Meg

Rating:
Summary: A Cranky Shark
Review: In the grand American tradition of "bigger is better," Steve Alten delivers unto the masses his first novel, "Meg." No longer are we afraid of mere tadpoles like the sharks in films such as "Jaws." Now we have to deal with the likes of Meg. Meg isn't the aging, benevolent hippie who lives down the street, playing Melanie records and selling macramé for a living. Alten's Meg is Charcharodon megalodon, the ancestor of the great white shark and Alten thinks we should be very afraid of its possible presence. Megs are some sixty feet long with a ferocious bite. Wouldn't want to run into one of these fellows during a jaunt to the beach, would you?

In the book, Meg is considered extinct by all those foolish marine biologists, with the exception of Dr. Jonas Taylor. Taylor, a former deep-sea diver with the Navy, is on the lecture circuit promoting his mad theories about Meg and her possible existence in the Mariana Trench. This trench is the deepest part of the ocean, a place where water temperature is warm due to hot vents on the ocean floor. This pocket of hot water, theorizes Taylor, could support a whole slew of Megs. Taylor himself thought he saw one on his last dive, resulting in a panic that killed two of his fellow divers. Taylor is the laughing stock of everyone around him, especially his wife Maggie, an egomaniacal reporter. When a fellow marine explorer loses some deep-sea probes in the trench, Taylor is wrenched out of retirement to take a dive and see what happened. Of course, the Megs exist. I'm not giving away anything by telling you that. When one escapes (a pregnant female, no less!) from its Mariana prison, all heck breaks loose in the resulting attempts to capture the beast and warehouse it in an aquatic park.

I shouldn't even need to mention that bodies fall like rain in this book. Scads of people die as Meg swallows them up whole. Meg manages to sink a nuclear submarine, capsize boats, upset a few surfers, and even bring down helicopters during its rampage. Meg isn't a picky eater. She always clears her plate: ships, surfboards, submersibles, and whales--all provide for a tasty snack to this oversized shark. Meg likes to show off too; this shark can jump out of the water at will. This makes it easier to reach the stupid humans who think they are safe on boats or in the air. You can see the danger of allowing Meg to roam our seas. She just won't play by the rules. She has to be tracked down before she upsets migratory patterns in the oceans that might result in damage to the fishing industry.

While I did enjoy the action in this book, there is a lot to be desired. For one thing, the character development is zero in this book. We know a bit about Dr. Jonas, such as his catastrophe during the Mariana dive, an incident that resulted in a raging case of claustrophobia. We also know his wife hates him, and is trying to undermine him at every turn. She even starts fooling around with his old college roommate. For the other characters, there is nothing. They are cardboard cutouts that either serve as background, or shark food. Taylor's burgeoning love interest with Terry Tanaka is a good example. Let's see, they start out hating each other, then they end up in each other's arms? Huh? All we knew about Terry up to this point is that she is an arrogant woman who wants to go on dives. Injecting love into the story doesn't make sense unless Alten is confidant this is going to go to the big screen (he is, too, since he thanks Disney at the beginning of the book). Ultimately, the book suffers for its character ignorance. I think a book like this would be effective if the characters are developed. That way, when they die, the emotional impact on the reader is greater.

I would like to criticize the science behind Alten's theories but what I know about marine biology could fit on the head of Jacques Cousteau's harpoon. It seems to make sense, and maybe that is good enough for most people. But we all know just because something makes sense doesn't mean it is accurate. However, I'm willing to overlook shoddy science for the sake of fiction... It's just too much to take.

I picked up "The Trench" at the same time I got "Meg" but I'm not sure I want to get into the sequel right away. Apparently, a third installment will soon grace libraries and bookstore shelves all across the nation. For action and a quick pace, you can't beat "Meg." If you want character development, might I suggest Tolstoy?

Rating:
Summary: Now, here IS a story about sharks!!
Review: Unlike the much disappointing, hardly credible "Extinct", I have simply been delighted by Alten's "MEG" and its sequel, "The Trench". Alten surely knows how to write an armrest-grabbing thriller. His book's a finely balanced mixture of scientific concepts on prehistoric and sea lifeforms, and pure adrenaline-generating moments. Funny how he manages to keep you from actually hating this huge shark. Another tribute to his writer's and scientist' skills. Another thing that makes his whole story stand together is the fact that Alten goes down to a series of coherent details, little things that make the whole story credible (use of a whale's blood warmth by the shark to move from the warm ocean floor up to the surface through different layers of cold streams, description of the life environment around the heat sinks at the bottom of the ocean, constant threat of water depth pressure etc.).

He had me stay up late in the evening, and in the end, I simply had not had enough of his two books! I am now anxiously awaiting any of his new productions on the subject. His competition on the Shark subject is simply appaling.

Note: I strongly advise summer ocean and sea bathers NOT to read this book while on the beach...

Rating:
Summary: I CANT WAITE FOR THE MOVIE
Review: Im Licking my chops for this movie it is going to be great.

Rating:
Summary: a book revieiw of Meg by Richie Swedstedt
Review: The headline explains the whole book. A NOVEL OF DEEP TERROR, that's perfect! This book is one of the most fascinating, interesting, scary, and the list could just keep going on and on. This book is readable for most ages from about 11 years old and above. MEG is one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. MEG is about a crazy professor named Jonas Taylor who thought that in the Bottom of the ocean, there were gigantic sharks. When I say gigantic I mean gigantic, these sharks are 60 feet long and weigh up to 20 tons. If you can imagine a Great White Shark and then added about 40 feet, 15 tons, and rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth, then you would have MEG. Meg is Short for the prehistoric name, Megladon. Jonas used to do deep sea diving for the navy on research trips to the bottom of the deeps place in the ocean, the Marianna Trench, he retired after a fatal accident and went on to study prehistoric sharks. After to robot submarines went down the bottom and supposedly crashed, Jonas was asked to escort another man down to retrieve the robots. When they got down there, terror struck. A huge Megladon came from nowhere and hit the other young pilot. He went flying. While that Meg was attacking the young pilot Another Meg, about twice as big, came from nowhere and bite a chunk out of the other Meg. They both went skyrocketing for the surface. '
That was just the beginning of the book. So I think you can hypothesize about what happens in the rest of the book. As I said before, this was the best book I have e

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books, ever - Amazing
Review: For me, Meg was a dream come true. I absolutely love the idea of prehistoric creatures and cryptozoological creatures inhabiting the earth, and Megalodon had been of interest to me before the books Meg or Extinct came out. When I found Meg in the bookstore I was so excited, and read it so fast that I had to read it again a little while later. For the others that say Megalodons can't exist, Steve Alten's idea of how a gigantic shark could have survived is quite intriguing, and plausible in my perspective (which is just a little bit more educated than the average one beacause I have researched this in-depth before). Also, Meg is much better than Extinct, because of the explanation that Alten gives and the one that Charles Wilson fails to, as to the existence of a Megalodon. Also, some of Extinct was hard to swallow, such as a shark of such enormous size at the end of the book, even though I would want it to be so, I doubt it.

Meg follows Jonas Taylor, who formerly used to make dives into the Marinas Trench, the deepest point in the sea. On one dive he thought he saw a gigantic, white, shark's head coming at him, and he panicked and took the submersible to the surface too fast, giving everyone in it the Bends, killing all but him. He was discharged and became a sort of expert on sharks, researching his monster that he thought he saw, still trying to assert to all those around him that he really did see it. Then he's asked to go back down with a few friends of his, and when he gets down there he finds that his fears were not erroneously based: the Meg exists, and more than one. The female shark makes it to the surface, and all hell breaks loose.

From this point on the book moves very quickly, from every heart-racing scene to heart-racing scene, from attack to attack. As many authorities get involved, the shark rampages through the ocean, while Jonas is following close on the shark's enormous tail. A delightful little thing that Alten included was the Navy bringing the Nautilus, the first nuclear-powerd sub, into the mix to try and kill the shark. There are some obvious protagonists in this story that the reader grows accustomed to, and antagonists that the reader loves to hate, such as Jonas's ex., and they make the plot even better.

This is a must read, along with the sequel The Trench, and I can't wait for the upcoming third book in the trilogy: Primal Waters. The action is non-stop,and some of the scenes will get your heart racing. I hear that Steve Alten is trying to get this made into a movie, along with The Trench and Domain (his other book), and I for one can't wait because the movie woud be absolutely amazing. Anyone remotely interested in action books or liked Jaws even a little bit should read this book. You'll be surprised at how great it is, but I wasn't, Alten is my favorite author now!

Rating:
Summary: The ultimate book for the ultimate killer
Review: I recommend this book to anyone who loves fast paced horror stories. Meg is an example such a novel about ferocious man-eating carnivores. You will not forget this book or the edge-of-your-seat suspense it will keep you in. The plot twist will take you for a wild thrill ride that keeps you guessing until the end.

I like this book because it covers all aspects of the emotional spectrum well. Sometimes I would feel empathetic, sometimes I would be excited, and at other times the humor will be too great to continue reading. The author, Steve Alten, has a unique and versatile writing style. The dialogue is as realistic as everyday conversation even though his descriptions are vivid.

The content in this book makes theorists like me go wild. The scenario of an extinct killer shark unleashed on the modern seas is more exiting than something like Jaws ever could be. The Carcharodon megaladon is a creature that actually lived, but a giant great white like in Jaws never lived. Besides, megaladons are twice as large too. Measuring in at 42,000 pounds and sixty feet long they are much more lethal and much more aggressive.

I am a tough critic but I found it hard to put this down even after reading it for hours at a time. The viewpoint of the book allows the reader to put oneself inside the situation of chasing these monsters around the world. I could feel the tensions building in certain spots, like I was really there. I have no intention of being a marine-paleontologist but I thought I understood well what was going on.

This book really sucks you in as you analyze the situation and think you understand what is going on. But as soon as you think you know what will happen next it will whip around right before you. If you like a book that keep you sucked in speculating right to the end read Meg for a journey you won't forget.

Rating:
Summary: Fun-Read-From-Florida
Review: I greatly enjoyed reading this book. From the very start, Steve Alten puts you in the mood as to what to expect,i.e, "A small herbivore is being chased by the mighty T-Rex, allegedly the ultimate predator. The herbivore runs into the ocean water to escape a certain death. T-Rex enraged, follows aggressively. A large wave hit the shore. Suddenly, the large bloody carcass of T-Rex is thrown back unto the beach, cut in two halves like a mere twig! Move aside T-Rex...Megalodon, the Jurassic Shark truly rules as the "Ultimate Predator."

Rating:
Summary: PAST PLUS PRESENT EQUALS A PHENOMENAL HYBRID READ
Review: AS A LOVER OF DINOSAURS AND PREHISTORIC BEASTS SINCE I WAS A KID,I TOOK TO THIS BOOK LIKE A FISH TO WATER.I LEARNED A GREAT DEAL FROM THIS BOOK ABOUT HOW SHARKS FIND THIER FOOD,THE MIGRATION OF ANIMALS AND HOW JUST A SLIGHT CHANGE IN THE FOOD CHAIN CAN AFFECT US,AND WHAT GOES ON 7 MILES BELOW THE SEA.I LIKE THE WAY THE AUTHOR USES ATTENTION TO DETAIL TO GIVE THE READER A CLEAR IMAGE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AND CAN ALMOST IMAGINE BEING THERE.IT'S NOT OFTEN THAT I'LL PICK UP A BOOK (OR ACTUALY BUY ONE)AND READ IT TWICE,BUT THIS BOOK,AND IT'S SEQUAL ARE A FEW I MADE AN EXCEPTION TO.I THINK WITH THE SPECIAL EFFECTS WE HAVE TODAY,THIS BOOK WOULD ALSO MAKE A GREAT MOVIE.IT'D HAVE ENOUGH ACTION IN IT TO KEEP EVEN THE MOST FIDGETY IN THIER SEATS.IF U ENJOY PAST MEETS THE PRESENT NOVELS,THEN I HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: One of the greats
Review: This book held me captivated from page one! I couldn't seem to put it down. It only took me three hours to read it the first time.

Rating:
Summary: A Thrill ride that will keep you reading.
Review: What happens when man discovers a prehistoric Shark living in the deep ocean? Well, what else, we try to catch it and put it on display! But that cannot be an easy task can it? Of course not. That is what makes MEG such a fun read.

There is a thrill a minute as this book unfolds and there are some great action sections that are described in great detail. All in all MEG delivered on all fronts, an exciting easy read that makes you want to keep going.

I will highly recommend this book!