This book is easily one of my favorites of the year. Clever, giggle-out-loud funny, full of geeky references (and I mean FULL), with a badass agender main character. I have not yet met a kaiju story I didn't like, and John Scalzi manages to keep the genre fresh while heavily nodding to previous iterations. This is actually the first book by Scalzi I've read, and it made me an instant fan. If you're looking for heavy, hard, sci fi, this is not it. If you want a fun read with snappy dialogue and giant creatures named Kevin, this book is definitely for you.

I received this book to review about a month ago, and was really excited... and then I sat on it. The problem was not this book, which I was expecting to be some good, corny sci-fi fun (and it was!), the problem was that I had somehow decided I needed to earn this corny sci-fi fun by first reading something emotionally taxing. I admit that this is ridiculous, and yet, I still managed to finally meet my lofty goal of emotionally exhausting myself while reading a different example of what I am going to call "pandemic fiction." That's right, everyone, we've reached a point in book publishing where all soon-to-be published novels (such as this one) need to address the covid-shaped elephant in the room.

As far as pandemic insertions, however, this book really only uses it as a touchstone of realism in an otherwise fairly outrageous sort of sci-fi romp. At the start of this novel, Jaime, who was fired shortly before the pandemic shut-down, is looking to again lose his job as a meal "deliverator," and an acquaintance he sees during his last delivery offers him a delivery-guy job for an NGO that "protects large animals." Yes, he finds out on-site that these large animals are nuclear-powered kaiju on an alternate-reality earth. Yes, this book reads rather faithfully like a mishmash of Jurassic Park with Parks and Rec. The world of scientists, government and corporate money men, and joe-schmo schleppers was believably peopled by a diverse crowd. In fact, other than the MC, all individuals without a PhD are bad guys or bureaucratic red tape to gently pacify with watered-down science. If you assumed kaiju earth is basically a playground for snooty academics, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. Still, Jaime perseveres through gentle ribbing about his lack of a graduate degree and the roundly entertaining pseudo-science to participate in some clever deductions and a variety of action sequences, turning this book into a nice little semi-soothing sci-fi caper.

Books that are easy and a joy to read don't need to be the exception in anyone's tbr stack! If you are in the mood for some light action, gentle references to monster movies or Stephenson’s hard sf novels, and silly applications of science, you’ll enjoy this book. And you should go for it, rather than leaving it as a palate-cleanser or relief or whatever from something more turgid 😉.

My thanks to Netgalley, Tor Books, and the author for providing this e-arc for review.

I'm going to be absolutely honest, this book ticked all the boxes for me the moment I saw the cover.

It's like Jurassic Park meets Godzilla meets a bonkers story that you just have to hang onto and follow the ride. It's delightfully strange and fun, and was the perfect length to be a quick read and one that I'll be recommending to my Godzilla fans, my Jurassic Park fans, and obviously also everyone else because hey, a good book is a good book!!

Fast and fun, this fantasy adventure is the perfect antidote to any lingering blahs.

When Jamie Gray gets fired on the day of his 6-month performance review, things look pretty bleak. The Covid Pandemic is beginning to isolate and quarantine everyone and jobs are scarce. Fortunately, he gets work as a delivery person and soon reconnects with someone he’d known at university. When a job doing something a little more lucrative is offered, Jamie accepts immediately.

Soon, however, Jamie finds that he has agreed to go off Earth to another dimension to protect an unusual creature, the kaiju, and that’s when the world building and hilarious story comes alive. The interaction between the characters and their daily routine working for the KPS is sprinkled with all kinds of serious science stuff, but the gist is that the entire outpost is mainly there for the kaiju. When nefarious people from real Earth come through to take a closer look at the unique biological system that is a kaiju, the team goes into action hoping to avert a terrible disaster.

This was a quick read that took me only a couple of hours, much of that time spent smiling at the nonsense and the interplay of the team. It was just what I needed and I can recommend it to anyone who wants a break from the gritty and serious for some entertainment. If you liked the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park or the dragons from The Great Zoo of China — or any huge, otherworldly creature features, you will definitely enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

Scalzi has another hit with this tongue-in-cheek science fiction novel. Similar enough to Jurassic Park, but with it's own twists and humor that set it aside. The main character Jamie Grey is funny, sardonic, and a joy to empathize with. The addition of the Uber-food industry and pandemic firings or layoffs made Jamie an incredibly relatable character right now.

I thought I was really going to like this book I enjoyed Redshirts and the Lock In books, and I normally like Scalzi's writing style. Or I did previously. This...this was not great. All of the characters blended together. I became increasingly infuriated with the phrase "I lift things" and all the variations of it that the main character Jamie uses. I mean. It was a running gag taken to an aggravating extreme. Also, what do the kaiju look like?? Mountains? But some have wings? And they have heads and teeth maybe? And parasites. No one is described very well, so you'll have to create your own mental picture of anyone. This really wasn't my cup of tea, and I wanted it to be, so I'm a tag annoyed. The dialogue was sometimes fun. Notes: kaiju (not well described), politics, pandemic, multiverse, friendships, snappy dialogue, repetitive statements, mediocre. I was allowed to access an ARC of this copy by Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge/Tor Books in exchange of a fair review.

Set in the pandemic when everyone was having to make adjustments -losing jobs, changing jobs, staying inside, having food delivered. Jaimie finds himself suddenly out of a job. He thought he was going in for an awesome job evaluation review but due to downsizing, he was fired. He had given his boss some good ideas to improve the business which he later found out the boss used but was relegated to taking the job of delivery person he had been offered just to make ins meet. On one of his deliveries he meets a former acquaintance who offers him a job with his company. It seems a little mysterious and not quite right but he decides to take a chance. The money is good, they take care of everything while you are gone for 6 months in a place with no contact, no phones , no internet totally cut off from your present life. And what awaits them where they are going ... something awesome...!!!!
This book is so much fun!!! The writer was suffering from pandemic stress when he wrote it according to his notes and it totally gives reality to the situation! Usually John Scalzi writes more serious science fiction which is excellent; but one other book that I have read of his, Redshirts is another delightful somewhat tongue and cheek take off on the Star Trek world of those who wear the red shirts on the crew who are on the awayteam to a planet to be the token replaceable person who can die on said planet. Both these books are hilarious and so much fun to read. I highly recommend this book!

This was a good time! The second half of the book is what I had the most fun with, but it was a really solid story from the start.

I wasn't familiar with what a Kaiju was, so I had to really commit to reading all the info dumping to wrap my head around what these crazy creatures were. All the explanations took place in dialogue which was mostly fine with me so long as they were explained well which I thought they were. I found some of the plot to be a little predictable at times, but I can't deny how much fun the overall story was. There were a few too many crazy convenient coincidences with Jamie. Then again this is a story about a top secret preservation society to protect and study Kaiju's on an alternate Earth, so maybe in the end that's not a big deal.

In conclusion: "I lift things." - Jamie Gray

Fun. Fun. Fun.

That is the only way I can describe this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this standalone sci-fi pageturner from John Scalzi, and if you're anything like me, you will thoroughly enjoy it too!

This book also has the surreal award for being the first book I've read that has acknowledged the COVID19 pandemic, in fact, the 2020 lockdown is starting point for the plot. Don't worry though, this book isn't about COVID, in fact, I'd say this book is the perfect escape from the outside world, a book you can lose yourself in with lovable characters and a totally unique setting.

If the title of this book puts you off, maybe this isn't the book for you, because this book wears its nerdiness on its sleeve (literally), and if you are ready to embrace that, you'll have a great time.

FFO: Godzilla movies, Ready Player One, French-Canadian helicopter pilots.

What a fun and thrilling book! I really enjoyed the writing and characters and the cover is just truly awesome! Will be recommending this to everyone!

I’m just going to put it out there right off the bat that I’m a total sucker for anything remotely related to kaiju. For those of you not in the know, the easiest way to approach the phenomenon/sub-culture is, simply, Godzilla. If you can imagine giant, city-crushing, monsters on a tear, that’s kaiju.

I digress, though. The kaiju are just a portion of what Mr. Scalzi sets out to tackle in The Kaiju Preservation Society. Written, appropriately enough, in the middle of our little COVID-19 pandemic, the novel is a lovely pastiche of social commentary, science, adventure, and corporate fuckery.

This isn’t heavy reading, but it is hella entertaining reading. Our intrepid protagonist, Jamie Gray, has fallen from corporate idea guy to food delivery driver thanks to COVID and a bit of horrible circumstance. Luckily for Jamie, he runs into an old acquaintance who has a spot open on his team with “an animal rights organization.” Jaime takes the chance, and the adventure begins.

Much as the title describes, the Kaiju Preservation Society is charged with maintaining the “health” of a kaiju population in what can best be described as an “adjacent” Earth that can be accessed due to what can best be described as dimensional thinning due to nuclear activity.

The Kaiju of this realm can best be described as living, breathing — and sometimes flying — nuclear reactors (as all good kaiju are somewhere rooted in). The kaiju it turns out, are more of an ecosystem than just individual organisms, and the KPS tends to all of their needs.

There is other spoilery stuff that I would rather not reveal because this is just one hell of a fun read that deserves to be unfolded by whomever has it in their grubby little hands.

Mr. Scalzi has a proven track-record of getting all of the proper bits together for compelling storytelling and worldbuilding, and The Kaiju Preservation Society demonstrates this handily. The banter is very natural, the story progresses as one would expect a sci-fi flick script to do, and the pop culture references are just downright witty.

I know this is 85-90% a one-shot novel, but it would be interesting to see some expansion on some of the ideas, characters and technologies introduced. I’m not going to hold my breath, but a nerd can hope.

If you need me, I’ll be watching Rebirth of Mothra for the seventieth time.

As someone who often finds himself defending the literary merits of speculative fiction, I sometimes forget that, for all the thematic and narrative complexity that genre can evoke, it’s okay for a book’s primary aim to be entertaining the reader.

In short: sometimes you just want a thrilling, compelling yarn, one that is exciting and funny and imaginative. One where the other stuff – the “important” stuff – is still present, but still less vital to the experience than the pure story.

At the risk of damning him with faint praise, John Scalzi is one of the best around at crafting these sorts of high-concept, humorous sci-fi riffs. Best known for works like “Old Man’s War” and “Redshirts,” as well as his bestselling Interdependency trilogy, Scalzi’s latest is “The Kaiju Preservation Society.” It’s a smart and timely and often hilarious work, a quick page-turner that fills the reader with a sense of speculative adventure even as its underlying ethos worms its way into your brain.

Plus, it has giant monsters in it.

Jamie Gray works in development for a food-delivery app startup called füdmüd based in New York City. At least, he does until he gets pushed out. He leaves the company, only to be forced to come crawling back in need of a job, so he winds up as one of their delivery people. It’s a job he hates; his distaste grows even more as the COVID-19 pandemic ramps up.

It all changes when Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance. Tom is someone that Jamie knew back in the day but hasn’t really seen in some time. As it turns out, Tom’s company – an organization he vaguely describes as an animal rights group – has a last-minute open for an entry-level grunt for their next operation. Despite the mystery, Jamie signs on – anything is better than food delivery, especially as things stand.

Jamie’s in for quite a surprise when he learns that the animals his new employers monitor and protect aren’t like any creatures he’s ever seen before. In fact, only a scant handful of people have ever seen these creatures in the flesh. They can’t be found anywhere on Earth.

Well … this Earth, at any rate.

Jamie’s new employer is the Kaiju Preservation Society, or KPS, a quasi-governmental agency dedicated to protecting and monitoring the monstrous denizens of this alternate Earth. The barriers between dimensions are weakened by high-level nuclear activity, which is what led to the discovery of this new Earth and these enormous, physics-defying beasts. Their energy is also capable of weakening those dimensional barriers, leading to the need to strike a delicate balance.

But when a confluence of events leads to a possible breakdown of that barrier – and a breakthrough of a Kaiju from its own world into ours – Jamie and the rest of the KPS team must do whatever it takes to save the day from both the Kaiju and from the bureaucracy and entitlement of those in power on our world.

“The Kaiju Preservation Society” is an absolute delight. Too often, science fiction gets bogged down in self-seriousness. If anything, this book is the opposite – there’s a clear and present joy in the storytelling that shines through on every page. The book’s gleefully chaotic energy makes for a wildly entertaining read.

However, do not equate this lack of self-seriousness to unseriousness. Scalzi takes his job very seriously, crafting his narrative world with a delicacy of detail; just because he’s obviously having a marvelous time telling this tale, that doesn’t mean that he lacks commitment to the quality of the work.

And this book is of the utmost quality. Scalzi has a gift for coming up with intriguing central concepts and then spinning them out into sharp and compelling narratives. “The Kaiju Preservation Society” is another example of that gift in action, its central story an ideal framework on which to hang quick-witted dialogue and situational humor and assorted other stylistic Scalzi hallmarks.

I keep finding my way back to the details; Scalzi knows just what to include and what to imply. He does a wonderful job of creating a sense of plausibility; obviously, there’s no other Earth where mountain-sized monsters roam freely (as far as you know, at any rate), but everything about this story – from the inadvertent recruitment to the methodology of the operation to the underlying science and logistics feels possible. Of course, there’s a little bit of hand-waving involved in some of the larger leaps, but those moments are surprisingly few and far between considering the nature of the story.

Because again – this is a book about a more-or-less regular guy who winds up going to another dimension in order to help care for and protect Godzilla. It’s a workplace comedy by way of Tojo Films, with a fair helping of commentary about ecological conservation and economic disparity on the side. If you can read that description and NOT want to read this book, well … you should really make room for more joy in your life.

“The Kaiju Preservation Society” is smart and well-written, to be sure, but most importantly – it’s FUN. If you’re in the mood to go on a reading rampage, then you could do a lot worse than do so in the company of John Scalzi and his massive, monstrous creations.

John Scalzi has never apologized for writing accessible pop sci-fi, nor should he. He writes what he writes, and is damned good at it. It’s not for everybody, though: there are plenty of readers who find his style off-putting for one reason or another.

So I say to those people: stay away from this book. This is the most Scalzish a book can possibly be. If I was told this was written by someone trying to parody the writing of John Scalzi, I’d advise them to tone it down because it’s a little too on-the-nose. This is, by far, the Scalziest thing Scalzi has ever Scalzied.

Kaiju, for those who don’t know the term, is a Japanese term for a giant monster, or, the genre of stories and films focused on them. *Godzilla* is the original and most famous; *Pacific Rim* was a more recent example. The premise of this book is that, thanks to an interdimensional portal, humanity has established secret research stations on an alternate multiverse version of Earth where kaiju evolved naturally. Turns out that nuclear detonations thin the barriers between universes; humans first found out about kaiju when one made its way to Bikini Atoll in the years after World War II, and was spotted by some Japanese fishing boats (the rest is cinematic history).

This is a fun, quick, silly book. Like all kaiju movies, it doesn’t really hold up to close scrutiny. Don’t think about it and enjoy it for what it is. The whole thing is tropey and predictable, as Scalzi himself knows perfectly well. (When the Big Bad is revealed, the exact line from the narrator is “It was [REDACTED], because of course it was.” I also enjoyed Scalzi managing to work an explanation of the concept of lampshading into the story. I see what you’re doing, John.)

But, like I said, it’s enjoyable, silly fun. Also like I said, it’s very much a John Scalzi book. Meaning lots of overly-witty banter between people, pop culture references everywhere you look, and long infodump scenes on the “science” of the science fiction. I generally enjoy all these things in Scalzi books, but I do think they’re laid on a bit too thick here.

Everything I have described is a hallmark of an escapist book, but I would absolutely *not* apply that term here. This book came about early in the Covid-19 pandemic; Scalzi had been working on a different book, and it wasn’t going well, because, you know, *vague gesture at everything*. This book was what he ended up writing instead, and it’s set in the contemporary world. The pandemic is still ongoing, and it’s a major factor. The book starts with the protagonist losing their office job working for a food-delivery startup, and ends up working as a delivery driver after he gets fired dropping off food for everyone quarantining. The book is set right before the 2020 election, and all the characters in the book are quite happy to use giant monsters as an excuse to think about anything *but* the election. It’s all a bit too real.

One last point: Scalzi decided to re-use the trick he pulled in *Lock In* and doesn’t tell us the gender of the protagonist (Jamie). I paid close attention once I realized that’s what Scalzi was doing, and he kept to it. No references whatsoever to Jamie’s gender, and you know what? The book didn’t need any. So good on you, John. Keep doing this kind of thing.

This isn’t my first Scalzi, and it shant be my last. Jamie Gray is stuck in the middle of a dead-end delivery job in the middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic. That is, until he makes a delivery to an old acquaintance and gets the opportunity of a lifetime with “an animal rights organization.” Okay, so it’s grunt work, but it’ll get him out of the delivery apps game. What Jamie doesn’t know is that the “animals” aren’t of Earth, neither is his assignment. In an alternate Earth, a team of preservationists take care of Kaiju, and they’re in trouble. Others have found their way into this alternate Earth, and they’ll use the Kaiju to their nefarious ends. Jamie and crew must save them (and us) from these baddies.

I loved this book. I love all of Scalzi’s books, so I’m not sure why this one would be different. A slim, action-packed adventure full of humor, it’s just what I needed at the “end” of COVID. I loved that it was set during COVID but had absolutely nothing to do with the pandemic except as a catalyst for Jamie’s journey. It was nice to escape to an alternate reality where the heroes faced really big (Kaijus are big) problems that weren’t plague-related.

I think we all needed escapism and relief in the form of this little book, and I urge you to read it if you’re looking for a little bit of either of those things. It’s out now in print and audio wherever you get your books.

The best part of any kaiju movie is none other than the kaiju themselves. I live for those monster fights, a slow-mo smackdown in the rain, the nasty details about how their monstrous bodies work. Sorry Millie Bobby Brown, I do not give a fuck about you, I just think Godzilla is fucking sick.

And in The Kaiju Preservation Society, it is all about the monsters.

When Jamie loses his job at the start of the pandemic, he has to make ends meet by working as a food deliverer. That is until he meets Tom Stevens, an old buddy in need of a grunt at his top-secret job. So secret in fact, Tom can’t even tell him what he’s doing until he’s officially employed with the company. And with nothing to lose, Jamie agrees.

Now Jamie spends his days hauling heavy equipment back and forth in an alternate universe where kaiju exist and learning how to keep them alive with the help of his new teammates. That’s until one of the radioactive ones disappear and the only possible place she could be is on regular Earth.

I am eternally grateful to Tor for giving me an ARC for this book, I have been so excited for this book since John Scalzi announced its release. And thankfully, it just did not disappoint.

I loved this book so much. Scalzi understands the heart of the story is with the kaiju—a common gripe I have with kaiju movies is that they make it about the humans and as we’ve established, I don’t give a fuck about them—and he lets the monsters push the narrative forward, with the humans standing at the ready to clean up their mess. Like the team, I loved learning about the kaiju, how they live, breathe, fuck, every bit of it.

The world building is the star of the show here; kaiju may not exist, but every aspect of the story still felt so realistic from how the team preps to interact with these radioactive creatures, to how corporate greed impacts the running of what is essentially a wildlife conservation effort. I’ve always learnt that without a good, fleshed-out setting, a sci-fi story wouldn’t work as well, and this is a book that definitely highlights how true that is.

A shout-out as well how naturally Scalzi works in a nonbinary—but keep in mind, they’re never explicitly labelled as such—character. From the bat, they’re simply referred to with the correct pronouns, there’s no big hooha over it, and it was so neatly done, that even I myself who uses they/them pronouns didn’t notice it until a page in or so.

The Kaiju Preservation Society is such a fun, humourous sci-fi book and I highly recommend it. If you’re a fan of Godzilla, Jurassic Park, Pacific Rim, you’re bound to love this book too. And as a fan of John Scalzi’s work, I think this is a really lighthearted intro to his body of work and an excellent jumping-off point for those keen to explore.

Being an early John Scalzi fan, I really attached to his snarky comedy, jabs, and sharp dialogue of books like 'Redshirts' and 'Agent to the Stars'. The Kaiju Preservation Society is Scalzi at his light-hearted finest. No hard scifi here, no wide stretching space opera. This is a fairly small, self contained popcorn-action-comedy read resulting from Scalzi's pandemic lockup while the world falls and it's absolutely enjoyable.

This novel exhibits Scalzi's trademark humor and snark with a twist on multi-earth worlds stories. He populates his novel with a few interesting characters set into a world thick with possibilities but it ultimately feels like a quick, shallow effort of a novel. The potential of the characters is never fully realized. The main story line feels like a idea that isn't complete. The kaiju as well as other animals aren't well drawn out or developed, dependent on a biology that is not well developed and seems like a reach for the author. The story develops slowly but when the plot finally pulls together it feels forced. Overall, this novel is a quick read but ultimately fails to entertain.

I have been reading John Scalzi for many years and I have loved everything I have read. When I saw that he had a new book coming out, I requested it without even reading the description which only made the ride more fun and entertaining.
Screwed over by a truly hate-able boss at the start of the pandemic, Jamie Gray suddenly finds himself trying to survive as a food delivery person, but eventually loses that job too! Jamie doesn’t know how he is going to keep paying his rent, so when a guy he met back in college offers him a job Jamie jumps at it, even though he only vaguely knows that it is “fieldwork” with “large animals.” Jamie is quite shocked when he is whisked to a remote secret base and steps out into a world beyond imagination.
In the author’s note at the end, he described this book as a “pop song” and I think that perfectly captures what how it made me feel reading it. Scalzi created a beautiful world, likeable characters, and a fascinating plot. I just felt light when I finished it, grateful for the true escape from reality that it offered.
I had the great joy of getting an eARC of Kaiju Preservation Society and immediately devoured it. I loved it so much that I turned around and bought it as an audiobook which is narrated by the fabulous Wil Wheaton who was just perfect for this story.

This was my first John Scalzi novel, and I absolutely loved it. The title hooked me from the get go, the premise was absurd (but so, so good), and the writing was great.

4.5/5 Stars!

As someone who spent their teen years devouring everything Michael Crichton and Clive Cussler had ever written while simultaneously devouring all the multiverse books, mecha anime, and monster media I could get my hands, this book had everything I could ever want in it! It was like Jurassic Park and Pacific Rim had a nerdy baby and it was so much fun to read!

This was my first John Scalzi book so I didn't know what to expect. But OH MY GOODNESS! I seriously loved everything about this book! The characters! The alternate Earth! The kaiju! The science! It made my little nerd heart sing with joy! I haven't laughed out loud so much at a book in I don't know how long. The dry humor and the banter was SO good! I loved the interactions between Jamie and the other newbies as well as the veterans. Every time Jamie had to go up in the helicopter with Satie I found myself cackling like a madwoman.

I don't want to say too much about the plot of this book because it's one of those that you need to go into a little blind. Were parts of it predictable? Yes, but I was having so much fun it didn't matter. I read the Author's Note at the end of my ARC when I was trying to figure out what to write for my review and I think Scalzi's words about this book perfectly encapsulate my feelings on the book:

"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."

Mr. Scalzi, your book was indeed the perfect pop song and it put a giant smile on my face! I can't thank you enough for that and I sincerely look forward to rereading it many times in the future when I need a good pick me up.

I can't recommend this book enough if you're looking for a fun sci-fi read! It is hands down one of my favorite books of the year so far! And I can't wait to get a physical copy to put on my own shelves to sit with the other Scalzi books that I predict I will be reading in the very near future!