Meg (Hardcover)

~ Steven Alten (Author) "From the moment the early morning fog had begun to lift, they sensed they were being watched..." (more)
Key Phrases: shark tube, whale lagoon, escape pod, Mariana Trench, Challenger Deep, Abyss Glider (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Carcharodon megalodon, prehistoric ancestors of the shark, survive in the abyss, trapped in place by seven miles of frigid ocean water. Paleontologist Jonas Taylor, helping a friend recover scientific sensing units that have been mysteriously damaged in the ocean trench, watches helplessly as the "Meg" that destroys his friend's capsule is then ripped to shreds by its mate?who then migrates to the surface. The female Meg is pregnant and hungry and far too large to be contained. This first novel offers nonstop excitement, as Taylor and other scientists try to corral the beast, while idiotic tourists and news crews flock to the scene to watch. Only Taylor understands the size, power, and ferocity of the Meg. Meg is slated to become a Disney movie, and there should be immense demand. Buy multiple copies.
-?Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Who would believe the old ploy can still hook 'em? Doubleday, that's who. Twenty-two years ago, the house published Peter Benchley's Jaws, which Steven Spielberg turned into his career-launching movie, which spawned film sequels aplenty, which spurred Benchley to try the trick again (Beast [1991], in which the bogey from the brine was a humongous squid) and again (White Shark [1994], in which the monster turned out to be a Nazi!). And now . . . this: an exaggeration--in scale and carnage--of all the above, with a Carcharodon megalodon (a really BIG shark) doing the romping and chomping. Supposedly 100,000 years extinct, the meg, as everybody in the book calls it, is actually, as our hero Jonas Taylor (sort of a paleo-ichthyological Indiana Jones) suspects, still alurk at the bottom of the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific, where the heat of volcanic vents maintains a livable warmth, and six miles of lethally cold water above that environment keep the 60-foot fish from the surface. Keep it, that is, until early in this yarn that seems more novelization of a screenplay than novel. The action is nonstop, the characters are all pumped and touchy (even the women suffer from testosterone overload), and the dialogue is risibly cliched. But is it a hoot, anyway? Yep, and guess what? Disney's filming it. Ray Olson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (June 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385489056
• ISBN-13: 978-0385489058
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (521 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #316,584 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Swift Tale Of Action And Terror, June 5, 2005

By	K. Fontenot "Prairie Cajun" (The Bayou State) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror (Paperback)

"Meg" is a fun novel to read. It is full of almost non-stop action with just enough science to snag the tech-heads and just enough suspense for fans of mystery and horror. Alten knows just how far to go when describing the megalodon and uses just enough technical information to keep scientifically-inclined readers flipping through the pages.

The story is pretty basic. A scientist named Jonas Taylor runs into something in the Mariana Trench that scares him. So much so, that it costs the lives of the two Naval scientists with him. From that point on he becomes wary of the deep sea, but completely addicted to the study of Carcharodon megalodon, the prehistoric cousin of the great white shark. He swares that a megalodon lives in the Mariana Trench, but cannot prove it.

Ten years after his accident, Taylor is given another chance at the Mariana Trench. This time, he is asked to help out a friend hoping to recover damaged equipment deep within the trench. Taylor agrees to help, not without reservations. From this point on, the story picks up at a nail-biting pace that makes for a great read.

The description of the Meg and her vicious attacks are so vibrant that you can easily see them in your mind. It's obvious that much time and research was put into this novel by Alten. He gives the reader a clear view of everything. Even the least seaworthy reader can get a grip on what is happening the entire time.

"Meg" is also a great book to hand to your friends who might be a little bit slow to sit down and read a novel. This book's quick pace and fast action makes it an easy book to read. Hopefully, Alten's other books are just as great.

Highly recommended, especially to those who love fast-paced adventure.

One word of caution: This book is cover-to-cover blood and horror, especially for younger readers. Also, there is a little rough language, so parents might want to approve this before letting their teen read it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Dumb/Smart book. No, Really., March 7, 2003

By	William A. Weinand "Bandit2037" (Morton Grove, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror (Paperback)

When I was reading Meg, co-workers kept asking me what it was about and I told them "It's about a big, prehistoric shark on the loose in the modern age." And they'd ask if it was good and I'd say"Sure, I'm learning alot about ocean trenches and sharks." Then they'd ask about the plot and I'd tell them that it was like reading an action movie jam packed with facts, like Hunt for Red October would have been if they'd put Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan on the sub with Sean Connery.
Meg is all about supersizing. Everything is big or state of the art. Everyone is at the top of their game, even the drunk Viet Nam Vet who pilots the helicopter and the little kid on the surf board. The subs and boats are all cutting edge or retro-fitted. There's even an uber shark tank.
Meg gets bonus points for coming up with a new way to finish off the climactic battle between Man and Beast.
In the opening notes, the author thanks Disney for their interest. Since the book's publication, Disney has held and dropped the film rights. It's too bad, because this is the Jerry Bruckheimer of shark books. If you see Michael Bay, tell him to get Nicholas Cage in to a wet suit and to get work.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Meg: A Novel of Deep Disappointment, December 27, 2002

By	Christopher Cosci (Rockville Centre, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror (Paperback)

If I listened to my mother who said "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," this would be a very short review. The best thing that can be said about Meg is that it has an extremely fast pace. The author does not bog down the action with unnecessary details or over-flowery prose. This is, after all, a novel of suspense, not great literature.

That being said, let me talk about what bothered me about this book. For starters, as many people have mentioned, this book reads like a script for a summer blockbuster movie. Sometimes, that's not a bad thing. But this book reads like a cliche-ridden script, devoid of original ideas.

Then there are the characters. People greatly underestimate the value of fully-developed characters. Suspense is a million times greater when you feel some sort of connection with a character - sympathy, empathy, or genuine concern. However, the characters in this book are nothing more than names with one personality. They are unbelievable, and you never care about any of them - not a single one. They could survive or be eaten by the shark, and it wouldn't make a difference.

And this is the biggest problem with the book. It lacks any sort of suspense. You kind of read in morbid fascination to find out what gets destroyed next or who gets eaten next. But you never care. What's the point?

In addition to the lack of suspense, this book requires way too much of a suspension of disbelief. I'm willing to accept fiction if there's some sort of credibility. But how can I accept the scene where they use the historic submarine The Nautilus to hunt for the Meg? It made no sense. Why use an old sub with old technology? So you don't lose a lot of money if it gets destroyed? It's like using Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis for an air battle. I couldn't accept it for a minute.

And I won't go into the ending, which has been widely criticized for its absurdity. Other reviews mention what happen, but I'll leave it a surprise for those who still want to read the book. Let's just say, it was so blazenly ridiculous that you couldn't be scared or tense for even a second.

The sad part is that Alten had a lot of potential with the science and the history of the shark. As someone who enjoys nature specials on prehistoric animals, I enjoyed reading Alten's take on the Megalodon and the possibility of its existence in the current times. If only the rest of the book wasn't so poorly conceived, I might consider recommending it.