Gus spends nearly every dime he has in his quest to hunt down the sperm whale who ate his wife, son and his right arm. Gathering a crew consisting of a compulsive scrimshawer, a drug addict, a homicidal cook, a devoutly religious harpooner, an ex-pirate (also one-armed), and a crewman so stupid he's called "Stupid George", Gus travels throughout the tiny islands of the South Pacific, blogging and looking for the whale.

"A lot of folks have written me asking me if I've got a name for the whale. I've been calling him "Dickhead". Everybody always laughs and says that's a witty reference. Hell if I know why."

Gus and his crew fight an illegal arms dealer, escape from an island prison and its torturers, evade the Navy, gain and lose millions and romance a princess who hates her parents. Gus bestows the title of Employee of the Week to whichever of his crew accidently saves his life at that moment, an occurance that always surprises them.

"When you go into a fish-stinking seaman's bar on a small island and offer cash for a whaling job of uncertain duration on a boat you won't name, the best and the brightest sailors don't usually line up with their resumes.
I've got to log off now because one of my new hires just came into the captain's quarters and wants to kill me."

This is a very funny adventure that sat on my shelf for over a year. I'm glad I finally got to it and I'll look for more from Thomson ( )