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MEG #4
Hell's Aquarium
Steve Alten's epic fish story continues in Hell's Aquarium, fourth of the MEG novels. The Tanaka Institute's captive Megalodon, Angel, has birthed a litter of pups. Two—Mary Kate and Ashley—are destined for a home in a massive new attraction being built in Dubai, but only if Jonas' son David agrees to serve as their trainer.
And why wouldn't he? For the brash young 20 year-old, it's an opportunity to strike out on his own and prove himself, applying the knowledge he's gained working alongside his father. Once in Dubai, however, the job proves very different from what was described back home, and here…there be dragons. The next generation of Taylor to take up the mantle of deep-ocean submersible pilot may be coming into its own much sooner than expected!
And why wouldn't he? For the brash young 20 year-old, it's an opportunity to strike out on his own and prove himself, applying the knowledge he's gained working alongside his father. Once in Dubai, however, the job proves very different from what was described back home, and here…there be dragons. The next generation of Taylor to take up the mantle of deep-ocean submersible pilot may be coming into its own much sooner than expected!
513 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2009
361 people are currently reading
3039 people want to read
About the author
Steve Alten
62 books1,359 followersSteve Alten grew up in Philadelphia, earning his Bachelors degree in Physical Education at Penn State University, a Masters Degree in Sports Medicine from the University of Delaware, and a Doctorate of Education at Temple University. Struggling to support his family of five, he decided to pen a novel he had been thinking about for years. Working late nights and on weekends, he eventually finished MEG; A Novel of Deep Terror. Steve sold his car to pay for editing fees. On September (Friday) the 13th, 1996, Steve lost his general manager’s job at a wholesale meat plant. Four days later his agent had a two-book, seven figure deal with Bantam Doubleday.
MEG would go on to become the book of the 1996 Frankfurt book fair, where it eventually sold to more than a twenty countries. MEG hit every major best-seller list, including #19 on the New York Times list (#7 audio), and became a popular radio series in Japan.
Steve’s second release, The TRENCH (Meg sequel) was published by Kensington/Pinnacle in 1999 where it also hit best-seller status. His next novel, DOMAIN and its sequel, RESURRECTION were published by St. Martin’s Press/Tor Books and were runaway best-sellers in Spain, Mexico, Germany, and Italy, with the rights selling to more than a dozen countries.
Steve’s fourth novel, GOLIATH, received rave reviews and was a big hit in Germany. It is being considered for a TV series. MEG: Primal Waters was published in the summer of 2004. A year later his seventh novel, The LOCH, hit stores — a modern-day thriller about the Loch Ness Monster. Steve’s eighth novel, The SHELL GAME, is about the end of oil and the next 9/11 event. The book was another NY Times best-seller, but the stress of penning this real-life story affected Steve’s health, and three months after he finished the manuscript he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Steve’s ninth novel, MEG: Hell’s Aquarium, is considered to be the best of the best-selling MEG series. Steve says his best novel is GRIM REAPER: End of Days. The story, a modern-day Dante’s Inferno, takes place in New York when a man-made plague strikes Manhattan.
Steve’s novels are action-packed and very visual. He has optioned DOMAIN, MEG and The LOCH to film producers. Steve has written six original screenplays. His comedy, HARLEM SHUFFLE was a semi-finalist in the LA screenwriting contest, his comedy MINTZ MEATS was selected as a finalist at the Philadelphia film festival as was his psychological thriller, STRANGLEHOLD. Steve’s reality series, HOUSE OF BABEL won at Scriptapalooza. He has also created a TV Drama, PAPA JOHN, based on his years coaching basketball with Hall of Fame coach John Chaney.
Over the years, Steve has been inundated with e-mail from teens who hated reading …until they read his novels. When he learned high school teachers were actually using his books in the classroom (MEG had been rated #1 book for reluctant readers) Steve launched Adopt-An-Author, a nationwide non-profit program designed to encourage students to read. Teachers who register for the program (it’s free) receive giant shark posters, free curriculum materials, student-author correspondence, an interactive website, and classroom conference calls/visits with the author. To date, over 10,000 teachers have registered, and the success rate in getting teens to read has been unprecedented. Steve now spends half his work week working with high schools. For more information click on www.AdoptAnAuthor.com
As an author, Steve has two goals. First, to continue to work hard to become a better storyteller and create exciting page turning thrillers. Second, to remain accessible to his readers. Steve reads and answers all e-mails, uses the names and descriptions of his loyal fans as characters in all his novels, and even hires readers as editors, depending on their particular expertise.
MEG would go on to become the book of the 1996 Frankfurt book fair, where it eventually sold to more than a twenty countries. MEG hit every major best-seller list, including #19 on the New York Times list (#7 audio), and became a popular radio series in Japan.
Steve’s second release, The TRENCH (Meg sequel) was published by Kensington/Pinnacle in 1999 where it also hit best-seller status. His next novel, DOMAIN and its sequel, RESURRECTION were published by St. Martin’s Press/Tor Books and were runaway best-sellers in Spain, Mexico, Germany, and Italy, with the rights selling to more than a dozen countries.
Steve’s fourth novel, GOLIATH, received rave reviews and was a big hit in Germany. It is being considered for a TV series. MEG: Primal Waters was published in the summer of 2004. A year later his seventh novel, The LOCH, hit stores — a modern-day thriller about the Loch Ness Monster. Steve’s eighth novel, The SHELL GAME, is about the end of oil and the next 9/11 event. The book was another NY Times best-seller, but the stress of penning this real-life story affected Steve’s health, and three months after he finished the manuscript he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Steve’s ninth novel, MEG: Hell’s Aquarium, is considered to be the best of the best-selling MEG series. Steve says his best novel is GRIM REAPER: End of Days. The story, a modern-day Dante’s Inferno, takes place in New York when a man-made plague strikes Manhattan.
Steve’s novels are action-packed and very visual. He has optioned DOMAIN, MEG and The LOCH to film producers. Steve has written six original screenplays. His comedy, HARLEM SHUFFLE was a semi-finalist in the LA screenwriting contest, his comedy MINTZ MEATS was selected as a finalist at the Philadelphia film festival as was his psychological thriller, STRANGLEHOLD. Steve’s reality series, HOUSE OF BABEL won at Scriptapalooza. He has also created a TV Drama, PAPA JOHN, based on his years coaching basketball with Hall of Fame coach John Chaney.
Over the years, Steve has been inundated with e-mail from teens who hated reading …until they read his novels. When he learned high school teachers were actually using his books in the classroom (MEG had been rated #1 book for reluctant readers) Steve launched Adopt-An-Author, a nationwide non-profit program designed to encourage students to read. Teachers who register for the program (it’s free) receive giant shark posters, free curriculum materials, student-author correspondence, an interactive website, and classroom conference calls/visits with the author. To date, over 10,000 teachers have registered, and the success rate in getting teens to read has been unprecedented. Steve now spends half his work week working with high schools. For more information click on www.AdoptAnAuthor.com
As an author, Steve has two goals. First, to continue to work hard to become a better storyteller and create exciting page turning thrillers. Second, to remain accessible to his readers. Steve reads and answers all e-mails, uses the names and descriptions of his loyal fans as characters in all his novels, and even hires readers as editors, depending on their particular expertise.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 360 reviews
July 7, 2018
I'm not going to try and justify myself with this series by Steve Alten. These books are my guilty pleasure, my equivalent of a really, really raunchy, smutty romance with little plot but much "bang" for your buck (pun intended).
Alten is never going to set the literary world afire with his command of prose. His female characters generally have a bigger rack then a brain. His male characters are cocky, heroic in stupidly brazen ways, and use their little head too often in life or death situations 12,000 below the ocean. And while you must suspend belief in order to imagine a scenario where his extinct prehistoric sea monsters can still inhabit our global waters, sometimes (OK, most times) it's hard to swallow ALL the bull**** he proffers up in each consecutive novel.
So why do I keep reading them and giving them 3 stars?
Because they are so freakin' fun and enjoyable to read.
I mean, what middle aged mom living in Podunksville, USA doesn't want to read about 72 foot dino-sharks eating copius amounts of people right, left and center? You've got your blood baths, trailing intestines, screaming, bowel-emptying moments of mayhem and terror packed into 300-400 Pacific Ocean pages. Hell, it beats watching my 401(k) take a beating on Wall Street every stinking day. It beats watching most of the crap ABC Family considers prime time viewing. It beats ever picking up another Stephenie Meyer book thinking she's going to end a series with a brillant finale (I know, I know, I really need counseling for Breaking Dawn. It's been 3 years and "My Brother, My Son" still finds me waking up screaming and shaking).
So I say to anyone who judges my reading tastes, don't knock these books until you try them.
Alten is never going to set the literary world afire with his command of prose. His female characters generally have a bigger rack then a brain. His male characters are cocky, heroic in stupidly brazen ways, and use their little head too often in life or death situations 12,000 below the ocean. And while you must suspend belief in order to imagine a scenario where his extinct prehistoric sea monsters can still inhabit our global waters, sometimes (OK, most times) it's hard to swallow ALL the bull**** he proffers up in each consecutive novel.
So why do I keep reading them and giving them 3 stars?
Because they are so freakin' fun and enjoyable to read.
I mean, what middle aged mom living in Podunksville, USA doesn't want to read about 72 foot dino-sharks eating copius amounts of people right, left and center? You've got your blood baths, trailing intestines, screaming, bowel-emptying moments of mayhem and terror packed into 300-400 Pacific Ocean pages. Hell, it beats watching my 401(k) take a beating on Wall Street every stinking day. It beats watching most of the crap ABC Family considers prime time viewing. It beats ever picking up another Stephenie Meyer book thinking she's going to end a series with a brillant finale (I know, I know, I really need counseling for Breaking Dawn. It's been 3 years and "My Brother, My Son" still finds me waking up screaming and shaking).
So I say to anyone who judges my reading tastes, don't knock these books until you try them.
October 25, 2020
MEG: Hell's Aquarium
by Steve Alten
One of my frivolous delights is a monstrous-type book to read at night like a late night B movie I use to watch as a kid! Popcorn and a monster book at night is so devilishly fun! A no-brainer, just lots of thrills and fascination! Especially if it's an extinct creature! This is perfect for that category! Lots of suspense, giant megalodon, and more giant creatures! Unpredictable and exciting! Great narration!
by Steve Alten
One of my frivolous delights is a monstrous-type book to read at night like a late night B movie I use to watch as a kid! Popcorn and a monster book at night is so devilishly fun! A no-brainer, just lots of thrills and fascination! Especially if it's an extinct creature! This is perfect for that category! Lots of suspense, giant megalodon, and more giant creatures! Unpredictable and exciting! Great narration!
September 17, 2020
This was very entertaining, actually, as there is quite a lot of action taking place in a subterranean sea, hidden beneath the crust of the Philippine Sea Plate. That’s just a very cool setting. And one populated with prehistoric creatures aplenty. Like this guy:
There’s also a parallel plot taking place at the Tanaka Oceanographic Institute, that had some very cool scenes too, but also suffered from several problems. The main one being that it was about the challenge of keeping the five megalodons captive without any incidents (suffice to say that didn‘t work out), but also without a single character in the novel that seemed to be worried about the well-being of the sharks. That made me feel a little uncomfortable for most of the first half of the book. It was less of an issue later on when the deep sea action became the focal point of the story. But then the detours to the second plotline just felt like an unnecessary distraction from the fun parts.
In general this book is just too long. Alten‘s penchant for overexplaining pretty much everything is a little annoying. Or as my friend Cathy puts it, he is the Lord of the overly detailed info dump. I couldn’t say it any better, so I just quote her here.
The third-person present tense also feels kind of wrong. But that’s just a personal preference maybe.
Anyways, in spite of all the problems I had with this novel, it really was entertaining, and I see it as an improvement on the two previous books in the series.
3.5 stars, and having fun again.
This has been a buddy read with Cathy and Russ, planned a year ahead. And we’re likely going to read the next one together as well. Probably in another year’s time.
There’s also a parallel plot taking place at the Tanaka Oceanographic Institute, that had some very cool scenes too, but also suffered from several problems. The main one being that it was about the challenge of keeping the five megalodons captive without any incidents (suffice to say that didn‘t work out), but also without a single character in the novel that seemed to be worried about the well-being of the sharks. That made me feel a little uncomfortable for most of the first half of the book. It was less of an issue later on when the deep sea action became the focal point of the story. But then the detours to the second plotline just felt like an unnecessary distraction from the fun parts.
In general this book is just too long. Alten‘s penchant for overexplaining pretty much everything is a little annoying. Or as my friend Cathy puts it, he is the Lord of the overly detailed info dump. I couldn’t say it any better, so I just quote her here.
The third-person present tense also feels kind of wrong. But that’s just a personal preference maybe.
Anyways, in spite of all the problems I had with this novel, it really was entertaining, and I see it as an improvement on the two previous books in the series.
3.5 stars, and having fun again.
This has been a buddy read with Cathy and Russ, planned a year ahead. And we’re likely going to read the next one together as well. Probably in another year’s time.
September 17, 2018
I keep expecting the law of diminishing returns to kick in with these Meg sequels but, so far, Alten has managed to keep them really entertaining and they're still holding my (admittedly somewhat demented) interest. It's true that the 'zoology' keeps getting whackier but that's half the fun!
December 24, 2009
It doesn’t seem possible that a book about some of the most bad-assed predators ever to stalk the planet could be so utterly boring but Alten's proven me wrong. It wouldn't have been so bad if the man hadn't insisted on describing, IN DETAIL, the weight, size, lifting power, construction and tensile strength of every. Piece. Of equipment. In. The. Book. I didn't know whether to get goosebumps or to start taking lecture notes. On top of that, all of Alten's major female characters are either (a) mentally unstable, (b) major cockteasers, (c) psychotic or (d) just downright stupid. Misogynistic much?? By the end of the book I was wishing someone had fed ME to the damn sharks. Would have been a LOT less painful.
July 24, 2024
Hell's Aquarium
By Steve Alten
I read a different version several years ago, but since I was reading most of the series now, I thought I would re-read this one. My memory is not what it used to be.
I thought this was action-packed but over the top when it came to how evil the bad guys were. But yeah, it's just for thrills anyway, and it achieved that. ☺️
By Steve Alten
I read a different version several years ago, but since I was reading most of the series now, I thought I would re-read this one. My memory is not what it used to be.
I thought this was action-packed but over the top when it came to how evil the bad guys were. But yeah, it's just for thrills anyway, and it achieved that. ☺️
August 20, 2025
I haven’t seen the film adaptation of Steve Alten’s “Meg” yet, but I think it would be difficult, as a film producer, to simulate the winning formula of Alten’s series of giant shark thrillers, which is an unlikely pairing of pulpy action-adventure silliness with intelligent science. Think Michael Crichton, Clive Cussler, and Peter Benchley, all of whom did it equally well, to varying levels of success.
Book 4, “Hell’s Aquarium”, is perhaps the point in the series when Alten (and you knew this was coming) “jumped the shark”. Granted, for a series about a giant prehistoric shark, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The good things about “Hell’s Aquarium” certainly outweigh the bad. Among the good things: lots more giant sharks, all new prehistoric underwater monsters, and more death-defying underwater rescues by Jonas Taylor (who is getting up in years) and his son, David, who appears to be shaping up to be the next-generation hero.
The not-so-good things about the book: most of the female characters (Terry Taylor, wife of Jonas, and Danielle Taylor, daughter) get short-changed in this one. It’s essentially a testosterone fest. The one major exception, of course, is Angel, the female megalodon who has been the grande dame throughout the series. There’s also her daughters, who are just as nasty. (It does seem, at times, that Jonas spends more time with this shark bitch than he does with his own wife. Just sayin’...)
There’s also the afore-mentioned “jump the shark” moment, which comes near the end, which I don’t want to spoil for the reader. All I’ll say is that if you’ve loved the old-fashioned monster-movie silliness of the series thus far, the “jump the shark” moment may simply be an inevitability, and a welcome one at that. I, for one, loved it, despite its somewhat ridiculous implausibility. That just added to its charm, I suppose.
Alten delivers the goods, again. On to Book 5: “Nightstalkers”...
Book 4, “Hell’s Aquarium”, is perhaps the point in the series when Alten (and you knew this was coming) “jumped the shark”. Granted, for a series about a giant prehistoric shark, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The good things about “Hell’s Aquarium” certainly outweigh the bad. Among the good things: lots more giant sharks, all new prehistoric underwater monsters, and more death-defying underwater rescues by Jonas Taylor (who is getting up in years) and his son, David, who appears to be shaping up to be the next-generation hero.
The not-so-good things about the book: most of the female characters (Terry Taylor, wife of Jonas, and Danielle Taylor, daughter) get short-changed in this one. It’s essentially a testosterone fest. The one major exception, of course, is Angel, the female megalodon who has been the grande dame throughout the series. There’s also her daughters, who are just as nasty. (It does seem, at times, that Jonas spends more time with this shark bitch than he does with his own wife. Just sayin’...)
There’s also the afore-mentioned “jump the shark” moment, which comes near the end, which I don’t want to spoil for the reader. All I’ll say is that if you’ve loved the old-fashioned monster-movie silliness of the series thus far, the “jump the shark” moment may simply be an inevitability, and a welcome one at that. I, for one, loved it, despite its somewhat ridiculous implausibility. That just added to its charm, I suppose.
Alten delivers the goods, again. On to Book 5: “Nightstalkers”...
June 8, 2010
#4 MEG thriller/adventure series
This is OK if you're looking for a thriller featuring GIGANTIC (75 feet long, 100,000 lb., heads "as big as a garbage truck") sharks that survived since prehistoric times. If you like blood, mayhem, and graphic shark attacks, you'll like this book. BUT don't expect the details to make much sense! There are so many crazy "this makes NO sense" moments that it's laughable and totally takes the reader out of the story.
OK, so these HUGE fierce bad-ass uber sharks have been discovered, penned for the public's viewing pleasure or are still roaming in the deepest ocean. Due to their monsterous size, strength and ultra-aggression, who do they send to locate and capture said uber-Beast? A 20 year old college student. Yep, he's the ONLY person on the planet who can do it.
You see, he is the world's BEST underwater little rover craft pilot. Yep, he's 20 years old. AND he is among the select few ON THE PLANET who knows these beasts best. Why? Because his Dad has been tracking, training or been on the hunt for these mega-sharks. OH! OK, NOW it makes SENSE!!!
And don't forget the wise-cracking Iraq war veteran suffering from PTSD (who is also bipolar) who is among the chosen 20 or so to train on the little underwater ROV's (or maybe he goes along as the college kid's friend?). RIGHT. He has a "spell" or something that leaves him disoriented in his hotel room and has to be escorted to the first training session (he's late), but hey! He's one of the 20 or so ON THE PLANET best qualified to hunt these horribly dangerous beasts. Yep, forget the PTSD and the fact that he's bipolar (and has symptoms regularly).
Oh! And on of the 20 "best in the world" for the training program is a ditzy, sexy little airhead female. Her idiotic comments, actions, teasing, etc. of the 20 year old college kid in the name of romance (read: sex) is some of the most God-awful writing I've ever read.
NATURALLY she is paired with the college kid for the climax of the story where the little underwater ROV meets mega-shark and all hell breaks loose. Forget that she's so "incredibly qualified" ... she has a full-on attack of claustrophobia or fear (or maybe her head explodes from being such an IDIOT).
At one point, someone tells the 20 year old college kid, oh yes, I remember you, we worked together a few years ago .... Um, that would have made the kd a high school student.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
This is OK if you're looking for a thriller featuring GIGANTIC (75 feet long, 100,000 lb., heads "as big as a garbage truck") sharks that survived since prehistoric times. If you like blood, mayhem, and graphic shark attacks, you'll like this book. BUT don't expect the details to make much sense! There are so many crazy "this makes NO sense" moments that it's laughable and totally takes the reader out of the story.
OK, so these HUGE fierce bad-ass uber sharks have been discovered, penned for the public's viewing pleasure or are still roaming in the deepest ocean. Due to their monsterous size, strength and ultra-aggression, who do they send to locate and capture said uber-Beast? A 20 year old college student. Yep, he's the ONLY person on the planet who can do it.
You see, he is the world's BEST underwater little rover craft pilot. Yep, he's 20 years old. AND he is among the select few ON THE PLANET who knows these beasts best. Why? Because his Dad has been tracking, training or been on the hunt for these mega-sharks. OH! OK, NOW it makes SENSE!!!
And don't forget the wise-cracking Iraq war veteran suffering from PTSD (who is also bipolar) who is among the chosen 20 or so to train on the little underwater ROV's (or maybe he goes along as the college kid's friend?). RIGHT. He has a "spell" or something that leaves him disoriented in his hotel room and has to be escorted to the first training session (he's late), but hey! He's one of the 20 or so ON THE PLANET best qualified to hunt these horribly dangerous beasts. Yep, forget the PTSD and the fact that he's bipolar (and has symptoms regularly).
Oh! And on of the 20 "best in the world" for the training program is a ditzy, sexy little airhead female. Her idiotic comments, actions, teasing, etc. of the 20 year old college kid in the name of romance (read: sex) is some of the most God-awful writing I've ever read.
NATURALLY she is paired with the college kid for the climax of the story where the little underwater ROV meets mega-shark and all hell breaks loose. Forget that she's so "incredibly qualified" ... she has a full-on attack of claustrophobia or fear (or maybe her head explodes from being such an IDIOT).
At one point, someone tells the 20 year old college kid, oh yes, I remember you, we worked together a few years ago .... Um, that would have made the kd a high school student.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
July 6, 2019
Bad fiction and really bad science fiction
This review is from: Meg: Hell's Aquarium (Kindle Edition)
Publication date: August 23, 2013
Publisher: Gere Donovan Press
Language: English
ASIN: B00ESL6FXS
I rediscovered this book when I was examining a list of science fiction authors on Wikipedia. I read it several years ago and liked it enough to finish it but not enough to keep it or read more of Alten's books. It did not improve upon rereading. In fact I noticed more ridiculous things about it. It does not fit my idea of science fiction because a major premise is scientifically ridiculous. Air breathing reptiles trapped underwater and not drowning. Another reviewer put it well when he asked if they held their breaths while they evolved gills. Just say the magic word evolution and some people will acept anything said after that. An interesting thriller marred by bad science which makes the whole thing too unbelievable to suspend disbelief.
This review is from: Meg: Hell's Aquarium (Kindle Edition)
Publication date: August 23, 2013
Publisher: Gere Donovan Press
Language: English
ASIN: B00ESL6FXS
I rediscovered this book when I was examining a list of science fiction authors on Wikipedia. I read it several years ago and liked it enough to finish it but not enough to keep it or read more of Alten's books. It did not improve upon rereading. In fact I noticed more ridiculous things about it. It does not fit my idea of science fiction because a major premise is scientifically ridiculous. Air breathing reptiles trapped underwater and not drowning. Another reviewer put it well when he asked if they held their breaths while they evolved gills. Just say the magic word evolution and some people will acept anything said after that. An interesting thriller marred by bad science which makes the whole thing too unbelievable to suspend disbelief.
April 26, 2013
The Meg series has always been a guilty pleasure. No one will mistake these as high quality American literature, but lets be honest, it's the summer popcorn action movies that make all the money, while the December dramas garner the Oscars. That's what I equate Steve Alten's Meg series too, a string of popcorn entertainment summer novels, and really, they never tried to be anything more. I mean the idea of a 70ft shark on the prowl has never been easy to swallow, and now that a gigantic ancient ocean has been discovered beneath the Pacific plate, who can argue with such probability? But that's the whole point. Set aside your disbelieving ways and just enjoy it for what it is.
September 8, 2020
A rebound for the series after the disappointment of Primal Waters. This one had some genuine deep-sea thrills like the original MEG or even Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
Jonas, in his 60s, mostly passes the action baton in this installment to son David, coming into his own as a submersible pilot at the bottom of the Philippine Sea. (At one point, literally stuck at the bottom, which is one of the best scenes I've read in any book all year.) From there it's one close encounter after another with every prehistoric monster fish you could imagine. As my buddy reader Cathy said, "The later part of the book basically turns into Lost World at the Bottom of the Sea."
There were a lot of silly aspects (far-fetched plot points, inane/wacky characters, data dumps, fish parades, and a sex doll) which I won't elaborate on here because I don't care to dwell on them. Sometimes you just have to turn the page, ignore the worst, and push through.
I really enjoyed seeing the Taylor family together. Aging Jonas, sphynx-like Terry, vibrant Dani, and the burgeoning hero David. After spending so much time with these people through the series, I can actually picture them, recognize their family dynamics, and feel the ups & downs of their relationships. Rare for a monster book.
Entertaining overall.
Jonas, in his 60s, mostly passes the action baton in this installment to son David, coming into his own as a submersible pilot at the bottom of the Philippine Sea. (At one point, literally stuck at the bottom, which is one of the best scenes I've read in any book all year.) From there it's one close encounter after another with every prehistoric monster fish you could imagine. As my buddy reader Cathy said, "The later part of the book basically turns into Lost World at the Bottom of the Sea."
There were a lot of silly aspects (far-fetched plot points, inane/wacky characters, data dumps, fish parades, and a sex doll) which I won't elaborate on here because I don't care to dwell on them. Sometimes you just have to turn the page, ignore the worst, and push through.
I really enjoyed seeing the Taylor family together. Aging Jonas, sphynx-like Terry, vibrant Dani, and the burgeoning hero David. After spending so much time with these people through the series, I can actually picture them, recognize their family dynamics, and feel the ups & downs of their relationships. Rare for a monster book.
Entertaining overall.
August 16, 2010
Now, really this might be unfair, since it's the fourth in the series, and really maybe I should have started with previous ones. I should be charitable and give it two stars because of this, but can't bring myself to do that.
Maybe it helps to grow acquainted with the characters slowly, because I 100% HATED everyone in this book. Rooted for the sharks for the entire time. A higher death count would definitely have improved this book, which is a little sad, since it's already pretty laden with gore.
So many people seemed to slip and fall into the shark tank, holding the ferocious Megaladons, I soon ran out of sympathy for this. Why wasn't there some kind of covering over the the tank or handrails or something so this didn't keep happening? Why did everytime they had to mess with the giant uncontrollable sharks did everyone seem completely unprepared and just "winging it"? If I had a humongous killer shark in my care that was constantly eating people, I'd be following OSHA regulations.
Loathed the kid. Felt it was very unbelievable (I'll accept crazy undiscovered prehistoric ocean and what not) that some 20 year old college student was the only one in the world to do the mission. Actually everyone on this team I thought was farfetched. Hated his "girlfriend" even more. I saw where that plot line was going but was in denial for most of the book.
Also, the sea spooks me out so not an expert (other than reading Shark attack! books by Benchley), but isn't it bad to go up like 30,000 feet really, really fast? Don't you get the bends and die from doing things like this? Either that's wrong, or a ton of other suspense/horror books I've read before have steered me wrong.
The one kind of glowing part to this whole book was the Lana Woods part. The inclusion of her was so weird and obviously idolotrary (which is fine, I did really enjoy her autobiography), that I figured she was either married to the author or pals. And yes, looking it up later, she is his number one fan and asked to be put in his book.
Maybe it helps to grow acquainted with the characters slowly, because I 100% HATED everyone in this book. Rooted for the sharks for the entire time. A higher death count would definitely have improved this book, which is a little sad, since it's already pretty laden with gore.
So many people seemed to slip and fall into the shark tank, holding the ferocious Megaladons, I soon ran out of sympathy for this. Why wasn't there some kind of covering over the the tank or handrails or something so this didn't keep happening? Why did everytime they had to mess with the giant uncontrollable sharks did everyone seem completely unprepared and just "winging it"? If I had a humongous killer shark in my care that was constantly eating people, I'd be following OSHA regulations.
Loathed the kid. Felt it was very unbelievable (I'll accept crazy undiscovered prehistoric ocean and what not) that some 20 year old college student was the only one in the world to do the mission. Actually everyone on this team I thought was farfetched. Hated his "girlfriend" even more. I saw where that plot line was going but was in denial for most of the book.
Also, the sea spooks me out so not an expert (other than reading Shark attack! books by Benchley), but isn't it bad to go up like 30,000 feet really, really fast? Don't you get the bends and die from doing things like this? Either that's wrong, or a ton of other suspense/horror books I've read before have steered me wrong.
The one kind of glowing part to this whole book was the Lana Woods part. The inclusion of her was so weird and obviously idolotrary (which is fine, I did really enjoy her autobiography), that I figured she was either married to the author or pals. And yes, looking it up later, she is his number one fan and asked to be put in his book.
July 30, 2009
Sometimes a girl just needs the good old-fashioned mayhem that only prehistoric biologicals on a rampage can provide. This is the fourth of Steve Alten's 'Meg' books, the action centered between the Tanaka Institute where Angel, a captured megaladon shark, is resident with her pups and the deep ocean environment where several new and ancient playmates reside. Jonas Taylor and his family are again faced with multiple crises on several fronts, their expertise with prehistoric sharks now being exploited by the ambitious and unsavory biologist bin Rashidi. His only concern is to populate a new aquarium in Saudi Arabia with the world's rarest (though as yet undiscovered) specimens, regardless of the financial or human cost--the latter to be taken from the Taylor family, naturally, if Bin Rashidi can have his way.
Jonas Taylor once again demonstrates his McGyvery mettle and his son, David, now 20-yrs-old and an expert in his own right, is tested in ways his father had never imagined. From the Monterey coast to Saudi Arabia to beneath the Philippine Sea the action is continuous and often surprising. Alten's imagination has created another wondrous and violent world filled with nightmare creatures brought to life in the complete darkness of the deep ocean by the lights of exploratory craft. Scientific discovery and the interests of commerce collide and the Taylors, caught between several antagonists, must fight to survive where many more have met rather gruesome ends. Thanks, Steve, I needed that.
Jonas Taylor once again demonstrates his McGyvery mettle and his son, David, now 20-yrs-old and an expert in his own right, is tested in ways his father had never imagined. From the Monterey coast to Saudi Arabia to beneath the Philippine Sea the action is continuous and often surprising. Alten's imagination has created another wondrous and violent world filled with nightmare creatures brought to life in the complete darkness of the deep ocean by the lights of exploratory craft. Scientific discovery and the interests of commerce collide and the Taylors, caught between several antagonists, must fight to survive where many more have met rather gruesome ends. Thanks, Steve, I needed that.
June 13, 2018
After reading the first three books in the series, I was not sure I wanted to read this one. What drew me to the book was the cover - it has a freaky-awesome picture of a child looking at the Meg [with a toy stuffed shark lying on the ground] and the Meg is looking back. On the hardback cover both individuals are facing each other. Much better effect! Best cover in the hardbound series so far!
After the first book, this was the best in holding my interest through the entire book. It was crazy! A few passages were well written and had my heart pounding. Most passages, though, not so much. It was definitely escapist reading, with some great suspense in parts and even greater suspension of disbelief in other parts. I would not call it 'an instant classic' as the Washington Daily News proclaimed on the cover [unless they were referring to the hardback cover itself].
There were three stories running through the book. One revolved around a new aquarium being built in Dubai which is to be stocked with monsters from the deep. One involved the trials and tribulations of the captive Megs and what to do with them. The third story revolved around an extremist animal rights group attempting to use the misfortunes at the aquarium to push for the release of the captive Megs into the wild.
One of the things I really disliked about the book was the sentence structure. It seemed like he continually changed the verb tenses in the middle of a sentence. For example, instead of saying 'Mac picked up the tool' or 'picking up the tool, Mac did something with it' the author would say 'Mac picks up the tool'. It just seemed awkward and ruined the flow for me. Perhaps the author was trying out a different style to set the story apart from other books, but it did not work for me. The verb usage was quite disruptive.
Another dislike was the amount of exclamation points used in the book! I think every sentence in one paragraph ended in nothing but exclamation points! That is what it seemed like, anyway! I know Matthew Reilly uses a lot of exclamation points, but I think Mr. Alten might have used more exclamation points in this one book than Mr. Reilly has in all of his books combined! It just seemed silly after a while, if you know what I mean! Maybe Americans were trained from an early age to associate an exclamation point with excitement?! But other authors can generate excitement and suspense without the use of exclamation points to inform the reader 'you should be getting excited or nervous about now!'! But that is just my opinion!
I also disliked the choppy sentence structure in the book. It is something to experience. I do not know if perhaps my copy had a bad day at the printers and paragraphs were split by accident, but some of the sentences were broken up in the most awkward fashion. There were a lot of sentences that ended in a dash and then the next paragraph started with a dash, attempting to link action in the two sentences. If it had worked, it would have been great. I think if he had only used it a couple of times throughout the book the technique might have been more effective. Overusing it really took away from what he might have been trying to accomplish, diluting it to more of an annoyance and a distraction.
The character development left a bit to be desired, I guess. Obviously, if they had learned from the 1st or 2nd book and killed the Megs, there would be no 3rd or 4th book. But having individuals who are so smart yet so stupid at times does get a little old. Plus, the whole 'the show must go on' theme after the numerous accidents [and deaths] seems beyond extreme. And silly. And ridiculous. Why were better safety measures not installed? [especially after the first death] Where were the Feds? Why didn't they show up and bury the Institute in a bureaucratic malaise the likes of which the Institute would never have recovered? I would have reached the point of killing the creatures long before it was even considered by the heroes in the book. [the tie-in to Old Yeller was nicely done] Some of the sub-main characters seemed to be shallow cliches; it would have been nice to have had a little more depth for them as they did have some integral parts in the book. On the other hand, as the book is only 342 pages long, with the wide variety of characters and three story lines, it would be hard for any kind of character development to occur with the amount of 'action' in the book.
Some cliches are overused. For instance, I get tired of reading about some ex-military guy being a complete and unyielding jerk who has no character and comes out to be a coward [of sorts]. [for some reason, this seems to afflict officers more than it does the enlisted men and women.] This type of behavior could be said of anybody, but it seems to be a regular broad portrait of officers in the military. I know PTSD is a very real issue for the military [as well as LEOs], but it often seems to be a cop-out for authors to use. [at least the guy was not some whackjob serial killer] Another cliche was the jab at military personnel not being able to handle pressure better than a civilian. Really? Somebody trained to handle pressure cannot handle pressure better than somebody not trained to handle pressure? Whatever. Obviously crap like that just bugs me. Perhaps if the author had included a third military person who was more than a minor character in the story that was not a jerk, did not suffer from PTSD, and was a well-rounded, intelligent individual who got along with people, the story would have been more satisfying [at one level].
I found it interesting to discover there actually was a USS Newport News that did collide with the supertanker as mentioned in the story. I dimly remembered reading of such a collision in the paper; it was fun to look it up and actually read about it. It is beyond crazy to consider that the draft of a passing supertanker can have such a profound effect on submerged objects!
I had read about the USS Indianapolis and what happened to her and her crew in WWII. So it was a nice touch to include the warship in the story like he did; I did not see it coming.
I did not mind most of the scientific and technical descriptions in the book. Towards the end it did get a little tedious [mostly the tech stuff]. The 'once-believed extinct creatures discovered to be alive' was pretty crazy stuff. At least Angel bit it in the end [after dealing out so much death in her day]. The underwater bonanza of life was crazy; despite the suspension of disbelief it was still fun to read their descriptions.
There was one death in the book I did not see coming. Totally shocked me. It makes sense, on the one hand, I suppose, considering the sizes of the sea creatures involved, but it was still a crazy moment in the book. A wonderful 'holy crap!' reading moment.
I was pleasantly surprised with the description of the Christian in the book. He was a minor character that occasionally made an appearance before he died, but he was not the religious nutcase whacko like most Christians seem to be shown in books and movies. He was actually a decent person. Of course, it does make one wonder how bughouse nuts a person has to be to be willing to descend to depths of 25,000 - 30,000 feet into an underground sea searching for creatures 10 - 20 times your size in hopes they chase you out of their underground lake to be caught in some nets before they catch you and eat you.
So why did I rate it four stars? I truly enjoyed it [despite the breaks in flow]. Maybe my opinion was so low after the second and third novels I enjoyed it more than I would have otherwise. I do not know. It kept me on the edge of my seat more than the second and third novel. It was about more than just the Megs; it involved other deep sea creatures. It had little depth to it, and involved a lot of suspension of disbelief, but it was just crazy fun reading it. It was one of the few novels [books] I have read recently where I was not wondering 'how much longer before I finish' while reading. So perhaps the four stars was in comparison to the 2nd and 3rd novel as opposed to considering it on its own. Read on its own, the suspenseful portions might have been enough to rate four stars. The fact that it kept my interest like it did despite its faults speaks well of the book. Regardless, I enjoyed it.
---------------------------------------------------
02-20-16 - I think I figured out why he uses some of the verb tenses the way he does. I think he is trying to tell the story in a 'forward moving' tense, that the action is occurring at the moment we read it. To say "he picked up the tool" is [obviously] past tense, wheres to say 'he picks up the tool' is implying it is happening as we read it. But that is my two cents worth.
After the first book, this was the best in holding my interest through the entire book. It was crazy! A few passages were well written and had my heart pounding. Most passages, though, not so much. It was definitely escapist reading, with some great suspense in parts and even greater suspension of disbelief in other parts. I would not call it 'an instant classic' as the Washington Daily News proclaimed on the cover [unless they were referring to the hardback cover itself].
There were three stories running through the book. One revolved around a new aquarium being built in Dubai which is to be stocked with monsters from the deep. One involved the trials and tribulations of the captive Megs and what to do with them. The third story revolved around an extremist animal rights group attempting to use the misfortunes at the aquarium to push for the release of the captive Megs into the wild.
One of the things I really disliked about the book was the sentence structure. It seemed like he continually changed the verb tenses in the middle of a sentence. For example, instead of saying 'Mac picked up the tool' or 'picking up the tool, Mac did something with it' the author would say 'Mac picks up the tool'. It just seemed awkward and ruined the flow for me. Perhaps the author was trying out a different style to set the story apart from other books, but it did not work for me. The verb usage was quite disruptive.
Another dislike was the amount of exclamation points used in the book! I think every sentence in one paragraph ended in nothing but exclamation points! That is what it seemed like, anyway! I know Matthew Reilly uses a lot of exclamation points, but I think Mr. Alten might have used more exclamation points in this one book than Mr. Reilly has in all of his books combined! It just seemed silly after a while, if you know what I mean! Maybe Americans were trained from an early age to associate an exclamation point with excitement?! But other authors can generate excitement and suspense without the use of exclamation points to inform the reader 'you should be getting excited or nervous about now!'! But that is just my opinion!
I also disliked the choppy sentence structure in the book. It is something to experience. I do not know if perhaps my copy had a bad day at the printers and paragraphs were split by accident, but some of the sentences were broken up in the most awkward fashion. There were a lot of sentences that ended in a dash and then the next paragraph started with a dash, attempting to link action in the two sentences. If it had worked, it would have been great. I think if he had only used it a couple of times throughout the book the technique might have been more effective. Overusing it really took away from what he might have been trying to accomplish, diluting it to more of an annoyance and a distraction.
The character development left a bit to be desired, I guess. Obviously, if they had learned from the 1st or 2nd book and killed the Megs, there would be no 3rd or 4th book. But having individuals who are so smart yet so stupid at times does get a little old. Plus, the whole 'the show must go on' theme after the numerous accidents [and deaths] seems beyond extreme. And silly. And ridiculous. Why were better safety measures not installed? [especially after the first death] Where were the Feds? Why didn't they show up and bury the Institute in a bureaucratic malaise the likes of which the Institute would never have recovered? I would have reached the point of killing the creatures long before it was even considered by the heroes in the book. [the tie-in to Old Yeller was nicely done] Some of the sub-main characters seemed to be shallow cliches; it would have been nice to have had a little more depth for them as they did have some integral parts in the book. On the other hand, as the book is only 342 pages long, with the wide variety of characters and three story lines, it would be hard for any kind of character development to occur with the amount of 'action' in the book.
Some cliches are overused. For instance, I get tired of reading about some ex-military guy being a complete and unyielding jerk who has no character and comes out to be a coward [of sorts]. [for some reason, this seems to afflict officers more than it does the enlisted men and women.] This type of behavior could be said of anybody, but it seems to be a regular broad portrait of officers in the military. I know PTSD is a very real issue for the military [as well as LEOs], but it often seems to be a cop-out for authors to use. [at least the guy was not some whackjob serial killer] Another cliche was the jab at military personnel not being able to handle pressure better than a civilian. Really? Somebody trained to handle pressure cannot handle pressure better than somebody not trained to handle pressure? Whatever. Obviously crap like that just bugs me. Perhaps if the author had included a third military person who was more than a minor character in the story that was not a jerk, did not suffer from PTSD, and was a well-rounded, intelligent individual who got along with people, the story would have been more satisfying [at one level].
I found it interesting to discover there actually was a USS Newport News that did collide with the supertanker as mentioned in the story. I dimly remembered reading of such a collision in the paper; it was fun to look it up and actually read about it. It is beyond crazy to consider that the draft of a passing supertanker can have such a profound effect on submerged objects!
I had read about the USS Indianapolis and what happened to her and her crew in WWII. So it was a nice touch to include the warship in the story like he did; I did not see it coming.
I did not mind most of the scientific and technical descriptions in the book. Towards the end it did get a little tedious [mostly the tech stuff]. The 'once-believed extinct creatures discovered to be alive' was pretty crazy stuff. At least Angel bit it in the end [after dealing out so much death in her day]. The underwater bonanza of life was crazy; despite the suspension of disbelief it was still fun to read their descriptions.
There was one death in the book I did not see coming. Totally shocked me. It makes sense, on the one hand, I suppose, considering the sizes of the sea creatures involved, but it was still a crazy moment in the book. A wonderful 'holy crap!' reading moment.
I was pleasantly surprised with the description of the Christian in the book. He was a minor character that occasionally made an appearance before he died, but he was not the religious nutcase whacko like most Christians seem to be shown in books and movies. He was actually a decent person. Of course, it does make one wonder how bughouse nuts a person has to be to be willing to descend to depths of 25,000 - 30,000 feet into an underground sea searching for creatures 10 - 20 times your size in hopes they chase you out of their underground lake to be caught in some nets before they catch you and eat you.
So why did I rate it four stars? I truly enjoyed it [despite the breaks in flow]. Maybe my opinion was so low after the second and third novels I enjoyed it more than I would have otherwise. I do not know. It kept me on the edge of my seat more than the second and third novel. It was about more than just the Megs; it involved other deep sea creatures. It had little depth to it, and involved a lot of suspension of disbelief, but it was just crazy fun reading it. It was one of the few novels [books] I have read recently where I was not wondering 'how much longer before I finish' while reading. So perhaps the four stars was in comparison to the 2nd and 3rd novel as opposed to considering it on its own. Read on its own, the suspenseful portions might have been enough to rate four stars. The fact that it kept my interest like it did despite its faults speaks well of the book. Regardless, I enjoyed it.
---------------------------------------------------
02-20-16 - I think I figured out why he uses some of the verb tenses the way he does. I think he is trying to tell the story in a 'forward moving' tense, that the action is occurring at the moment we read it. To say "he picked up the tool" is [obviously] past tense, wheres to say 'he picks up the tool' is implying it is happening as we read it. But that is my two cents worth.
August 15, 2020
A prologue with a quick history of Earth‘s geological history and a brief summary of marine evolution all the way to the Megalodon, followed by a first chapter that summarizes the previous books, interspersed with the beginning of this book‘s plot. In third person present tense. Not a fan of third person present tense, it‘s weird. Anyway...
Jonas’s son, “David is off to Dubai for the summer of his life, not realizing that he is being set up to lead an expedition that will hunt down and capture the most dangerous creatures ever to inhabit the Earth.“ (sorry, I stole that from the book blurb...)
Jonas has his own toothy problems to deal with back home at the Tanaka Institute in Monterey. Parallel plots with alternating locations, as in previous books. Which is a bummer, when every other chapter ends in a cliffhanger. The alternating plotlines add a nice urgency to the proceedings though.
I looked up and learned things about the Phillippine Sea Plate and its tectonics. And I looked up a ton of extinct, prehistoric beasts. Educational! I was constantly googling images of weird sharks, with teeth sticking allover the place or monstrous bony fish or gelatinous vampire squid or... it kept going. The later part of the book basically turns into Lost World at the Bottom of the Sea. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel to the first movie with a very heavy dose of well-done CGI! Although I am having a hard time picturing Jason Statham with the hair of Anderson Cooper and in his 60s...
I wish Alten‘s writing would get better with consecutive books. He should be able to afford an editor at least, after one of his books was turned into a movie, right? At least to check for correct punctuation, to tone down those info dumps to a necessary amount, integrate them more smoothly into the general narrative and to get rid of the truly superfluous stuff. I am turning a blind eye to the politically incorrect bits and lack of correct representation of pretty much everything.
At the end of the ebook we get to read the prologue and first two chapters of the next book, Nightstalkers. I enjoyed that, too, and almost downloaded it straight away. The entertainment value of these books is great. And, hey, the next book seems to be in the third person past tense... nonetheless, I can‘t possibly give this more than three stars, because of its barely tolerable writing.
“Welcome to Hell’s Aquarium. Unruly guests will be eaten.”
Jonas’s son, “David is off to Dubai for the summer of his life, not realizing that he is being set up to lead an expedition that will hunt down and capture the most dangerous creatures ever to inhabit the Earth.“ (sorry, I stole that from the book blurb...)
Jonas has his own toothy problems to deal with back home at the Tanaka Institute in Monterey. Parallel plots with alternating locations, as in previous books. Which is a bummer, when every other chapter ends in a cliffhanger. The alternating plotlines add a nice urgency to the proceedings though.
I looked up and learned things about the Phillippine Sea Plate and its tectonics. And I looked up a ton of extinct, prehistoric beasts. Educational! I was constantly googling images of weird sharks, with teeth sticking allover the place or monstrous bony fish or gelatinous vampire squid or... it kept going. The later part of the book basically turns into Lost World at the Bottom of the Sea. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel to the first movie with a very heavy dose of well-done CGI! Although I am having a hard time picturing Jason Statham with the hair of Anderson Cooper and in his 60s...
I wish Alten‘s writing would get better with consecutive books. He should be able to afford an editor at least, after one of his books was turned into a movie, right? At least to check for correct punctuation, to tone down those info dumps to a necessary amount, integrate them more smoothly into the general narrative and to get rid of the truly superfluous stuff. I am turning a blind eye to the politically incorrect bits and lack of correct representation of pretty much everything.
At the end of the ebook we get to read the prologue and first two chapters of the next book, Nightstalkers. I enjoyed that, too, and almost downloaded it straight away. The entertainment value of these books is great. And, hey, the next book seems to be in the third person past tense... nonetheless, I can‘t possibly give this more than three stars, because of its barely tolerable writing.
“Welcome to Hell’s Aquarium. Unruly guests will be eaten.”
January 25, 2023
This book was SO fun. I loved it. It has been a while since I’ve read a book and felt so much fear. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. I can’t wait to read more in this series.
September 27, 2022
Following the train wreck that was Meg 3 I was a bit tentative going into this. Surprisingly it was quite good. I think if the story didn't have ridiculous sub-plots and other stuff going on it could have easily been a 4-star read.
The characters were good and I will probably read Meg 5... a sentence I never thought I would utter in my life.
The characters were good and I will probably read Meg 5... a sentence I never thought I would utter in my life.
June 28, 2011
David Taylor is all grown up and working at the Tanaka Institute, where Angel is kept along with 4 of her offspring: Lizzie, Bela, Mary Kate, and Ashley (yeah. my thoughts exactly.). Unfortunately, the offspring are getting too big for their tank, and this is causing all of the Megs to become agitated - resulting in several deaths during one of the aquarium's live shows.
Then Bin Rashidi, a prince from Dubai, approaches the Taylors with an offer: he'll buy 2 of the Megs for his new aquarium. He also wants to hire David for the summer to train several pilots to use the Manta Ray submersibles and to train aquarium staff to deal with the Megs. When David arrives at the new aquarium, something seems a little... fishy (couldn't resist!). Some of the tanks are labeled for "bad fish," and this isn't referring to the Megs. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean is a vast underwater sea where prehistoric marine creatures have thrived for millenia... and Bin Rashidi wants them for his aquarium!
This was a fun summer read if I didn't think too hard about it. The passages of scientific information about the Panthalassa Sea, the specs of the various submersibles, and the random history lesson about the USS Indianapolis were fairly dry and halted the story. The characters never seem to learn that it's a bad idea to dive anywhere near a Megalodon, even if there appears to be a gate protecting them, and no one ever seems to double check their supplies to make sure they have enough tranquilizers. And the characters seem to get extreme adrenaline rushes during non-extreme situations. I was also disappointed by the female characters in this book. However, there are plenty of shark attacks and cool prehistoric creatures and the action scenes make the last third of this book fly by. AND it looks like there is a fifth Meg book in the works! Will I read it? Stay tuned!
Then Bin Rashidi, a prince from Dubai, approaches the Taylors with an offer: he'll buy 2 of the Megs for his new aquarium. He also wants to hire David for the summer to train several pilots to use the Manta Ray submersibles and to train aquarium staff to deal with the Megs. When David arrives at the new aquarium, something seems a little... fishy (couldn't resist!). Some of the tanks are labeled for "bad fish," and this isn't referring to the Megs. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean is a vast underwater sea where prehistoric marine creatures have thrived for millenia... and Bin Rashidi wants them for his aquarium!
This was a fun summer read if I didn't think too hard about it. The passages of scientific information about the Panthalassa Sea, the specs of the various submersibles, and the random history lesson about the USS Indianapolis were fairly dry and halted the story. The characters never seem to learn that it's a bad idea to dive anywhere near a Megalodon, even if there appears to be a gate protecting them, and no one ever seems to double check their supplies to make sure they have enough tranquilizers. And the characters seem to get extreme adrenaline rushes during non-extreme situations. I was also disappointed by the female characters in this book. However, there are plenty of shark attacks and cool prehistoric creatures and the action scenes make the last third of this book fly by. AND it looks like there is a fifth Meg book in the works! Will I read it? Stay tuned!
July 3, 2011
The entire thing is ridiculous. Written in a lurching, overly anxious present-tense style, the book has a grating voice. It seems lije it was researched entirely on Wikipedia and is full of rumours-masquerading-as-facts. I want to introduce the author to Snopes.com, so that he can let go of the urban legends he has peppered throughout the text.
But really, the worst part is that we have officially passed the point where the Taylors were any kind of sympathetic characters. I liked the first book, thought the second book was pushing it and skipped the third book altogether. I got this one because I was in the mood for a brisk aquatic summer read. Instead I got an improbable snuff novel full of xenophobic rantings and gore.
We are supposed to believe that these people are smart and skilled, yet at the same time to find it likely that they will not only keep putting themselves in harm's way, but also charge a bunch of strangers for the same privikedge.
At this point the Taylors ALL deserve to be eaten.
The ultimate ridiculousness, however, was the operation on the shark's brain to install DARPA-developed technology. All I could think of was Dr. Evil in Austin Powers. "Sharks with fricken laser beams!"
But really, the worst part is that we have officially passed the point where the Taylors were any kind of sympathetic characters. I liked the first book, thought the second book was pushing it and skipped the third book altogether. I got this one because I was in the mood for a brisk aquatic summer read. Instead I got an improbable snuff novel full of xenophobic rantings and gore.
We are supposed to believe that these people are smart and skilled, yet at the same time to find it likely that they will not only keep putting themselves in harm's way, but also charge a bunch of strangers for the same privikedge.
At this point the Taylors ALL deserve to be eaten.
The ultimate ridiculousness, however, was the operation on the shark's brain to install DARPA-developed technology. All I could think of was Dr. Evil in Austin Powers. "Sharks with fricken laser beams!"
July 25, 2012
Another ridiculously-horrible-but-downright-entertaining Meg book. I would honestly read 100 more of these if they were published. They are just so fun and impossible to put down.
I loved this particular one from the get-go, when it was revealed that one of Angel's pups was named Lizzy after the infamous Elizabeth Bathory, someone I am fascinated by. From there, it just got better when we were introduced to tons of other prehistoric "extinct" creatures.
There was an ad on the back for a 5th one, but I'm not seeing it on goodreads yet. I hope it comes out soon!
I loved this particular one from the get-go, when it was revealed that one of Angel's pups was named Lizzy after the infamous Elizabeth Bathory, someone I am fascinated by. From there, it just got better when we were introduced to tons of other prehistoric "extinct" creatures.
There was an ad on the back for a 5th one, but I'm not seeing it on goodreads yet. I hope it comes out soon!
January 11, 2023
This one might tie with my favorite with the original. There's just so much more to this book. As with every meg story, the amount of gruesome and death still highlights. But now we have ancient species and an ancient sea added to the mix.
With David falling prey to words the way Jonas has before, we are practically reading a young Jonas story. Including a fast love story. As with Meg, I'm not fond of the love story. And well, the way it ends...fantastic.
******
Finished a reread 01.11.23
Still didn't care for the love story in this but I loved all the action packed Meg and Panthalassa Sea. Oh Angel.
With David falling prey to words the way Jonas has before, we are practically reading a young Jonas story. Including a fast love story. As with Meg, I'm not fond of the love story. And well, the way it ends...fantastic.
******
Finished a reread 01.11.23
Still didn't care for the love story in this but I loved all the action packed Meg and Panthalassa Sea. Oh Angel.
November 9, 2017
I enjoyed this installment a lot more than the previous two. This one got back to the things I really enjoyed about the first book. I did again listen to a majority of this in audiobook, but I also picked up a physical copy from my library. The physical copy included pictures of the other animals mentioned in this installment, which were very interesting. Looking forward to the next one!
November 11, 2020
I’m going to be honest there are a lot of flaws if you start to think about Hell's Aquarium by Steve Allen too much. There I said it. Of course, the female characters annoyed me endlessly. I kinda wish Allen would avoid adding women to his stories all together. Meg #4 was still really fun, exciting and a good race to the surface for sure. There are bad guys, badder guys and lots of swimming beasts. The last four chapters were movie-like tense and yes, I cheered and giggled cause I knew what was going to happen.
August 16, 2021
The best book of the series so far. Action packed, good character stories. The perfect blend.
February 21, 2020
Best title ever! But I do feel that very last bit was unnecessary. Onward to Meg: Origins!
August 19, 2020
The most fearsome creature who ever lived... or is it?
Continuing my recent re-read of Steve Altens Meg series, i quickly realised i had never actually read Hell's Aquarium before, so this book (and i guess books 5 and 6) are new to me.
This one did not disappoint! There are now 6(!) Megs, all in captivity following the events of book 3. Given that, i expected more action with the Megs in this book, but the Author has other ideas in mind this time around.
I absolutely loved the concept of this book and all the world building and introduction of new creatures. Itbtries something a little different, without neglecting all the stuff people love about this series. I won't spoil any reveals here, but there is a lot going on and the pacing is breakneck and relentless. Even the scenes set in captivity are incredibly tense and the second half of the book just escalates and escalates. I had another very late night last night finishing this book as it is nigh on impossible to put down once you've started.
The book focuses almost entirely on either Jonas or his son David this time around. If i had one critisism it is that the female Taylors (Terry and Dani) get little (Dani) or nothing (Terry) to do. Terry being the highlight of my favourite book of the series so far (The Trench) i found this a little disappointing. Jonas gets to spend a lot of time with Mac in this book, which is alwaysba bonus and their camaraderie and back and forth is a big highlight. David (who gets most of the focus) is arrogant to the point of unlikeability for much of the book (actively acknowledging this himself on more than one occassion) but I'm hopeful that this is part of his character progression going forward and not a permanent trait, based on how this book ends.
A what an ending! I'm glad i have book 5 ready to read because waiting two years for the next one would have been torture. It is by far the best ending of the series so far because it sets up what comes next as well as introducing major change for one of the leads. This is also the first book that introduces a 'villian' (and this book has two) that is still around at the end of the book, possiibly to return in book 5. I cant wait to see what happens next.
Overall, this one doesn't quite top The Trench for me as the best of the series to date, but it is certainty a big improvement over Primal Waters. It is a close run thing though and, had Terry or Dani been a bit better served in this outing, it may well have been the best of the series so far. Still, an easy 5 star rating. Onto book 5!
Continuing my recent re-read of Steve Altens Meg series, i quickly realised i had never actually read Hell's Aquarium before, so this book (and i guess books 5 and 6) are new to me.
This one did not disappoint! There are now 6(!) Megs, all in captivity following the events of book 3. Given that, i expected more action with the Megs in this book, but the Author has other ideas in mind this time around.
I absolutely loved the concept of this book and all the world building and introduction of new creatures. Itbtries something a little different, without neglecting all the stuff people love about this series. I won't spoil any reveals here, but there is a lot going on and the pacing is breakneck and relentless. Even the scenes set in captivity are incredibly tense and the second half of the book just escalates and escalates. I had another very late night last night finishing this book as it is nigh on impossible to put down once you've started.
The book focuses almost entirely on either Jonas or his son David this time around. If i had one critisism it is that the female Taylors (Terry and Dani) get little (Dani) or nothing (Terry) to do. Terry being the highlight of my favourite book of the series so far (The Trench) i found this a little disappointing. Jonas gets to spend a lot of time with Mac in this book, which is alwaysba bonus and their camaraderie and back and forth is a big highlight. David (who gets most of the focus) is arrogant to the point of unlikeability for much of the book (actively acknowledging this himself on more than one occassion) but I'm hopeful that this is part of his character progression going forward and not a permanent trait, based on how this book ends.
A what an ending! I'm glad i have book 5 ready to read because waiting two years for the next one would have been torture. It is by far the best ending of the series so far because it sets up what comes next as well as introducing major change for one of the leads. This is also the first book that introduces a 'villian' (and this book has two) that is still around at the end of the book, possiibly to return in book 5. I cant wait to see what happens next.
Overall, this one doesn't quite top The Trench for me as the best of the series to date, but it is certainty a big improvement over Primal Waters. It is a close run thing though and, had Terry or Dani been a bit better served in this outing, it may well have been the best of the series so far. Still, an easy 5 star rating. Onto book 5!
September 19, 2023
I happened to Enjoy this one alot more than Meg #3. I liked David as a main character and I liked how the author dove ( no pun intended) into more detail regarding the hidden ocean that was hinted at in the first book. We see David being hired by a rich acquirer of exotic , and prehistoric, animals . The author dives into more variety of some of the ocean life that has evolved and survived millions of years.
I liked the love interest for David too. It added a different element to the series that I felt was becoming stagnant in #3. Overall, i thought it was just as good as #2 although slightly behind The Meg.
RE_READ 9/19/23- I stand by this being 4 stars. For me this might be the 2nd best of series so far behind the first Meg. Maren- The baddie in part 3 and also a side baddie in part 2- was working with the prince of Dubai on tracking down "thought to be " extinct creatures. Maren ended up discovering a hidden sea that is below the once through ocean floor of a sea plate.
Angel has 5 "pups" with two of them being really aggressive. On the home front, we have Terry and Jonas dealing with RAW ( off shoot of PETA) and wanting the Pups released. The main story line follows David , who is home for the summer and gets hired by the visiting prince to oversee the purchase and handling of two of the Meg pups. However, David is a great sub pilot and he is actually being recruited to train and eventually man the sub and take on the dangerous job of luring these beasts from the hidden sea into cargo nets for the prince. The prince is opening an aquarium filled with the worlds most dangerous predators.
This takes the stagnation out of the series that the first 2 sequels brought. With David being older and having a love interest and his role in the Persian Gulf and the Prince and the Hells Aquarium plot, this felt like a nice breath of fresh air.
I liked the love interest for David too. It added a different element to the series that I felt was becoming stagnant in #3. Overall, i thought it was just as good as #2 although slightly behind The Meg.
RE_READ 9/19/23- I stand by this being 4 stars. For me this might be the 2nd best of series so far behind the first Meg. Maren- The baddie in part 3 and also a side baddie in part 2- was working with the prince of Dubai on tracking down "thought to be " extinct creatures. Maren ended up discovering a hidden sea that is below the once through ocean floor of a sea plate.
Angel has 5 "pups" with two of them being really aggressive. On the home front, we have Terry and Jonas dealing with RAW ( off shoot of PETA) and wanting the Pups released. The main story line follows David , who is home for the summer and gets hired by the visiting prince to oversee the purchase and handling of two of the Meg pups. However, David is a great sub pilot and he is actually being recruited to train and eventually man the sub and take on the dangerous job of luring these beasts from the hidden sea into cargo nets for the prince. The prince is opening an aquarium filled with the worlds most dangerous predators.
This takes the stagnation out of the series that the first 2 sequels brought. With David being older and having a love interest and his role in the Persian Gulf and the Prince and the Hells Aquarium plot, this felt like a nice breath of fresh air.
May 27, 2015
After the last four books I read by Alten (RESURRECTION, PHOBOS, GRIM REAPER:END OF DAYS, and THE SHELL GAME) all turned out to be colossal duds, I was starting to think Alten didn't have any more good books left in him. But, with MEG 4: HELL'S AQUARIUM, I'm happy to say that the prodigal son has returned.
MEG 4 is a sharksploitation novel that fires on all cylinders. The key word being "sharksploitation." Certainly, MEG 4 is no one's idea of high art, but it does do a great job of delivering all the grisly good fun one could reasonably expect from part 4 of a prehistoric shark saga. In other words, it may not be on par with JAWS, but it sure beats the hell out of any of the JAWS sequels--not to mention 99% of all those JAWS-wannabe knockoffs.
One thing I especially like about MEG 4 is that it doesn't have any cliched scenes where the shark gobbles up horny teenagers out for a midnight swim. The book is far more clever than that. On the other hand, the plot of MEG 4 is, by necessity, highly contrived in order to sustain the carnage over its 400-page length. The characters don't seem to learn anything from their past mistakes, and they refuse to do the one smart thing guaranteed to prevent future deaths: namely, kill the Megs at the first opportunity and have done with 'em. Instead, they choose to do things like perform brain surgery on the Megs and transport them by airplane to Dubai. Hmmmmmm......what could possibly go wrong there?
People looking for a totally rational plot will be disappointed. People looking for lyrical prose will also be disappointed (Alten's writing is often stilted and overly-technical). But people looking for a match-up between a prehistoric shark and a plesiosaur should be quite satisfied.
MEG 4 is a sharksploitation novel that fires on all cylinders. The key word being "sharksploitation." Certainly, MEG 4 is no one's idea of high art, but it does do a great job of delivering all the grisly good fun one could reasonably expect from part 4 of a prehistoric shark saga. In other words, it may not be on par with JAWS, but it sure beats the hell out of any of the JAWS sequels--not to mention 99% of all those JAWS-wannabe knockoffs.
One thing I especially like about MEG 4 is that it doesn't have any cliched scenes where the shark gobbles up horny teenagers out for a midnight swim. The book is far more clever than that. On the other hand, the plot of MEG 4 is, by necessity, highly contrived in order to sustain the carnage over its 400-page length. The characters don't seem to learn anything from their past mistakes, and they refuse to do the one smart thing guaranteed to prevent future deaths: namely, kill the Megs at the first opportunity and have done with 'em. Instead, they choose to do things like perform brain surgery on the Megs and transport them by airplane to Dubai. Hmmmmmm......what could possibly go wrong there?
People looking for a totally rational plot will be disappointed. People looking for lyrical prose will also be disappointed (Alten's writing is often stilted and overly-technical). But people looking for a match-up between a prehistoric shark and a plesiosaur should be quite satisfied.
December 4, 2017
So this is my second attempt at reading MEG: HA. I first tried 10 years ago but lost interest after the story started to get beyond silly.
After finishing Vostok however I decided to try again and unfortunately, it did warm on me. The problem is, the story seems to of been written for the pay cheque rather than for the actual story. The premise alone is hard to swallow, a hidden sea infested with very ancient predators, ruled by leoplordens (that are far more enormous than the fossilized remains due to hunting megalodon). Ummm ... yea, looney land next stop. Also, how come EVERYTHING goes wrong? And i mean everything! It's just so hard to believe.
But for me the worst thing of all is, where is the justice? The arab whos constantly blackmailing people to do what he wants, but when things go wrong he black mails others to do as he wants or he'll leave them to die. The greedy protests. The drill sargent with an axe to grind. The book has more than it's fair share of human villians, but only the spy in the lagoon swims with the fishs. Yet so many innocent people die in their place, the people you want to survive.
I suppose it's a ploy of ensuring people read the sequel, but i'm afraid it only ruins a good story for me.
After finishing Vostok however I decided to try again and unfortunately, it did warm on me. The problem is, the story seems to of been written for the pay cheque rather than for the actual story. The premise alone is hard to swallow, a hidden sea infested with very ancient predators, ruled by leoplordens (that are far more enormous than the fossilized remains due to hunting megalodon). Ummm ... yea, looney land next stop. Also, how come EVERYTHING goes wrong? And i mean everything! It's just so hard to believe.
But for me the worst thing of all is, where is the justice? The arab whos constantly blackmailing people to do what he wants, but when things go wrong he black mails others to do as he wants or he'll leave them to die. The greedy protests. The drill sargent with an axe to grind. The book has more than it's fair share of human villians, but only the spy in the lagoon swims with the fishs. Yet so many innocent people die in their place, the people you want to survive.
I suppose it's a ploy of ensuring people read the sequel, but i'm afraid it only ruins a good story for me.
September 9, 2017
In the fourth installment of Steve Alten's best-selling "Meg" series, it's a killer attraction at the Jonas Taylor family-run amusement park showcasing the most colossal and deadly undersea predators known to man.
Here, Mega Shark Angel has spawned a litter of two baby Megs Bella and Lizzy and a radical PETA group is hell bent on stirring up trouble for the Taylor family. However, it isn't just intruders that Jonas is worried about. His son has been hired by a wealthy Dubai Prince to hunt down and capture malevolent creatures in the same foreboding waters his father once struggled for survival to stock an aquarium with beasts not seen since the Jurassic.
This book shared a lot of unique similarities with Jaws and Jurassic Park. I was very impressed with the story line and the intriguing true-to-life characters. Well worth the time to read. Looking forward to seeing how the "Meg" movie is going to do at the box office next summer!
Here, Mega Shark Angel has spawned a litter of two baby Megs Bella and Lizzy and a radical PETA group is hell bent on stirring up trouble for the Taylor family. However, it isn't just intruders that Jonas is worried about. His son has been hired by a wealthy Dubai Prince to hunt down and capture malevolent creatures in the same foreboding waters his father once struggled for survival to stock an aquarium with beasts not seen since the Jurassic.
This book shared a lot of unique similarities with Jaws and Jurassic Park. I was very impressed with the story line and the intriguing true-to-life characters. Well worth the time to read. Looking forward to seeing how the "Meg" movie is going to do at the box office next summer!
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