Its appetite is ravenous. Its teeth scalpel-sharp. Its power unstoppable as it smashes the steel doors holding it in a Monterey, California aquarium. The captive twenty-ton Megalodon shark has tasted human blood, and it wants more.

On the other side of the world, in the silent depths of the ocean, lies the Mariana Trench, where the Megalodon has spawned since the dawn of time. Paleo-biologist Jonas Taylor once dared to enter this perilous cavern. He alone faced the monster and cut its heart out; and he wears the painful scars of that deadly encounter. Now, as the body count rises and the horror of the Meg's attack grips the California coast, Jonas must begin the hunt again.

But to do that means returning to the dark terror of the trench . . . where the Meg is waiting. Using himself as bait, Jonas will enter the ultimate battle - a fight to the death between man and beast in the darkest recesses of the ocean . . . and a fight for his sanity from the depths of his own tormented soul.

THE TRENCH is pure formula. A Godzilla with a dorsal fin is menacing the North Pacific looking for its next meal. The hero is out to save humanity from this terror. And an evil scientist is holding a damsel in distress captive under seven miles of ocean. If reader Bruce Reizen were at the very top of his game, he could do little to improve THE TRENCH. But Reizen is spotty at best. Dialogue and characterizations are strong, but narrative sections lack conviction and assurance. All in all THE TRENCH might make a credible abridgment. T.J.M. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine

 

Steve Alten is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Meg. A native of Philadelphia, he now lives in South Florida with his wife and children.

The Trench by Steve Alten
Continue Browsing		View Wish List