White Shark (novel)
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| Author | Peter Benchley |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Publication date | 1994 |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | Beast |
White Shark is a 1994 novel by author Peter Benchley, famous for Jaws, The Island, Beast and The Deep. It is similar to Jaws, but it does not feature a shark, despite what the title suggests. To avoid confusion and to capitalize on the movie adaptation, the book was republished as Creature in 1997.
Plot
During World War II, a German scientist perfects a biological weapon he calls "Weiss Hai", or "White Shark". Not described at first, the weapon is packed in a casket-like box and loaded aboard a German submarine. When the submarine is attacked and sunk, the secret of "White Shark" is lost at sea.
Decades after the war, unsuspecting divers find the White Shark and accidentally unleash it. White Shark is soon shown to be a living weapon, whose attacks are soon realized by the human population of a quiet Long Island fishing community.
Miniseries adaptation
White Shark was adapted into a 1997 miniseries called Creature. The film was set at a top secret island military base instead of a science lab. It starred Craig T. Nelson as Simon Chase and Kim Catrall as Dr. Amanda Mason (instead of Macy). It was primarily filmed on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia and in Vancouver. To take advantage of the movie's publicity and to avoid confusion with sharks, the book was republished as Creature in 1997.