Death to Moby Dick, a Love Story
The echoey sounds of stretching and cracking ice filled the inlet.
Book Summary
Death to Moby Dick, a Love Story
“The echoey sounds of stretching and cracking ice filled the inlet. The surround had become an arena, an eternal, unearthly battleground. The white whale broke the surface slowly. Inching forward, it broke the ice ahead of its brow, sending mountainous shards into the starry night.”
“It’s just another hill, Isaac. It’s just another damned hill,” said Carney.
Inspired by Melville’s Moby Dick, I wrote a prequel, Ahab, a Love Story. Beginning with the American Revolution, the novel explores the origins of the good-hearted boy, the son, the lover, and the crushed soul who would become Ahab. A sequel to Melville’s Moby Dick “beckoned me.”
What became of the Rachel’s survivor(s), of Melville, of the white whale? Meet W.H. Carney, a true-to-life Civil War hero. Meet Isaac, the Naval Architect with otherworldly beginnings, and Irene, a star of the Opera and teacher. Fall in love with them.
Death to Moby Dick, a Love Story, is a work from my heart to yours. The saga continues from the American Revolution to the beginnings of the “The Great War”. If you are a fan of real history, of action and adventure on the high seas, and of timeless Love, even amidst great tragedy, these books are a must-read.
Enjoy & Godspeed!
Stephen Melillo
Author/Composer
“… a captivating love story and an adventurous tale of mankind’s struggle against sin and evil. The writing style is lyrical and noble. The characters are large and epic. If you like history and 19th Century novels, you’ll be sure to enjoy this one.” – Leah Shepherd, Hollywood Book Reviews
“The way the author effortlessly takes you back in time, throughout the American Revolution to even the first World War, while also giving you an entirely new story based off a much-loved novel that has stood the test of time, is something which is rare and needs to be celebrated. Pick up your copy – you’ll be glad you did!” – Aly Avina, Pacific Book Review
“Fans of the original Moby Dick will appreciate that this book maintains the “madness, the frenzy, the boiling blood and the smoking brow” adventure. The romantic storyline will also satiate those craving a thrilling love story. … this book has something for everyone.” – Nicole Yurcaba, The US Review of Books
What readers say about the book🧐
Death to Moby Dick: A Love Story, along with Melillo's AHAB, are Exquisitely crafted portals into a story that could have been. Written as a fictional, prequel-sequel paring to Melville's Moby Dick, Death to Moby Dick is carefully and meticulously crafted to align with actual historical events. Could the White Whale have been real? Might this love story have actually happened, only to have been lost to the storms of History?Death to Moby Dick is a unique masterpiece from a uniquely gifted and talented Composer-Author. Highly recommended!I also highly recommend checking out the Audio Book version of this book, which is filled with not just narration, but an original orchestral musical score. If you enjoy the book, check out the audio version for an entirely new and different way to experience this story.
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About the Author
Stephen Melillo
A world-renowned composer, winner of multiple Gold Global Music Awards, and a Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Epic/Orchestral Music, Stephen’s more than 1320 works include 4 symphonies, several concerti and over 45-hours of Music for Ensembles of the 3rd Millennium™. Stephen’s Symphony IIII: Lightfall, was nominated for the Pulitzer and Nemmers Prize in Music. Winner of three 2009 Telly & Ava Awards for his 2005 Visualized Concert, Kakehashi: That We Might Live, Stephen’s concert-version was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Music. A fourth Telly Award was given for “Best Use of Music” in the 2019 feature film, One Little Finger produced by Rupam Sarmah. A fifth Telly Award included Stephen’s work on the 2019 Reckoning of Darkness produced by Christopher Kulikowski. Stephen’s 15 feature film scores include the Academy Award-nominated 12:01PM.
Stephen has been a recipient of the ASCAP Concert Awards each year since 1992. STORMWORKS, Stephen’s pioneering, self-publishing entity, has gone from 0 to many thousands of worldwide renderings since 1992 simply by word-of-mouth. He has 51 Albums and 9 books on varied streaming services and novels, including Only for Now, Ahab, a Love Story, the prequel to Melville’s Moby Dick, and most recently, the sequel, Death to Moby Dick, a Love Story.
Complete BIO on stephenmelillo.com: https://stephenmelillo.com/bio
WIKI ENTRY at stormworld.com: https://stormworld.com/wikipedia-entry-with-images Digital Libretti here: https://stephenmelillo.com/digital-libretti
Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/stephenmelillo
Amazon EDIT PAGE: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile
RSS FEED LINK: http://stephenmelillo.com/blogs/stories-stormlog.rss
“Melillo is to wind music what Beethoven was to the symphony orchestra, and he follows a Beethovenesque design of increasing the musical tension almost to the breaking point, receding, and then reaching again. It is superlative musical craftsmanship and inspiring to hear.” Marvin Sosna, Music Critic “
His S-MATRIX Symphony was fabulous, full of childlike wonderment as the composer intended and marvelous sounds. And they worked to maximum effect — a brilliant, original use of orchestral resources for a sophisticated, sensational, beautiful and satisfying experience.” Nancy R. Ping-Robbins, Music Critic
“…a new voice in the direction of music, his sound – a bridge between the serious and the immediately visceral.” Maestro Gerhardt Zimmerman, Conductor
“If you want to know what the human spirit really is, you must, Yes – Must come to the Z tonight to hear a phenomenal world premiere that will put tears in your eyes. Symphony No. IIII by Stephen Melillo is a very powerful work. I am not embarrassed to admit that when I saw the score for the first time, I was in tears. What a powerful and moving work. It was commissioned by the Canton Symphony Orchestra for the 25th anniversary of the ADA (American Disabilities Act). Your soul will be opened.” Maestro Gerhardt Zimmerman, Conductor
“…his ability to create a mood, find precisely the right touch of drama and create the needed effect was manifest… the sustained chords in the choir, the timpani’s roar, the harp’s glissandos. Melillo used them all with a sense of absolute rightness and the result was fresh, joyful and exciting… each measure scored with an unerring ear for drama and emotion.” John S. Sweeney, Music Critic “He could become the Leonard Bernstein of this age… Everything he creates has many layers, ranging from synchronicity to the significance of numbers, from visceral emotions to the brotherhood of mankind.” John S. Sweeney, Music Critic
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The echoey sounds of stretching and cracking ice filled the inlet.