- Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror
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Meg: A Novel of deep terror 
The cover of Meg.Author(s) Steve Alten Country United States Language English Series Meg Genre(s) Science fiction/Horror Publisher Bantam Books Publication date July 1997 Media type Print(Paper and hardback) Pages 337 pp (Paperback) ISBN ISBN 0-9761659-1-0 (Paperback) OCLC Number 64574002 LC Classification CPB Box no. 2426 vol. 1 Followed by The Trench Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror is a science fiction novel by Steve Alten, and was first published in July 1997. The novel, along with its sequels, follows the under water adventures of a U.S Navy deep sea diver, Jonas Taylor.
Contents
Plot summary
Jonas Taylor (1956-) is a deep sea diver working for the United States Navy on a top-secret dive in the Mariana Trench. He sees a megalodon, the "Meg" of the title, a massive ancient predator that is believed to be extinct. Because he is the only survivor he is disbelieved. He becomes a paleontologist and tries to prove that the megalodon is real, but is still considered a crackpot.
An old friend, Masao Tanaka, asks him to go back and help recover a UNIS (Unmanned Nautical Informational Submersible), which helps predict earthquakes, from the Mariana Trench. Again, they encounter a megalodon in the depths: the species has indeed survived, but is trapped in the Mariana Trench due to the 'cold water barrier' (the bottom of the Trench is heated by geothermal ducts, keeping the water warm, but that warmth has limited range and the far colder water above it keeps the sharks trapped there as the cold water would apparently have highly negative effects on the giant sharks unless traversed properly). A male megalodon attacks them and kills Tanaka's son before being entangled in the metal ropes connecting the submarine to the ship, which start dragging the shark up. However, the male shark's vulnerable state prompts an even larger female megalodon to emerge and attack it, and as the female rips it apart, she is bathed in the shark's warm blood as she follows the entangled male upwards, the warm flood of liquid keeping the female protected from the cold water long enough for it to reach the warmer surface waters of the ocean, hence unleashing the megalodon anew on the ocean's ecosystem.
It doesn't take long for the shark to pick up where it left off after it reaches the surface, as it starts killing and eating whales, and sometimes people, including Jonas's estranged wife, Maggie. To make matters worse, the female is pregnant and gives birth. Both are tracked, as Taylor and Tanaka wish to capture the creature. They manage to get the mother, but it breaks free and starts attacking boats in the area where it was captured. Taylor manages to kill the mother in the carnage by ramming a submersible down its throat, slicing his way through its inner body, and eventually cutting through its heart before escaping. Jonas also manages to capture the offspring of the meg, ending the novel.
Sequels
The novel spawned a series with the following sequels:
- The Trench
- Meg: Primal Waters
- Meg: Hell's Aquarium
- Meg: Night Stalkers
Film
A film based on the novel has been mired in development hell since 1997. At one point, reports surfaced that the film was slated for a 2008 release date and was to be made by New Line Cinema which had recently bought the rights from Alten. Names that were attached to the project included Jan De Bont and Guillermo Del Toro. However, in July 2007, New Line cancelled the production. Steve Alten had said that once his relationship with New Line was finally over, he would be taking the property elsewhere. The rights have indeed reverted back to Alten, but the film has remained in development hell.[1][2]Fall of 2011 Apelles Entertainment has adapted the novel, with a projected budget between $75 and $100 Million for the film.[3] The film is now planned for pre-production summer of 2012 and a 2014 summer release. As of November 2011, it is rumored that the producer of MEG, Belle Avery, is currently meeting with different film directors and is working to produce MEG with a Chinese production company, she sees the film as "Jaws meets Jurassic Park" with a PG-13 rating. She is working with Scan Line for the vfx and has also brought on board legendary veteran academy award winning producer.
Taglines
- The most feared predator in history...is no longer history.
- Say hello to the great-grandmother of Jaws...Now say goodbye.
- If you see her coming, her name is all you'll have time to say.
- She's the terror that time forgot...but you never will.
References
- ^ MEG Coming in 2008?, http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_10901.html
- ^ "'Meg' remains trapped in the depths", Welkos, Robert W., for The Los Angeles Times, 13 April 2008, http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/13/entertainment/ca-newline13, retrieved 21 July 2009
- ^ [1]
External links
- MEG novel homepage
- Steve Alten On The Meg Movie
- Belle Avery Talks the Long-delayed 'Meg'!
- [2] Meg film page at IMDB
Novels by Steve Alten Megalodon series Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror (1997) • The Trench (1999) • Meg: Primal Waters (2004) • Meg: Hell's Aquarium (2009)Domain Trilogy Domain (2001) • Resurrection (2004)Other Categories:- 1997 novels
- Fictional sharks
- Meg series
- Novels by Steve Alten
- American science fiction novels
- Novels set in Oceania
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