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saracat's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
In the author’s note at the end of the book, Scalzi compares the book to a pop song, which, having finished the book makes perfect sense to me. There are things, especially about the kaiju that don’t make complete sense and aren’t fully explained. But for the purpose of the story being told, that is not really needed.
To keep the cast of named characters small, it definitely feels like Scalzi very deliberately put them in, even if it feels like others would be more likely to there instead. But, again, this isn’t a serious type of story, so I don’t feel put off by this obvious stepping in of the author to orchestrate people’s placement for the story to work.
The main characters are fun and the antagonist characters are fun to hate.
To keep the cast of named characters small, it definitely feels like Scalzi very deliberately put them in, even if it feels like others would be more likely to there instead. But, again, this isn’t a serious type of story, so I don’t feel put off by this obvious stepping in of the author to orchestrate people’s placement for the story to work.
The main characters are fun and the antagonist characters are fun to hate.
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, and Gore
Minor: Murder
arlaubscher's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Grief and Fire/Fire injury
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Fun times! I don’t have many complaints about this book; it was less kaiju action than expected, but the fun setting made up for it. My one gripe was how much of a mary sue the main character was; one month in and he could just do anything. combat, detective work, follow scientific conversations, plan missions, blackmail ceos… it was a bit hand-wavy but ill allow it bc it made things fun.
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Another John Scalzi novel and I absolutely loved it. Both this and Starter Villain are just SO funny and refreshing and entertaining and charming. I can’t recommend these two books highly enough.
The lead was the only fully developed character but the plot was so compelling that that didn’t matter. We learned enough about the other people where the lack of character development didn’t detract from the story but allowed more development of the setting and the kaiju.
The encounters with the creatures are tense and often terrifying; even the smallest animals are potentially deadly. But those adventures are also wildly funny, especially the initial helicopter trip with the pheromones. The calmer periods in between the field work are full of laughter and jokes and camaraderie, and I would love to read more about these people. They were smart and fascinating and easygoing and fun.
I loved the revolting descriptions of the kaiju and their smells, their Rottweiler-sized parasites, and all the other fauna, plus all the scientific talk that supported the plot. It was just a delightful book.
The lead was the only fully developed character but the plot was so compelling that that didn’t matter. We learned enough about the other people where the lack of character development didn’t detract from the story but allowed more development of the setting and the kaiju.
The encounters with the creatures are tense and often terrifying; even the smallest animals are potentially deadly. But those adventures are also wildly funny, especially the initial helicopter trip with the pheromones. The calmer periods in between the field work are full of laughter and jokes and camaraderie, and I would love to read more about these people. They were smart and fascinating and easygoing and fun.
I loved the revolting descriptions of the kaiju and their smells, their Rottweiler-sized parasites, and all the other fauna, plus all the scientific talk that supported the plot. It was just a delightful book.
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
schnaucl's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I enjoyed it. It was a fun popcorn book.
There was some nice homages to classic science-fictions stories.
There was some attention paid to the science of the circumstances and some nice hand waiving with the person explaining things saying I'm not a scientist, you'll need to ask a scientist about that for the harder questions.
There was some nice homages to classic science-fictions stories.
There was some attention paid to the science of the circumstances and some nice hand waiving with the person explaining things saying I'm not a scientist, you'll need to ask a scientist about that for the harder questions.
Moderate: Death, Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Deadnaming
emunro's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Gore
emilyh's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Kaiju Preservation Society is a delight of a book! I had so much fun reading it and it completely exceeded my already very high expectations! I don't think I've wanted kaiju to be real and possible to go see more than I do right now, having just finished the story. I loved the descriptions for Kaiju Earth and how unique (and hostile) it is. The characters were also all great and the friendships and teasing were everything. Jamie, our main character, has a very fun personality, but so do all his friends and it's the best. And the action! Super exciting and watching nerds solve problems with mainly science but occasional violence was perfection.
This story is set in the pandemic but also offers some very appreciated escapism without downplaying the reality of (mainly US American) life in 2020. Having a setting where covid exists but our characters are as safe from it as they can get (for a while at least) was very nice to read, especially in 2022. The premise is wild but done so well. You will have fun if you read this book.
This story is set in the pandemic but also offers some very appreciated escapism without downplaying the reality of (mainly US American) life in 2020. Having a setting where covid exists but our characters are as safe from it as they can get (for a while at least) was very nice to read, especially in 2022. The premise is wild but done so well. You will have fun if you read this book.
Minor: Gore
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