Meg: Primal Waters

A quick mostly fun monster story. I recall that when this came out, the movie rights were bought before the book was even published. The movie finally comes out this year and I look forward to it.

I was annoyed about a couple of technical mistakes ( radar doesn't work underwater and submarines/submersibles don't have to decompress when they surface). But it focused mostly on the plot and action, which I appreciate.

Gave this a go when I saw that all except for 2 are currently included with audible. Just in time to head into October spooky reads, and I love some scifi shark horror. 
For starters, I was surprised by just how hard science the scifi is presented as. The author's love for Jaws meshed with his reading about megalodon and the Mariana Trench into this fast paced, full-of-teeth ride. Some of the information is a bit dated now based off some of the newer things we've learned about the trench, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment of this. The entire novel is kind of posed as this conspiracy theorist-esque take on if the megalodon had not actually gone extinct. And honestly, it's hard to tell where that obsession ends and the novel writing begins. The information within is presented from scientists, and the author spared no expense in making sure it sounded like it. The equipment being used, the shape, size, build of the sharks, even down to tiny details like how big a megalodon's nostrils would be. 
I will say the author does jump right to the very max that scientists believe the Meg could grow to, only stating that the females were larger than males. As if the significantly younger ones at the sizes of 20, 30, 40, or even 50 feet wouldn't be absolutely terrifying as well. 
The main character of Jonas is interesting, but it was kind of hard to see where the hothead military guy ended and the paleontologist began. Personally makes total sense they cut out that last part for the movie, because literally no one would believe that of Jason Statham. Absolutely gutted though that “It's a megalodon” from the movie isn't directly from the novel.  

Also the Meg was not nearly as closely related to the great white shark as the author repeatedly states (although to be fair, it was previously thought to be). 
Personally a 4/5*, still an intensely bloody story, but it was presented as much more solid than I expected. 

Cons:

- The characters are quite wooden, with their development either rushed, or done “off screen”.

- Some parts of the story are too shallow/glossed over, and others way too detailed; as such, the reading can be stilted, and jarring.

Pros:

- Absolutely wicked fun.

- Overall a good story, with some great action.

- The writing is somewhat simplistic, it's easy to get into the groove and visualise, and so it can be a real page turner.

I enjoyed it, and will likely read it again someday. I'm keen for the sequels.

This was exactly as promised, a greatly written entertaining story that kept me interested throughout. It's easy to dismiss a book about a “monster shark” as ridiculous, but I found it to be as good as Jaws (where I'm in a minority that prefers the book over the movie). Of course, there are some less than believable scenes in this book, but that's to be expected. The audiobook is ~8.5 hours, pleasantly narrated by the author.