Description: Seven years ago, and seven
miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, Dr. Jonas Taylor encountered
something that changed the course of his life. Once a Navy deep-sea submersible
pilot, now a marine paleontologist, Taylor is convinced that a remnant
population of Carcharodon megalodon—prehistoric sharks growing up to 70 feet
long, that subsisted on whales—lurks at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. When
offered the opportunity to return to those crushing depths in search of the
Megs, Taylor leaps at the chance… but the quest for scientific knowledge (and
personal vindication) becomes a desperate fight for survival, when the most
vicious predator that the earth has ever known is freed to once-again hunt the
surface.
My Thoughts on Meg:
A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten
I have long had a fascination with sharks, likely starting
with Jaws 2 (which I saw before the
original Jaws) and this fascination
is fed every summer with Shark Week. I
am terrified of sharks to the point of not getting in the ocean, unless I’m in
a boat, and being convinced that if I ever do put a toe into the actual ocean
the shark dinner bell will be ringing. However,
I have no problem watching movies and reading books that deal with other people
being attacked by said shark(s). I know,
don’t try to figure me out. Others have
tried for years without success.
Naturally, Steve Alten’s meganovel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror is right up my alley. Imagine, if you will, that the prehistoric Megalodon,
considered extinct for 100,000 years, managed to survive. And said Megalodon (“Meg”, hence the title of
the book) found its way to more populated waters and decided not to limit
itself to a diet of merely whales when tasty humans are around. That would be frightening enough but the Meg isn’t your ordinary
man-eating shark. Oh no, this fish makes
the original Great White from Jaws
look like a babe in the woods. The Meg
is some sixty to seventy feet in length with a mouth as large as a two car
garage. Scared
yet?
Meg drew me in from the first page until the last. It’s intense, it’s heart-pounding and it can
make you feel claustrophobic, even if you’re not. How to stop a massive fish whose only purpose
is to kill? And how to survive against
such a fish if you’re on its turf, many miles underwater?
I’m no scientist or oceanographer but author Steve Alten
does a bang up job in not only helping the reader to understand the
submersibles’ missions but feel as if he or she is right there, alongside the
characters. Did I mention claustrophobia? Again . . . be prepared.
The most well fleshed out character is our hero, Jonas Taylor. His weariness, frustration and fear will jump
off the page at you. For as well defined
as he is, the majority of the other characters are primarily supporting and you
don’t get the same sense of each of them as you do Taylor. However, you do get a very good sense of the
Meg who, rightfully, is a main character of this tale.
Like Jaws, Meg makes for fantastic summer reading .
. . but it can also be a gratifying read as the leaves are turning and the
nights are getting chilly. I, for one,
was grateful to be reading it in the safety of my landlocked home. It’s a relatively quick read and it’s as
fast moving as a blitz attack by a Great White.
It will certainly cause you to
wonder if it’s possible the Meg still moves along the darkest corridors of the
sea and think twice about what might be circling below you in the ocean.
Pick up Meg and
settle in for a less than quiet evening, complete with tension, fear and
moments that will make you gasp out loud.
Meg: A Novel of Deep
Terror by Steve Alten is available for purchase now at major booksellers,
including Amazon. I am an Amazon
affiliate. I will receive a small
commission if you make a purchase through my link.
For more information on author Steve Alten, please visit his website.
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