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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is very fast paced and I love that, what I didn't really care for is that the author has a character point out (multiple times) about how the men in the book are misogynistic, however toward the end that female character falls in love with the main character with no backstory to it besides they met when she was a child. No build up to their relationship, in the end they just were already in love. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved everything else about this book, but that one plot hole stuck with me.
I'm convinced by the popularity of the series, and the quality of writing in the (much later written) Origins prequel, that this series must get a good deal better.
It's not a bad book, but it is a little surprising that the series gained traction from this first effort out of the gates. I want to give spoiler examples... but I'll stick to this - Alten goes above and beyond to establish the feasibility of the concept at the heart of the book, the idea that a megalodon could have survived the ice ages that wiped out most other large animals from their eras in history. He does this well - it is likely why he is compared very favorably to Michael Crichton sometimes. But, he then squanders the believability with scenarios that top almost anything you've ever seen in a B movie. The hero's exploits late in the book are the most outrageous that I've ever read, and I've read some weird crap.
That said - there does seem to be a serving of B movie vibe in the text deliberately.
THAT said - holy cow, the gender and ethnic stereotypes are pretty immature (to put it kindly) in a lot of places. I don't mind the "every breast is oiled" rule - I think there's a fun/corny "men's adventure" writing precedent for that. The race elements - not so much. Whenever an Asian character is in play, get ready to read "almond-eyed" half a dozen times. Brace yourself for the only black character on the page, for more than a brief cameo, to talk like a caricature in blackface. Not that he comes across as prejudiced - he just comes across as a white guy writing about people he didn't have a lot of contact with in real life.
A lot of the writing is remarkable for a first novel effort. The tone is pretty consistent, and the pace is really good (although about 80% of the way through, just when you should be on the edge of your seat, I found myself wondering if the book would end any time soon). The science is believable (if not the science of statistical probability). There are some bizarre word repetitions - for example, the word "prone" is on every third page, or so it seems (remarkable for a word that's used so infrequently IRL).
Reading the next installment isn't a leap of faith I'm up for in the foreseeable future - but I do trust that they get better.
It's not a bad book, but it is a little surprising that the series gained traction from this first effort out of the gates. I want to give spoiler examples... but I'll stick to this - Alten goes above and beyond to establish the feasibility of the concept at the heart of the book, the idea that a megalodon could have survived the ice ages that wiped out most other large animals from their eras in history. He does this well - it is likely why he is compared very favorably to Michael Crichton sometimes. But, he then squanders the believability with scenarios that top almost anything you've ever seen in a B movie. The hero's exploits late in the book are the most outrageous that I've ever read, and I've read some weird crap.
That said - there does seem to be a serving of B movie vibe in the text deliberately.
THAT said - holy cow, the gender and ethnic stereotypes are pretty immature (to put it kindly) in a lot of places. I don't mind the "every breast is oiled" rule - I think there's a fun/corny "men's adventure" writing precedent for that. The race elements - not so much. Whenever an Asian character is in play, get ready to read "almond-eyed" half a dozen times. Brace yourself for the only black character on the page, for more than a brief cameo, to talk like a caricature in blackface. Not that he comes across as prejudiced - he just comes across as a white guy writing about people he didn't have a lot of contact with in real life.
A lot of the writing is remarkable for a first novel effort. The tone is pretty consistent, and the pace is really good (although about 80% of the way through, just when you should be on the edge of your seat, I found myself wondering if the book would end any time soon). The science is believable (if not the science of statistical probability). There are some bizarre word repetitions - for example, the word "prone" is on every third page, or so it seems (remarkable for a word that's used so infrequently IRL).
Reading the next installment isn't a leap of faith I'm up for in the foreseeable future - but I do trust that they get better.
adventurous
fast-paced
Mega fun!
A very entertaining book about a sixty-foot shark going on a feeding frenzy in the Pacific.
Just to make it clear what we are talking about:
These creatures actually inhabited the oceans of the Earth. Though this was long before you and I were born. They’re extinct for quite some time now. Or aren’t they? Well, I’m not saying they are still alive. But keep in mind that even though the oceans cover 71% of our planet’s surface and contain 99% of its living space, 95% of it remains unexplored.
That’s actually a very nice opportunity for an author to tell a convincing tale about a 42,000 pound shark with a garage-sized head terrorizing stupid people, not quite so stupid people and some poor whales as well.
Paleontologist Jonas Taylor doesn’t believe in megalodon’s extinction. He has his theory as to why they might still be alive and he actually believes he has seen one during a traumatic deep sea dive seven years ago. This makes him an easy target for quite some ridicule, and additionally that incident destroyed his career as a deep sea pilot.
When his old friend Masao Tanaka asks him for his help in the investigation of a remote sub that got damaged and subsequently lost in the Mariana Trench, Jonas sees this as a chance to face his fears and maybe prove his doubters wrong.
Suffice it to say that things go south for a lot of people from there on out.
What started as an interesting and entertaining bio-thriller becomes an equally entertaining creature feature after about a third of the book.
Alten sets up his popcorn adventure perfectly in the early parts of the book. He makes this whole tale somewhat plausible and then goes into full what-the-fuck-how-cool-is-that-mode, killing off character after character. Their deaths getting decreasingly believable and increasingly enjoyable in equal measures.
There are two or three characters most readers will want to see get through this unscathed and there are a lot of characters that readers will want to see dying, and horribly so, for being stupid assholes. So the reader can cheer on the shark and fear for the people, and mostly will be satisfied with the end result.
Steve Alten is actually a pretty decent writer. And MEG is a pretty good book that’s sometimes thrilling, sometimes silly, but almost always fun.
Almost five star fun.
But I deduct one star for a single character that annoyed me tremendously. In books like this people are mostly supposed to be annoying and then (to the reader’s delight) becoming fish fodder in the end. So it may seem a little harsh for me to lower the rating because of one of them. But the one I’m talking about (and will not name) was actually quite important for some of the actions taken by a certain other character. And the dynamic between the two was not plausible at all and in my opinion overall was just badly written. And I’m convinced now that Alten can do better.
This was a buddy read with my dear friend Trish, the world’s leading expert in horrendous deaths that actually make people laugh. Who better to read such a book with?! Exactly!
A very entertaining book about a sixty-foot shark going on a feeding frenzy in the Pacific.
Just to make it clear what we are talking about:
These creatures actually inhabited the oceans of the Earth. Though this was long before you and I were born. They’re extinct for quite some time now. Or aren’t they? Well, I’m not saying they are still alive. But keep in mind that even though the oceans cover 71% of our planet’s surface and contain 99% of its living space, 95% of it remains unexplored.
That’s actually a very nice opportunity for an author to tell a convincing tale about a 42,000 pound shark with a garage-sized head terrorizing stupid people, not quite so stupid people and some poor whales as well.
Paleontologist Jonas Taylor doesn’t believe in megalodon’s extinction. He has his theory as to why they might still be alive and he actually believes he has seen one during a traumatic deep sea dive seven years ago. This makes him an easy target for quite some ridicule, and additionally that incident destroyed his career as a deep sea pilot.
When his old friend Masao Tanaka asks him for his help in the investigation of a remote sub that got damaged and subsequently lost in the Mariana Trench, Jonas sees this as a chance to face his fears and maybe prove his doubters wrong.
Suffice it to say that things go south for a lot of people from there on out.
What started as an interesting and entertaining bio-thriller becomes an equally entertaining creature feature after about a third of the book.
Alten sets up his popcorn adventure perfectly in the early parts of the book. He makes this whole tale somewhat plausible and then goes into full what-the-fuck-how-cool-is-that-mode, killing off character after character. Their deaths getting decreasingly believable and increasingly enjoyable in equal measures.
There are two or three characters most readers will want to see get through this unscathed and there are a lot of characters that readers will want to see dying, and horribly so, for being stupid assholes. So the reader can cheer on the shark and fear for the people, and mostly will be satisfied with the end result.
Steve Alten is actually a pretty decent writer. And MEG is a pretty good book that’s sometimes thrilling, sometimes silly, but almost always fun.
Almost five star fun.
But I deduct one star for a single character that annoyed me tremendously. In books like this people are mostly supposed to be annoying and then (to the reader’s delight) becoming fish fodder in the end. So it may seem a little harsh for me to lower the rating because of one of them. But the one I’m talking about (and will not name) was actually quite important for some of the actions taken by a certain other character. And the dynamic between the two was not plausible at all and in my opinion overall was just badly written. And I’m convinced now that Alten can do better.
This was a buddy read with my dear friend Trish, the world’s leading expert in horrendous deaths that actually make people laugh. Who better to read such a book with?! Exactly!
Love Alten! His work perfectly combines science, fiction, and monsters!
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fast-paced
I read Meg a few years back after pilfering my dad’s original 90s hardback and, with a hankering for a critter thriller, decided to re-read when I spotted it on KU.
I’m so glad I did, the novel was much stronger than I remembered and it turns out that this new edition, in addition to an additional ORIGIN story at the end, has undergone a further edit/re-write from the original.
Strong action thriller with megalodons, can’t go wrong if that’s what you’re after!
90s MEG - 3 stars
Rewritten The MEG - solid 4 stars, grabbed a physical edition for the shelf to sit alongside the 90s HB.
I’m so glad I did, the novel was much stronger than I remembered and it turns out that this new edition, in addition to an additional ORIGIN story at the end, has undergone a further edit/re-write from the original.
Strong action thriller with megalodons, can’t go wrong if that’s what you’re after!
90s MEG - 3 stars
Rewritten The MEG - solid 4 stars, grabbed a physical edition for the shelf to sit alongside the 90s HB.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found that all the characters fell under the category of actively dislike to just ok. While I can definitely appreciate stories about unlikeable characters (and I do think the unlikable ones in this were meant to be), the heroes of our story weren’t just flawed they felt on dimension and very stereotypical action move stock characters.
No real grammatical errors or situations where the wording didn’t make sense. This one definitely took a very fast paced action story style, that worked for the story. The transitions in perspective were done nicely.
I had wondered upon starting this if it would be a similar situation to Jaws with the shark being only a minor backdrop in a mostly human based conflict story. I was happy to find this not the case with Meg. It was just the thing to break me of a reading slump, fun and action packed brain candy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol
Having watched the movie first, I was pleasantly surprised by the twists and turns in this book. While the movie was interesting and had a satisfying ending, the book left the reader wanting more. I was thrilled! I will be reading on!
Picked up this book because I am obsessed with the movie starring Jason Statham. The book feels more slow-paced, misogynistic, and repetitive than the movie but at the end of the day is still an easy, funny, thriller piece that you can probably finish in a day or two. I wasn’t wowed and probably wont pick up the next 5 installments of the series but its fascinating seeing where the book and the movie diverged.