The Kaiju Preservation Society

Guy Montag reviewed The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Good story, terrible characters

3 stars

The story is fun and creative. It's too bad the characters are so poorly written. By the end of the book I had trouble focusing on anything else.

The characters are all the same. Whether it's a science fiction loving delivery guy, a brilliant scientist, a billionaire tech bro or an experienced military officer, they all have identical mannerisms and speech. If you take any dialogue out of context there's no way to guess who said it.. Everyone is calm and snarky in the face of death, and more interested in getting a quick jab against the scene's designated punching bag than in what's best for themselves in the long term.

Chema Hernández Gil reviewed The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Fun action alt-Earth story. Quick read.

4 stars

A bit light in some parts, a bit obvious the desire to make into a movie or show I guess, but still enjoyable.

Kelson Reads reviewed The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Escaping the pandemic by learning to survive on a world with gigantic monsters

5 stars

A fun, breezy story about unexpectedly landing a job at a secret scientific base on a parallel world studying giant Godzilla-like animals. Which is about as dangerous as it sounds. Plus, of course, not all humans are interested in the kaijus' welfare, and the KPS has to step up the "Preservation" part of its name.

There's some interesting world-building in terms of what kind of environment and ecosystem would actually support 100-meter-tall animals, what kind of biology would be able to handle the size, the energy, shooting beams of radiation, etc. And what might evolve to protect itself in a world with kaiju. And of course: what role nuclear explosions have in the whole thing, because these are kaiju after all!

It's also weird because it takes place in 2020. Like, real 2020, complete with Covid-19 lockdowns and everything. The main character starts out working for a GrubHub competitor at …

A fun, breezy story about unexpectedly landing a job at a secret scientific base on a parallel world studying giant Godzilla-like animals. Which is about as dangerous as it sounds. Plus, of course, not all humans are interested in the kaijus' welfare, and the KPS has to step up the "Preservation" part of its name.

There's some interesting world-building in terms of what kind of environment and ecosystem would actually support 100-meter-tall animals, what kind of biology would be able to handle the size, the energy, shooting beams of radiation, etc. And what might evolve to protect itself in a world with kaiju. And of course: what role nuclear explosions have in the whole thing, because these are kaiju after all!

It's also weird because it takes place in 2020. Like, real 2020, complete with Covid-19 lockdowns and everything. The main character starts out working for a GrubHub competitor at the beginning of the pandemic.

hyperborea.org/reviews/books/kaiju-preservation-society/

Paul reviewed The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Review of 'The Kaiju Preservation Society' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The premise of this novel is comically brilliant and the early chapters have several laugh-out-loud moments.

It all slows down a bit once the plot gets going, but The Kaiju Preservation Society remains a fun romp throughout.

Paul reviewed The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Review of 'The Kaiju Preservation Society' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The premise of this novel is comically brilliant and the early chapters have several laugh-out-loud moments.

It all slows down a bit once the plot gets going, but The Kaiju Preservation Society remains a fun romp throughout.

Martin Kopischke reviewed The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Scalzi being Scalzi, in a good way

3 stars

KPS is not, and I say this with absolutely no slight intended, 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, and then you’re done and you go on with your day, hopefully with a smile on your face.

Not much to add to that, really.

Soh Kam Yung reviewed The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Exploring a world where Kaiju really exists. Good fun.

4 stars

When COVID-19 hits New York, a recently fired executive who now makes deliveries ends up making deliveries to a certain person who recognizes his (nerdy) skills and asks him to join the 'non-profit' KPS. It is only later that he learn what KPS means, and it's there in the title. Indeed, the society moves its members to an alternate earth where Kaiju exists. The KPS is there to study them and to make sure they are safe from the monsters from our world.

I decided to read this novel based on the title and the premise, but ended up enjoying it. What starts out sounding ludicrous ends up being a really fun, breezy novel to read, where most characters treat each other with respect while putting up with horrible puns and Kaiju in-jokes. The science is, of course, hand-wavy, but in the context of the novel, it works and there …

When COVID-19 hits New York, a recently fired executive who now makes deliveries ends up making deliveries to a certain person who recognizes his (nerdy) skills and asks him to join the 'non-profit' KPS. It is only later that he learn what KPS means, and it's there in the title. Indeed, the society moves its members to an alternate earth where Kaiju exists. The KPS is there to study them and to make sure they are safe from the monsters from our world.

I decided to read this novel based on the title and the premise, but ended up enjoying it. What starts out sounding ludicrous ends up being a really fun, breezy novel to read, where most characters treat each other with respect while putting up with horrible puns and Kaiju in-jokes. The science is, of course, hand-wavy, but in the context of the novel, it works and there are no obvious 'McGuffins' introduced. Of course, there are bad guys, and you can tell there are bad guys because they don't treat others with respect, nor do they understand what it means to really make a Kaiju angry.

If you're looking for a fun (and funny) novel to pass the time, this one may be a nice choice.

Steve Evans

rated it

May 23, 2022

fjordic

rated it

June 26, 2022

Mark

rated it

March 28, 2022

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