Angel (Meg series)
Encyclopedia
Angel is a fictional megalodon
shark that appears in the Meg series of novels, written by Steve Alten
.
shark, Angel is first introduced in the ending lines of Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror
, the only surviving pup of a brood of three, her two siblings having died, one mauled by his own mother, the other killed by a pack of killer whales. Characterized by being a ghostly albino, much like her mother, Angel is made a worldwide sensation after her capture, by being spared death and instead kept in the Tanaka Oceanographic Institute, its man-made lagoon being originally designed to study whales. The second novel, The Trench
, reintroduces Angel as a fully grown adult, a monstrous behemoth about seventy feet long and weighing sixty thousand pounds, far too large to be contained in such a restrictive habitat, especially given the fact that additional events, such as annual whale migrations arousing her hunger and the onset of estrus leave her exceptionally ferocious and aggressive. Her escape from said lagoon sets the events of the novel in motion, which would cover her return to her species' ancestral sanctuary, in the novels depicted as the Mariana Trench
. During the voyage, she herself becomes a mother for the first time, giving birth to two pups, one of which will become Scarface, the male Megalodon that appeared the most during the third novel, Meg: Primal Waters
. In the third book, Angel's role is momentarily shadowed by that of her offspring, though she appears during the climax of the story, mating with another male Megalodon in the Tanaka lagoon before escaping, after being almost suffocated by her mate - which would be later found gruesomely eviscerated. Her next appearance is in the fourth and currently last novel, Meg: Hell's Aquarium
, where Angel, having gotten pregnant again, gives birth to five Meg females. It is her last appearance, since she is finally killed after an abyssal battle with another thought-to-be extinct predator of the Trench, a gigantic Liopleurodon
. She was survived by three of her pups.
While being a central character of the novels and the main force behind many of the most relevant deaths and events that occur in the Meg series, Angel is herself but an animal, and is presented as such, exhibiting behavior loosely akin to that of contemporary sharks, namely, Great Whites. Indeed, it is those who observe the behemoth who help depict her as almost sentient, though often this is a product of fear or hatred dictated by dire or precarious circumstances. She is something of an archnemesis to protagonist Jonas Taylor, the one responsible of capturing her in the first novel, and the one who saved her from being killed by her mate in the third book. Indeed, on the latter occasion Taylor went so far as to declare something of a kinship between him and the creature, even though in the second book his obsession with the Meg almost had him suffer a mental breakdown.
While somehow true to science's current understaing about Megalodons, Angel is heavily fictionalized in the novel: she is larger than what is thought to be the average length of this ancient apex predator
, and also, in the fourth novel, it is stated that she evolved to be capable of asexual reproduction
, an unprecedented change thought by the characters to be an innate response of the beast to her species' near extinction.
Seven Megalodon sharks were given birth by the albino behemoth. The most prominent was Scarface, a male, which was so named due to his mangled and deformed snout and dorsal fin, both almost beyond recognition due to battle scars. Of the same litter was another male, an unnamed one, which was the father of half the second litter of pups birthed by Angel, and which was mauled to death shortly after mating. Five females succeeded them - three of average length and weight, named Ashley, Angelica, and Mary Kate, and two - the first example of Angel reproducing on her own - much larger and brutal, known as the sisters, Elizabeth (named after Elizabeth Bathory
) and Belle (named after Belle Gunness
). Angelica was killed by Belle, while Ashley died after she was delivered to Dubai
to be exposed with Mary Kate, who survived till the end of the novel, in a massive aquarium. Elizabeth and Belle survived as well, and at the end of the book escaped their confinement.
Megalodon
The megalodon and ὀδούς ) is an extinct species of shark that lived roughly from 28 to 1.5 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era .The taxonomic assignment of C...
shark that appears in the Meg series of novels, written by Steve Alten
Steve Alten
Steven Robert "Steve" Alten is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his Meg series, a set of novels around the fictitious survival of the megalodon, a giant prehistoric shark...
.
Description
Arguably the primary "antagonist" of the series, a female MegalodonMegalodon
The megalodon and ὀδούς ) is an extinct species of shark that lived roughly from 28 to 1.5 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era .The taxonomic assignment of C...
shark, Angel is first introduced in the ending lines of Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror
Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror
Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror is a science fiction novel by Steve Alten, and was first published in July 1997. The novel, along with its sequels, follows the under water adventures of a U.S Navy deep sea diver, Jonas Taylor.-Plot summary:...
, the only surviving pup of a brood of three, her two siblings having died, one mauled by his own mother, the other killed by a pack of killer whales. Characterized by being a ghostly albino, much like her mother, Angel is made a worldwide sensation after her capture, by being spared death and instead kept in the Tanaka Oceanographic Institute, its man-made lagoon being originally designed to study whales. The second novel, The Trench
The Trench
The Trench is a 1999 science fiction novel by author Steve Alten. The book continues the adventure of Jonas Taylor, a paleobiologist, studying the megalodon.- Plot summary :...
, reintroduces Angel as a fully grown adult, a monstrous behemoth about seventy feet long and weighing sixty thousand pounds, far too large to be contained in such a restrictive habitat, especially given the fact that additional events, such as annual whale migrations arousing her hunger and the onset of estrus leave her exceptionally ferocious and aggressive. Her escape from said lagoon sets the events of the novel in motion, which would cover her return to her species' ancestral sanctuary, in the novels depicted as the Mariana Trench
Mariana Trench
The Mariana Trench or Marianas Trench is the deepest part of the world's oceans. It is located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands. The trench is about long but has a mean width of only...
. During the voyage, she herself becomes a mother for the first time, giving birth to two pups, one of which will become Scarface, the male Megalodon that appeared the most during the third novel, Meg: Primal Waters
Meg: Primal Waters
Meg: Primal Waters is a 2004 science fiction novel by author Steve Alten. The book continues the adventure of Jonas Taylor, a paleobiologist, studying the megalodon.- Plot summary :...
. In the third book, Angel's role is momentarily shadowed by that of her offspring, though she appears during the climax of the story, mating with another male Megalodon in the Tanaka lagoon before escaping, after being almost suffocated by her mate - which would be later found gruesomely eviscerated. Her next appearance is in the fourth and currently last novel, Meg: Hell's Aquarium
Meg: Hell's Aquarium
Meg: Hell's Aquarium is a 2009 science fiction novel by author Steve Alten. The book continues the adventures of Jonas Taylor, a paleontologist studying the Megalodon.-Plot:...
, where Angel, having gotten pregnant again, gives birth to five Meg females. It is her last appearance, since she is finally killed after an abyssal battle with another thought-to-be extinct predator of the Trench, a gigantic Liopleurodon
Liopleurodon
Liopleurodon is a genus of large, carnivorous marine reptile belonging to the Pliosauroidea, a clade of short-necked plesiosaurs. Two species of Liopleurodon lived during the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic Period , while the third, L. rossicus, lived during the Late Jurassic...
. She was survived by three of her pups.
While being a central character of the novels and the main force behind many of the most relevant deaths and events that occur in the Meg series, Angel is herself but an animal, and is presented as such, exhibiting behavior loosely akin to that of contemporary sharks, namely, Great Whites. Indeed, it is those who observe the behemoth who help depict her as almost sentient, though often this is a product of fear or hatred dictated by dire or precarious circumstances. She is something of an archnemesis to protagonist Jonas Taylor, the one responsible of capturing her in the first novel, and the one who saved her from being killed by her mate in the third book. Indeed, on the latter occasion Taylor went so far as to declare something of a kinship between him and the creature, even though in the second book his obsession with the Meg almost had him suffer a mental breakdown.
While somehow true to science's current understaing about Megalodons, Angel is heavily fictionalized in the novel: she is larger than what is thought to be the average length of this ancient apex predator
Apex predator
Apex predators are predators that have no predators of their own, residing at the top of their food chain. Zoologists define predation as the killing and consumption of another organism...
, and also, in the fourth novel, it is stated that she evolved to be capable of asexual reproduction
Asexual reproduction
Asexual reproduction is a mode of reproduction by which offspring arise from a single parent, and inherit the genes of that parent only, it is reproduction which does not involve meiosis, ploidy reduction, or fertilization. A more stringent definition is agamogenesis which is reproduction without...
, an unprecedented change thought by the characters to be an innate response of the beast to her species' near extinction.
Seven Megalodon sharks were given birth by the albino behemoth. The most prominent was Scarface, a male, which was so named due to his mangled and deformed snout and dorsal fin, both almost beyond recognition due to battle scars. Of the same litter was another male, an unnamed one, which was the father of half the second litter of pups birthed by Angel, and which was mauled to death shortly after mating. Five females succeeded them - three of average length and weight, named Ashley, Angelica, and Mary Kate, and two - the first example of Angel reproducing on her own - much larger and brutal, known as the sisters, Elizabeth (named after Elizabeth Bathory
Elizabeth Báthory
Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a countess from the renowned Báthory family of Hungarian nobility. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific serial killer in history, the number of murders has been debated...
) and Belle (named after Belle Gunness
Belle Gunness
Belle Sorenson Gunness was a Norwegian-American serial killer....
). Angelica was killed by Belle, while Ashley died after she was delivered to Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
to be exposed with Mary Kate, who survived till the end of the novel, in a massive aquarium. Elizabeth and Belle survived as well, and at the end of the book escaped their confinement.
Appearances
- Meg: A Novel of Deep TerrorMeg: A Novel of Deep TerrorMeg: A Novel of Deep Terror is a science fiction novel by Steve Alten, and was first published in July 1997. The novel, along with its sequels, follows the under water adventures of a U.S Navy deep sea diver, Jonas Taylor.-Plot summary:...
- The TrenchThe TrenchThe Trench is a 1999 science fiction novel by author Steve Alten. The book continues the adventure of Jonas Taylor, a paleobiologist, studying the megalodon.- Plot summary :...
- Meg: Primal WatersMeg: Primal WatersMeg: Primal Waters is a 2004 science fiction novel by author Steve Alten. The book continues the adventure of Jonas Taylor, a paleobiologist, studying the megalodon.- Plot summary :...
- Meg: Hell's AquariumMeg: Hell's AquariumMeg: Hell's Aquarium is a 2009 science fiction novel by author Steve Alten. The book continues the adventures of Jonas Taylor, a paleontologist studying the Megalodon.-Plot:...