The Loch by Steve Alten Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Loch
Book Review: Alten Does It Again....
Summary: 5 Stars
I was excited when I heard that Steve Alten was tackling the mystery of the Loch Ness monster. He did not disappoint me, this book met all of my expectations. Steve Alten has yet another hit to add to his resume. The action is non-stop and the story and characters are compelling and entertaining.
Kudos for Mr. Alten.
Book Review: Alten has a "loch" on Crypto-Fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading Mr. Alten's books on the Megaladon, incorporating many of the current theories and research on the possibility of these monsters still being alive, I was terribly excited to see his work on one of the most intriguing of cryptozoological mysteries, one I find intriguing even to this day. The approach he took, having the main character as the story teller, added a lot to the experience of the story.
I look forward to more of his work!
Book Review: Alten has written a classic...
Summary: 5 Stars
Mark my words, he is the next big thing! I said back in '03 Lee Child was after reading a Reacher novel and after reading my 4th Alten Book I'm convinced! I enjoyed this more then Meg even! Altens gift imo, is he writes about real people,nobody is perfect and nobody is a superhero! This book is just a hang on to your hat rollercoaster from nearly start to end! I could picture myself actually being on Loch Ness and seeing it happen(man if a Spielberg or Scott would do this as a full movie or even a Tarentino) I don't want to ruin it for you, many already have written spoiler alerts......just buy it....read it and pass it along to a friend! I'm an Engineer in Atlanta and half my office has read it and to a man and a woman all love it! I said Turtledove was gonna be big after guns of the South,Lee Child with his Reacher novels and Alten(while big) will enter that top 20 writewrs everyone reads!
Graeme Turnbull
gturnbull77@yahoo.com
Book Review: Alten is good, not great but getting there
Summary: 4 Stars
I like Steve Alten because he does his homework. Similar to Dan Brown, Steve researches and incorporates historical fact and lengend into his novels. I like that a lot.
Loch is a good read. If you are on vacation somewhere, this would be a perfect book to read. I would say this book is worth the hard cover price, definitely a bargain at paperback price so pick it up and enjoy.
Book Review: Alten's best novel so far
Summary: 4 Stars
I kept going back and forth between three and four stars, because the subplot about grown men wearing hoods and running around with swords in the 21st century detracted a lot from what is otherwise a solid four-star effort. I'd give three and a half, but you can't do that, so I give Alten the benefit of the doubt.
As an author, Alten has improved in every way from his Meg novels. Being a writer of nonfiction zoology and cryptozoology, I reviewed Alten quite harshly on his science in the Meg novels, but I had few problems here. Not only is the science better (not perfect, but better), but the novel's setting is very well rendered, and, most critically, the people are Alten's best characters yet.
Despite the superficial similarities between Zachary Wallace and Meg hero Jonas Taylor, Wallace is immediately believable and three-dimensional in a way Taylor wasn't until his third appearance (Meg: Primal Waters). Wallace's inner struggles and the moment he faces his demons and hurls his antidepressants into the water could have been cliched, but were moving instead. The main supporting characters are also believable and not just so much chum in the water.
(Note to Alten: while Wallace's quitting his drugs was a believable and dramatic moment, he seemed to suffer no major after-effects from doing so. The brain HATES to be abruptly cut off from familiar medication, and Wallace would have had some bad days.)
Alten's creature (I won't spoil it if you have not read the book yet) is based on what I think is the most plausible explanation if there really is an unknown species in Loch Ness. Alten does a nice job of tying it into another real-life mystery, the strange "bloop" sound picked up by hydrophones and still unidentified: he doesn't really explain why his creatures emit that sound, but it works anyway as a story-telling device. From a solid beginning, Alten takes us on a well-paced tale of the search for the truth. The finale is a touch overdone, but by that time the reader is intrigued enough by the world of The Loch to play along.
Matt Bille
author, Shadows of Existence
www.mattwriter.com