And The Ocean Was Our Sky audiobook

3.5/5 stars!This was my ninth Patrick Ness read and I sure wasn’t disappointed. Usually his books are a hit or miss for me but that still keeps him as one of my favourite authors of all time. I also got my copy personally signed by the author as I was very lucky he toured near me and I got to meet him!I love how each and every book he writes explores different genres and ideas making each one unique in its own way. And the Ocean was our Sky has definitely done just that.This was a retelling of Moby Dick (which I haven’t read but I went to the author’s promo tour of this book and during his speech answering audience questions he did say you didn’t need to have read it to read this one) which sounded very interesting. Creatively, the story is from the perspective of a whale, Bathsheba.The writing is gorgeous and I find that with all of PN’s books, he’s a very good writer who knows how to captivate his readers. The book is filled with beautiful phrases that just make you think and feel for the characters.The plot was probably the thing that brought down the rating for me. While I liked it I kept getting confused about what was going on and I felt there were scenes included that weren’t really needed. Also the ending was kind of predictable sadly.The illustrations were perfect. I don’t know whether I would’ve understood the story as well without them and they were just so pretty to look at!I wouldn’t recommend this one if you haven’t read any other Patrick Ness books before (I’d recommend More Than This or Release) but it’s definitely a stunningly beautiful book to try out later on.‘’For there are devils in the deep But the worst are the ones We make’’

This is a lovely illustrated graphic novel about the need to analyze war beyond simple prophecy. Patrick Ness really shines when given a basic thematic core to live off of; even a simple story like this feels super engrossing in the context of the gorgeous art. So what I like about this story is the commentary on war and prejudice. Within this story, the primary dynamic is between the whale world and the human world - the human world resents the whales as killers, and the whale world resents the humans as killers. And the world of whales lives in fear of a monstrous creature known as Toby Wick. The main theme here is the idea that a side of a war is not a monolith. Every person of a certain population is not the same, do not think the same. And villainizing one side, blaming a monolith for the sins of one, will not end well. The writing is a bit dry, and I'm sure it won't work for everyone, but I adored slipping into this mythic world, and I adored looking at the art. And the art wasn't even finished in my arc. I want so much more of Rovina Cai's art.Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube

Books are so weird. Art in general is like that. I loved this one to pieces. And, as I sometimes do, after I finished it I went straight on Goodreads to read both the positive and the negative reviews. Especially the negative ones. The 1 stars. Because, of course, "how could someone rate this less than 5 stars?". Well, I believe you, people. I do believe it was a strange concept. But boy I loved it so much. I feel like it was so much more than just the story of some whales, than just a re-telling. It was the story of any 2 groups of people who are pointing fingers at each other, waging war against each other because they think they are different... when they are, in fact, the same. It was also the story of that frog whose water gets gradually heated up to the boiling point. And Toby Mick, I believe, was the product of their own hatred, their mirror, their doing, their fears made flesh.Absolutely brilliant.And the writing... I wanted to eat some of those paragraphs, to get them into my blood, because only reading them didn't feel enough.

Book Reviewed by Nia on www.whisperingstories.comI’m not going to analyse this book too hard in search deeper meanings beyond a vague ‘enemies aren’t always who/what you expect’ and ‘war sucks’ because it’ll only give me a headache and I always wonder if authors are really putting that much thought into subtext when they write or if they’re just enjoying spinning a good yarn for readers to enjoy at face value (I have no definitive answer to this, I just prefer face value).The story is a switched perspective version of Moby Dick where the whales have their own advanced civilisation and form hunting pods to do battle against humans. I have never read the original, though I somehow doubt the whales were scientifically advanced, so I can’t comment on how this book ties in to the original. All I know if that this book is a weird and wonderful read that made me sad, thoughtful and warm on the inside.What I can say with a degree of certainty is that the hardback edition, illustrated by Rovina Cai, is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever held in my hands. It has bold monochromatic artwork that perfectly captures the essence of the book and makes it a more immersive experience.As long as you can sink into the vague world building without asking too many questions and enjoy the story for what it is, a beautiful and melancholy take on how whales might feel about whalers, it’s something well worth experiencing.

Holy fuck, whale feels are real feels.This is like a second coming of A Monster Calls, except not. The art, the themes, the collision of everything at the end to give us Ness' usual one-two punch of truth. My goodness are the visuals in this book is stunning. I may have been iffy with "Release", but damn it all, Ness has brought the good stuff in this Moby Dick re-telling.(Also a non-review but sea otters are still my fave.)thoughts prior to reading:yes, i hope the whales win. humans suck.- Full review to come.

*Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperCollins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!*"Will the world end in darkness because it is foretold? Or becasue there will be those who believe is so strongly they will make it so? In the fear that I always try to hide in my heart, I wonder if there is even a difference."This was a complete whirlwind of a novel. I have no idea where Patrick Ness's book ideas come from, but there was no way his previous novel, Release, could have prepared me for this one. They're just so different. Even his writing style seems to morph from book to book. And I absolutely love that.This was engaging start to finish. Whales hunting humans? With a whale as a main character? I didn't know how much I needed Bathsheba and her crew until they began to hunt the infamous Toby Wick while also fighting off rival pods and human hunting parties. "For who needs the devil when you have men?" The most precious part of this novel was the unlikely friendship that formed between the whale, Bathsheba, and the human, Demetrius. I can easily say I have never read any relationship like it and that it was one of my favorite parts of this tiny little treasure of a book. "Maybe it takes a devil to fight a devil." By far one of the most interesting and unique books I've read in years. Plus, this book is littered with beautiful, intricate illustrations that just add the feeling of wonder this book contains. I can't wait to get my hands on more by this author. "For there are devils in the deep, but worst are the ones we make."

"For who needs devils when you have men?" holy shit.i really need to make a 'goddamn intense' shelf on goodreads, because this book didn't fit into any others. i haven't read the original moby dick, so i don't know how similar this was, but let me tell you that it was definitely different to anything else i've ever read. as per Patrick Ness, it was full of stunning writing and deep meanings, and it really hit hard. it was beautiful and it was horrible and it made me wonder if humans aren't just devils in real life. the quotes in this book made me gasp, and the drawings were so beautiful they made me pour over them, studying the unique and brilliant style. thank you Patrick Ness and Rovina Cai. you have astounded me. "For there are devils in the deep, but worst are the oneswe make."

This beautiful book contained abstract imagery, depicted with vivid strokes and a muted colour palette, that was a perfect accompaniment to Ness' similar writing style. These two mediums worked together to portray a well-known story from an entirely new perspective.Moby Dick as told by the whale was every bit as harrowing as I had anticipated. I adore Ness for the emotion his writing exudes and for the chances he takes with his work. Both worked in tandem here, along with the accompanying artwork, to build a thrilling underwater adventure with a poignant message attached to it.

4.5 STARSI thoroughly enjoyed this and thought it was such a unique retelling of Moby Dick (also grateful for the SMALL version of the story). This is from the point of view of a whale (not going to lie, it took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize this) who is part of a hunting crew trying to find Toby Wick (ha ha). I thought this gave us a great glance into the life of the whales, a nice mixture of fantasy and reality blending. To see how the whale began to understand the human was great, since it what we do to animals. I liked the message of the book and the importance of fears and myths. I think if you have an hour or two, this is worth a read, plus the pictures are lovely and dark.

this book isn't just about whales and men fighting each other. it's about a whale realising that nothing is completely written, that you can always rewrite the story, even a few pages before its end. it's about peace, it's about devils, and how we make them. (4.5)‘For there are devils in the deep, but worst are the ones we make.’

. : ☾⋆ — 5 ★ READ THIS REVIEW ON MY BLOG!!!https://bit.ly/2GtCdap“For who needs devils when you have men?”I truly think Patrick Ness assumes his ultimate form as a writer when he writes short books like this one. also when he writes about weird stuff. you know, like talking whales. And the Ocean Was Our Sky is a one-of-a-kind book. barely 160 pages long, but manages to portray and convey a powerful and thought-provoking message in a one-sitting read, and it does so ALMOST disguised as a Middle Grade book (I was fooled into believing this is MG by the illustrations alone, but make no mistake. this book is harrowing and violent and much darker than I ever thought it would be—but it’s also absolutely beautiful). the characters are phenomenal. the writing is stunning. I want anybody out there to write a book about talking whales that actually piques your audience’s interest, while also turning said talking whales into engaging and relatable characters. like? it honestly never even crossed my mind that I could love a book about whales this much, but here we are. this is truly Patrick Ness’s world, we’re just living in it. I also want to give a quick shout out to Rovina Cai, who drew the illustrations for And the Ocean Was Our Sky. she did an exceptional job, and I literally couldn’t stop staring at the pages of this book in absolute awe. I want Rovina Cai to illustrate every book ever published from now on and I will gladly give her all of my money for it. I love everything about this book. that’s the gist of this review. so short but so, so irrevocably powerful.

I really enjoyed this one, I listed to it on Audio very quick and the writing of Patrick Ness is just beautiful poetry.... loved it.

8 out of 10 And The Ocean Was Our Sky is a book by Patrick Ness. It’s somewhat of a retelling of the classic Moby Dick story, but it really strays off on its own. I enjoyed “A Monster Calls” by Patrick Ness, so I wanted to read another book by him. I saw this book at the library and it presented a wonderful cover and beautiful illustrations, so I decided to check it out. This story is told from the perspective of an anonymous whale, who goes by Bathsheba. Bathsheba is one of three apprentices of a captain whale. These whales hunt down ships, use harpoons to sink them, and gather up the resources to help supply their complex underwater civilization. The whales believe that there is this fleet of ships controlled by, “Toby Wick” that’s ultimately powerful and hunts down pods of whales. Bathsheba’s captain wants to hunt down Toby Wick to stop him from causing mass destruction to their undersea world. You can see how this story is like Moby Dick, but with the roles reversed. I found it really interesting, (and perhaps a little confusing) how these whales refer to their world. The whales call the surface of the ocean, “The Abyss” since they spend most of their time deep within the ocean. The whales build their own ships and sail around upside-down. The humans and the whales are bitter enemies with each other. They each are trying to harpoon each other, and there’s always a constant battle between them. This book is fascinating. I’d describe this book as somewhat of a mixture between, “Fantasy Adventure” and “Mystery.” This book has a great writing style and the world is convincingly real with all the unique language. The illustrations were vibrant, stunning, and perfectly captured the mood of this book. I was confused at the beginning because I didn’t understand how the whales referred to everything upside-down, but the illustrations helped me to understand what they were trying to say. I really enjoyed this book and felt that it was very immersive, but I do have some critiques. The beginning was confusing, especially since I knew nothing going into this book. This book does have a message to it, but you only learn it at the very end. I wish the ending was a little less cryptic, and I wish it was a little longer, (I’m still curious about what happened after the book ended.) There are also some passages in the middle that felt a little pointless. I also wish, (SPOILER) (view spoiler)[that they wouldn’t have tortured their human captive as much as they did. (hide spoiler)] If you like fantasy or if you like really action-packed stories, then I’d recommend this to you. The battle scenes are very intense. The book makes you really care about its characters before killing them off. I liked learning about the world and the traditions of these whales. I also liked learning about Bathsheba’s past and I liked the mystery and the intrigue of Toby Wick. Sometimes the story drags on a little, but since it’s so short, it doesn’t stay within those sections that long. The illustrations are some of the best I’ve seen in a novel, (I’d argue that they are on a similar level of greatness as the drawings in, “The Invention Of Hugo Cabret”.) I really liked this book. ["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>