Book Review: The Loch by Steve Alten

current mood: Feeling Smart...

Here is the latest book that Richard read to me:



Yes, it's the same Steve Alten of MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror fame, and in this new book he takes on the mythical "Nessie" from Scotland and gives her the realistic feel you always wanted to see, but of course, never to experience.

The story follows the lead character Zachary Wallace, who is a descendant of the great William Wallace. Zachary is young but very successful marine biologist who dutifully tries to stay as far away from cryptozoology as possible, but is eventually dragged back to Loch Ness after his father is put on trial for murder with his only alibi being that "Nessie did it"!

Alten goes through some pretty porous theories to prove that a creature like Nessie can even exist, from Templar Knights to Darwin and other evolutionists’ quotes. There are times when he describes how difficult it is to search the Loch that it makes you believe that something actually could exist... after all new creatures are found in the ocean all the time, and if there is a connection to the North Sea from Loch Ness, then who knows what may actually live in those waters.

If you have read any books by Alten before, then you know that there has to be a monster and it has to be dealt with. Zachary enlists his boyhood friend, True McDonald, and his sister Brandy, who also doubles as his love interest, and together (and sometimes against each other) they set about trying to figure out the monster and destroy it.

Over all Alten gives the readers of monster books a great leisure read. It never gets too deep into the science, but rather just enough to make you think... "hmmmm, maybe..."