The Kaiju Preservation Society
-
-
4.3 • 279 Ratings
-
-
- $13.99
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Giant monsters run amok in Hugo Award–winning author John Scalzi’s wild adventure. Jamie is spinning his wheels at a rotten job when an old friend offers him an intriguing new opportunity. As part of a “wildlife protection” group known as KPS, Jamie is tasked with protecting our world from kaiju (think giant monsters like Godzilla)—as well as protecting the massive beasts from humans. Scalzi drops us into a thrilling multiverse where nuclear weapons have torn the boundaries between worlds and giant monsters are one atomic blast away from smashing through our cities. Maybe the best thing about this comic fantasy novel is that it’s not the setup to a massive trilogy—although we wouldn’t say no to a sequel! The Kaiju Preservation Society is a short, fast, fun cross-dimensional romp.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A more ethical Jurassic Park meets the camaraderie of Parks and Recreation in this wonderfully witty and refreshingly earnest adventure yarn from Hugo Award winner Scalzi (Redshirts). Atomic bomb tests in the 1950s revealed a parallel Earth inhabited by Godzillian kaiju, a fact Jamie Gray learns upon being hired by KPS, the eponymous secret organization, which monitors and protects the massive creatures. Jamie and several other new KPS employees are stationed at a base on this parallel Earth and when an investor's malfeasance threatens both Earths, the band of newbies fights back. The hyper-current story spans March 2020 through March 2021, touching on the Covid-19 pandemic and offering exactly the kind of playfulness and hope that were needed during that period (and are still more than welcome now). The parallel world Scalzi builds is understandably dangerous even as he carries on the science fiction tradition of questioning who the real monsters are, but those realistically dark elements help highlight the more optimistic themes of collective action and preservation. The resulting escape is equally lighthearted and grounded and sure to delight.
Customer Reviews
Why yes, you should read this book
This was a fun fast read, and exactly what I needed when I read it.
When I started reading it I thought this was going to be an easy, predictable read with little surprise, and no real challenge. I was wrong, and not, both in a good way.
It is a fun and fast read, but main plot points were not easily predictable. Which was great!
This is a ridiculously solidly, tightly leanly written book. It’s not flowery or poetic, there is nothing in the prose that does not need to be there.
This is my first book by this author, and I’m sure to read more.
Scalzi phones it in for this one.
Every character has the same voice, same sense of humor, same “witty” chat. This is the most halfhearted and boring book about inter-dimensional travel and giant monsters ever. Lazy writing in this mercifully short book. I used to be a Scalzi fan.
Could have been better
I was really excited for this book and the premise behind it. A book about kaiju that never really details their world beyond the smaller creatures that live there and “you couldn’t comprehend what they looked like if I told you” just feels like a half effort. Knocking off one star for every dialogue exchange being the same sarcastic back and forth for the entirety of the book, and one star for being completely predictable storytelling that never delivered any punch or plot twists.