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| Categories | Science Fiction |
| Author | John Scalzi |
| Publisher | Tor Books (March 15, 2022) |
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 272 pages |
| Item Weight | 1 pounds |
| Dimensions |
5.38 x 1 x 8.25 inches |
I. Book introduction
The Kaiju Preservation Society is John Scalzi’s first standalone adventure since the conclusion of his New York Times bestselling Interdependency trilogy.
When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.
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.
It’s not just the Kaiju Preservation Society who have found their way to the alternate world. Others have, too. And their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Plot summary
Jamie Gray goes to a six-month performance review as an employee for food delivery startup füdmüd expecting to impress boss Rob Sanders with plans to grow the company, only to be terminated and offered a delivery contract instead. At first rejecting the offer, Jamie is eventually forced to take it after all to make rent, as jobs are scarce in COVID-19-afflicted New York City. One delivery client turns out to be Tom Stevens, an old acquaintance, and over the next few weeks of deliveries they renew their friendship. Tom has a lucrative position with KPS, a secretive animal rights NGO, and is slated to head out into the field right about the same time Jamie loses the delivery job (füdmüd having been bought out). Tom offers Jamie a job with his own employer, and Jamie, again out of options, goes in for the interview, is accepted, and is soon on a plane to Thule Air Base in Greenland.
Thule Air Base turns out to hide the gateway to a parallel Earth, in which evolution took a different turn after the early Mesozoic era, resulting in a planet dominated by impossibly immense creatures whose growth is fueled by internal bio-nuclear reactors. Mankind first became aware of this world in the wake of World War II, when the use of atomic bombs opened temporary portals between the worlds, to which and through which the creatures were attracted by the radiation fallout, on which they feed. After Japanese filmmakers were inspired by rumors of the initial breakthrough to make “Kaiju” movies such as Godzilla and its successors, the creatures were dubbed Kaiju. Aside from such rumors, their real-life existence has been kept secret by governments around the world, who formed KPS (the Kaiju Preservation Society) to study the Kaiju Earth, prevent additional breakthroughs, and protect the denizens of each world from those of the other.
Kaiju Earth is a torrid world, high in oxygen and radioactive volatiles, dominated by Kaiju and teeming with lesser predators. Sent to Tanaka Base, an outpost in the Kaiju Earth version of Labrador, Jamie supports the scientific staff studying the biota there, particularly the Kaiju “Bella,” a brooding mother laying her eggs at the irradiated site of the death of another Kaiju, whose internal atomic pile overheated and exploded—a not infrequent occurrence. Unfortunately, this event weakened the barrier between worlds, and Bella planting herself at the very location the event occurred is keeping the barrier from rehealing. A predatory corporation on the Human Earth side (coincidentally led by Jamie’s old boss Rob Sanders), in on the Kaiju secret, takes the opportunity to breach the barrier and move the Kaiju mother and her eggs to the Human side. Jamie and the other KPS team members must somehow cross over themselves and Bella, both to preserve the Kaiju secret and protect both worlds.
Editorial Reviews
Praise for The Kaiju Preservation Society
“Scalzi’s latest is a wildly inventive take on the kaiju theme”–Booklist, starred review“Equally lighthearted and grounded–and sure to delight.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review
Praise for John Scalzi
Scalzi continues to be almost insufferably good at his brand of good but thinky sci-fi adventure.
–Kirkus Reviews on The Collapsing EmpireScalzi builds a fascinating new interstellar civilization in order to destroy it…Escapism full of guts and brains.
–Ars Technica on The Collapsing EmpireProvocative and unexpected.
–The Wall Street Journal on The Collapsing Empire
Amazon.com Review
An Amazon Best Book of March 2022: An alternate world of giant monsters where the heroes have to watch Godzilla to get in? Yes, please. In The Kaiju Preservation Society, John Scalzi returns to modern times after The Last Emperox, the capper of his far-future set— and also excellent!—Interdependency series. The novel kicks off in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic but doesn’t dwell long on the general devastation of 2020 before escaping into Kaiju Earth, where terrifying beasts and pop culture comedy are both in ready supply. Jamie Gray is the perfect reader insert, a sci-fi fan (they wrote their master’s thesis on Frankenstein and the Murderbot Diaries) who, after being fired from a food delivery company, gets swept up in the effort to protect the Kaiju. Jamie’s delight in this new world and tendency to ask the same questions readers will have— just how does a creature that large exist in real life?— make for a compelling protagonist who is easy to root for. I flew through the pages of this one like a winged Kaiju searching for a human-sized snack. —Marcus Mann, Managing Editor –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
About John Scalzi
John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his Old Man’s War series, three novels of which have been nominated for the Hugo Award, and for his blog Whatever, where he has written on a number of topics since 1998. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 2008 based predominantly on that blog, which he has also used for several charity drives. His novel Redshirts won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel. He has written non-fiction books and columns on diverse topics such as finance, video games, films, astronomy, writing and politics, and served as a creative consultant for the TV series Stargate Universe.
He met his wife Kristine Ann Blauser when he was living in Fresno, and they married in 1995. His only child, a daughter named Athena, was born in 1998. He and his family live in Bradford, Ohio, where they moved to be closer to his wife’s family. Scalzi has declared himself a feminist and Rockefeller Republican. He supports same-sex marriage.
II. [Reviews] The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
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1. KEVIN KELSEY Review The Kaiju Preservation Society
This was a BLAST. I needed this book. In Scalzi’s notes and acknowledgements at the end, he says that KPS is a pop song, and that pop songs are needed sometimes. I couldn’t agree more.
The Kaiju Preservation Society is fun, propulsive, hilarious, and oh so clever. It’s incredibly current and unique in its approach to how it is current. Since all the insanity of 2020 hit (and 2021, and please god let 2022 be different), I’ve been wondering how it would affect artists and the art they make, and this is it right here.
Scalzi is running on all cylinders, churning away through current modes of thinking and current events, and giving his characters escape routes, fantastic stories, and alternate ways of living through them. And giving the bad guys what they deserve for once, instead of what they always end up getting in the real world.
Thank you Scalzi, I appreciate this. Like I said, I needed this book, and I have a sneaking suspicion that you probably do too.
2. BRADLEY Review The Kaiju Preservation Society
This book was all kinds of wonderful and just plain fun. And I mean Fun in the way that a Gojira named Bella is fun while a bunch of lilliputians tries to get Edward, another Gojira, to mate with the previously mentioned Bella.
Yes. It’s THAT kind of novel.
Plus it’s full of snark, great quips, sweet SF references, and fun, better-than-Jurassic Park adventures. With parasites. And nuclear slime. And dollar-bro douchebags.
This was a snappy, delightful book that ought to get a Hugo for this year but probably won’t even get a nomination because — whatever. Either way, it’s awesome.
And as a final note, I really want to give out a quick shout-out to all you guys who lift things for a living.
You rock. I hope you get a job like this.
3. GERHARD Review The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi has hit a home run with ‘The Kaiju Preservation Society’, an SF monster novel for people who’d rather be stuck naked in traffic than admit to watching a Japanese horror movie. Yes, the in-jokes and genre references bristle with all the alacrity of an amorous hedgehog, but there is enough fun here to go around. Smart and thrillingly written, with enough banter to fill a studio’s worth of gag reels, all teetering just on the sharp edge of absurdity, and with a cast of misfit characters that the reader can’t help but fall in love with from page one, what is not to adore in this shaggy Godzilla story? Of course, it is no spoiler to reveal that what the KPS protects the Kaiju from are the true monsters: Us humans and our insufferable complacency that we are the towering achievement of evolutionary biology in the known universe. Bella and Edward beg to differ.
4. LA IN DALLAS Review The Kaiju Preservation Society
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi – A book about the serious business of having fun
How do you feel about having fun? Do you like to have fun? (If you answered “No”, you probably need to consult a dictionary.) Are you willing to go out of your way to have fun? Pay serious money to have fun? Like, say, buying a boat, or season tickets to some sportsball franchise’s games with other franchises?
If you answered yes, then please miss me with these, “KPS is just too much fun to deserve a five-star rating.” takes. Having fun is serious business, and no one should underestimate the value of pure fun. And KPS is pure fun.
The most interesting part of KPS (aside from, like, THE WHOLE BOOK) is the Author’s Note at the end, where Scalzi explains how KPS came to be. Briefly, 2020 broke him. He was working on a novel, something longer and more serious than this one, and it kept getting more painful and hard to focus until, early in 2021, he realized he was done with it. He wasn’t going to finish it. This was a big deal for Scalzi, since he had earned a reputation (which he obviously prizes) for coming through on his commitments, and the publisher had already put money and effort into the novel that wasn’t going to happen. So Scalzi wrote his editor, telling him that he was broken and there would be no novel. Scalzi doesn’t tell us in detail how his editor reacted, but I’m gonna guess it was something along the lines of “You aren’t the first writer to have been broken by 2020, and you won’t be the last.” Anyway, Scalzi was now off the hook.
And then, into his newly freed mind popped this novel, fully formed. He writes,
‘And thus, literally one day after I sent my editor an email that basically said, “I can’t write this novel I am full of angst and pain what even is my career anymore,” I sent him another email that was, “Oh, hey, never mind I have this new idea it’s really cool and you’ll have it in March.” Writers. I mean, seriously.’
Well I’m not gonna say anything about the plot, because you can read the publisher’s blurb, which is pretty accurate.
The quick writing means that KPS is the first fully post-Trump novel I’ve read. Most of the story takes place during Trump’s presidency. Although Trump is never mentioned by name, he is referred to several times and his presidency is important to the story.
5. RUSSIANOTAKU Review The Kaiju Preservation Society
What Would Kaiju Do?
Would you take a chance to journey to another world? The protagonists of sci fi and fantasy have been answering “yes” to that question since Jules Verne (and probably longer), and John Scalzi’s book fits neatly into the genre. The protagonist is a little bit everyman, a little bit “mary sue” but ultimately is likable and relatable. The world is both fantastical and intensely ours – messy as heck and skirting on the edge of disaster. If there is one complaint I have, it is that the world feels too contemporary – the subtle winks by the author, tell-tales left in text to identify when and how story takes place are vivid in the now (and it helps, I guess, that author and I fall on the same side of social spectrum), but the subtlety will be lost in a few years and the book will slip from enjoyable to confusing. But for now, while opinions and memories are fresh, read this book because it is both a warning, a hope and just a good adventure like the ones from those olden times!
6. GNU10 Review The Kaiju Preservation Society
Another great Scalzi book
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. After reading the bit at the end about what Scalzi was thinking and feeling when he wrote it, I completely relate – he needed something fun and light in the face of awful politics and a pandemic. That’s exactly what I was looking for, as we continue to deal with this pandemic. This was a fun, easy read, with typical Scalzi quirky humor. I also loved that you never find out the gender of the main character. I only realized this about halfway through. The inclusiveness and the politics shouldn’t surprise anyone who has read other Scalzi books, and particularly his blog, Whatever. Sci-fi has often been progressive – that’s part of the nature of the genre. I continue to enjoy Scalzi’s work and look forward to his next book.
7. TRISH Review The Kaiju Preservation Society
This book is dedicated to all the guys (and girls) out there who literally do the heavy lifting.
Do you like monster movies with dinosaur-like creatures and parasites? Then this is definitely for you.
Right at the beginning of the pandemic, Jamie felt pretty good about himself: he was a diligent worker with vision and enthusiasm. Until his appraisal turned out to be a sacking and his “boss” stole his ideas and sold them as his own.
As luck would have it, he soon crosses paths with a former acquaintance who offers him a job. Why Jamie doesn’t realize it all sounds too good to be true, no idea. In any case, he ends up in an alternate Earth where kaijus rule.
For those who don’t know: shame on you! Godzilla will eat you!
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.
The snark was big in this one. Muhahahahahahaha! Lots of pop-culture / scifi references, nods to greats of the genre such as Jurassic Park, as well as LOTS of hilarious convos and situations, not least thanks to some delicious revenge and definitely not least thanks to certain parasites. And have I mentioned the snark? *snickers*
I want this to be made into a movie. I want it to win lots of awards. This was such fun!
Also, Wil Wheaton knocked it out of the park with his narration of the audiobook. I stayed up waaay past my bedtime during the working week to finish this which should tell you all you need to know about just how addictive this is. Read it, I know you’ll love it!
8. MICHELLE Review The Kaiju Preservation Society
The Kaiju Preservation Society is light, funny and fast-paced.
That thing looks like H. P. Lovecraft’s panic attack.
This is my kind of sci-fi. I find often I can’t visualize vast descriptions of space ships and stations and intricate mechanical gear. My brain grows bored and I usually start skipping. But multiverses and giant monsters and shady government organizations? Sign me up all day long.
‘Well, aren’t you a massive prick,’
‘What?’
‘I said, That’s a nifty trick.’
I’d definitely recommend for anyone else who has a love for kaiju movies and a steady stream of sarcastic dialogue.
9. ASHLEY Review The Kaiju Preservation Society
This is objectively a four star book, but I’m giving it five stars, because I can. This book was just super fun to read and it was exactly what I needed and wanted. I will be reading it again whenever I need to feel nerdy joy and my affection for humanity needs a boost.
The title of this book sort of says all you need to know before going into it, but if you need more, here’s just a little bit.
Jamie is working for a food delivery start-up in NYC when the pandemic starts, and after being fired in a really shitty way, ends up working as one of their food “deliverators” instead. On one delivery trip, he runs into an old acquaintance named Tom who says that he has a great job that he loves and pays really well working to help endangered animals, and by the way if he needs a job, there is an unexpected opening, and Tom would be happy to put in a good word for him. This is how Jamie ends up on another world entirely learning about and helping to preserve kaiju.
You can tell that Scalzi just had a mess of fun writing this book. It has his sense of humor plastered all over it, but some of the stuff is so ridiculous (and it’s ridiculous that he makes it work!) that you can just tell how much fun he had thinking all this crap up. For example, (view spoiler). This book is what happens if you gave a nerd a toy box and then told them to tell you a story using their favorite things inside the toy box, and because they’re a fully grown nerd, they make it plausible with real sounding science, even while it’s extremely fun and ridiculous.
I had so much fun.
10. MIRIAM SMITH Review The Kaiju Preservation Society
“The Kaiju Preservation Society” is popular science fiction author John Scalzi’s, first standalone adventure since the conclusion of his New York Times bestselling ‘ Interdependency’ trilogy.
– “When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything immediately signs on. What Tom doesn’t tell Jamie, is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth but on an alternate dimension, where massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human free world. However, It’s not just the Kaiju Preservation Society that’s found its way to the alternate world. Others have too and their carelessness could cause millions back home to die.” —
This was a truly belter of a fun ride, everything I like in my fantasy/science fiction tv shows etc and to have that in a book to enjoy at your leisure, was just perfect for me. So much entertainment, it was exactly what we all need at the moment, a pure escape to literally another ‘world’ with characters that although very unique, were relatable and extremely likeable.
If you love fantasy, dystopian style science fiction then this is a must read for you. I found it quite realistic and believable (especially if you’ve watched similar themed tv shows/films) and I could easily visualise the unusual environment, the many fantastically described animals and insects and the genuine concern for the Kaiju and their preservation by the society members. I also admired how the author incorporated the nasty side of human traits – greedy and arrogant rich people determined to satisfy their own desires at all costs to other life, just proving how much, we do need to keep preserving our nature and it’s environments from human destruction.
Tense but lively with some cracking dialogue combined with a serious yet lighthearted plot, “The Kaiju Preservation Society” will take you on an incredible journey to while away the hours.
I believe this is a one off standalone but I can certainly see a follow up in the making and I for one will be queuing up to read. John Scalzi is a new author for me and his talented and inventive writing is a breath of fresh air in this current world of fear and worry.
#TheKaijuPreservationSociety – 5 stars
III. [Quote] The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
The best book quotes from The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
“They have vegan cheese.”
“No, they don’t. They have shredded orange and white sadness that mocks cheese and everything it stands for.”“It was stupidly perfect how all my problems were suddenly solved with the strategic application of money.”
“No one anticipates surprises,” Kahurangi said. “That’s what makes them surprises.”
“I tried being a vegan for a while, but I couldn’t live without cheese.” “They have vegan cheese.” “No, they don’t. They have shredded orange and white sadness that mocks cheese and everything it stands for.”
“It’s the twenty-first century; no one goes by Betsy anymore,” Tom said. “But even if they did, there’s usually context. If you’re saying, ‘Betsy has the results from the lab,’ it’s probably the human. If it’s ‘Betsy just got pissed off and burned down twenty thousand acres of jungle,’ it’s probably the kaiju.”
“What’s the RLH protocol?” I asked. “It means run like hell,”
“So we’re the monster police, too?” I said to Tom.
“Correct,” he replied. “The only real question is, who are the monsters?”
“They ask that question in every monster movie, you know. It’s an actual trope.”
“I know,” Tom said. “What does it say about us that it’s relevant every single time they ask it?”“Well, aren’t you a massive prick,” I said, quietly, under the roar of the helicopter. “What?” Sanders asked. “I said, ‘That’s a nifty trick.”
“You have no idea how difficult it was for me to not say, ‘Welcome to Jurassic Park!’ to all of you just now.”
“That thing looks like H. P. Lovecraft’s panic attack.”
“It’s okay if we turned entire cities full of people into nuclear ash, but the idea of monsters having a nibble afterward was just too much.”
“You seem tense,” Kahurangi said to them. “Of course I’m tense,” Niamh snapped back. “We have a stupid plan.” “You’re just saying this because it’s my plan.” “I’m not just saying it because it’s your plan, and also, yes.”
“The last Gold Team geologist decided to retire after we basically had to reattach a limb. For a second time.” “Oh.” “Well, that’s not completely accurate. It wasn’t the same limb twice. They were different limbs.”
“Go ahead and eat all you want, but avoid excessively fatty foods, since one of these is going to tell your body to purge fats in a way that absolutely challenges normal sphincter control.” “That’s . . . not great.” “It’s a mess. Seriously, don’t even think about trying to fart for the next eighteen hours. It’s not a fart. You will regret it.”
“It was a very cozy meeting. In addition to my role as visitor liaison, I was also, once again, supervising snacks.”
“It’s not the trees, you dense argumentative spoon”
“I thought you liked reading books.”
“I do, but if you only read books because you have to, it becomes much less fun.”“Firebomb the place,” Laertes said, from the room he and Brent shared, where he was playing a video game. “No one’s firebombing anything,” Brent yelled back to Laertes. “Yet,” Laertes replied. “You can’t firebomb your way out of every problem,” Brent said. “You can’t,” Laertes called back.”
“Never forget to factor in the Oort cloud,”
“That’s nuts,” Niamh said. “That’s evolution,”
“There was no need to import my crippling diet cola addiction to a brand-new world, and besides, the fountain was Pepsi products anyway. New planet, new life.”
“I could be happy never talking about tiny skin mites ever again,” I said. “They come out when you sleep, you know.” “I do now, thanks for that.”
“And so, for coolness under pressure, for giving the rest of the away team the time it needed to get Ion safely back to the helicopter, and for having the absolute nerve to ignore Riddu Tagaq, I am proud and happy to award Jamie Gray the Ancient and Sacred Order of Holy Shit Jamie Just Shot That Parasite Straight in the Mouth with a Canister Launcher.”
“Yes, that. You’re feeling cognitive dissonance, Jamie. Two contradictory-yet-entirely-valid-within-their-contexts thoughts about the same subject. And humans hate that shit. We hate it so much. The worst answer for us for anything is, ‘It depends.”
“Acknowledged, Chopper Two. Recommend RLH protocol.” “Acknowledged, base. Initiating RLH protocol.” Satie switched off. He glanced at Kahurangi. “You can put those glasses away now.” “What’s the RLH protocol?” I asked. “It means run like hell,” Satie said, turning the helicopter.”
“So we’re the monster police, too,” I said to Tom. “Correct,” he replied. “The only real question is, who are the monsters?”
“There is a certain type of person who feels like they must be armed at every moment of the day or else the world will come for them in some way. Back home, this is very much not a good way to live.”
“Whoever had my room last left a big pile of poopfruit on my desk,” Niamh yelled, from their room. “Seriously, what the actual fuck?”
“—I waved wildly to encompass all of the philistine Lower East Side, and possibly, all five boroughs of New York City”
“So, the kaiju have far too much volume, their muscles would snap, their lungs couldn’t give them enough oxygen, they couldn’t feed themselves enough energy, their nervous systems would run too slowly to move them around, their bones would tear out of their bodies, and by all known physical laws, they would lie groaning in their own pile of meat until they died.”
“We all looked. “Mate, those look like fossilized turds,” Kahurangi said. “That’s why we call them poopfruit, yes,” Tom said. “You need to talk to your marketing people,” I suggested. “They taste better than they look.” “They would have to, wouldn’t they?”
“at least a couple of these are going to make you feel ravenously hungry. Go ahead and eat all you want, but avoid excessively fatty foods, since one of these is going to tell your body to purge fats in a way that absolutely challenges normal sphincter control.” “That’s … not great.” “It’s a mess. Seriously, don’t even think about trying to fart for the next eighteen hours. It’s not a fart. You will regret it.”
“There was no need to import my crippling diet cola addiction to a brand-new world, and besides, the fountain was Pepsi products anyway.”
Book excerpts: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
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