Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror

***Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror*** is a science-fiction horror novel by Steve Alten, and was first published in July 1997. The novel, along with its sequels, follows the underwater adventures of a Navy deep-sea diver-turned-paleontologist named Jonas Taylor. In 2018, a film adaptation titled *The Meg*, was released. The rewritten version, for which the summary is posted here, elaborates and fixes many errors from the original variant.

## Plot Summary

In the novel's prologue, taking place during the Late Cretaceous Period, a *Tyrannosaurus rex* stumbles into the ocean while pursuing a herd of *Shantungosaurus*, and is promptly attacked and devoured by a *megalodon*(revealed as a slideshow by Jonas Taylor, a paleontologist and marine biologist, who is giving a lecture on the shark).

In 1997, Jonas Taylor is working deep in the Mariana Trench with the United States Navy. His mission is top secret, and involves confirming the existence of an extinct species of shark known as the megalodon, a massive predator that could grow 20 meters (65 feet) in length.

While on the dive, Jonas watches in horror as a megalodon rises from the depths, Jonas surfaces as fast as he can and escapes, at the cost of his two crew members' deaths; unfortunately, the Navy does not believe his claims, labeling him a madman and ruining his career. Years later, Jonas continues to try and prove that what he saw was real. During the lecture on his theory that Megalodon may still exist in the deep sea, he is questioned by Terry Tanaka, daughter of his friend, Masao Tanaka, a marine biologist. Jonas also has issues with his estranged wife, Maggie, a ruthless news reporter from whom he is currently separated.

After leaving the lecture hall, Jonas attends an awards ceremony with his friend, Bud Harris, a billionaire tycoon, and with Maggie. During the ceremony, Jonas gets drunk and discovers Maggie and Bud are having an affair, leading him to punch Bud and leave. He is approached again by Terry, who tells Jonas her father lost a remote submarine called a UNIS in the Mariana Trench and hopes to retrieve it with his helo. Seeing this as an opportunity to prove his theory that the megalodon still exists after seeing the damage to the device in photographs showing the shark is responsible for the remote sub's disappearance, Jonas agrees.

After flying to the Tanaka Institute, Jonas is reunited with Masao Tanaka. Upon flying out to the Marianna Islands with Masao and Terry, Jonas also is reunited with old friend James "Mac" Macreides, and is also introduced to Alphonse DeMarco and DJ tanaka, Terry's brother. Jonas also is less than pleased to find out his old Navy medic, Frank Heller, is also present, and still holds him responsible for the death of his submarine crew.

When they arrive at the Trench, Jonas and Tanaka's son DJ dive to retrieve the UNIS robot in small submersibles called Abyssal Gliders. While attempting to retrieve the device, out of nowhere, an albino male megalodon rises from the depths. Jonas tries to distract the creature by flashing his lights to scare it off, but to no avail, and the shark kills DJ as he tries to escape. Jonas watches in horror as the megalodon is trapped in the steel cables connecting Tanaka's son's sub to the ship as Jonas uses his escape pod to surface. As the megalodon is pulled to the surface, Jonas watches a second megalodon, a much larger female, rise out of the Trench. She attacks the male and feeds on him as he is pulled to the surface, his heated blood protecting her from the cold water layer that has previously kept the now-white, bioluminescent *megalodons* from entering the wider ocean.

Above, the Tanakas are horror-struck upon seeing the dead megalodon and what remains of DJ. After surfacing, Jonas is rescued and sent to a hospital in Guam, while the world sees firsthand that megalodon still exists, thanks to the male shark's corpse. Maggie flies out to the hospital, hoping to follow the story, and Jonas, after recuperating, investigates signs that the female megalodon might be attacking whales nearby. Hiring an islander to take them out, Jonas and Mac investigate a whale carcass, only for the female megalodon to attack their boat and eat its owner while they escape. They quickly report back to Tanaka and Heller, the latter of whom is initially disbelieving until Jonas presents the shark's tooth as proof.Jonas and Tanaka also come to the realization that the female megalodon is pregnant, and are determined to capture her before she gives birth or risk completely disrupting the food chain.

Jonas and Tanaka are worried about the imbalance in the ocean's ecosystem that might result from the re-introduction of a *megalodon* after an absence of millions of years, while Heller and his superior, Richard Danielson, suggest killing the shark to prevent it from hunting people. Maggie and Jonas agree to divorce amicably after reuniting, with Maggie suggesting he try being with Terry. As Jonas and Masao try to track down the megalodon, the female kills many whales before she surfaces off the coast of Hawaii. During the hunt, the shark attacks the helicopter, causing them to lose track of her. When the shark arrives in Maui, she also devours several surfers.

Danielson attempts to hunt the shark with the Nautilus, a decommissioned US submarine, but fails when he tries to stop it from killing a group of whalers. The megalodon destroys the sub, though Danielson escapes. Frank Heller however, is driven over the edge when the shark devours his brother, who was on board. He then vows to kill the shark in revenge, with Danielson following suit. Maggie also, while divorcing Jonas, comes to the realization that the shark is returning to California to give birth in its ancestral pupping grounds. She hatches a plan to film the shark and skyrocket her career, while Jonas struggles to come to grips with his feelings for Terry, fearing he'll end up dead from hunting the shark before he can pursue a relationship with her.

After entering the Monterey Canyons, the megalodon gives birth to three pups and devours the male pup as her two female offspring escape. Maggie seizes the opportunity to skyrocket her career, and decides to film the female from within a translucent shark cage. After using a dead whale as bait, Maggie manages to film the *megalodon*. However, the shark's attention quickly turns to Maggie and she is attacked and devoured as she attempts to escape, despite the best efforts of Jonas and Mac in trying to rescue her.

In the aftermath of Maggie's death, Bud is approached by Heller and Danielson, who ask him to help kill the shark. Bud agrees, hoping for closure. Jonas tries to reconcile with Terry, and admits he loves her, but she remains cold towards him. After a much-needed talk from Masao, Jonas agrees to help capture the megalodon and put her in captivity.

With time running out, Tanaka and Jonas manage to track down the female *megalodon*, and she is successfully tranquilized. As she is transported back to Tanaka's research facility, the shark wakes up and breaks free when Bud, Danielson and Heller try to kill it with a homemade depth charge. As a result, the shark rampages and destroys several boats as well as devouring many people, including Danielson. Bud kills himself when he believes the shark will eat him.

Jonas uses a submersible to kill the female by driving the vehicle down her throat, then igniting the submersible's fuel to kill the shark. Jonas manages to escape the *megalodon's* corpse as it begins to sink. Tanaka and Jonas are able to capture one of the juvenile *megalodon* when it appears. As he is taken to a hospital to be treated for decompression sickness from his fight with the adult shark, Taylor tells Terry that he loves her, to which she reciprocates his feelings, and thinks about his and Masao's capture of the baby megalodon, and are excited about the opportunity to study this believed-extinct creature in the flesh.

## Sequels

The novel spawned a series of seven subsequent sequels:

* *The Trench*
* *MEG: Primal Waters*
* *MEG: Hell's Aquarium*
* *MEG: Origins*
* *MEG: Night Stalkers*
* *MEG: Generations*
* *MEG: Purgatory (announced at the end of MEG: Generations)*

## Film Adaptation

Main article: The Meg

A film based on the novel had 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 eventually reverted to Alten, but the film remained in development hell.

In 2011, Alten made a comment on his sparsely updated website. Along with the announcement that he would be releasing a prequel novella called *MEG: Origins*, Alten indicated that he was holding back the release of his next entry in the series *MEG: Night Stalkers* to time with the release of the film. On January 2, 2015, Alten appeared on *Coast to Coast AM* radio with George Noory and said that a film based on *MEG* was back on track.

On June 16, 2015, Eli Roth was announced to direct the film adaptation. He left the project due to creative differences. On March 3, 2016, ComingSoon.net reported that director Jon Turteltaub (*National Treasure*) has since been in talks to helm the movie adaptation of Steve Alten's *MEG*.

On April 14, 2016, various media outlets reported that action star Jason Statham would be taking the lead role of Jonas Taylor in the upcoming film. In July 2016, Jessica McNamee and Ruby Rose also joined the cast of the film.

The film was initially due to be released on March 2, 2018, but the release date was ultimately pushed back to August 10, 2018.

## Trivia

* In the novel, the megalodon is nocturnal as a result of living a great depths.
* The shark in the novel eats her own pups. In reality, sharks stop eating a few weeks before they give birth so as not to eat their own pups.
* The megalodon in the novel is highly aggressive and eats nearly constantly as a result of having such a high metabolism.
* Maggie Taylor's name is changed to Lori Taylor in the film adaptation of the book. Unlike her novel counterpart, Lori Taylor survives and is not eaten by the shark.
* Megalodon did not live at the same time as Tyrannosaurus rex. The graphic novel and the current rewritten version elaborate on this, saying it was part of a slideshow for Jonas' presentation.