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. Now, one would probably think, 'No one's THAT good or THAT caring.' However, Whip Darling is. For example, Whip Darling, the main character and hero of the story, is, as one would assume, quite a good man. What's also interesting is how well Benchley depicts the characters. 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).

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). If you liked Jaws, you'll like Beast about fifty times more. 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 characters are very real (such as St. 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.īeast is incredibly well written, especially the dialogue. 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.

Beast by Peter Benchley