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MEG by Steve Alten- pages (1-45) discuss.

post #1 of 17
4/9/02 at 6:13pm
Thread Starter 
This is a discussion about MEG pages (1-45). Please do your best to stick to the text that we are discussing.

And try not to discuss anything that may be a spoiler to people that haven't read the rest of it.

This is a spoiler warning for anyone who hasn't read the book.
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Discussion next week TBA. - suggestions?
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post #2 of 17
4/9/02 at 6:17pm
Well, now ... I'm going to try to keep in mind that this is a B-movie storyline, like those radiated bugs gone mad films of the '50's ... a popcorn novel, not meant to be taken too seriously.

However, I sure have been saying "Come on," a lot.

And I think the novel gets off to a rather lurking start. I'm not sure we needed the attack on the T-Rex to "get the picture" of formidable shark. And I really thought the exposition could've/should've been handled better (read: differently) than having the cliched seminar.
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post #3 of 17
4/9/02 at 11:36pm
Damn, read THE TRENCH. That's the really cool one.
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post #4 of 17
4/10/02 at 12:01am
Thread Starter 
The book seems very b-movie-ish.

So far it is pretty predictable(characters that is).

This brings up a question. Who's going to get it, and in what order?

Also, I think Terry and Jonas may get it on.
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The book does read very fast. But, I'm used to reading some very thick writings by Frank Herbert, HG Wells, etc.
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post #5 of 17
4/10/02 at 11:52am
Yeah, it feels very B-movie what with the almost direct "borrowing" of the Stargate setup. I would really like it if just once the main character wasn't an expert on the thing at hand. Why can't he be the everyman like we are and let someone else be the expert?

And, yeah, maybe it isn't completely necessary, but I liked the Jurrassic Shark thing at the beginning. Tell me it wouldn't be an exciting scene to see played out. Granted, it'll all be CGI, but still, it would be cool.
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post #6 of 17
4/10/02 at 2:59pm
Thread Starter 
Although not necessary in getting to know how vicious a hunter the MEG is, it is a common thing for writers/story telles to have a good intro clencher. Something to suck the reader into reading more.

The intro in MEG is good, but doesn't fit well into the 'present day' of things that are going on with the MEG.

The intro could have been done better, but from the beginning, looks like the writer has had a movie studio wanting to put this in a film.
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post #7 of 17
4/10/02 at 3:29pm
Quote:
billylove:

The intro could have been done better, but from the beginning, looks like the writer has had a movie studio wanting to put this in a film.
My thoughts exactly. It might not be necessary to the story, but as the old saying goes "grab them in the first 10 pages", (that's what this does for sure). And it will make a cool first scene of the movie.

I have to say that as far as the writing style goes, this is very much like Crichton. The descriptions are very visual and you can definitely see the whole scene up on the big screen in your head. I have to give him props for that anyway.
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post #8 of 17
4/10/02 at 9:07pm
I love the intro - it gives a great visual of the size and power of MEG.
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post #9 of 17
4/11/02 at 5:47pm
This book is corny. I got absolutly nothing out of it. The writing style and rhythm sucks and the plot is unbelivable. I can write better than this.
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post #10 of 17
4/11/02 at 6:40pm
Quote:
RathBandu:
This book is corny. I got absolutly nothing out of it. The writing style and rhythm sucks and the plot is unbelivable. I can write better than this.
Prove it.
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post #11 of 17
4/11/02 at 6:54pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
RathBandu:
This book is corny. I got absolutly nothing out of it. The writing style and rhythm sucks and the plot is unbelivable. I can write better than this.
Yes, but he supposedly has a movie deal and obviously is making some good money off of this thing too.

Plus its much better than some of the fluff I've read or seen.
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post #12 of 17
4/11/02 at 6:55pm
Must resist ... revealing ... SPOILERS ...

I can't believe how often I said, "Oh, Come ON!" during this read. Corny, indeed.

But fun.
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post #13 of 17
4/11/02 at 7:10pm
Quote:
Jango Fett:
Prove it.
A poem:

"A Moonlit Sonata"

Summer-A place in my memory
Moonlight played,
A favorite sonata on her breathing skin,
Waltzing warm tremors
Into still soft cheeks
And she dreams.

Why is she so sad and what does she have to hide?

Sleeping dreams of
A train roaring outside
Past silent trees covered in
The silent tears of a bleeding sun

Forgive me, Father, for I have loved and wanted love in return.

Artificial star streaks rattle through her windows,
Splaying out onto a fine pillow,
Nature's highlights massaging brown strands
And she dreams.

I will always be there, waiting in the salty rain.

Hidden dreams of
Candlelight flashing across a checked table
Her small hand encircling a cup,
Balls of laughter pealing across a resturant
Tapered fingers tapping soft melodies against the side

Last year was really difficult for me and...

Her face, expressive, stoic
Pulls towards the speaker
Ignoring my pleading eyes,
Cracked and worn with invisble salt,
Pierced with a sight incapable of fufilling dreams
And she dreams.

...I still feel uncomfortable around you

Tender dreams of
Gentle lips awaiting rough ones
Innocent buds shuddering in fear,
Or excitment
As they wait for contact
Kept away too long

Her heart beats on, a diamond box holding true mementos.

She sits, next to him
Frost forming between bodies
Neither one speaking, memories filling the silence
Dances and presents, crowns and kisses
Neither one speaking as those memories peter,
Flickering out
And she dreams

I see her, years gone,
Tiny wrinkles curling around a fat pencil,
An elegant script floating,
Dictating rememberences,
Parisian sunsets,
Venitian riverboats,
Cool Los Angles nights.
I see her half a century from now,
And she dreams.

I think of her
And I find my way
Home
To her.


Now blow me.

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post #14 of 17
4/12/02 at 11:04am
That's great, Rath, but where are all the shark attacks?
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post #15 of 17
4/13/02 at 9:47pm
Quote:
SpaceMonkeyX:
That's great, Rath, but where are all the shark attacks?
Thank you, man. I really appreciate that. If I could find the disc with another poem I wrote about the same girl, I'd post that. Peace out!

And I don't do killer sharks, I do alternate history/sci-fi/fantasy/dungeons & dragons based material/screenplays/teen drama/suburban gothic stories.

Peace.
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post #16 of 17
4/14/02 at 7:54pm
blow me, part 2:


An Angel’s Waltz

Winter-the new millenium
Diamond light stabbed,
A pale arc, turned on its side,
Sliced between dark golds and rich magentas resembling fine wines,
Bouncing off thick notes,
Curling like ash smoke between
Formal bodies caked in sweat
While I watched

You twirled, music dissolving, fast to slow
An elegant ballerina with no formal training,
The filtered moon dressing your petite limbs in a dolphin’s blue,
Showing unmarked shoulders bared by innocent provokation,
Highlighting your short strands of ebony coal,
Accentuating a pale tan neck tapering towards
Your oval face, bony lines
Smoothing into japanamation eyes
Blurring ivory diving, dark water
Splashing on chocolate lakes,
Leaving no evaporation and
You with unquenched sadness
While I watched

Your prince appeared,
You took his hand,
Gold strands showing sunsets in Paris,
Shaped arms tearing away wolves’ claws,
Ocean eyes promising beaches of snow
With mirrored water to match
And an Armani suit marking
A place to rest your head
While I watched

I offered homework help and movie minutia
Stammering away with smiling excitement
I offered intangibles instead of dinner dates,
But you called it stalking, a word familiar to me,
A word needing banishment,
A word escaping your best friend’s lips,
Describing headlights stabbing those chocolate seas,
Your racing pulse staining white coffee,
While I watched

He pulled closer, hands to hips,
Palms, not fingertips, on your waist,
Closer than you and I four months ago,
A fleeting moment of intimacy shared,
Shutter snapping from a glass clock’s eyes
While I watched

Your raven’s feathers drifted towards his shoulder,
A wounded veteran wheeling down Main Street
Coming home to a place
Free of grade pressure,
That didn’t care about academic acheivement,
Making a meaningful smile break free,
Where you belonged,
While I watched

Would my shoulder ever fit your head?

Hispanic lilacs painted acne’s nostrils,
Teasing me with the promise of tommorow’s dream
I turned away,
Reaching for a new hanger,
Doing my job.
While you danced.

For Cristina
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post #17 of 17
4/14/02 at 8:01pm
Quote:
SpaceMonkeyX:
but where are all the shark attacks?
Couldn't have said it better myself. Sorry bud, but I enjoyed MEG much, much more.
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