People have often wondered if we are the only intelligent life in the universe — well we’re not, and they’ve been here all along.‘Dolphin Way: Rise of the Guardians’ is a novel set amongst the lives of the other major civilization inhabiting this planet: the dolphins. The book is aimed at adult readers, but will appeal to teenagers too. Dolphin culture evolved over millions of years so that they … years so that they could remain perfectly attuned with their world, Ocean. Unlike man, they have created an almost utopian society without feeling the need to manipulate their environment, collect possessions or wage war. But the growing pressure of man’s activities become intolerable and in frustration one faction seeks an aggressive new path. They make a shocking departure from the Way — the ancient philosophy that has guided them so well through the millennia.
Sky, a male dolphin close to becoming an Initiate in the Way, unwillingly finds himself caught up in the violent consequences. To save the lives of his closest friends he will have to risk the worst punishment his clan can inflict and must decide between the two females who challenge everything he believes in.
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What makes dolphins so majestic? What makes them so peaceful? Would you think that they, like humans, orchestrated a code under the sea? With so many fish in the sea, how do dolphins maintain the harmony, but still hold fear over the others? When we see dolphins, we see happiness, strength, and wisdom. Caney’s story brings the dolphin world to us, in a very human-like way. His intention is clear and the story is enlightening. If you think that you know a lot about dolphins, you may be surprised to find another fun fact embedded in Sky’s life lessons.
Touches The Sky is a good dolphin because he follows ‘The Way’. What is ‘The Way’ exactly? It’s the code that all dolphin must abide by to keep in good grace with their clans. Even bigger, ‘The Way’ was always taught as an ancient practice that was set into motion for all creatures under the sea to live their most peaceful lives. ‘The Way’ instructs that they must only take what is needed to survive. They must not kill another of their species. And so forth…we can understand this as we too have a legal code that we must abide by to live in peace on land. Sky, by no means, is a leader, or so that is what he’s always believed, but when a female dolphin questions his beliefs and the desire for change in an everchanging world, Sky knows that his life will never be simple again. Everything that he thought came so easy with ‘The Way’ has now become difficult and corrupt. His curiosity leads him to long lost questions that he never knew he had…and for that, others are not so keen for him to find the answers too. After being exiled from his clan for directly disobeying ‘The Way’ in an attempt to save his friends, Sky learns the most important lesson of all. Death is never the answer unless absolutely unavoidable. Even though, some within their world still believe it to be acceptable practices for the elite. How can Sky ever hope to instill change in his species so that they can keep living in peace?
Caney has an extremely impressive career in diving and the study of wild dolphins. Not only has he written this fictional story about dolphins who abide by a moral code like humans, he is also the narrator or the storyteller. He brings his characters to life with enthusiasm, determination, and curiosity. According to many authors, narration is extremely difficult to accomplish for your own work, so kudos to Caney for being able to capture these creatures with entirely separate personalities, beliefs, and human-like qualities while still sharing his knowledge of the sea. The story translated to audio very well and the scenes were easy to imagine based on descriptiveness and the narration; pace was well matched to boot. Overall, the story is worth the read (or listen) and is recommended for readers who enjoy marine life , young adult fiction, and fantasy. This does mention that this was geared toward an adult audience; however, the feel of this story may captivate more of a young adult audience.
An audiobook was provided to Turning Another Page by Audiobookworm Promotions and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a four-star rating to Dolphin Way by Mark Caney.