Dolphin Way, Rise of the Guardians is an extraordinary novel taking you into the heart of a millennia-old dolphin culture and society.
When The Way is followed, there is food for all and natural balance reigns. However, the world around them is changing; food stocks are dwindling, the sea temperature is changing, pollution and litter is killing sea life. Some dolphins blame the ‘walkers’, strange creatures who seem ignorant of their impact on the ocean, but some blame other dolphins for fishing more than their quota.
Rise of the Guardians
At the same time, another group of dolphins have emerged: The Guardians. Feared and shunned in equal measure, they no longer follow The Way and believe that the Zetii, bottlenose dolphins, should claim their birthright and dominate all other species. To make contact with a Guardian means instant banishment from your clan.
The story opens with the death of a dolphin, the gifted Born into Summer, drivenonto a beach to die in suspicious circumstances. The book’s hero, Touches the Sky, is determined to find out what happened to her. A young male dolphin navigating his path to adulthood, he’s lost his family and nearly his own life after being driven onto a beach himself by strange soundings underwater many years ago.
By questioning his clan’s explanation for her death he sets himself on a collision course with the clan elders, his friends, and the powerful and ruthless Guardians.
Dolphin art and science
Mark Caney, in his debut novel has created a fully realised world, where dolphin culture has structure, art, science, history and a philosophy of The Way. Running alongside the gripping story that winds itself tighter and tighter is a beautifully realised exploration of the sea, love, friendship and loyalty. There are wonderful meditative sections on breathing, stillness and deep diving that will resonate with all freedivers and people looking for a sense of inner peace.
Dolphin Way, Rise of the Guardians is a mythical story, evoking the hero’s journey, identity, belonging and what happens when all your certainty and belief systems are thrown into question. The story ends with more questions and more beginnings. It leaves the reader wanting to know more: what will happen next and how Touches the Sky, his friends, culture, and the world of Ocean will survive.
Dolphin Way, Rise of the Guardians By Mark Caney
Aquapress 2011 ISBN 978-1-90549-223-7
www.dolphin-way.com