Jonas Taylor, a paleontologist comes face to face with one of the ocean's most powerful predators, the megalodon and attempts to prevent it from sending humanity to the bottom of the food chain. In 1956, Jonas Taylor, a deep sea diver and marine biologist 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 which ruled the seas when the dinosaurs were roaming the earth. A top predator that could grow 65 feet in length, this super shark was the top of the food chain for many years.
Click here to see the rest of this review...
While down on the dive, Jonas watches in horror as a megalodon surfaces from the depths and attacks a colleagues submarine and kills him. Jonas surfaces as fast as he can, and escapes, unfortunately the Navy does not believe his claims, labeling him a mad man and ruining his career. Years later, Jonas continues to prove that what he saw was real. He is approached by a friend, Masao Tanaka, who lost a remote submarine in the Mariana Trench and hopes to retrieve it. Seeing this as an opportunity to prove his theory of megalodons still existing, Jonas agrees.
When they arrive at the Mariana Trench, Jonas dives in a small sub along with Tanaka's son in another submarine. Out of nowhere, a male megalodon rises from the depths. Jonas tries to distract the creature, but to no avail and the megalodon kills Tanaka's son in a brutal burst of blood and flesh. Jonas watches in horror as the megalodon is trapped in the steel cables connecting the Tanaka's son's sub to the ship. As the megalodon is pulled to the surface, Jonas watches another megalodon, a female and much bigger, rise out of the trench. She attacks the male and feeds on him as he is pulled to the surface, the heated blood protecting her from the cold waters until she reaches the surface.
Jonas and Tanaka are worried about this development as it is the first time a megalodon has been in the ocean's ecosystem for thousands of years, and who knows what imbalance it may create. Meanwhile, Jonas also has other issues with his wife, Maggie, a ruthless news reporter who he is currently separated from, though unknown to him she is having an affair with her camera man. As Jonas and Tanaka try to track down the megalodon, the female surfaces off the coast of San Diego and kills several surfers. She also attacks and destroys a helicopter that is tracking her at night, as she is easily spotted due to the fact she glows white—a side effect from living in the deep waters of the trenches.
Jonas and Tanaka also come to the horrific realization that the female megalodon is pregnant, and realize they must capture her before she gives birth or risk completely disrupting the food chain. Maggie seizes this opportunity to sky rocket her career and decides to film the entire capture. Of course, this capture goes completely wrong with the megalodon breaking free and eating Maggie who was filming from within a shark cage.
With time running out, Tanaka and Jonas manage to track down the female as she gives birth. Jonas uses a submersible to kill the female by driving the sub down her throat, then with a knife, slicing through her body and stabbing her in the heart. Jonas manages to escape the megalodon's corpse just as it begins to sink. Tanaka and Jonas are able to capture the baby megalodon before it swims off, and are excited about the opportunity to study this creature in the flesh.
Best part of story, including ending:
I absolutely loved the throwback to JAWS in this story as an ordinary man tries to overcome a predator of the sea. The book reads at a breakneck speed and the action sequences are completely riveting.
Best scene in story:
I loved when Maggie is killed due to her own arrogance and how she dies a slow death as the megalodon clamps down on her and drags her deep below the surface. It was a moment of justice for Jonas as well as the perfect end to such a foul woman.
Opinion about the main character:
Jonas is driven yet stupid. I find that his actions are very cliche and he continues to make stupid mistakes. The idea of capturing the creature is completely idiotic and one you know is destined to fail from the get go.
A man must prove the existence of the extinct creatures named Megalodons, and he must go on a mission into the abyss to find them. Jonas Taylor is a US Navy soldier. While on a mission, he sees an extinct animal named a Megalodon. The Megalodon kills everyone but Jonas escapes. Nobody believes Jonas when he says that he saw a Megalodon. Jonas decides to become a scientist so he can show that Megalodons are real.
Jonas returns on another mission to the same place where saw Megalodon. This time, he takes his friend Masao Tanaka and Tanaka's son with him. They spot a Megalodon again in the same place.
The Megalodons migrated to a place called the Mariana Trench because water in Mariana is warm. When water is cold, the Megalodons cannot survive. For this reason, they live in the warm waters of the Mariana Trench.
Jonas and his crew get attacked by a Megalodon. The Megalodons strikes and kills Tanaka's son. Jonas and Tanaka swims away and witness a giant battle go on between the sharks and the Megalodons.
After the Megalodon attacks Tanaka's son, it gets trapped in the ropes on the submarine. This attracts a shark to come up from the bottom to attack the Megalodon. Before the shark can attack, a girl Megalodon appears and kills the shark. Then, the girl Megalodon untangles the trapped Megalodon. The two Megalodons then leave the Mariana Trench and head for the ocean because they found warm water in the ocean.
Jonas and Tanaka decide to make one last attempt to get proof of the Megalodon. Jonas captures the mother Megalodon and slashes it's heart. In the end, Jonas retrieves an egg of the Megalodon to prove that they are still alive.
Best part of story, including ending:
What I liked about this story was the mysterious existence of the Megalodons. Their description was very intense and suspenseful to the point that they felt real.
Best scene in story:
My favorite part was when Jonas kills the mother Megalodon. He finally got the egg of the Megalodon so he can prove that they still exist in the world.
Opinion about the main character:
What I liked about Jonas was that he had an incredible drive to prove the existence of the Megalodons. Even though no one believed him, he still went out looking for them.
