Rating: 
Summary: Not Moore's Best, But Still Laugh Out Loud At Times
Review: Having been a recent Christopher Moore fan, I've pretty much devoured everything he's written (Coyote Blue, Island of the Sequinned Love Nun, etc.) and found his comedic style to be light, breezy and a sheer joy to read. Many have compared Mr. Moore to the late, great Douglas Adams (of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame) and I think this is a fair comparison. If you like Adams' style, you're sure to enjoy Moore's. Fluke is a departure for Mr. Moore from his previous novels. He's done research for the others, but that research was always used to further the laughs you were sure to enjoy in his books. But here, Mr. Moore tended to plug whale research (a worthy cause, no doubt!) and the scouring of our ocean environments, and the comedy . . . well . . . got lost a bit. Even in the afterword to the book, Mr. Moore tells us about the extensive research he did in putting this book together. Interesting, but it's not WHY readers have been drawn to his stories. But let's get into the book. As stated above, this story focuses on whales. Particularly the Humpbacks around Hawaii. Nathan Quinn and a band of scientists (with the recent addition of a truly memorable pothead character named Kona) are trying to find out why the whales sing. And why it is ONLY the males that sing. What does the song mean? This is Mr. Quinn's life work. . . . And Mr. Quinn and his fellow scientists are about to make a hilarious and startling discovery. They soon learn WHY the whales sing (I'm not going to tell you why. You've got to read it to find out). The interactions between the characters is what sets this story apart. That and the story about the giant whale penises mixing with a zodiac inflatable boat! Is it possible that the ocean is a giant living . . . uh, thing? Or Goo? Is it possible that whales are more
intelligent 'internally' than we could have ever imagined? Is it possible to fall in love with a nonhuman sea creature? Whoa! A good read. Not great. Not Moore's greatest by a looong shot. But still a lot better than some of the junk that's out there on the shelves. I'm glad I read it. A solid 'B' rating.
Rating: 
Summary: Fluke is C-A-P-T-I-V-A-T-I-N-G
Review: I dare say that Christopher Moore has done it again. Fluke is a wonderfully entertaining story about Nate's life long pursuit of why whales sing. Nate has, what can only be envisioned as, an ex Dead Head bus worth of assistants. Amy, the hot young grad-student. Clay, his life long buddy who is a photographer. Kona, the new pot smoking kid. And a myriad of spicy characters that are just out of this world. Nate finds that biology isn't the only thing he must employee to figure out why whales sing, once a whale eats him. Fluke revolves around the crazy explanation about the beginning of life on this planet and how we all fit into it. Not only a worthwhile read, but an extraordinary tale!
Rating:
Summary: Audio version
Review: I enjoyed this audio version of Fluke.... At first I found the cadence of Bill Irwin a little odd in that he sometimes inserts pauses at unexpected places. It didn't take long to appreciate the effect, however. He does well with making the characters discernable; although, his Rasta guy sounds just like his Irish gal and his Greek guy. It's not an iritation though. His performance enhanced the story.
By the way, this is my first book by Christopher Moore & I'm hooked. I loved and related to all the characters - esp. Kona the faux Hawaiian. The strange twists in this story are the kind of thing where you love 'em or hate 'em, I guess. I won't ruin it for you other readers/listeners by going too much into the story. My favorite line was ...it felt like he had to pee really badly from his eyes....
I'd recommend this audio book to anyone who enjoys a good, intelligent laugh generated by deep set of great characters.
Rating:
Summary: Great fun
Review: I enjoyed this book a great deal. It attempts to do a number of different things, and succeeds at all of them. But its strength, to me, was the characters. There are some great ones here. The main character -- an ethical and uncompromising Canadian marine biologist driven to his craft by a formative conservation experience -- is so easy to like that it keeps the pages turning. But it's the supporting cast that really make the book fun -- from the seemingly crazy (is she?) "Old Broad" that funds the research, to the more-than-meets-the-eye-Rastawaain surfer kid who saves the day, to the loyal-to-a-fault photographer guy's guy buddy (and his wonderfully crazy and lovable significant other), to the happy-go-lucky research assistant who turns out to be much more than she seems.
There are two important caveats for those considering whether this book is for them. First, if you don't speak sarcasm you might not enjoy it, because it is quite sarcastic with some Vonnegut-like subversism blended in. Second, it does take a turn to science fiction in its third act; not unbearably so for non-scifi fans like me, but by the end it's not the same book that you thought you were getting to know. (Many will view this as a strength, and that's fair too.)
My four star review is mostly because I didn't love the third part of the book. Not because of the sci fi aspects to it, or because it got weird, but because I just didn't find the turn the story took to be that interesting or nearly as funny as the rest. The part I loved most about the book was the interactions between all the characters that dominate the first two thirds, and I guess I just missed that when I got to the end.
Anyway, a fun read that I recommend highly. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: CHRISTOPHER MOORE DOES IT AGAIN!
Review: I fell in love with the books of Christopher Moore with the novel Practical Demonkeeping. I found myself laughing out loud again and again, usually in a public place where uncontrollable mirth was generally frowned upon. The book was hilarious, unusual, not the run-of-the-mill fiction fodder that I was used to. I was hooked. I sought out more of his books, greedy for the pure, undiluted pleasure they gave me. I read them all, and not one of them disappointed. Christopher Moore is, and probably always will be, my favorite author of all time. Here is a writer who shows great wit, unbelievable imagination and a kindness to his characters I had never seen before. His latest work, Fluke, is a wonderful tale of a man who one day realizes that the world of marine science and whale research is not what it seems. Reality gets drop-kicked out the window. Throw in some whales with unusual markings, a beautiful stranger, a Rastafarian wannabe, a powerful force that is older than man, and a mob of other memorable characters, and you have pure perfection in the humor/sci fi genre of today. I could not put this book down! I'd highly recommend this book, as well as each and every one of the other books Mr. Moore has written. If you're ready for an adventure, Fluke is for you! Buy the book, grab a beer and some sunscreen and get ready to read the best damn book of the summer! You'll never forget it!
Rating:
Summary: Strange Happenings In Maui, mon
Review: I found Fluke to be both humorous and insightful. The characters are a strange collection of people with the common interest of whale research. They include a white surfer dude rasta man who actually becomes the voice of reason. The plot begins with the normal activities engaged in by researchers in the cetacean community but slowly evolves into something that is incredibly weird.
Moore takes the nature vs. nurture debate and twists it into a potentially apocolyptic scenario -all done tongue in cheek with a healthy sense of humor but wth enough scientific validity to allow the reader to suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride. This was my first Moore novel but it certainly will not be my last. Well Done.
Rating: 
Summary: Fluke dives
Review: I had heard good things about Moore and specifically about this book. I started it eagerly. However, as the story unfolded, I found that the book had two fatal flaws: first, I didn't care about Moore's characters; second, his dialogue left me shaking my head in disgust. This is an author who tries too hard to be cute; unfortunately, it doesn't work. Earnestly, I felt as though I were reading a script for a Hollywood film rather than a novel. For true Moore fans, this may be just what you're looking for, but for those who heard all the good things I did and who are ready now to bite: spit the bait out and wait for the inevitable summer movie release in 2005. It may make an entertaining 90-minute movie, but a novel of worth, this one aint.
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable silly sci-fi send-up of researchers + whales
Review: I just finished listening to this in the book-on-tape format. Very enjoyable. Oh, the plot is pretty silly, but it was hard to resist the spot-on funny dialogue, and the portrayal of the science nerd filled world of research. Between luscious Amy, spoon-of-correction weilding Claire, stoned Kona, loyal Clay, and science geek Nate, this book is filled with well drawn characters that move along to a brisk plot. I really enjoyed Irwin Bill's reading and thought he did a nice job of finding the right voice for each character. His timing and intonation will make you laugh out loud, which may alarm your co-workers as you try to work and listen in stealth mode. It looks like C. Moore has written a bunch of books, all enthusiastically reviewed on Amazon -- why haven't I heard of him before? I'll be looking for his other books!
Rating: 
Summary: Fun to read, but not one of his better books
Review: I love Christopher Moore's books, but this isn't one of his better ones. The humor is still there, but something about the story just put me off. It could be that I just loved Bloodsucking Fiends and Island of the Sequined Love Nuns so much, and this doesn't compare. There are some great anecdotes within it, and how could anyone not love a whale's tale with "Bite Me" on it? But, the rest of the story doesn't hold up to that intriguing start. (except the story of the two women that get caught between two male whales and a female whale. What makes that even better is that it's based on a true story --be sure to read the acknowledgements at the end.) I love his use of words; at one point, the Three Stooges become a verb (p. 285, "They stooged into a whaley pile near the steps.") Still, if you're looking to become familiar with this author, try the two books I mentioned earlier.
Rating:
Summary: Moore does sci-fi, with unsatisfying results.
Review: I normally love moore's writing. He's one of my favorite writers most of the time. And Fluke has such a winning setup; good characters, good science backing up the beginning. A book about why whales sing - how can that go wrong, I thought. But then the book goes terribly wrong in the middle. Sci-fi is not Moore's medium, and he should avoid it. For all the good scattered throughout the second half (the whaley boys are hysterical), the plot makes almost no sense and the second half seems not to fit with the first. Suddenly the whales are sort of irrelevant, there are government plots, and a silly 'save the world' resolution. I'm hoping this is just a speed bump, that Moore was burnt out after "Lamb" and used this book as an excuse for an extended stay on Maui - hell, I can't fault him there - but couldn't come up with enough plot to get all the way though. I'll be first in line to buy his next one, but with fingers crossed, hoping he's not just out of ideas for good.
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