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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Listen. I wasn't expecting this to be a great book. I wasn't even expecting this to be a good book. Yet even for a silly shark action horror and even for a novel written in the 90s, there are some serious problems that drag this rating down.
Let's start by discussing the plot because overall the shark bits are exactly what you want. A megalodon is encountered, emerges from the Mariana Trench, and wreaks havoc on ocean life and humanity alike. These are the parts of the novel that the movie adaptation, The Meg, took and ran with to some silly action, horror delight. Giant sharks, blood, unrealistic science, mayhem...what's not to like? It's only due to these parts of the novel that this isn't a one-star rating.
Now, where does it all go wrong? I have three major problems with this novel.
First, short chapters. Short, choppy chapters are probably my personal least favorite writing style. I find it extremely hard to get engrossed in a book when scenes are changing rapid fire. Not only are the chapters in Meg short (averaging 2-3 pages), but they are further cut into random scene snippets, that granted do generally go together, but feel very whiplash-inducing.
Second, this book is extremely well researched, and kudos to the author, Steve Alten, for his dedication to making this "realistic". However, it's very repetitive, and often the details feel too technical and out of place for the scenes. We are told about how sharks sense things and shark anatomy no less than 5 times at a very high level of detail - unnecessary. The technical detail on the variety of ships, beyond the submersible, didn't feel like it added anything to the story. It was at times like reading a shark-themed soap opera occasionally interrupted by a technical manual.
Finally, we come to the biggest issue I have with this novel, which we can't discuss without first chatting a little about our main character, Jonas Taylor. Jonas Taylor is a paleontologist, a deep-sea submersible expert, and all-around the hero of our story. The other characters are all written in relation to him, around him as the sun and they are but the distant planets. This can be an okay choice, but there is one blatantly awful result.
There are exactly two women in the main cast of this novel. The first is Jonas's wife, Maggie, who is initially presented as a beautiful and accomplished journalist who is almost immediately reduced to a petty, jealous, adulterous, sex symbol. The second is Terry who is also introduced as having some great experience and skill, she is rapidly portrayed to also be petty and jealous and is almost never mentioned again until the end of the novel when she is randomly turned into, you guessed it, a sex symbol. The women never interact with each other or any other women in the novel. They are both given scenes where they wear skimpy string and thong bikinis on boat decks and are eyed up by men. Terry is randomly turned into a love interest of Jonas Taylor's, with no build-up and after being very cold and jealous towards him, and has no impact on the story, any autonomy, or actions of her own. Blatantly, horrifically sexist. I am very grateful the movie adaptation threw all of this away and wrote a proper, silly shark action movie script.
Let's not even mention the two casual slurs thrown randomly into dialogue. I did a literal double-take at the first one. Yikes.
Overall a two-star read. I think there are something like eight novels in this series, which I am not inclined to continue.
I'll leave you with my favorite line in the whole book - "The Megalodon launched straight out of the sea like an intercontinental ballistic missile..." Still makes me giggle.
Horror Hodgepodge Blog Post Here
Let's start by discussing the plot because overall the shark bits are exactly what you want. A megalodon is encountered, emerges from the Mariana Trench, and wreaks havoc on ocean life and humanity alike. These are the parts of the novel that the movie adaptation, The Meg, took and ran with to some silly action, horror delight. Giant sharks, blood, unrealistic science, mayhem...what's not to like? It's only due to these parts of the novel that this isn't a one-star rating.
Now, where does it all go wrong? I have three major problems with this novel.
First, short chapters. Short, choppy chapters are probably my personal least favorite writing style. I find it extremely hard to get engrossed in a book when scenes are changing rapid fire. Not only are the chapters in Meg short (averaging 2-3 pages), but they are further cut into random scene snippets, that granted do generally go together, but feel very whiplash-inducing.
Second, this book is extremely well researched, and kudos to the author, Steve Alten, for his dedication to making this "realistic". However, it's very repetitive, and often the details feel too technical and out of place for the scenes. We are told about how sharks sense things and shark anatomy no less than 5 times at a very high level of detail - unnecessary. The technical detail on the variety of ships, beyond the submersible, didn't feel like it added anything to the story. It was at times like reading a shark-themed soap opera occasionally interrupted by a technical manual.
Finally, we come to the biggest issue I have with this novel, which we can't discuss without first chatting a little about our main character, Jonas Taylor. Jonas Taylor is a paleontologist, a deep-sea submersible expert, and all-around the hero of our story. The other characters are all written in relation to him, around him as the sun and they are but the distant planets. This can be an okay choice, but there is one blatantly awful result.
There are exactly two women in the main cast of this novel. The first is Jonas's wife, Maggie, who is initially presented as a beautiful and accomplished journalist who is almost immediately reduced to a petty, jealous, adulterous, sex symbol. The second is Terry who is also introduced as having some great experience and skill, she is rapidly portrayed to also be petty and jealous and is almost never mentioned again until the end of the novel when she is randomly turned into, you guessed it, a sex symbol. The women never interact with each other or any other women in the novel. They are both given scenes where they wear skimpy string and thong bikinis on boat decks and are eyed up by men. Terry is randomly turned into a love interest of Jonas Taylor's, with no build-up and after being very cold and jealous towards him, and has no impact on the story, any autonomy, or actions of her own. Blatantly, horrifically sexist. I am very grateful the movie adaptation threw all of this away and wrote a proper, silly shark action movie script.
Let's not even mention the two casual slurs thrown randomly into dialogue. I did a literal double-take at the first one. Yikes.
Overall a two-star read. I think there are something like eight novels in this series, which I am not inclined to continue.
I'll leave you with my favorite line in the whole book - "The Megalodon launched straight out of the sea like an intercontinental ballistic missile..." Still makes me giggle.
Horror Hodgepodge Blog Post Here
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved this book, can’t wait for the movie this summer
A compelling ridiculous but fun plot. Just enjoy it.
Megalodons. Action. Adventure. A hero looking for validation. Comeuppance for unlikable and nefarious characters. A vague mix of dinosaur and shark, there's not much that I wouldn't like about this book.
This was a WILD ride. But great fun if you’re looking for a few more ocean-based thrills before the summer is completely over!
Not bad. The book equivalent to a summer action movie, which it is actually becoming. It starts with a quick pace which doesn't stop. The ending is a little far fetched, but no more so that the afore mentioned summer movie. I will be checking out the other three books in the series.
This is actually the second time I've read the Meg series, and I still like these books. I've read several of Alten's books starting with The Loch then Goliath and finally finding his Meg books.
Meg was an easy read, not overwhelming in detail, a little slow to start, but once Jonas actually gets into the Marianna Trench it gets good.
My only fault with this book is the mention it was supposed to be a movie. In 2006 it was mentioned and 4 years later still no movie. The book is really worth being made into a movie. The science is solid and the events are possible if not a bit improbable. IMDB says 2011, we'll see.
Meg was an easy read, not overwhelming in detail, a little slow to start, but once Jonas actually gets into the Marianna Trench it gets good.
My only fault with this book is the mention it was supposed to be a movie. In 2006 it was mentioned and 4 years later still no movie. The book is really worth being made into a movie. The science is solid and the events are possible if not a bit improbable. IMDB says 2011, we'll see.