The Trench

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Summer reading...Could not put it down!
Review: I picked up a copy of "Meg" back in '97, and even though it was not the best book I've read, it was still a very fun read.

My partner, David and I had planned a trip down under to view great white sharks thru one of those underwater steel cages. Needless to say, we canceled the trip. We kept picturing ourselves in said steel cage waiting for a visit from a large 20' great white, but instead of a great white we notice one of these megs coming at us from the deep blue sea....Yikes!

I just finished reading Steve Alten's sequel, "The Trench", and I was totally blown away! Vastly superior to his first book, "The Trench" shows that the writer has done his home-work and has thus won a place on my "favorite" list of authors, which includes another sea-fairing writer, Peter Benchley.

I found this book to be highly entertaining and hard as hell to put down. I read it in two days, but only because I did not want it to end so soon. The descriptions in this book were so vivid that I'd swear I could smell the ocean and that there was sand in my hair.

The villians (and I'm not refering to the shark) are nasty as hell and you just can't wait for them to "get theirs."

I'll end this with a favorite saying from one of the characters of The Simpsons animated series who I'd would swear could be the main villian's brother...

"EXCELLENT".....

Gus

Rating:
Summary: A MEG-nificent Sequel!
Review: When I heard that Steve Alten was writing a sequel to MEG, my first reaction was "What For?" I mean, I enjoyed MEG, but it was just an updated version of "JAWS". A big killer shark on the loose. How original. (Charles Wilson did a much better job in his book EXTINCT.)

I knew how the sequel would read. The baby meg would grow up and escape from captivity and Jonas Taylor would be called out of retirement to capture it....... BOY WAS I EVER WRONG!

The Trench is an exciting undersea techno-thriller with non-stop suspense and unexpected surprises! There are two MEGS featured in this book! The 72 foot MEGalodon Shark, and a MEGalomaniacal villain who's just as dangerous. Jonas Taylor reluctantly returns to the Mariana Trench to rescue his wife, but there is something else besides the Megalodons lurking in THE TRENCH!

Way to go, Steve! GREAT SEQUEL!

Rating:
Summary: Not yo daddy's shark fiction, not quite mine either
Review: For those who were in love with shark fiction and Steve Alten's sleek genre piece MEG, the TRENCH, no matter what you think of Alten's shortcomings, is manditory reading.

I can't say that this book was really a disappointment (seeing Alten's faults in MEG, is was inevitable that success would blow them out of proportion in TRENCH) but then again, I was at the rather undemanding age of 13 when I first read it.

Not only is the human fiction in this book wildly pretentious, most of it is unneccessary and distacting. Also not very pleasant

The shark attacks, however, still ring true and will satisfy our lust for carnage. Rather than building tension, Alten perfers to bash us repeatedly with shark mayhem, which is fine by my, if i didn't have to read so much ill-written "human" drama in between. Hopefully Primal Waters will be a more mature and focused book.

Rating:
Summary: A fun summer read
Review: I bought Meg when it first came out thinking I was going to get a 'shark book' but figured it looked interesting enough to gamble a few bucks on, and I found most of the book to be fast paced and very entertaining, if a little on the 'un- researched' side. Lo and behold 'The Trench' comes out, and I like many who have reviewed this book figured, 'Why?' but to my surprise Steve Alten provides us with a MUCH more in-depth novel with MUCH better developed characters, and a plot which is part Tom Clancy, and part Clive Cussler (somewhat, let's not get carried away). The story took off almost immediately and kept going until the nail-biting conclusion. As I read I couldn't help but wonder who should play Jonas in the movie...don't think I'm joking either. This (if made right) could become a very successful blockbuster movie. It has most of what I look for in a purely entertaining book: 1) A fast-paced plot 2) A good plot 3) A good ending. IF you are looking for a documentary- style book, stay away from 'The Trench' but if you are interested in a fun book that'll keep you interested all the way through, then I highly recommend 'The Trench'. Let me know what you think... ([e-mail]). Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: The Trench: A promising motion picture
Review: From the moment I picked up The Trench and started reading I was hooked. The plot was much better than it's prequel MEG. I flew through the pages to see if Jonas' fate in his dreams would come to a harsh reality. I think that Alten did an excellent job with his characters, particularly Celeste. She's beautiful, cunning, dangerous, and in control. I kept picturing Sharron Stone or a persona like her, every time her character came into play. She rocks! Another of my favorites was Benedict. This guy you just love to hate. I saw this guy as Samuel L. Jackson because he is awesome and could pull off the role. I love how the lives of Jonas, Terry, Benedict, Celeste, and the Megalodon get intertwined into a magnanimous exploration of fear and lust on land and at sea. Truthfully, the whole time I read this book I wanted to be seated in a movie theatre and be watching it on the screen. There is enough action and betrayal to keep even the most uninterested viewer on the edge of their seat. I rated the book with five stars on the basis that while reading it I sat on the edge of my seat. I even started dreaming about the damn monster!

Rating:
Summary: The Angel of Death bites the dust...
Review: I enjoyed Alten's debut MEG, despite some 2D supporting characters and a bad epilogue. But it took an effort to finish this sloppy, worse-off sequel.

First off, Alten seems to love to weave in unnecessary sexual and drug scenes. It's getting really annoying, and it's showing up in all of his novels. I mean, we can't ignore the real world and how people really are, but Alten puts too much of the grimy real world into literature. Perhaps it's too attract more audiences, perhaps it's too spice up the boring, badly explained techno-babble, but I feel as if I'm reading a porn novel instead of good prose.

The rest of the book is okay; Jonas is probably the only character who I actually liked, Mac works well as the comedic Al Giordino buddy but somehow he's become sinister in a way. Some characters cuss too much, and Benedict Singer, the main villain, has interesting philosophies but is weak and more of an annoyance than a hateable character. Celeste, the second-ranked bad girl, is way too slutty and I actually laughed at Alten's pathetic attempt to develop her. Terry, Jonas' wife, is too cliche' and somehow makes you want her to die.

But, Alten's saving grace is what started his career: Carcharadon Megalodon (or something like that.) The shark scenes are well-done, and although they are overly gory, it was nice to see the Meg in some new situations. The only problem is that Alten kills off too many characters; I think he cares for the Meg more than he cares for the humans. MEG, Domain, and Goliath are his best, and he seems to be slipping off the track with this and the even dumber Resurrection, so hopefully Primal Waters will redeem him for these literary mistakes.

Rating:
Summary: Great creature feature sequel
Review: I loved this book and had to go out to the store and buy it after reading Meg. I was not disappointed and I am just having trouble waiting for Primal Waters to come out and if it is as good as the previous 2 I will be very happy.

Rating:
Summary: Yet another superb shark novel from Steve Alten!!
Review: This book is just as amazing as MEG!!! Again Mr. Alten has done it! I look forward to the 3rd and final (?) novel to this MEG series! Being as fasicnated w/sharks as I am I cant help but read this and MEG over and over again. Its worth every cent and then some! You will enjoy this novel! Thanks again for a wonderful book Steve Alten!! =-D

Rating:
Summary: Meg is back and bigger than ever
Review: The giant prehistoric shark, star of Meg, is back.

Meg has been living in a water park as a tourist attraction. People pay to see the incredible shark (especially at feeding time). The lower pressures of the surface and regular feedings have allowed the shark to grow to more than 80 feet in length. It is now the greatest living killer in the water.

Well, guess what? Yup, the shark manages to escape and the hunt is on once again as Jonas Taylor must face the giant one more time.

But this is not just a repeat of the previous book. No, the meg wants to return to the trench it considered home. But there is more in the trench than we knew. A massive research station has traveled to the bottom for purposes to be revealed. There are also other nasty denizens from prehistory that have retreated to the trench bottom.

While the first book was an excellent action adventure, this on adds to that and becomes a techno thriller as the goings on at the trench bottom are revealed to the reader.

More, fun, more action and more giant shark. Another great read.

Rating:
Summary: awesome
Review: this was one of the best books i have ever read.