Reviews

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

chibitsy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

nilsomane's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.5

seifertc's review against another edition

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5.0

It was great. I hated it.

Well, to be specific it grossed me out. Problem is that it has great characters, fun science, and page turning action. So I had to finish all of it on this flight and I am forced to give it 5 stars.

Ick.

straylight's review against another edition

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4.0

When Jamie's career takes an abrupt swerve, he finds himself presented with a new alternative that proves to be an 'out of this world' experience. This book is a fun romp through interdimensional space, with the secret mission of protecting and studying massive, Godzilla-like creatures that exist on an alternate planet Earth.

zerobyte's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.5

sydstap24's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

saisei101's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is my second read through of this book. I read a digital copy of the book on my kindle a couple of years ago and loved it then too. I wanted to relive all the fun I had on my first read through but already have too many print books waiting in the wings calling for my attention so an audiobook version to listen to during my commute was the ideal choice.

sandymaple's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

alycedawn's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

3.75

emcgillivray's review against another edition

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4.0

This is an absolutely fun romp of a read. Scalzi keeps the pace up, especially when you wonder how we're going to get from Jamie being fired from marketing at essentially Doordash to being in an alternative realm to "lift things" while studying and preserving Kaiju.

I do not doubt that this has been optioned for a film, and if Hollywood weren't obsessed with retreading its IP, we'd have a movie out. This captured a lot of the spirit of what I felt when I first saw Jurassic Park (1993) and then read the book when I was 9. There is wonderment, terror, adventure, and big and small stakes. But also, it's fun.

As a trans person, I appreciate when side characters are just trans because we exist in the world. It was interesting to see Scalzi play at not gendering his main character. But when Jamie went to get vaccinated, I had a moment of "welp, not a trans person on HRT because we'd be saying something different about needles or asking about taking our meds with us." I really think Jamie is supposed to be the reader insert character, even if Jamie does have characterization. Or perhaps I identified with the "lift things and marketing" type of work and work with scientists with rad but specific specializations that I barely understand.

Given what's happening currently, I just imagined Elon Musk as the Big Bad Villian nepobaby tech bro and enjoyed him getting everything he deserved.