How does it compare to audio works by the same author?
Excellent
Advantages:
Screaming for a film version,Great characters
Disadvantages:
Dodgy ending,a little of scientific in patches
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I actually first bought Meg in 1998/1999. Any book with a shark is liable to be bought by me-I'm a total Jaws fanatic, so I didn't even read the back cover! What can I say,but wow! I couldn't believe this was from a first time author! But I get ahead of myself. In order to entice you properly,I'll give you a summary of the novel.
Meg opens similarly to Jaws-in as much as we have an electrifying attack to kick things off. The difference here is that the attack takes place millions of years ago-and the victim is a T-Rex!!
We then skip to present day, where we meet Jonas Taylor, Professor & expert on Carcharadon Megalodon - the extinct 60 foot long prehistoric relative of Carcharadon Carcharias-The Great White Shark.
Slowly we are introduced to Jonas' world-his cheating, career obsessed wife, his crumbling marriage, and his own obsession with Megalodon, after a disasterous submersible dive in the Marianas Trench which cost the lives of his crew.
He is persuaded to dive in the Marianas once more by his old friend Masao Tanaka, to accompany his son, DJ Tanaka in investigating damage to equipment which could help with earthquake detection.
This causes rivalry with Masao's daughter, Terry, who thinks she should be on the dive instead of Jonas.
Of course, once it leaks that Jonas once thought he saw a Megalodon and that's why his crew died, he is a laughing stock on board, right up until DJ and him reach the bottom of the Marianas Trench.
They then encounter not one, but 2 Megs. I won't spoil how,but one of them manages to rise through the currents to the surface, and from there the race is on for Jonas to stop the 60 foot creature before it aquires a taste for humans.
I don't want to give anything more away, as the book has lots of little surprises in store. Steve Alten has managed to give us characters we begin to care about, in situations that are almost believable & scream to be turned into a film.
The unfortunate thing about this book, however, is that the finale becomes unbelievable in the extreme, taking much away from the superb work beforehand.
I don't want this to put people off, as for the most part it is a very enjoyable read, but it wouldn't be a review if you weren't honest about both good & bad points, would it?
I think I should wrap this review up before I start to ramble, so let me conclude by saying that, while I am not a huge fan of the ending (a film version would HAVE to change it!) I enjoyed Meg, and the sequel-The Trench-greatly, have read them loads of times, and would heartily recommend them to anyone who grew up thinking it was never safe to go in the water!!
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How does it compare to similar audio books?
Excellent
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