Lords of the Sea –
a synopsis of the novel
“Návígi á hvalaslóð”
By Elías Snæland Jónsson.
Ingi is a 14 years old Icelandic boy. He and his marine-biologist parents Bogi and Hulda are in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean on the research vessel Hermes, owned by Leon, an American businessman and whale enthusiast. Their objective is to try to understand the language of the Great Blue Whale. They use new, hightech equipment to systematically collect, analyse and return the sounds made by a selected few of these largest beings on our planet. One of these is a newborn whale called Daniel. In fact the story starts with his birth. An early exiting chapter describes a sudden danger for Ingi who is thrown into the cold sea and has a close encounter with the young whale’s father – who is the size of a large passanger plane!
Through his Canadian Internet friend Helena, who is also 14 years old, Ingi learns of the plight of a few blue whales that are trapped in a small lagoon off the coast of Maine/New Brunswick. As a last resort the crew of Hermes decides to go there and try to rescue the whales by communicating with them. In the end this attempt is successful. This stirres the interest of Saul, Leon’s secret and sinister partner.
Bogi is called to Washington where Saul demands complete information on their analysis of the whales’ language. Bogi declines. Spring comes and with it the migration of the Great Blue Whale to the north. Hermes followes the whales to Icelandic waters. On the way Daniel becomes entangled in the gigantic nets of a large Russian trawler. He is only saved by the actions of the captain of an mysterious ship
called Seawitch.
Later when the Seawitch and Hermes are both in the harbour at Heimaey, the new home of the famed whale Keiko, Ingi finds to his delight that the ship is owned by the environmental organisation of Helena’s father at that she is on board
They have a few wonderful days together on the beautiful island. But then strange things begin to happen. Suddenly Ingi and Helena encounter many dangers. It is an exiting finale to the story, where the Great Blue Whale again makes an unexpected entry.