Mega

This was included on audible, so I have it a go. If you can’t tell in recent years, I’m definitely on an ocean/shark journey (Jaws, all of the Meg series, Megalodon: Bloodbath).

This was a bit confusing honestly. Where almost all of those I named above feature something other than just sharks, be it the mafia, rich overlords, drug cartels, competitor countries, and more, this novel felt almost entirely about something else. It begins with a focus on Somali pirates, where someone is hired to create a group of people that can rescue hostages. While the first mysterious siting of the beast happens here, it is then gone for such a huge portion of the story as to be forgotten.

The shark, the meg, is a clone, as of course the original species is long extinct, and while each of these books tend to search for a reason why there’s a killer beast on the loose (especially the extinct prehistoric kind) this one spent so long in getting to the point that it kind of erases the threat.

The end itself does have some of the desired killer shark energy I was so invested for, so at least I got that. It is however, kind of outlandish (even for a megalodon) in a kind of almost ‘original idea for Jurassic Park 4 plot’ way—think militarized dinosaurs…

Although it mostly lacked what I was looking for, it does have some strong characters, as well as character development, within the crew of navy seals, and it was fast paced enough to enjoy.