The Maw by Taylor Zajonc
I was drawn to The Maw by Taylor Zajonc after reading one thing: fans of Michael Crichton will love it. Sold! I didn’t think twice about snatching it up and reading it. As a fan of Crichton for many, many years, I was not disappointed. I’ve been saddened by his loss in 2008, so anytime I can find a book that gives me the same thrills and excitement I used to get from reading his books is a gift! Thank you Taylor Zajonc!
The Maw takes you on an underground, secretive expedition - a recipe for danger, adventure, and discovery (good AND bad). The main character is Milo Luttrell, an adjunct history professor at Georgetown who receives airfare and a trip to Tanzania from a mysterious, undisclosed benefactor. Eager to regain the respect he lost from his peers after his obsession with Lord Riley DeWar’s legendary lost 1901 expedition which almost tanked his career, he accepts the offer. He doesn’t realize what he’s gotten himself into until it’s too late.
The secret expedition is orchestrated by Wall Street fixture Dale Brunsfield, well known in the adventure community as a generous sponsor. He reminded me of Mr. Hammond in Jurassic Park - a man obsessed with discovery, pushing forward whether it’s a good idea or not, and sparing no expense. I enjoyed the line in the book when Milo asked a guide if there was anything he needed to know about Dale. She said “Don’t be afraid to kiss his ass.” Right away, you know you are going to be dealing with a big ego running the show.
The story is filled with suspense and thrills throughout. Zajonc does a great job making you feel anxious, claustrophobic, and even helpless at times as you read about the tight passages and water-filled areas the characters must traverse, especially when they have to dive into the dark unknown. You might even find yourself holding your breath. The characters are all well-rounded, and you can’t help but pull for them throughout the book. There are some lovely subplots going on between the characters that help propel the story and bring in a more emotional level. Taylor Zajonc takes you along on a thrilling mystery and wows you with the results as they unfold, dropping clues throughout for some great aha moments. The end is satisfying and wraps up the story well both for the plot and the characters.
My background in physical anthropology really drew me into the concepts of this story. This is a spoiler free review, but I want to list some of the words and concepts that made me giddy as I read and jotted notes. Olduvai Gorge, Cretaceous, elephant tomb, “dead bat carpet,” mummy’s curse, primordial, and trilobites. If you enjoy archaeology, paleontology, history, spelunking, and scientific facts dispensed on occasion to support the plot, this is the book for you.
Also, if you enjoyed The Roo or “In Vaulted Halls Entombed” in Served Cold by Alan Baxter or The Cavern by Alister Hodge, you will love this book. I got flavors of Jurassic Park and Congo from Michael Crichton, too. You can find a review of The Roo as well as a review of The Cavern here on my blog review page as well as on the Unsettling Reads review page. A podcast review of Served Cold is also available on Unsettling Reads as well as an interview with author Alan Baxter. If you haven’t read any of these stories, I encourage you to do so!
The Maw weighs in at 328 pages and was published on June 5, 2018 by Skyhorse. It was the winner of the 2018 Clive Cussler Grandmaster Adventure Writer's Competition and a finalist in the 2019 Oregon Book Awards.
