Can a killer whale born and raised in captivity be released into the wild to become free-living and accepted into orca society?

Only if she wants to.

“In the Realm of the Whales” is Gene Helfman’s second novel about the Southern Resident killer whales. Lopez author Helfman picks up where he left off in his 2021 novel, “Beyond the Human Realm.” That book — which garnered two national awards for animal fiction and has consistently received five-star reviews on Amazon — explored the life of Makai, a captive male orca released into the wild, and the people and whales instrumental in integrating him into complex orca society. In the follow-up book, the story shifts to Makai’s daughter Marina, a whale born in captivity and content to be there. A well-intentioned benefactor purchases Marina from her captors and enlists two Indigenous teenagers with orca-clan roots in an effort to repatriate Marina with her wild relatives. Despite Marina’s intransigence, the teens — helped by Marina’s biological family and two orca researchers — convince her to decide between captivity and freedom.

Marina chooses freedom, and the real trouble begins.

“In the Realm of the Whales” is available at local bookstores and online via the megalithic internet distributors. Helfman will host a book launch and reading at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 4 at the Lopez Library.

Gene Helfman, Ph.D., is an animal behaviorist turned conservation biologist turned novelist. His research involved underwater studies showing that fish lead richer lives than conventionally thought. He has written books on fish and marine conservation and two previous animal-themed novels, “Beyond the Human Realm” about love, loss and redemption among killer whales; and “Fins: A Novel of Relentless Satire,” a shark-friendly spoof of the sharksploitation/horror genre. Helfman lives on Lopez Island, where he volunteers as a sports journalist for Lopez High School. Profits from all his books are donated to marine conservation.