A review by rebelbelle13
The Loch by Steve Alten

2.0

This book really disappointed me. MEG was one of my favorite books of the year, and I really, really thought I had found my new favorite author in Steve Alten. I dove right in (pun intended) to The Loch, hoping that I would love it just as much. Instead of focusing on the Loch Ness monster, as we are led to believe, the novel instead focuses heavily on the history of Scotland and its kings (William Wallace, Robert the Bruce), post-traumatic stress disorder, a murder trial, and an offshoot of the Knights Templar. The novel was so bloated with things that weren't related to the monster at all, that the story really didn't become interesting for me until about halfway through. I seriously considered putting it down, but I figured the monster had to show himself EVENTUALLY. As it finally began to stumble forward, the story was still plagued with Zachary (our protagonist) acting like an idiot and a love triangle was shoved down our throats.
I won't give it away here, but the reveal of the monster and its history seemed a little convoluted to me. There was a little bit of the science that we saw in MEG, but not nearly enough to keep me interested. I do plan on continuing with this series in the hopes that it will get better.