I am always amazed at home Moore can consistenly craft a story so bizarre that is still coherent with characters you care about and makes you think. Fluke hits on all these points.

The book is set in Hawaii, and centers around a group of whale researchers (Nate, Clay, Amy and Kona). One day, Nate sees the phrase ‘bite me’ on the tail of a humpback. No one else sees it, and, mysteriously, the frame containing the shot is gone when they get the film back from the developer.

Things turn ominous when their lab is trashed, Nate gets swallowed by a humpback and, in the course of rescuing Clay, Amy manages to survive underwater for over an hour after her air tank runs out. When Amy disappears, it’s up to Clay and Kona (aka Preston Applebaum, kid from New Jersey cum Rastafarian surfer dude) to solve the mystery of why the whales sing, why the Old Broad on the volcano insists Nate is still a live, where Amy is, and why the humpbacks are flashing ‘bite me’ to them on their tails.

Anyone who’s read Moore knows that I’ve probably barely scratched the surface of the weirdness that he serves up – and they’re right. I’m not going give up any more goodies here as it would give up too much of the book, and, well, I don’t like putting spoilers in these reviews.

Moore stays away from being preachy about saving the whales, but still conveys that message. (He saves a bit of preachiness about saving the wholes for the afterword, which is fine.) Another aspect of the plot revolves around evolution and the conveyance of information by genes versus by memes – again, I can’t say more here because of spoilers, but I did want to point out the aspects of the book that might make one think and which make it more than just a comedy/scifi/mystery.

But, whait, there’s more! Character development. All four of the main characters are well developed and grow through the course of the book. They’re likable too, you care about them. As an example, I was proud when Kona went from the stoner/surfer he was at the beginning to genuinely caring about the whales with some skill as a genuine stoner lab technician.

I wouldn’t call Fluke Moore’s best, Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove is still that for me, but it’s definitely a great read. If you like Moore, you’ll will definitely like it. If you enjoy some wackiness with substance and plot, then try it!