys being sent to Africa for the forthcoming African Adventure.

I seem to remember the series hots up from here after the previois two rather disappointing stories.

[Anthony Fordham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this back in high school in the mid-1990s and even then I thought it must have fallen through from an alternate dimension where whaling is AWESOME.

I vividly remember a scene where the boys are forced to spent the night defending the carcass of a whale from orcas, there's a bunch of keelhauling, but the most bizarre scene of all is right at the end.

The boys are "rescued" from the crusty old ship by a modern whaling "factory ship" with spotter helicopters and whatnot. Price spends a good few pages explaining how awesome this ship is and how efficient it is at killing whales.

I don't recall at any point reading, within the book, the slightest criticism of whaling or acknowledgment of the IWC (set up in 1946) or of the bans of the early 60s etc.

Such a strange story...

[Strong Extraordinary Dreams · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as I know I read all of these, as a child, younger than 10. I've just recorded a representative few here, on goodreads. Loved them at the time, but that's nearly 1/2 a century ago.

[Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe because of the Whale, not super good.

[DMackD · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved these books when I was a boy but this one was probably one of my least favourite of the series.

[Oliver Bain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely the most difficult of the series to read, because whaling is now a thoroughly despised process. If you can fit yourself into that historical frame of mind, though, it's still okay.

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action, adventure, survival, environment, conservation...
I loved these books when I was a kid. At the time, they seemed to border on sci-fi regarding the at-the-time-amazing technology the boys used.
Of course, looking back you can see how these stories are flawed, but I still think they are enjoyable. In fact, it would make for a really interesting middle school science project for children to read one of these books and then compare them with the knowledge of the world and technology we have today.

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of all the series I read as a child, this had the second most impact on me (the first being the scene in Elephant Adventure following the failed raid on their camp). Our sensibilities of today, even back in the 80s was very much anti-whaling and yet here's a story written in an era when only some whaling regulations were in place and is about catching and killing whales.
Putting aside the 'plot' for the moment, this book has a pretty detailed account of how it was done 'old-school' and the risks that the crews of whaling ships took in their day-to-day lives to capture and kill whales.
As if their day-to-day lives weren’t challenging enough, the captain is a cartoon cut-out of an ornery bully who attempts to murder the boys numerous times. I think he was a bit unnecessary and had he been less caustic, the story would have pretty much played out in the same way as it's the natural world that is the main antagonist here.
Another informative adventure of a bygone era that won't be missed, but also shouldn't be forgotten.

[James Kinsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Price's attempts to engage children with natural history by mixing education with ripping yarns is to be lauded - it certainly worked with me as a kid. Only two things let this down, the rather stilted way that chunks of natural history are just dropped in (a weakness of the series as a whole, as I remember) and the acceptance of whaling and the enthusiasm the boys exhibit for it. That said, the book is fifty years old now, and shouldn't be judged too harshly for the values of its time. A good yarn, for kids, but you can't but wish for a modern equivalent.

[Gig Wailgum · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting read, if by adventure you mean killing whales. Not sure it is too factual in portrayal of whale behavior, particularly of Orcas. Nasty Captain was a good blend of nasty captains of literature - Ahab, Sea Wolf etc...Would have liked him to meet his maker at the end or go to jail instead of loosing his command. I don't think the boys would have been so in tune with killing whales if they were from an animal/biologist family.

[The Smoog · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say that although I enjoyed revisiting this book (the series was a staple of my younger years) the whaling scenes were pretty disgusting, as was the enthusiastic way everyone goes about saying how great it was. Also, a bit of an uncharacteristic turnaround in the moral compass for the brothers. Oh well, a product of its time I suppose. I think if I were recommending this series to younger readers today, I’d skip this one though.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Price uses the device of a National Geographic expedition as means to allow Hal and Roger to experience the world of nineteenth- and early-twentieth century whaling. Accordingly, the scenario is desperately contrived, but the action is pleasing, and Captain Grindle is a delightful villain. Highly enjoyable.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a whole set of these, but this one can stand in for the lot. A good yarn as I recall, certainly glued me to the page at the time.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best action adventures ever. Totally nuts but very enjoyable. I'm so glad I found them again. Certainly didn't feel like it had been 16 years since I read them for the first time.

[Jacob Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good one by Willard Price.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favourite books as a kid.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

probably read some time in fall 1967

[Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reviewed here: http://www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blo...

[Dan Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As per "South Sea Adventure"