Reviews

There's literally nothing extraordinary about this book. This is just a fun little romp into an alternate Earth where creatures as humongous as mountains roam around creating havoc and still need to be protected coz they're dumb as a slice of bread. Just for the premise alone, a solid 3 stars.

chefkay's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75 stars!

I love a monster story, the build up to getting the job, going to the world and finding out about their existence is always my favourite part. This one had sorta lower stakes as Kaiju are so big that they’re almost not actually scary. But it retained all the fun, mystery and discovery of a monster book to be fair.

This book had a lot of humour and fun little details, I enjoyed the world but didn’t care too much for the characters.

The negatives with this one really are just around the ending, it became action movie vibes which makes sense but doesn’t work for me personally.

Would recommend, a light, fun read.

caroline77's review against another edition

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1.0

***SPOILERS HIDDEN***

John Scalzi's newest book is brought down by an under-developed, rushed plot that’s focused more on the “society” of the title than on the “kaiju.” Any comparison to Jurassic Park applies only insofar as this is a story about humans living alongside huge, dangerous creatures. Scalzi didn’t flesh out his characters (human and monster alike) or include any high-adrenaline thrills.

Kaiju are Godzilla-like monsters first dreamed up in Japan. For this book Scalzi adapted the mythology to have them living on an alternate Earth to which certain people, mainly scientists, can travel via a portal. The need to keep the kaiju from traveling into human Earth is a concern that hangs over the story.

The most impressive thing about this book is how Scalzi managed to leach every ounce of excitement out of the mythology and his own plot. He barely did anything with his alternate Earth. A few scenes show the characters encountering some dangerous creatures, but

Spoiler

thanks to convenient “pheromone sprays” and fancy sci-fi weapons, the characters are able to keep them at bay and are never in actual peril

. The kaiju of the title are mostly limited to one especially gigantic kaiju named Bella. Aside from sometimes swatting at and chasing away aircrafts that venture too close, she keeps to herself, roars now and then, and spends most of the story

Spoiler

stock still in a trance as she lays eggs

.

The society of scientists—and main character Jamie Gray, who’s there only to “lift things,” as he points out to an annoyingly frequent degree—are an overly sarcastic bunch who spend more time talking about the kaiju in meetings than interacting with them in the wild. Characterization is just enough to tell which character is which and no more: There’s the nerd who’s always explaining things; the kind scientist you want to befriend; the smart aleck who’d be flattered to be called a “bitch”; the stereotypical tough-talking leader; and Jamie, who’s taking it all in with wide eyes.

Excessive dialogue is at the expense of delving into these characters’ inner lives, of showing moments of reflection as they try to come to terms with their fears, hesitations, disorientation, even homesickness—feelings all people would experience in a hazardous alien environment. Instead the story’s tone is light with occasional seriousness tossed in but never weighing anything down for long. Discussion of technical problems and biological processes weighs down the story instead, with Jamie asking questions for the reader’s benefit. In one of the best examples of glaringly obvious info-dumping, one chapter is a tedious question-and-answer session with some new people throwing out questions in a tidy sequence and listening as the nerd scientist explains in detail.

I expected to plow through this book’s 258 pages, so I was shocked to find it a chore. I normally enjoy a wry and witty tone, but cardboard characters constantly speaking sarcastically to each other in work meetings isn’t as entertaining as Scalzi thought it would be. A boring kaiju and unrealized alternate Earth are disappointing, to say the least. Scalzi did write a few imaginative scenes that have the ingredients for something exciting, but there’s no emotion in the excitement.

I actually most liked the acknowledgements, where Scalzi explained the process of writing this book. It goes a long way toward shedding light on why it is the way it is—light, airy, insubstantial popcorn. In 2020 he began writing a novel that sounds like it had promise. He’d agreed to write something that “was meant to be dark, heavy, complex, and broodingly ambitious,” but the pandemic threw him off in more ways than one, so he decided to scrap what he’d started and write popcorn.

Although this backstory is interesting, I sensed an underlying defensiveness in Scalzi’s words, a need to justify this book that he knows is a whole lot of wasted potential. I wish he’d stayed the course with the heavy and complex novel he’d begun writing. He churned out The Kaiju Preservation Society fast, and it shows. There’s no adventure to be had here, for the characters or for the reader.

books_n_boogie's review against another edition

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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

wheezyfridge's review against another edition

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5.0

God this is for real one of my favourite books, like it’s the perfect delicious package for me!! It’s a book that has the same existential worries as me but balances it with the magic of teamwork and friendship which sounds stupid when I say it but it’s not stupid in practice! John crank it the fuck up! When he says they could destroy us all he’s sure as fuck not talking about kaiju!!!!! Absolute banger!!!
(Also both times I’ve read this I’ve found the authors note really moving and if anything it’s added to the book for me so I highly recommend that also)

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