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leviathan_01's review against another edition
1.0
"...An Instand Classic!"
That's what Washington Daily News wrote about this book.
This made me question if the guy(s) who reviewed the book had actually read it, or judged about its content by its cover... Because this book is certainly not good!
The plot is hardly believable. A prince from Dubai has discovered an ocean just beneath the Earth's crust, inhabited by prehistoric and fearsome lifeforms. The Arabs have already built a specialized aquarium to hold the creatures and that's why they need Jonas Tailor's help. Meanwhile, J.T. is having his own problems trying to control his 100 ton shark. I'm not gonna reveal the rest of the story but you can pretty much guess what follows.
The science and the biology of the creatures presented in the novel were both ridiculous. If you want to read more about them(and the plot, too) read the spoiler below. If you don't want to spoil the 'surpise', then go buy the book and have a good laugh with all the crazy and stupid stuff written in it.
The thing that bothered and irritated me at the same time were the prehistoric creatures that made an appearance in the novel. First of all there were trilobites and sea scorpions. Their existance in that ancient sea bothered me, as the "geological anomaly", as the prehistoric sea was refered at one point, had formed 200 million years before the appearance of Megalodon, which means(in case you haven't already realised)it formed in the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic period. So, how could such arthropods exist there if they had all been wiped out during the Permian-Triassic extinction(252.28 mya)? Anyways, lets forget about the trilobites and sea scorpions 'cause the biggest problems start here. The book is literally filled with all kinds of marine reptiles(nothosaurs, mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs and giant turtles), all with one very, very unusual characteristic: gills. Yes, that's right, GILLS. Not only dozens of species of prehistoric marine reptiles had survived but, according to Alten's imagination, no major evolutionary adaptations had occured to their body structures(save for the gills). They were essentially the same creatures that, according to natural history books, had been wiped out of the face of the Earth more than 65 million years ago. Not only Alten had allowed dozens of ancient species to escape extinction but had also given them the ability to breath underwater. Not only is this anatomicaly inaccurate, it's also something outrageous about someone who cares about things related to paleobiology, like me. Oh, I almost forgot, there are also other prehistoric fishes in addition to the Megalodons. There is not much to say about them except for the fact that they all appear unchanged after so many millions of years.
All these errors(mentioned in the spoiler) as well as many others, with the addition of, the author's obvious lack of knowledge about prehistoric marine life and evolution and a stupid ending compose an unoriginal, scientifically inaccurate and predictable story.
Despite this book being so terrible, I am looking forward to reading the next installment in the series, "MEG: Night Stalkers", just because I am curious to see how the story will develop.
That's what Washington Daily News wrote about this book.
This made me question if the guy(s) who reviewed the book had actually read it, or judged about its content by its cover... Because this book is certainly not good!
The plot is hardly believable. A prince from Dubai has discovered an ocean just beneath the Earth's crust, inhabited by prehistoric and fearsome lifeforms. The Arabs have already built a specialized aquarium to hold the creatures and that's why they need Jonas Tailor's help. Meanwhile, J.T. is having his own problems trying to control his 100 ton shark. I'm not gonna reveal the rest of the story but you can pretty much guess what follows.
The science and the biology of the creatures presented in the novel were both ridiculous. If you want to read more about them(and the plot, too) read the spoiler below. If you don't want to spoil the 'surpise', then go buy the book and have a good laugh with all the crazy and stupid stuff written in it.
Spoiler
As I already mentioned above, there is an ocean beneath the Earth's crust filled with prehistoric beasts. Alright, I'll buy that, as it sounds rather logical to me. I mean, its something like an underground lake filled with hydrothermal vents(so life could not just exist but actually thrive there).The thing that bothered and irritated me at the same time were the prehistoric creatures that made an appearance in the novel. First of all there were trilobites and sea scorpions. Their existance in that ancient sea bothered me, as the "geological anomaly", as the prehistoric sea was refered at one point, had formed 200 million years before the appearance of Megalodon, which means(in case you haven't already realised)it formed in the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic period. So, how could such arthropods exist there if they had all been wiped out during the Permian-Triassic extinction(252.28 mya)? Anyways, lets forget about the trilobites and sea scorpions 'cause the biggest problems start here. The book is literally filled with all kinds of marine reptiles(nothosaurs, mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs and giant turtles), all with one very, very unusual characteristic: gills. Yes, that's right, GILLS. Not only dozens of species of prehistoric marine reptiles had survived but, according to Alten's imagination, no major evolutionary adaptations had occured to their body structures(save for the gills). They were essentially the same creatures that, according to natural history books, had been wiped out of the face of the Earth more than 65 million years ago. Not only Alten had allowed dozens of ancient species to escape extinction but had also given them the ability to breath underwater. Not only is this anatomicaly inaccurate, it's also something outrageous about someone who cares about things related to paleobiology, like me. Oh, I almost forgot, there are also other prehistoric fishes in addition to the Megalodons. There is not much to say about them except for the fact that they all appear unchanged after so many millions of years.
All these errors(mentioned in the spoiler) as well as many others, with the addition of
Spoiler
a 100 foot Liopleurodon(that also breathes underwater)Despite this book being so terrible, I am looking forward to reading the next installment in the series, "MEG: Night Stalkers", just because I am curious to see how the story will develop.
tkirby's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
kittycat2302's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
nerdisauruswrex's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nattly's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sarcastic_cat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
djshire's review against another edition
5.0
There’s no way I am not giving this book five stars. It has everything. Suspense. Adventure. Peril. Tragedy. Scenic locations. Gigantic creatures. Even a bit of romance (whatever, but it drives the story). Couldn’t put it down.
maube1017's review against another edition
I was really loving this series and could forgive minor continuity issues but this one took the cake for inconsistency and my interest depleted quickly. Maybe one day I'll be able to continue the series.
lmmountford's review
3.0
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.