Name: Michael Knepprath's review of The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
Item: The Kaiju Preservation Society
Rating: 4
Author: Michael Knepprath

John Scalzi

The Kaiju Preservation Society is John Scalzi's first standalone adventure since the conclusion of his New York Times bestselling Interdependency trilogy. When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble. It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society whose found their way to the alternate world. Others have, too. And their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Kaiju Preservation Society

Lewis John Fisher

The Kaiju Preservation Society is John Scalzi's first standalone adventure since the conclusion of his New York Times bestselling Interdependency trilogy. When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble. It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society whose found their way to the alternate world. Others have, too. And their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.

Michael Knepprath

In the movie adaptation of this book, every character will be played by Ryan Reynolds.

Sarah Sammis

Work is done in such a remote location that it's on an alternate Earth. So take the Long Earth premise (Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, 2012) but apply the kaiju movie logic to the place instead. Giant animals, tropical setting (even in Newfoundland and Labrador), and nuclear powered lifeforms that are hosts to parasites that can and will eat you.

That's the set up. It's a ridiculous book in premise but is a fun page turner. It's got tons of geeky Easter eggs.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...

Privileged	Utopia	Offroad	00FF66

Vicky  Nuñez 

Big kaiju with funny quips every other page, what more can you wish in a book. Just delightful to read.

Iman Kamil

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. I would 100% recommend this book for anyone new to the sci fi genre, because the "science" of the book universe is very easy to grasp and super interesting. I loved all the characters and the banter and friendship between each and every one of them!! It was so well written and very organic, every interaction between characters felt natural. 

For real omg, this book makes me so sad that there's no such job that allows you to preserve kaijus. 

The story might be a little slow and boring, because for the first 60% of the book it's just world-building and discovering how the job scope of the main character and his friends are like. But I felt immersed and like I said, felt like I really wanted to work there despite the obvious high risks. 

PICK THIS BOOK UP RIGHT NOW!!!!!

Brandy

Light and fun. This book is recommended for those who want to try reading science fiction for the first time.

Set during the 2020 Covid pandemic this book asks, what if you were so hard pressed for cash that you took up a job in an alternate earth where kaiji were real. It was as fun and quick a read as expected from a strong scifi writer. The main character is Jaime, a nerd who takes the job with little fanfair and follows them and their company of doctorates in a truly wild version of earth.

It was fun and silly at times in the best sort of way. 

Krys C

Set during the 2020 Covid pandemic this book asks, what if you were so hard pressed for cash that you took up a job in an alternate earth where kaiji were real. It was as fun and quick a read as expected from a strong scifi writer. The main character is Jaime, a nerd who takes the job with little fanfair and follows them and their company of doctorates in a truly wild version of earth.

It was fun and silly at times in the best sort of way. 

Briar's Reviews

I was introduced to John Scalzi not too long ago and I must say - He has made Sci-Fi a lovable genre for me! I always found it hard to get into science fiction, but Scalzi writes it in just the right way that I get addicted. The talents of a phenomenal writer!

The Kaiju Preservation Society is a delightful read which follows a down on his luck food delivery driver who gets thrust into a new job as a Kaiju rights officer of sorts. He gets dragged into a different multiverse to help keep the kaiju (yes, like Godzilla and Mothra) safe from other humans and all of the work a preservation officer would do (you know, helping them mate, make their internal nuclear reactors not blow up - totally normal stuff). This book is packed with interesting science facts and absolute hilarity in the comedy writing of Mr. Scalzi.

I love this book! It was packed full of fun and drama, all the while whisking me away to another world to avoid the one we currently live in. Godzilla + internal nuclear reactors powering them + big bugs + the government ruining everything = great book. The book felt like a movie which really made me disappear and binge this book far too fast. I need more soon! I'll just have to find more books by this author...

It's easily bingable and a whole lot of fun. If sci-fi isn't normally your style but you love comedy, this book is perfect. It's fantastic!

Five out of five stars.

Anyaconda

4 stars for a fun, light and nerdy ride! 🤓 🦖

I'm not a huge sci-fi reader, but this sounded too good to pass up. I had such a fun time reading this. It felt as if Jurassic Park and Godzilla had a baby. Scalzi's writing felt a lot like Andy Weir's in that it was funny and accessible. They both do this thing where they lay out all the scientific facts in a way that lets you know they know their stuff, but they explain it in a way that is so easy to comprehend. I always worry that all the technical bits in sci-fi will go over my head, but that wasn't the case here. I loved all the characters and how they played off one another. The setting was interesting, and I enjoyed learning about all the kaiju (and their ridiculous names.) It's also such a quick book to read. My only issues were that it felt too quippy, and I wanted more action throughout rather than just the last bit. Other than that, I thought this was super entertaining, and recommend it if you're a fan of monster movies.

Heather Harrington

An enjoyable short Sci Fi book that I think I enjoyed mostly because the main character sounds exactly like Stiles Stilinski. Although there are times where the book gets a little too deep in to the science over the fiction, it’s still very fascinating science so I wasn’t mad at that. I liked the final scene a lot for what it had to say about the state of the world and our small piece in it. 

Emma Miller

Anna Ureta

Super fun summer read!

If you like Godzilla and Kaiju and the Avatar blue aliens movie this is for you.

Will Wheaton did a great job on this one.
Super easy to follow definitely recommend for a fun and quick read. I was chuckling through a lot of it. Maybe because there are a lot of pop culture references that make me happy. But not as many as Ready Player Two.

Shona Tiger

This review first appeared in The Sunday Long Read, April 3, 2022 — Issue 339.

Kaiju are giant monsters from a Japanese film genre of the same name. Godzilla (1954) is considered the first film of this genre, with Godzilla, the monster, understood to be a metaphor for nuclear power. Scalzi has borrowed from this mythology to create a story about an alternate, human-free Earth, populated by kaiju with nuclear capabilities. To share more would be to spoil the light plot for you.

As Scalzi says in the acknowledgements:


[The Kaiju Preservation Society] is not, and I say this with absolutely no slight intended, a brooding symphony of a novel. It’s a pop song. It’s meant to be light and catchy…


The tone of this book is exactly that. There is very little development of characters, and all of the characters seem to communicate in the same, snarky tone (Scalzi’s, basically, if you’ve ever been to his Twitter account). There are monsters, human and otherwise. There is action. There’s something that could pass for science. A masterpiece, however, this is not.

This book is all fluff and lightness, a fun little read that you may forget about as soon as you close the pages. It’s probably exactly what you need if you don’t mind a little sci-fi with humour, and if you want to get away from the world for a while. I enjoyed it for what it was.

Scalzi is the very popular and award-winning author of numerous and accessible works of speculative fiction. He lives in the US.

Rated: 7/10.

I needed to cleanse my palette and this was silly but I had a good time. There were a few points where I was like “well that’s unrealistic” and then I had to remind myself that I’m reading a book about kaiju. I enjoyed it for what it was, don’t expect anything else.

Laura Wilson

Ryan LaFerney

Love Godzilla? Love Jurassic Park? Well, I have the book for you.
The Kaiju Preservation Society, John Scalzi's first standalone novel since the conclusion of his New York Times bestselling Interdependency trilogy, is a fun, entertaining sci-fi adventure on par with the thrillers of Michael Crichton (but with more cussing and more humor).
The Kaiju Preservation Society very seems to be the novel that Scalzi needed to write and the novel his loyal readers needed to read. 
The novel starts in 2020. (Just stay with me, folks- it gets better). The Covid pandemic is hitting and Jamie Gray is working for a food delivery startup in New York City. He's barely making rent. By chance, Jamie delivers to the doorstep of an old acquaintance who says there’s a job opening at his animal rights organization. Jamie jumps at the chance (cause why not and health care coverage!) and discovers that the group’s work is protecting Kaiju, gigantic animals (think Godzilla, Mothra, etc.) that exist on a human-free Earth in an alternate dimension. Humans (mostly entitled millionaires and government officials who have nefarious plans) are beginning to find their way to this planet, which threatens the Kaiju. The Kaiju Preservation Society must help save these dangerous creatures from their own world—and ours—or both could be destroyed. 
Scalzi's novel is filled with pop culture references (including Godzilla and Star Wars), and explores the intersections of governmental influence and science. 
The Kaiju Preservation Society manages to be both irrelevant in tone and also quite timely in its themes. It's another great novel from a reliable author. Grab a bowl of popcorn and dive in!

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cindy Lieberman

How have I never read Scalzi before now? This is, as even the author describes it, a pop song of a novel- fun and light and it will make you smile (and occasionally laugh). The premise is both silly and believable, and it’s populated by a number of interesting characters. It’s an enjoyable, effortless read and I will be adding more of the author’s work to my TBR list today!

I don't want to sound mean with this review. I understand the last few years have been rough on creative people. It's been a hard time especially if you've fallen ill at some point during the Bad Times. Any form of illness during a pandemic is terrifying. All that being said, I think this book is incredibly skippable. The cover, the premise, and the idea sounds really interesting, but Scalzi's Twitter addiction really shines through. The conversations between characters are weak. They're just long, snarky repartee's between characters we have no background knowledge or character descriptions of. Most of the cast is very interchangeable. The dialogue is basically a platonic ideal of faceless twitter users snarking at each other until the scene needs to move along. The plot doesn't really actively begin until the third act and it's not particularly challenging or tense. This novel is so topical that it'll be completely incomprehensible in five years. If it had actually released pre-election, it probably would have a certain amount of prescience. As it is it's a snapshot of a moment in time two years in our rear window. Check it out from the library. Get it on sale on audible or check it out on Hoopla/Libby/Scribd if and/or when it shows up one of those apps. Maybe wait for the Mass Market Paperback. But when I finished this novel, I felt like I'd read Armada by Peter Cline again. It's a flash in the pan with a very rushed ending. Having Wil Wheaton narrate a weak book doesn't help the problem. Scalzi has admitted this was written to make up for a missed deadline. It does show. It definitely could have used more time in the oven and a lot less topical specificity with the time period and setting. I think this could have been a new Jurassic Park but there just wasn't enough to it.  

Allison

I looooved this. It’s witty, funny and fast paced. I want to read more by this author 

Lewis John Fisher &
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

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