The Loch by Steve Alten has been on my radar since it first came out in 2005. The cover was interesting; plain, but no less interesting. I also have a strange fascination with Nessie. Sadly, I always managed to talk myself out of buying. Either the used bookstores wanted more than I was willing to pay, or the E-book would just get lost in the thousands (I'm not kidding. Thousands), of other ebooks that I have been neglecting to read. Fast forward to 2016. I see the over sized paperback for 3 bucks on amazon. I bit the bullet and just bought it. Cracked it open as soon as I got it. The book was... not what I expected.
Here is where I would typically say "But in a good way.". No. Not in a good way.
Let me summarize the story.
Zach is a Marine Biologist. He is on the hunt for a larger than life squid. During a deep sea dive, things go horribly wrong. People die. Shit goes downhill from there during this squid excursion. Now Zach is scared of the water, but this isn't the first time he has been afraid of the deep blue sea. There was a point in Zach's childhood where he possibly, maybe had a chance encounter with Nessie because, his jackhole pop's pushed (I think.), him in to the Loch. Zach was bit by some mysterious creature and almost drowned. Nightmares ensue.
During his whole pity party, Zach discovers that his pops (of whom he hates so very, very much), is in jail for murder. While Zach is there, he decides (250 pages in), to FINALLY come face to face with his Nessie demons.
*sigh* Where do I even begin with this book.
1. I don't mind science. I really don't. But please don't bombard readers with it. This book tries to be far more intelligent than it really is.
2. We get to hear about Zach's inner demons. A LOT. I get it, he's fucked up. His dad was a mentally abusive asshole. His ex-girlfriend sucks. His work colleagues suck. It sucks he lost his job and oddly became a scapegoat for the whole Squid fiasco. The author is trying WAY too hard to get us to feel sorry for Zach. If Zach had been a likable character in the slightest, I might have felt bad for him.
3.Templars against Nessie. That shit was just weird. And now Zach is one of them because he "fought" against one? Well. That happened.
4. The most action you will see in this book is the last 50 or so pages; when the "Templars" and Zach, hunt down Nessie, and try to get rid of the monster once and for all. The actual action itself wasn't interesting. Yet, it was far more interesting than Zach's self loathing. So I'll give the author credit there.
5. Insta-love. I hate Insta-love. Enough said there.
6. The ending was rushed. Wrapped up far too nicely with a little pink bow on top.
Ugh. Was not a fan. Which is sad, because I really wanted to love this book. If you are a hardcore Nessie fan, stay away from this book. If you love books were Scotland is the focus location; there are better books out there.
1/5
