Salechii

by Carolyn McCray

Salechii: A Shark Park is supposed to be all about learning to respect and protect sharks, however after a Level-5 Hurricane hits and the sharks get out of their pens, the only lesson learned is how fast can you swim?

Genres: Horror, Action, Fiction, Adventure, Science Fiction

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 21, 2013

About the author

This is a pen name of Goodreads author Cristyn West.

Reviews

[Amy Rosenkoetter · Rating 1 out of 5]

A guy takes his daughter on a $100,000 trip to cure her of her shark phobia instead of getting her to a therapist? Oh, I don't think so. And here's a news flash: people who are so terrified of sharks they won't take a shower do not think baby sharks are cute and would most likely run screaming from the room if they had to watch a shark give birth. Preposterous. And that's not even getting into the other wacky situations and stupidity like the girl's father trying to tip a robot. Painful.

The writing is mediocre at best. Very juvenile and simplistic. Many instances of poor punctuation and other indicators of low English skills. Honestly, I should have known what I was in for when I saw the complete title of the book. What a mess.

There are a few specific things I'd like to say to the author:

The word is not,"ya," it's "yeah." Utterly irritating.

There is a difference between nominative and objective forms. Learn it.

Australia is a vast continent, not a small town. "Sure [sic] a storm was blowing in, but this was Australia. Storms were always blowing in." Substitute "United States" and see how silly that sounds.

Dillon sounds like an absolute creep. We're not told how old he and the girl are, but we know she's young enough to be sent to her grandmother's house to stay, and that he works side by side with his father. Doubtful he's doing that if he's a kid. Yet there he is, seeing the girl after dumping her suitcase, and his first thought is to wonder which of her bras she's wearing? Ugh.

"Elegant" and "eloquent" are not interchangeable.

Christians do not have a lock on viewing birth as a miracle. You make an offensive assumption that it is shocking and pointless that atheists and Buddhists might hold the same view.

It's Lara Croft, not Laura.

I got about 15% of the way through before I had to put it out of my misery.

[Marsha Belflower · Rating 1 out of 5]

So much potential, think underwater Jurassic Park. But turned into one of those you hate to admit you've read. I couldn't even make it half way. Please learn how to spell "yeah" and send if back to the editor. Terrible.

[Bella Doerres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept holding my breath

A resort built to enjoy sharks what could possibly go wrong? Reading this had me holding my breath and wanting to know what's next. An exciting read I didn't want to stop.

[Myra Gabor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I downloaded this book from Amazon. It is set in a shark park, an undersea hotel complex, where, for a ton of money, visitors can see sharks in their natural habitat. Through a complex of transparent tubes, visitors can see the sharks as they (the visitors, not the sharks) walk to their breakfasts or massages. All the sea creatures are in the ocean around the hotel in specially devised pens designed to keep them apart, as nature intended.
The bad: it's derivative of Jurassic Park, Jaws, Poseidon Adventure, Westworld and every other people against storms and nature's creatures that was ever written or filmed. There is, of course, the major storm coupled with sabotage that might bring down this mighty endeavor.
The good: it is well written and makes us care about the characters. There are heroes who don't believe that they're heroes even when they rise to the occasion. There's the obligatory bad guy, only interested in his investment. There's the smarmy reality television host. As well there is the hero action star who really proves he is a hero when his daughter's life is at stake.
All in all, not bad, especially with winter coming and you feel the need to curl up with some escapist action.

[Apriel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has the distinction of being the worst book I've ever read! It was unoriginal, unbelievable, underwhelming, and poorly written. It took me a month to power through this terrible book when I should have just given up and put it on my DNF shelf. I've read better stories written by fifth graders. Those stories also had fewer grammatical mistakes. Seriously is running spellcheck so hard?? I should have known this book was going to be a train wreck by the crazy title which, shocker, is spelled wrong. The word is Selachii not Salechii! I still get angry when I think about the time and money wasted on this book!! AVOID!!

[Sandra Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fast paced story, with hardly a chance to catch your breath from one disaster to another. Talk about a vacation destination doomed before it officially opened, this is it!

At times it did seem like too much happening all to quickly, but there was not a single boring moment from page one till the end of the final chapter. So if you like a lot of excitement all coming at you at the same time, this is one for you. I did enjoy it, very much.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Salechii is a new underwater shark park, with the aim of entertaining and educating the visitors about sharks and conservation. A soft opening is planned with celebrity and VIP guests arriving to test the facility and rate it so improvements can be made and problems ironed out before the main opening. However a massive storm is on a collision course with the park and the underwater areas begin to flood, with guests getting closer to the sharks than they ever wanted to get. Will anyone survive Salechii and make it out alive?

I'm a massive shark fan and can never get enough of reading about them in fiction and non fiction. I've been scared of them and fascinated by them since I was a kid and first saw Jaws! I heard about this from Laura over at http://fuonlyknew.com/ and I was intrigued by the thought of it. I finally downloaded this year as a box set on Amazon and devoured the whole thing in a short period of time. I'm pleased to say that it was even better than I hoped it to be!

I loved the whole idea of the underwater park with the tunnel complex connecting all the parts of it, guest bedrooms with windows looking into the shark pens and a wide range of species from the scary bull sharks and great whites to the docile and friendly whale shark. I liked the idea of a mixed human and robot staff running the place and it added something new to the plot. The cyclone is bearing down on them and even Callum is getting nervous about how the park will cope with such a bad storm in terms of the shark welfare as well as the underwater complex itself. If all of that isn't bad enough, someone in the park has a serious grudge against Callum and wants to destroy his park. This person will go to any lengths to sabotage Salechii even if it risks the lives of the guests. There is plenty going on with the plot.

Salechii is owned by Callum who runs it with his son Dillon, an enterprise that has allowed father and son to bond. Callum is all about teaching people about sharks to ensure the long term survival of the predators, and has constant battles to stop investors from turning it into a marketing circus. Now both are nervous about letting the visitors in to see the park for the first time. The welfare of the sharks was important to them, which is a quality that I liked in both of them. They have been assisted by Tonaka Yashimoto, who designed the robot staff that assist the guests and do any diving required into the shark pens for repair work or for the welfare of the actual sharks. Dr Shalie Hofstrum has been working with the robots and has experimented with modifying a few to give them more human qualities. A lot is at stake for these four people as the opening gets closer and they need good feedback from the guests at the soft opening, which is being threatened by the storm.

Dillon's best friend is the most human of the robots, called Quax. I loved the friendship between them which was like a proper bromance with banter, and a deep bond of love and loyalty. Quax was invented to work at the park but after watching Shark Week on TV, poor Quax has developed a phobia of sharks which makes him so human and endearing! When things start to go wrong, he knows he has a job to do in saving guests and trying to help evacuate but his crippling fear proves to be difficult for him to control. I loved the developing anxiety amongst the robots as things go wrong and I found their personalities fascinating, especially the robot who was going through a sexual reassessment. Quax is not the only one with a fear of the sharks. Nick is an action film star who wants to use a visit to cure his daughter Nami of the phobia she developed after witnessing a shark attack on a friend. Nami finds even being at the park overwhelming and scary and when things go wrong, Nick fears that he has got her into something that could kill her. Also at the park is the obnoxious famous shark hunter Jack with his personal film crew.

This book has the vibe of Deep Blue Sea on steroids with the sharks getting inside the complex and hunting down their next meals but they aren't just eating machines here, as the author gives some of the sharks distinct personalities. The sharks are just doing what they do and the actions of several humans are worse than the sharks. I liked the non stop tension and action as the storm comes in, the sabotage begins and the sharks go on the rampage. I was never quite sure what was coming next and that is one of the reasons that I liked it. I liked the main cast in the book which let me easily root for my favourites as each disaster occured. I liked the use of the robots and the way that they were given their own qualities and emotions. There was a hint of romantic feelings between a few pairs in the story but that takes second place to the shark drama and is worked well into the story, focusing on emotions rather than sex.

I can't go too much into the plot or I'll spoil it all but there were some really nerve wracking shark encounters that would look great in a film or TV mini series! I can say that there was tension, action, humour and sad moments so this book had a bit of everything. If you love shark stories and creature features, you'll probably have a good time with this book.

[Cally Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a while

Since we’ve had a good disaster book. This series is likely to revive the genre, and without having to go quite sharknado

[Lucy Furr · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is what happens when a story with potential (think Jurassic Park meets Deep Blue See, minus all the genetic engineering) is absolutely ruined by lack of research and an astounding lack of editing.

Grammatical errors are so abundant that I thought I was reading a basic first draft written by someone who doesn’t have the greatest command of the English language. And yet, the author has apparently written many books and is a “best-seller”. I don’t even know what to say about that. All I know is that this book was incredibly hard to finish because the errors threw me out of the story every time, and when that is occurring multiple times per page that makes things very difficult, indeed. There are a plethora of missing commas and commas where none should be; sentence fragments and run on sentences fill entire paragraphs (sparingly, this is ok, but not with such frequency) and the author constantly refers to a single Hammerhead Shark as Hammerheads or Hammerheads Sharks. I mean, come on, really?

Also:

Yah should be Yeah. And blond refers to a male with blond hair. A female would be a blonde.

Grammatical errors aside, the sharks aren’t fairly represented here either and most of the factual errors could have been easily fixed through some quick research.

* Hammerhead Sharks are not known for being cannibalistic towards their own litters, with the exception of one or two of the larger, more aggressive species. Since no specific species of Hammerhead is mentioned and they are just referred to, generically, as Hammerheads, I’m going to guess this fact was overlooked.

* A Great White Shark would probably have some serious problems swallowing a (rather lager) robot on a jet ski. A Megalodon, sure. A full-grown Whale Shark probably could, but wouldn’t. A Great White, no way; though it could take a big chunk out of it, to be sure.

* Whale Sharks live in topical/warm temperature waters. I was bothered when a character described the water in the Whale Shark tank as ‘cold’.

* Sharks would not be jumping up from their tanks to grab people on the surface. That’s just not how a normal shark behaves. I could suspend my disbelief is these where genetically engineered super sharks with a nefarious plan, but unless I missed it, these are normal sharks.

There is more, but I think I’ve gotten the point across. I won’t even go into the stupid things the characters do (like take a boat out in a level 5 hurricane!)

Please note that I’m not trying to be mean here. I really am saying all of this for the author’s benefit. Hopefully she will get her work proofread and make the necessary changes. I also hope she will give researching her ideas first a chance as well. I imagine a lot of people will read this for the simple fact that they like sharks and those people are going to be very put off.

This gets one star from me, but probably would have been three if the errors where not so frequent and the characters and sharks had been more realistic.

[Kim D’Arcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I am generally a romance/contemporary fiction reader but every once in a while I like to mix things up a bit. With all of the negative reviews posted for this book I really did not expect to even finish it let alone enjoy it as much as I did.

Yes, there are a few instances where the word "Ya" is used instead of "Yeah", yes there are a few typos, but who cares? When a book is as fast-paced, interesting, suspenseful and at times even gut-wrenchingly sad I find it very easy to ignore all of those petty issues.

This story has been described as a Jurassic Park with sharks and that is exactly how I would describe it as well, only I think it was more interesting. I loved the characters, even the ones I was supposed to hate I enjoyed. The story moved at a rapid pace and never lost my interest. I couldn't put this one down and read it in one sitting.

Several reviewers criticized the believability of the story, I think the exact opposite. While it may not be totally realistic that all the sharks would be so hostile, this is a novel and I expect the author to take some liberties. Quite frankly I had no problem believing that several aggressive breeds of sharks would become hostile after being captured, held in small pens of captivity, and then have to endure a level 5 hurricane storm. Call me naive, I don't care, I believed it and enjoyed it.

My only complaint, and the only reason I held off giving the full five star review, is that while the ending was fantastic, I needed an epilogue or something. I found myself so invested in these characters that to be left without knowing what becomes of the survivors left me a little hollow. I hear there is a next book in the series though so if the next one gives me what I'm looking for I will happily update my review.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep Blue Sea and Jurassic Park came to mind when I read the description for this book. I thought, this could be fun, and it was.

The very idea is probably impossible, but maybe not. They’ve built islands to make huge, fancy hotel resorts. Why not a shark park? So just let yourself go with it.

So they build the theme park, stock it with every kind of shark, and some other creatures. Then a category 5 hurricane blows it all to kingdom come.

As the island sinks, the sharks come out to play and things get very bloody very fast. Lots of people die and those lucky enough to still be alive have to brave the shark infested waters to escape the same fate.

One young boy is leading a group of survivors to safety, but where is safe on a sinking island?

There is tons of action and some cool robots. Not sure why the robots are in this story but they are put to good use. The story is fast and furious and there are plenty of colorful characters, including some of the critters in the park.

I live on the Gulf Coast and have been deep sea fishing. I’ve seen some of the monsters that rule the depths and even though the odds of being eaten by a shark are in my favor, I no longer swim in the ocean. I just don’t tempt fate. And after reading this book, I don’t think I’d visit the park either.

This series is addictive and bloody fun. Whether you love them or fear them, the sharks rule.

I bought this by itself, but I’d recommend you buy the collection to get the short prequels and sequels that come between each new novel in the series. You also get each new book free as the author updates the collection!

[Mark Polino · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like Salechii. I loved the concept. Jurassic Park underwater. Lincoln Child's Utopia, but with Sharks. Deep Blue Sea, but with a hotel. You get the idea. the initial character introductions went well, but as I got in deeper the story didn't hold up and the problems were mostly in the details.

First the sharks are just way too aggressive for too long. Deep Blue Sea dealt with this by engineering sharks with higher brain functions. Sharks attack when hungry or when they feel threatened, not just for the heck of it. There was just way too much unexplained aggression.

Second, underwater jet skis? Really? Call them mini subs, jet subs, something. Jet ski's float.

Finally, the mistakes are legion. The non-word 'Ya' has replaced "Yes" or "Yea" or "Yeah" throughout the entire book. Every character says it. It's maddening. That's the tip of the iceberg. I can overlook a lot for a good story, but this book desperately needs another couple of edits.

I wanted to like this book and instead I found myself working to give it 3 stars.

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some promise to start, but got steadily more and more ridiculous. The writing and grammar is appalling throughout; if this was proofread, then the proofreader needs to get another job. It also seems very odfd to me to write a novel without doing even basic research, which is the impression given here.

Some specifics:
~ Even the title is wrong. 'Salechii' is supposed to refer to the scientific classification of sharks, which is Selachii.
~ The casual form of the word 'yes' is 'yeah', not 'yah' or 'ya'.
~ The behaviour of the sharks, given that they are just normal sharks (no genetic tinkering or such), is beyond unbelievable. Also, there is no such fish as a Nursery Shark. Nurse Shark, yes, Nursery, no.
~ Piranha are tropical freshwater fish (and the reputation is highly overstated, but that's a different matter) - if you dump tropical freshwater fish into a cold saltwater environment they die. They don't become a shark-eating menace. Trust me.

Seriously, if I had read this as a first draft then it would just about pass. As an actual published work, it's terrible.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big shark fan who loyally watches Shark Week every year but go to an underwater shark park? Maybe I would have before reading this action-packed aquatic thriller but not now! The park designed as a place to safely learn all about sharks starts off as an amazing experience for everyone. Between the descriptions of the sharks and the incredible robots that are trained to protect the researchers and guests from the sharks, it sounded like a fantastic place to visit. However a Category 5 Hurricane named Ralph arrives to put all the technology and engineering to the test. Throw in some very agitated large sharks and even some determined newborn hammerhead sharks and it's a recipe for disaster. Aside from still being scared of what may be lurking under the surf, I would love to swim with a whale shark like the gentle giant Lebowski in this book. I am looking forward to the rest of the series!

[Cait · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many times when I download a free book from Amazon onto my Kindle, they're pretty bad and I can't find it in me to finish them. Salechii was the complete opposite. Although you have to suspend your disbelief quite a bit (who actually thinks it's a good idea to bring your shark-phobic daughter to a shark-themed resort to 'cure' her?), and although there are some minor grammatical errors, I thought this book was a super fun read. It's like Michael Crichton light. The story line is fast paced and kept me interested. For me, Salechii was an "airport read"- one of those books that are perfect for passing the time while waiting between flights. Super fun and doesn't require much thinking. Would definitely recommend!

[Mary Lou Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would actually rate this 3.5 stars, if I could. I loved the plot and the characters; what spoiled it for me were the grammatical mistakes. For instance, when the baby hammerhead sharks were born, the mother shark was referred to as both a "him" and a "her" in the same sentence. A few sentences later, that same shark became an "it." Mistakes like that completely pull me out of the story. If the book had gone through another round of editing, I think it would have been much better.

This is a story that I can see being turned into a movie, in the same genre as "Jurassic Park." In the same line, I would try more books by this author. The potential is there.

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm an obsessed fan of Ms. McCray. It all started with 30 pieces of Silver. Since then I have read every book that she has published.

This story explains why I refuse to go into the ocean. I'm no longer on the top of the food chain. This book made me feel claustrophobic, sea sick and have nightmares of sharks.

I was blessed to receive an advance copy as a beta reader, in exchange for a review. I can only tell you that this reader will only be reassured in her fears. It's not safe in the ocean. Great book.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a fast reading book. not terribly original, however. this is basically Jurassic Park, under water. instead of a dinosaur park, this is a resort built under water by the great barrier reef in australia. every kind of shark are featured in natural settings just outside everyone's windows. a huge fundraising event is planned prior to opening. unfortunately, a cat-5 cyclone decides to hit at that precise time. what could go wrong?

[Sheila Rodden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goosebumps thrill

Can't adequately describe how exciting this book is. Anyone afraid of things in the water...BEWARE! This is not for the squeamish. Sharks are everywhere on this island adventure. Ms. McCray made the park sound so adventurous and beautiful. What a shame some people don't agree. Love even finds its place. Such a sorrowful finale. Looking forward to reading the entire series. Definite Thumbs Up.

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story, setting, characters and conflict-sort of a Jurassic Park with sharks. However, the number of typos, grammatical errors and word choice errors was impossible for me to overlook. Simple things that even a spell checker would have questioned just took me out of the story too many times. I'm offering to do a free line edit for her.

[Heather Chargualaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always had a fascination with sharks and when I found this one on Amazon I was happy. It's not for everybody and of your not a fan of the ocean I would stay away.
I did like this book and will continue to read the series as they come out. Just sit back and enjoy while from the comfort of your chair, and not in the ocean.

[Megan Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great quick beach read. Yes, I really did read a book about shark attacks at the beach. But the premise of this book was so far fetched it gave me no pause for concern. This was a lot like Sharknado, so if you're willing to let the implausibility of the story line go, it wasn't a bad read. Needs some serious editing however, which annoyed me more than the fantasy of the plot.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected this to be kind of silly, like a book version of Sharknado, but it was surprisingly good! About halfway through when things really start to go to hell, I got hooked and couldn't put it down until I finished the book.

[Katya · Rating 2 out of 5]

An "ugh" reaction would become "hey, pretty cool book" if the author took note of all these reviews and fixed the painful punctuation and grammar errors. Also, who would send their hotel guests out in a small boat in a category 5 hurricane? Just sayin'...

[Michell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and quick read

Fun and quick read

this is the first of ms. McCray's books I've read. I will certainly look for more of her work. I enjoyed the characters and the pacing.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book filled with facts about sharks. The characters are relatable, some you love others you hate. The writing style is a little different than most but once you get use to it the story flows rather well.

[Pamela Howell · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of my favorite movies is JAWS - so this sparked my interest.
It was like reading a 70's disaster movie (that's a good thing)

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. I can see it being on Sci-Fi channel one day...lol. Quick and fun read and I would be interested to see what happened to Quax and Callum.

[Gloria Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can get past the numerous grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors, the story is pretty interesting, though I was hoping more for a Jurassic Park type of story and less like Sharknado.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this book 4 stars if not for the glaring grammatical errors.