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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fun story with some pretty cool, although far-fetched, sequences that make me pretty excited for the film.
Great fun book. Different than the movie and a lot of fun. There is a whole series of these books which I may check out as well. Definitely worth the read if you enjoyed Jaws or any other shark story.
Literally the worst book ever. Reads like a bad action movie. I couldn't put it down.
This was honestly a pretty poorly written book. The characters were flat and awful, there were long unnecessary descriptions of all the equipment and procedures, and it was cliche ridden to the point of absurdity (rip the dude who was only 30 hours from retirement). But for all that, the action was ridiculous and over the top, and I really found myself enjoy the trashy fun of this book. Once the meg was introduced and starting eating all the people, I was down.
This is one hundred percent the kind of movie I adore watching and while I don't think that it's a favorite in book form, it was definitely a fun experience. Will not be continuing on with the rest of the series, though.
This is one hundred percent the kind of movie I adore watching and while I don't think that it's a favorite in book form, it was definitely a fun experience. Will not be continuing on with the rest of the series, though.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Big Shark. Lots of ocean to play in and wreak havoc. The premise of this book is fun, and perfect fodder for Shark Week and thriller genre enthusiasts alike. While it does evoke the nostalgic feeling of a 90’s underwater thriller (i.e. full of cheese)- I had some serious qualms with the writing and characterization, and I went into this completely expecting a plot that would be campy and not complex. Two major problems presented themselves immediately and ultimately detracted from the overall story.
Depiction of women
There are two main women in this story (two, by the way, among countless male characters): Maggie, the protagonist’s wife - a typical meddling villainess, and Terry - a scientist/pilot. Both depictions are problematic, and left me utterly perplexed… this book is an updated re-edited version, how did this get missed twice? They’re described by their heart-stopping beautiful looks, long slender legs, ample cleavage, perfectly tanned skin, what have you. It’s overall a really clunky, poorly-conceived way to describe women.
Maggie is a wannabe celebrity who despises her husband, and is openly cheating on him. She ends up answering her hotel room door at one point with her boob hanging out of her robe, sunbathes on a yacht topless, leans over in front of another man to show off her thong etc. All of these serve no purpose to the story other than to describe female body parts on display to numerous different men in the story….
Terry, an accomplished scientist/pilot in her 20s is relegated to stomping her feet and complaining or whining for the majority of the book. A woman of her caliber is unlikely to act in such a childish way - refusing to help the main character learn the new deep sea vehicle he will be operating etc. It makes such little sense, and felt like a disservice to what could otherwise be an interesting character. Oh, and of course she winds up in bed with the main character - whom she hates for most of the story….and suddenly is in love with, like someone (the author) flips a magical switch.
When introducing the helicopter pilot character, Mac, we learn he was reassigned to military duty on Guam - where there are “gorgeous native girls”. And he proceeds to run a brothel, because what else would you do on Guam?
Even the sparse background women are described as “young” and “attractive”, such as a random horse trainer on a cargo ship or all television reporters; men in the book have varying descriptions from young to old, attractive to unattractive. It’s a big world out there, Steve Alten, and women are just as varied as men.
Depiction of Asian characters
With an international cast of characters, most are described by where they’re from - but the description of all Asian characters goes much further than simply saying “a young Japanese woman”. All have “almond” eyes, where characters of other ethnicities have eyes of ranging colors, and no description of shape or other-ness. They also have “deep Asian tans” as opposed to...just...having tan skin?
The father of Terry - Masao Tanaka - had a geisha mother (who died) and a fisherman father - really pushing strange and unlikely stereotype here. He moved to America at a very young age, and subsequently was put into an internment camp during WWII, where his father died apparently due to his pride. If his father died….maybe he could have actually been sick and a victim of the lack of appropriate medical care in the internment camps? Or been more like a real person akin to Frank Emi or countless other Japanese Americans who fought against the atrocities of the camps. This “dying of his pride” felt like an injustice, and a throwaway backstory for Masao. With all of the research Alten put into over-describing different pieces of technology and marine ecology, maybe he could have educated himself on culture and history.
I also took umbrage with the sometimes poor grammar Masao is given. After exiting the internment camp, he grew up in America with a White-American family, thus it stands to reason that he would be able to speak English fluently. This might also have been a problem due to getting through this novel by audiobook, where the author reads Masao in a “Japanese accent”.
When they visit the Tanaka home (in California, where they live) the furniture is bamboo, and Terry Tanaka cooks jumbo shrimp. Masao and other Japanese-American or Japanese characters also talk about “honor” so many times, I felt like Steve Alten wrote a whole chapter comprising just of the words “almond eyes” and “honor, honor, honor”.
Sidenote on race: The one and only Black character in the entire book is a big, muscled man.
The book overall lacks subtlety, I mean the protagonist is named Jonas who is swallowed by a shark. With the genre and expectations I had entering this book, the camp is fine - even welcomed, but the racism and misogyny are unforgivable. The author overall seems to be a positive figure in the writing world: promoting reading to teens who otherwise would not. I think that he should seriously re-evaluate the impact of his books on his readership; the depiction of women and overt racism need to change.
Depiction of women
There are two main women in this story (two, by the way, among countless male characters): Maggie, the protagonist’s wife - a typical meddling villainess, and Terry - a scientist/pilot. Both depictions are problematic, and left me utterly perplexed… this book is an updated re-edited version, how did this get missed twice? They’re described by their heart-stopping beautiful looks, long slender legs, ample cleavage, perfectly tanned skin, what have you. It’s overall a really clunky, poorly-conceived way to describe women.
Maggie is a wannabe celebrity who despises her husband, and is openly cheating on him. She ends up answering her hotel room door at one point with her boob hanging out of her robe, sunbathes on a yacht topless, leans over in front of another man to show off her thong etc. All of these serve no purpose to the story other than to describe female body parts on display to numerous different men in the story….
Terry, an accomplished scientist/pilot in her 20s is relegated to stomping her feet and complaining or whining for the majority of the book. A woman of her caliber is unlikely to act in such a childish way - refusing to help the main character learn the new deep sea vehicle he will be operating etc. It makes such little sense, and felt like a disservice to what could otherwise be an interesting character. Oh, and of course she winds up in bed with the main character - whom she hates for most of the story….and suddenly is in love with, like someone (the author) flips a magical switch.
When introducing the helicopter pilot character, Mac, we learn he was reassigned to military duty on Guam - where there are “gorgeous native girls”. And he proceeds to run a brothel, because what else would you do on Guam?
Even the sparse background women are described as “young” and “attractive”, such as a random horse trainer on a cargo ship or all television reporters; men in the book have varying descriptions from young to old, attractive to unattractive. It’s a big world out there, Steve Alten, and women are just as varied as men.
Depiction of Asian characters
With an international cast of characters, most are described by where they’re from - but the description of all Asian characters goes much further than simply saying “a young Japanese woman”. All have “almond” eyes, where characters of other ethnicities have eyes of ranging colors, and no description of shape or other-ness. They also have “deep Asian tans” as opposed to...just...having tan skin?
The father of Terry - Masao Tanaka - had a geisha mother (who died) and a fisherman father - really pushing strange and unlikely stereotype here. He moved to America at a very young age, and subsequently was put into an internment camp during WWII, where his father died apparently due to his pride. If his father died….maybe he could have actually been sick and a victim of the lack of appropriate medical care in the internment camps? Or been more like a real person akin to Frank Emi or countless other Japanese Americans who fought against the atrocities of the camps. This “dying of his pride” felt like an injustice, and a throwaway backstory for Masao. With all of the research Alten put into over-describing different pieces of technology and marine ecology, maybe he could have educated himself on culture and history.
I also took umbrage with the sometimes poor grammar Masao is given. After exiting the internment camp, he grew up in America with a White-American family, thus it stands to reason that he would be able to speak English fluently. This might also have been a problem due to getting through this novel by audiobook, where the author reads Masao in a “Japanese accent”.
When they visit the Tanaka home (in California, where they live) the furniture is bamboo, and Terry Tanaka cooks jumbo shrimp. Masao and other Japanese-American or Japanese characters also talk about “honor” so many times, I felt like Steve Alten wrote a whole chapter comprising just of the words “almond eyes” and “honor, honor, honor”.
Sidenote on race: The one and only Black character in the entire book is a big, muscled man.
The book overall lacks subtlety, I mean the protagonist is named Jonas who is swallowed by a shark. With the genre and expectations I had entering this book, the camp is fine - even welcomed, but the racism and misogyny are unforgivable. The author overall seems to be a positive figure in the writing world: promoting reading to teens who otherwise would not. I think that he should seriously re-evaluate the impact of his books on his readership; the depiction of women and overt racism need to change.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is not a good book but it was hilarious and perfect for what I was looking for. B rated creature feature in novel format.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood