Book Reviews

Ghostwritten by Mookeeo, a bottlenose dolphin, this story presents an intriguing point of view. With a larger brain than man, what would dolphins say if they could communicate with us? This trilogy dares to tell us, with surprising humor, drama, and suspense along the way.

Separated from his pod in an oil spill, Mookeeo strands on the beach. While recovering after rescue at a stranding center, he experiences an intense epiphany and vows to save dolphins from an environmental crisis. After release back into the ocean, he meets Doakee, an exuberant, hot-tempered spinner, and Ninawoo, the lovely dolphina. They join him on his quest and break with their leaders and customs, vowing to address the issues.

Meanwhile, a starship of aquatic aliens return to their home planet and find it destroyed. Their enemies discover them and pursue them. In desperation, they plunge into a wormhole and emerge near our solar system. Their advanced stealth technology allows them to explore earth undetected by man. They engage dolphins in telepathic communication and form a bond.

The dolphins help the aliens hide from their enemies and the aliens use their nanotechnology to help the dolphins undergo an incredible transformation. But the aliens limit their assistance. If the dolphins are going to solve their problems, they must do it themselves.

When they meet man, scientists are awed by their discovery and the media create a sensation. They move beyond freakish curiosity when they entertain man but they are exposed to grave dangers and they must win their freedom. They form an alliance to demonstrate their concerns. As they journey across the U.S. from Monterey, CA to Washington, D.C., they discover political constraints of their impossible dream and find themselves caught in a crossfire between zealots and corporate interests who don’t embrace their environmental ideals.

This is a richly textured science fiction/fantasy that submerges us into a fascinating world. With a naturalist’s description of marine biology, cetacean behavior and social behavior, Mookeeo’s depiction of dolphins and their multi-faceted dolphinalities is enchanting. However, the reader might learn more about dolphins than they intended to know. For that, it gets too long in parts, because some of the descriptions of dolphin behavior, though interesting, are not necessary for the plot.

On the minus side, this is a serial disguised as a trilogy. Parts of it border on preachy, but on balance it gets its message across while engaging and entertaining the reader. This story isn’t for everyone. People with orthodox religious views, opposed to light sexual content or earthy humor, may be offended.

On the plus side, it has an unusual combination of suspense, drama, sarcasm and humor, while it raises challenging and controversial issues. Dolphin characters are well developed, their motivations are clear, if somewhat naïve, and their emotions are intense, especially when the dolphina gives birth just before an international conference. Tentacled aliens, marine scientists, and dolphin trainers are also compelling, fully developed characters placed in convincing environments. The ending is both dramatic and funny.

Overall, "The Dolphins’ View" weaves together complex elements into a powerful message of animal rights and environmental awareness that is as entertaining as it is enlightening.