The Kaiju Preservation Society: Shortlisted for the 2023 Hugo Award for Best Novel

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From here on out, Scalzi gets to do what he really came here for: write a story about nuclear powered Godzillas and lots of (rather infantile) snarky dialogue with a lot of WHAT?? going on. He spends so much energy on those two aspects that there's nothing left for either character development, workbuilding or even a single thought that has more depth than a dried-out puddle. Turns out, these "pandas" are in mating trouble and not all humans want to preserve them and their world. Tourists are a menace in any world, I guess. So Jamie and his team need to get creative, evade huge-ass tree-crabs, and get some Twilight monsters to get a groove on, all while fending off more sinister threats. It was only as Jamie encountered Dr. Lee, the physician seeing to his vaccinations, that we are assured that this is a book written by John Scalzi.) Because of what I do, I get early access to books. It's pretty cool and I'm not going to pretend it isn't. You wouldn't believe me. I just finished reading John Scalzi's next novel, The Kaiju Preservation Society, which comes out next March. It's a while away. A huge part of the pleasure here is the worldbuilding--the plot doesn't start until about 2/3 of the way through and that is absolutely fine because the worldbuilding is hugely entertaining. The bad guy pretty much has 'bad guy' tattooed on his face, which is also absolutely fine because wow is his depiction and fate satisfying. There's a diverse cast, entertaining banter, lots of good swearing, pop culture references at a level I found entertaining rather than intrusive, and I have a low tolerance for that. It's also grounded in the utter shitness that was 2020, and actually that was pretty cathartic to read too.

There are plenty of clues dropped early on that warned me that eventually bad things would happen such as when Tom explained that his job is keeping things going and fixing things when they go wrong. I mentally cued the ominous music. Along with that, several seasoned veterans of Kaiju Earth keep telling the newbies that in the time they’ve been there “such and such” a dangerous thing has never happened. As Jamie playfully intones “Dun dun dunnnnnnn!’ Well, I’m glad to hear you say that, Rob.” I tried to move forward again in the bean bag, failed, and decided to risk a small push up. It realigned the bean bag so I was in a slightly less compacted position, but my tablet slid into the well my body had created. I was now sitting on my tablet. I decided to ignore it. “Tell me how I can serve the company.” 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. I had fun writing this, and I needed to have fun writing this. We all need a pop song from time to time, particularly after a stretch of darkness.” Maybe John Scalzi’s books won’t change your life but they can make living it just a bit less unpleasant. Look, I don’t make it happen, I just give you the shots that make it happen. Finally, with this one”—Dr. Lee pointed to one of the last syringes in the longest tray—“in one in about two hundred fifty injections, the recipient feels the urge for, let’s just say, intense and homicidal violence. Like, ‘murder everyone in the building and build a pyre with their skulls’ level of violence.”

John Scalzi is the most entertaining, accessible writer working in SF today’ – Joe Hill, author of The Fireman The Kaiju Preservation Society is due to be released this March but if you can’t wait until then to find out more, grab a cup of tea and settle down with Chapter One and Two of the novel right here… Chapter One 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 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.

the information on the Covid-vaccine is downright false: it does not immunise people against the virus: you cannot conveniently take off your masks in close quarters, just because you're vaccinated and be absolutely sure, you're safe. I whipped through it in one evening, and it's the kind of book I might read again sometime, just for the sheer enjoyment of it. I hadn't realized when I read the book the first time that Scalzi manages to tell the entire tale without revealing Jamie Gray's gender. Other readers may have assumed, like I did, that Jamie was a man because of the job they were recruited for. As Jamie frequently says, “I lift things.” Which proves how even someone with strong feminist leanings can let childhood programming sway her.Sorry, inside joke,” the dude said. “You know ‘deliverator’ is from Snow Crash, right? The Neal Stephenson book? Anyway, the protagonist of the book is a delivery guy who has samurai swords. I forget the hero’s name.” The science here is kind of hand-wavy, please don't expect hard science fiction from this. But it's a lot of fun. going off and having lives and careers and taking vacations and meeting hot people, and I was sitting in Hyde Park with the same sixteen people, in a crappy apartment, reading books and arguing with undergrads that no, actually, they did have to turn in their papers on time.” Science gets discussed only to then handwave it away as needed when veterans say things like how the kaiju’s unique biology allows for this or that (that shouldn’t be able to happen) to happen. But just when it is necessary to tell the reader what’s going on, there’s always someone there to (usually snarkily) natter on. It’s info-dumping via too much talking but to be fair, there’s no “as you know, Bob.” Yet there are times when I wanted more description. The whole reason all this is taking place is to save the panda kaiju creatures but I honestly have little to no idea what they were supposed to look like. BIG and SCARY is about all I got. There is one smaller nasty creature that is described as looking like palm crabs which are nasty looking things, IMO. The villain, who is little more than a flat caricature, is described as a Dartmouth legacy with too much money and an insatiable desire for more so … basically a rich white guy. 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.” — Scalzi’s Author’s Note.

What were you thinking when you started beating the shit out of that thing?" Kahurangi asked Niamh. We were at the point in the video where Niamh had gone ham on the creature, but not yet where they had zapped it. I wouldn’t put it that way, and yes. But the chances are pretty good you won’t experience either side effect, much less both at the same time.” You’ll do fine. Also, if you don’t mind me being blunt, at this point what I really need is a warm body that can lift things.” He pointed at his shawarma. “I know you can lift things.” We work in the theater,” Brent said. “And it’s like you said, everything’s shutting down. I don’t have any savings, and you know Laertes doesn’t either.”I mean,” I motioned to the very nice condo in the brand-new building. “It turned out okay for you.” The one advantage of walking around in a nuclear explosion debris field, if one wanted to call it an advantage, was that there was very little verticality Our main character is a likeable everyman, who at the start of the pandemic is being fired from his delivery company start up. He makes an ungracious fall from a corporate job to a driver, and despite some conflicts ( I don’t like you. I get that a lot) this serves as a catalyst to a mysterious job.

But soon after they arrive, Jamie realizes why Tom had been so tight-lipped. As it turns out, KPS actually stands for a top-secret organization called the Kaiju Preservation Society, and though their location might be Greenland, in fact they have traveled to an alternate Earth. Here, giant creatures similar to those featured in Japanese fantasy and sci-fi monster movies called kaiju get to roam freely, and it is KPS’s mission to not only study them but also to keep them breaking through the barrier between worlds into our Earth. Because obviously, that would be very, very bad. Wait!” I can hear you say. “Some people are aromantic! And asexual! And gender-neutral!” OK, sure, fine, but somebody is going to say something and even in your own head you are going to think about things sometimes. Life isn't sterile. Not only does Jamie not have any sexual, romantic, or gender-based thoughts, but no one uses gendered pronouns around him, for him, asks him about his pronouns, looks at him with lust, makes any kind of question/comment about him, his romantic sexual life, his romantic sexual tastes, his appearance NOTHING. It's honestly ridiculous and so far-fetched. I read snippets about “humor” and “fun” and “funny” and I was mostly rolling my eyes and swearing if I read “I lift things” one more damn time I’d scream.

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I snorted at this. “You have a much more optimistic view of the academic landscape than I do. I was looking down the barrel of adjunct professorships for the rest of my life.” Firebomb the place,” Laertes said, from the room he and Brent shared, where he was playing a video game. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm, human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble.