Beast

by Peter Benchley

Book Overview

"Makes the shark from "Jaws" look like a pet goldfish . . ." USA Weekend Straight from the cutting edge of science and the logs of ancient mariners comes an immense horror -- a creature that rises up from the well of an ocean gone mad with an insatiable hunger and an endless lust to kill. One man leads a harrowing struggle to defeat the beast amid a threatened Bermuda paradise. His name is Whip Darling, a down-and-out sea dog who doesn't know where...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679403558
• ISBN13: 9780679403555
• Release Date: June 1991
• Publisher: Random House
• Length: 350 Pages
• Weight: 1.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Beast

Fast paced book, very suspenseful, Read it in two days, couldn't put it down

a must read

The beast, by peter benchley is an awesome book about whip Darling, a fisher from Bermuda, that goes after a sea monster with a scientist named DR. tally and MR.osborn. Tally wants to study it because he has dedicated his life to Architeuthis. Osborn wants to kill it for killing his kids. The sea monster is a squid that is 100 feet long and has razor sharp claws. It has killed many times. It kills for food and pleasure. Its only predators are the Sperm Wales. Whip darling has a wife and a kid. His fishing mate, mike, is a big guy that doesn't like to make desisions. Dr. tally has spent his life studying Architeuthis, the squid. When he found a article about a woman in Bermuda that saw a ship turn to splinters from a monster, no smoke or fire, it just blew up. He knew right away. He had to go to Bermuda, but didn't have the money, so he called apone a rich man named Osborn, a man that lost his kids at sea. HE is thirsty for revenge. Osborn and tally go to darling and he refuses, no mater how much money they pushed at him. Finally they get a way to get him to help them. They go after the squid and have the adventure of a lifetime. This is a great book for anyone that doesn't mind cousing and adventure.

squid vs. shark.....800 times better than jaws

Squid vs. Shark....definitely squid. Beast is a spine-tingling tale about a 100 ft giant squid that menaces Bermudian waters and develops a taste for human flesh after it's normal food source, other creatures of the deep, are almost completely fished out. After a number of failed attempts to stop and destroy the creature, it is up to a local fisherman, the story's hero named Whip Darling, to use his wits to fight it.Beast is incredibly well written, especially the dialogue. It's characters are very real (such as St. John, a corrupt, Irish politician; Osborn Manning, a father turned vengeful after his two children are killed by the eight-armed creature; Talley, a Canadian squid expert; Sharp, a young Navy officer), and the story is quite believable, and it's ending is NEVER expected. It's also a really fast read. Three nights tops.If you liked Jaws, you'll like Beast about fifty times more. Beast is NON-STOP ACTION, and one thing I really liked about the book is how much Benchley researched the animal known as the giant squid (Architeuthis dux). Many times during the novel he expresses and shows what and how the squid thinks and how it feels, making the story more interesting on both antagonist AND protagonist sides (the best example being when the giant squid tries to defend itself as it is attacked by a pair of sperm whales).What's also interesting is how well Benchley depicts the characters. For example, Whip Darling, the main character and hero of the story, is, as one would assume, quite a good man. Perhaps too good. Now, one would probably think, "No one's THAT good or THAT caring." However, Whip Darling is. He is a true "good - guy." Usually, when a hero is too much of a goody-two shoes, it kind of brings a somewhat fairy tale presence upon the story, making it a little, if not completely, corny at times. However, this is not the case with Beast. It is written so well, that you find yourself really loving Whip, rather than saying, "Oh please!" at whatever he does. I think it's just that Whip is very human. He loves his family, he loves his friends, and he tries to prevent danger from coming across anyone and anything (even the squid) by doing all he can.Beast is out of print (I don't know why...it's sooooo good), so I would recommend going to a library and checking out a copy, or buy a used edition online, but whatever you do, find Beast...and find it fast. IT'S A MUST READ.

The Beast was a great nail bitter of a story.

This book was great.If you liked Jaws the movie or book or both,then read this one!It's just as good as Jaws,this one is about giant squid.

AN EXCELLENT BOOK BAR NONE ONE OF BENCHLEY'S BEST.

I found BEAST to be one of the most entertaning books that I have read in a long while. For instance there are believable characters in this book such as WHIP DARLING who you feel you can rally around unlike some other books I have read. Also there is'nt any boring town subplots either which would take the focus off of why this GIANT SQUID has caused all this havoc on the ocean. How big is this GIANT SQUID I won't say but you'll be amazed that's for sure I felt that this was the best book I have read since MEG by STEVE ALTEN you can see my review of MEG if you'd like too as well. So all in all don't miss reading BEAST by PETER BENCHLEY or you'll regret it.

Benchley finds a successor to Jaws!

Peter Benchley, for a long time a favourite writer of mine, didn't disapoint me one bit with this crackerjack thriller in which he replaces a great white shark with a far more terrifying antagonist; the giant squid! Filled with colourful characters, unbarebly tense situations, a strong, none-preachy enviromental message, and some witty digs at the movie version of Jaws, make this a winner.