Reviews

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

aleighc's review against another edition

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

5.0

mackenziencheez's review

4.0

A fun read! In his note and acknowledgements, Scalzi happily admits that “KPS is not […] a brooding symphony of a novel. It’s a pop song. It’s meant to be light and catchy, with three minutes of hooks and choruses for you to sing along with.” Even by starting the book in 2020 with our characters reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, he quickly takes us to an alternate Earth where kaiju are studied and a global pandemic is not the greatest threat. In a community of scientists, Jamie Gray is your “regular guy” whose job is to lift stuff. As readers would expect, not all goes as planned—particularly when a kaiju and her nesting eggs disappear. A fun escapist story featuring characters of a variety of nationalities, as well as a character who uses they/them pronouns. Our hero Jamie Gray presents as white. I see this is an excellent contender for the Alex Awards and would recommend to teens who enjoyed The Martian or Ready Player One.

jbragg6625's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.5

aaronr's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful 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

4.0

hominid's review against another edition

3.0

Fun, but so frothy it shouldn't have been full price.

bookblues's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted

3.75

bengresik's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing 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

This book was recommended to me by someone because I had been lamenting reading a lot of weighty novels. He said this would be lighthearted and would not feel too heavy. He was right. This book is a great palette cleanser if you're in between a lot of really heavy books, and also a wonderful piece of work that is intimately tied to the 2020 pandemic in a fun way.

shayden39's review against another edition

3.0

Twas alright. I think I would have liked it better if I was into Godzilla stuff but I’m not so here we are. 

lindsirae's review against another edition

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

3.5

sarah684's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted tense 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