Shark Wars, by EJ Altbacker, fits the archetypal mold of the hero’s journey.  A young shark, Gray, gets banished from the reef where he grew up for sneaking out into ‘the big blue’ in order to hunt.  Once removed from his comfort zone he gets mixed up in a war between two rival shark clans, the Goblin Shiver and the Razor Shiver.  Due to food shortages the sharks have begun warring for hunting rights and oceanic supremacy.  As it becomes clear both factions are corrupt, our heroes, former allies of Goblin Shiver, split off into their own faction, Rogue Shiver, and save the day.

In the beginning this book hints at interesting themes.  I was intrigued by the premise that it’s okay for sharks to hunt dumb fish, such as tuna, but not the more intelligent species.  Unfortunately this was not explored in detail, proving to be a backdrop for a series of terrible fish-related puns.  Set pieces such as the tuna roll sports game were groan worthy in the worst sense and came to overshadow the already-generic plot.  The mythology behind the series also seemed to be merely an elaborate ruse for shark puns, lacking the substance necessary to captivate.  If a child between the 8 and 10 has a strong interest in cookie cutter stories of good versus evil and a fondness for sharks this may be the story for them.