I read this book in anticipation of seeing the movie as I was concerned about spoilers but I needn’t have worried. The movie is so LOOSELY based on this book that it almost seemed like 2 different stories. However, that said, the book was a good read. It was fun and campy – just as you’d expect of this type of book….the movie was bad.
Steve Alten did a great job of creating a situation where this just might be possible. The Megalodon is a type of shark that has survived since the Jurassic period – unseen and unaffected by man – and therefore thought to be extinct. Today’s Megalodon lives in the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean and generally, inaccessible by humans due to the distance and water pressure. However, due to a series of actions by manned submersibles, the Megalodon is able to leave its dark, cold and inhospitable home to explore the warmer and more inviting ocean above.
Jonas Taylor was once a well-respected naval officer who was the best at navigating submersibles. Due to a freak accident, he was discharged from the Navy with a Less than Honorable Discharge. The accident occurred when Taylor was deep in the ocean off the Mariana Trench and thought he saw a large shark coming at his watercraft. In an evasive maneuver, he rose too quickly to the surface resulting in the death of his two crewmembers (and best friends) and put himself in the hospital for a month followed by therapy. Following that incident, the Megalodon became Taylor’s obsession. He studied ways in which this creature could have survived all these years and wrote books, lectured at university and generally became known as a crackpot.
Then, an old friend comes to Taylor with a request. He needs someone to pilot a submersible into the trench to salvage equipment. Taylor initially refuses but when the situation is explained and he sees a way to help his friend while overcoming his PTSD, he finally agrees. Thus begins a tale of terror and suspense.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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