Bond Girl meets Monster Shark on the 35th anniversary of JAWS
She was the most formidable creature that ever lived, a 70-foot,100,000 pound Great White shark with a mouth filled with seven-inch teeth. Thirty-five years after Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster kept audiences out of the water, the prehistoric cousin to JAWS returns this summer in NY Times best-selling author Steve Alten’s MEG: Hell’s Aquarium (Tor/Forge), the latest installment in his series about Carcharodon Megalodon (MEG for short). And MEG is not the only monster to resurface; in Hell’s Aquarium we’re introduced to some of the most terrifying sea creatures of all time, all occupying a lost sea located seven miles below the surface, hidden beneath the Philippine Sea Plate.
There are other surprises in the storyline, including a cameo appearance by real-life former Bond girl and Playboy Playmate, Lana Wood.
Alten, who read JAWS when he was a teen and soon after began “devouring” every shark attack story he could find, was in the middle of writing MEG: Hell’s Aquarium when he received an e-mail from Lana. “She said she was a huge MEG fan and asked me if I would write her into the book as a character. All of my characters are real fans who enter contests to become immortalized in the pages. Lana wanted something a bit wilder. Being a huge James Bond fan, how could I say no?”
The author called Lana, who played Plenty O’Toole in Diamonds Are Forever and the two became fast friends. Alten describes her terrifying scene in MEG: Hell’s Aquarium as a bit “juicy.” “After I wrote it, I e-mailed her the chapter, afraid of what she might think. Turns out she loved it.” Months later, Alten flew Lana and her grandson, another big shark fan (also a character in the book) to pose for publicity shots in the largest set of Megalodon jaws in the world.
Thirty-five summers after JAWS terrorized moviegoers, MEG: Hell’s Aquarium is rising up the New York Times best seller list. With a new MEG script, top producers, and $150 million in financing, Alten is hoping to hear good news soon about his own monster shark franchise. After being inspired by reading JAWS as a teen, Steve Alten is passing the baton to tens of thousands of teens across the U.S. MEG: Hell’s Aquarium is part of Adopt-An-Author, a nationwide secondary school (free) reading program that gets even the most reluctant teen to read. And the MEG novels are a big reason why.
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TIP SHEET:
Steve Donoghue Open Letters: Arts & Literature Review: “The Moby Dick of giant killer shark novels.”
Andrew Tallackson, Entertainment Editor, The News-Dispatch: “A knockout. Steve Alten’s imagination, his wicked wit, his rip-roaring sense of adventure are on full display here. This is Alten at his delicious best.”
Chip Minemyer, Editor, The Tribune-Democrat: “Steve Alten’s monstrous Meg series grows more frightening, yet riveting, with each installment. With Hell’s Aquarium, you’ll be tempted to read ahead, but don’t you dare skip one terrifying turn on this thrill ride!”
