The Orca's Song — David Zindell

If you were a thirty-foot long orca blessed (and cursed?) with superhuman intelligence, what would you say to the human beings who were slaughtering your people?In this epic quest for a new way of life on earth, told by an orca, Arjuna of the Blue Aria Family encounters three signs of cataclysm. He leaves his home in the Arctic Ocean to seek out human beings and ask us why we are destroying the world. But the whales' ancient Song of Life is beyond our understanding, and we know nothing of the Great Covenant between our kinds. Arjuna is captured, starved, tortured, and made to do tricks in a tiny pool at Sea Circus.His love for a human linguist gives him hope, even as he despairs that other people twist his words and continue the worldwide slaughter. As the whales' beloved Ocean turns toward the Blood Solstice, the fate of humanity hangs in the balance: for if Arjuna gains the Voice of Death he could destroy mankind. But if understanding can prevail, he may, through the whales' mysterious power of quenging, create a new Song of Life and enable human evolution to unfold.With The Orca's Song, David Zindell returns to the grand themes of Neverness in a uniquely moving tale. If you enjoy exploring the nature of intelligence, consciousness, and evolution - all wrapped up in an intensely personal story - you'll love this novel. To read what is quite simply the best book about a whale since Moby Dick, buy The Orca's Song now.