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elliearnold's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
joshua_williams's review against another edition
5.0
The best parts of this book are my favorite things about Scalzi.I love his humor, action, clean prose and his pacing. But its not my favorite Scalzi mostly because real-world names, comparisons, and events really take me out of the moment.
I would have happily stayed in the middle of The Kaiju Preservation Society just day to day events mundane to climatic, but the story must go on.
I would have happily stayed in the middle of The Kaiju Preservation Society just day to day events mundane to climatic, but the story must go on.
iottabyte's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Reading this is essentially watching a gratuitous scifi-comedy, complete with all the interesting things happening when the MC is around, witty banter, putting the bad guys in their place, and few bad consequences.
It's not a complex or deep story, but it is entertaining through the narrative of a good-humored Regular Guy, and a lot of thought was clearly put into the world-building, even though for some reason, the author barely describes any of the organisms. I like building my mental image on top of whatever representation the author went with, instead of adjusting it according to a random texture or "the ugliest creature I've ever seen."
It's not a complex or deep story, but it is entertaining through the narrative of a good-humored Regular Guy, and a lot of thought was clearly put into the world-building, even though for some reason, the author barely describes any of the organisms. I like building my mental image on top of whatever representation the author went with, instead of adjusting it according to a random texture or "the ugliest creature I've ever seen."
bassgirl456's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
3.5
edlib's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. It made me laugh a lot. A very funny parody of Godzilla, monster tropes, politics, military budgets, sci-fi & humanity’s tendency to also act like an abominable monster.
But, it’s got a lot more fantasy then I want in a story. I have a very low threshold for that genre. And being focused to learn about the reproduction cycle of a fictional monster was a drag.
I can’t give it 5 stars, even though I did really enjoy most of it.
“Starter Villain” is still my favorite.
But, it’s got a lot more fantasy then I want in a story. I have a very low threshold for that genre. And being focused to learn about the reproduction cycle of a fictional monster was a drag.
I can’t give it 5 stars, even though I did really enjoy most of it.
“Starter Villain” is still my favorite.
ashleyrich3825's review against another edition
5.0
I read this in one day, which is something I haven't done in a really long time.
My expectations were actually quite low with this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was hooked. The characters were all likeable, realistic, and had organic feeling relationships with one another; the dialogue, in my opinion, perfectly straddled the line between quirky (derogatory) and quirky (funny and endearing.)
I'm also starting to realize how much I enjoy a degree of speculative biology in the media I consume; reading about the biological function of the Kaiju and the ways that their ecosystem functioned not only made me feel like I had a big galaxy brain, but also immersed me in the stakes and events of the plot.
My only gripe with The Kaiju Preservation Society is also kind of a positive element: Rob Sanders became an almost cartoonishly evil villain toward the end of the story. Like straight up is willing to set off a nuke and kill ten thousand innocent Canadians just to...do something with his company's stocks (he lost me a little in that part of the monologue, not gonna lie.) But almost immediately after I had that thought, I realized that given the chance, most billionaires would almost certainly go to those or even greater lengths for the sake of profit and personal gain (hence the hell-times we currently occupy.) So that plot element ended up being in the story's favor for me the more I thought about it.
One element that I loved that was a bit less impactful was the casual queer rep sprinkled in; Jamie's roommates are a gay couple and one of the main characters, Niamh, uses they/them pronouns; I can say without shame that I was smiling to myself the first time Niamh was introduced.
Ultimately, I really loved The Kaiju Preservation Society, and I will be looking for a copy of my own.
My expectations were actually quite low with this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was hooked. The characters were all likeable, realistic, and had organic feeling relationships with one another; the dialogue, in my opinion, perfectly straddled the line between quirky (derogatory) and quirky (funny and endearing.)
I'm also starting to realize how much I enjoy a degree of speculative biology in the media I consume; reading about the biological function of the Kaiju and the ways that their ecosystem functioned not only made me feel like I had a big galaxy brain, but also immersed me in the stakes and events of the plot.
My only gripe with The Kaiju Preservation Society is also kind of a positive element: Rob Sanders became an almost cartoonishly evil villain toward the end of the story. Like straight up is willing to set off a nuke and kill ten thousand innocent Canadians just to...do something with his company's stocks (he lost me a little in that part of the monologue, not gonna lie.) But almost immediately after I had that thought, I realized that given the chance, most billionaires would almost certainly go to those or even greater lengths for the sake of profit and personal gain (hence the hell-times we currently occupy.) So that plot element ended up being in the story's favor for me the more I thought about it.
One element that I loved that was a bit less impactful was the casual queer rep sprinkled in; Jamie's roommates are a gay couple and one of the main characters, Niamh, uses they/them pronouns; I can say without shame that I was smiling to myself the first time Niamh was introduced.
Ultimately, I really loved The Kaiju Preservation Society, and I will be looking for a copy of my own.
lilac_forest's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
highly entertaining, love Bella, would've loved to see/read more of Kaiju Earth
adam_weasel's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
5.0