Abyss: Fathomless, Book 2

BOTTOM LINE: I am not one of those guys who will stay up until all hours to finish a book. I read for a couple of hours at a time, sometimes day after day or scattered over a week as spare time allows. ABYSS is one of a rare handful of books that I just could not put down until I had seen it through to the end. Fantastic page-turner with a high tension factor. Believable on its own levels and totally engrossing, getting better the further you get into it. I'd like to see this turn into a series, like Alten's MEG books. Never enough giant dinosaur sharks for me. >:-) So... a full 5 STARSTHOUGHTS: The MEG series have turned into a really fun popcorn adventure, with lots of twists and turns. But how many stories about giant prehistoric sharks do we really need? Well, after pouring through FATHOMLESS and now ABYSS, it's fair to say that, IMHO, at least one more series. LOL. Author Greig Beck has stuffed this Megalodon pair of books with interesting characters and a ton of high-pressure fear-filled scenarios that will keep you whirring through the pages until you reach the end. His characters feel real and believable, the foreboding situations in which they find themselves are white-knuckled nightmare fuel, chock full of claustrophobic tension and manic insanity. I'm not normally one to get "into" a written story all that much, but Beck's descriptions of the hair-raising, sweat-dripping tension and terror had me feeling uneasy and nervous the further I delved into the book. (And hey, that's a GOOD thing. LOL) Frankly, I thought FATHOMLESS was just an okay fun throwaway read. But now with ABYSS, he's ratcheted up the tension to '11' all across the board and left me definitely wanting more of these books. It's not perfect, as there are some things not very well explained and a few other bits that could've been better, but ABYSS is a far better read than FATHOMLESS and Beck has already proven himself to me with his other terrific novels to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that he moves forward with more stories. Although, oddly enough, while this book left room open for more, it also had enough closure that it could stop right here. Personally, I hope he obliges us with more giant shark action and maintains the same level of quality and detail.

Greig Beck's Animals are always Biblical in their confrontation with Humans.And this is no exception, it is like Jaws on steroids a really mean malevolent prehistoric shark with a long memory and it is coming after "You".However this is not Jaws 4, this is Grieg Beck and he actually researches these things adequately to make them believable with only a moderate suspension of disbelief.My own experience suggests that this particular shark is not as aggressively inclined as he portrays it, but my own experience suggests there is no animal anywhere that is.But who would want a lazy, passive, friendly Megalodon anyway.You certainly won't find that here.I love Greig's books and the science and research he infuses them with, and they always build (usually with a lot of bodies) right till you get to the end and hopefully survive.I spent a lot of time underwater when I was younger and have seen things very very few others have including some very lethal creatures that could have killed me in less than a second.I was lucky.Greig's book does a scientifically accurate job of putting me back down there and I love the sea and am happy to go.

Millions of years ago wonderful and terrifying creatures ruled the Earth.But what would happen if some of those ancient monsters survived and confront us in the modern world today?That is the story in Abyss, the new book of G.Beck, in which pre-historic Megalodon sharks are awoken from their slumber and brought out of oceans' deep vents and trenches to the surface of modern seas teeming with careless humans.The giant shark which is the perfect killing machine brings chaos and destruction to everything and everybody.A handful of survivors from one of the research ships destroyed by that shark is hiding in a tiny submarine on the sea bottom waiting for imminent death when another group of people is desperately trying to rescue them.That battle between the ancient shark and a few humans is mesmerizing, described so vividly that a reader is totally immersed in the life or death fight in ocean depth.Vivid and brilliant description of the sea life,emotions and feelings of heroes - both humans and the shark,glimpses in the Earth past,the book is outstanding making Abyss the read both terrifying and wonderful.

I friended Greig Beck on FB after I preordered Abyss. He responded almost instantly and thanked me for the order, and promised I'd love the book.As a whole, he's me new favorite author. Fathomless, the Primordia books, and Alex Hinter series are must read. I haven't been disappointed, yet.All that said, Abyss is a good read, especially if you geek out on giant shark books with a solid science foundation. Beck is an exceptionally visual storyteller and it's easy to get sucked in and power through two or three hours of reading without realizing it.Truthfully, I knocked off a star for the third act which didn't exactly tread new ground. Unlike "Fathomless," which was truly a new and exciting take on the remnant species genre, "Abyss" seemed to run a bit out of steam at the end and hewed closely to just about every Steve Alten "Meg" book (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). **Spoiler**My one critique is one inclusion of the giant cephalopod for a very brief and really pointless cameo--it yanked me out of what was up until then, a very enjoyable experience. It struck me as wholly gratuitous (sorry, Greig).**End spoiler**The epilogue however, gave me a chills and could serve either as a tidy bow to wrap up the series, or set up the next book. I'd be satisfied either way.

The book itself is brilliant, typical Greig Beck stuff and keeps you riveted from start to finish. I do have an issue with the narrator on the Kindle/Audible edition tho. Will someone please tell him that Megalodon is NOT pronounced Mega loadun. It should in fact be pronounced megalo don. It comes from the words Megalo Odont meaning big tooth :-). Having heard it mispronounced about a 1000 times in the narration, it gets a tad annoying. I get the narrator is American, but just 'cos they cannot spell does not excuse sloppy pronunciation too.

This is book two of the Cate Granger series and I thought the first book was a great story, this sequel tops that. I love the mix of both the fiction and the facts in these stories, the action is non-stop, the suspense is a killer, and the build up to it all is just fantastic. The characters are all so unique and 'normal' not over glorified etc... you can completely see them as relatable people and connect to them which I love, the wildlife is just explosive and I cannot wait for the next, especially with that ending... I never pick up one of Beck's books and leave it, it has to be read cover to cover with minimal breaks xD.

Megs seem to be the monster of choice lately. This is a good follow on to Fathomless but I do hate it when so many other people get killed off trying to rescue two others. It also seemed like Mr Beck kept thinking, "Now what ELSE can I have go wrong? What ELSE can I throw at them?" And always there is at least one heroic sacrifice. I did enjoy the book and the tension but near the end I did think " Oh, for God's Sake, enough is enough! "

OK, its another "Giant shark, prehistoric monster" story, but Grieg Beck instils relentless tension and edge-of-the-seat moments outside of the lurking threat and fear of the shark. Its what kept me turning the pages even when I just wanted to crash out and go to sleep!. Great fun by a very good author who delivers the goods. Very slightly dissappointed with the conclusion which is why its 4 not 5 stars....actually, thats nit picky, really enjoyed this book so its bumped up to 5.

Having read the original Cate Granger novel, I looked forward to reading the second and was not disappointed, an excellent story !!.