I received an ARC copy of this book from #NetGalley.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but it ended up being a very fun read. The plot and storyline moved really fast. Some of the science was a little over the top, to the point that the characters in story didn't understand or get it. Which really made the story all the more amusing. The characters were a little one-dimensional, but the story was engaging e ough that it didn't detract. Definitely worth a read if you are looked for a fun read.

4.5 for SURE.

KPS - the Jurassic Park Godzilla fans always wanted!

Jamie is at the top of his game, about to make a big pitch that would spring him up onto the board of an up-and-coming tech company... then he's fired. And the pandemic happens. And he's left delivering food to barely scrape by as a world quarantines. Then he delivers to an old friend...that has a job opening.

In the words of the author, this book reads like a pop song. Easy, fun and uncomplicated. I absolutely loved the story, the writing and Scalzi's explanation at the end of how it came about. My only wish is that it is the first of a riotously successful series!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

Thoughts: This was a fun, light read with a bit of a sci-fi bent to it. You have to kind of suspend your belief for the premise here, but that's not hard to do. There is a lot of humor, some action, and the idea behind the kaiju's existence is interesting.

The premise of the story is that a marketing specialist, Jamie, gets laid off right as COVID hits and ends up as a food delivery driver. On one of his deliveries he runs into an old acquaintance who offers him a strange job. Suddenly Jamie is traveling to a parallel reality to take care of giant Kaiju monsters.

The characters don’t have a ton of depth but they are fun. The world building and the monsters are incredibly entertaining and just generally awesome. I love all the Kaiju science and the action. Is this a masterpiece? No, and Scalzi even says as much in the afterward. However, it is fun and entertaining and a good mood lifter.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. This book is kind of like a summer blockbuster movie; it’s fast and fun, a bit goofy and full of action. I liked the Kaiju science here. The plot and characters were fairly light but I didn’t really mind because I was so entertained by the world. I would recommend this if you are looking for a sci-fi light type of action read with a lot of fake science that is actually pretty cool.

4.5 stars. This is such a fun novel, sheer escapism from start to finish. Not being into Japanese monster movies, I had never heard of a "kaiju" before I read this, so for anyone clueless like me, kaiju are giant monsters such as Godzilla. After getting fired at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jamie Gray is working a boring job as a food delivery driver in NYC when a delivery to an old acquaintance leads to a very mysterious, secretive job offer as a low-level grunt for some sort of animal rights group. What Jamie doesn't know until he accepts the job is that he and his team will be traveling to an alternate dimension where kaiju rule Earth. The alternate Earth is bananas, I loved the descriptions of the plants and animals, and lots of exciting things happen when bad guys infiltrate Kaiju Earth. Jamie and his friends are fun but lacking much depth or character development. Which is fine, this is a really enjoyable science fiction thriller and exactly what I was in the mood for. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this digital review copy.

If you're looking for one of Scalzi's large-scale "space operas", this isn't it. It's a short-ish stand-alone novel that shows off Scalzi's ability to quickly set a scene and get right to the meat of the story - which, in this case, is all about a trans-dimensional research station on an alternate Earth where dragons are real.

Naturally, there is an evil plot, motivated by greed, which seeks to take advantage of the resources offered by these giant animals, and which the protagonists - young graduate recruits to the research team - have to foil. It's edging into YA territory, but that's where I tend to find most originality these days, and, as a 71-year-old reader, I really enjoyed it!

Scalzi is great at pace, dialogue and character, so it's a fun read and excellent entertainment. OK, it's not his magnum opus, but, if you enjoyed Red Shirts, you'll enjoy this.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!

I was absolutely hooked! This kind of sci-fi mystery that’s embedded in real NATURAL science, but that’s just a little bit twisted, was so my jam! If you like Godzilla and Creature from the Black Lagoon also find our COVID world just a little dystopian to where you’d want to go SEE CREATURES LIKE THAT, this is the book for you. I will highly recommend to readers and students.

This was fun! I don’t know if I’ve ever quite experienced a book that made me think ‘popcorn action comedy movie’ quite like this before.

The book follows our main character Jamie, who right before the pandemic loses his job and is intrigued when a mysterious job offer comes to the table. I think the title might give away where.

Most of the book was told in conversations, it felt almost like a script that could be read and translated right onto a screen. Scalzi really didn’t describe settings or people, allowing your brain to fill in the blanks around the world and people. He focused instead on witty banter and an interesting story. But like mostly the witty banter. Like 90%. I laughed and shared some lines from this out loud.

If you are a person doesn’t like modern references in stories, then you might not like this. Its chalk full of popular science fiction and media quotes. However, I wasn’t bothered and got a laugh out of movie quotes and nerd talk. The references to the pandemic was crazy as it was my first book I’ve read that actually mentions it and I’m glad it’s a humor book and I could get some laughs out of it since otherwise, yeah I don’t want to talk about the pandemic lol

I will definitely look out for other work from this author now.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillian-Tor/Forge Publishing and John Scalzi for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lighthearted, witty romp into an alternative world, parallel to our own, where kaijus are the centre of scientific research.
This was hilarious. Chalk full of social/cultural references, strong fake scientific information, and just all around a blast to read.
Thank you so much for the arc.

This is my first foray into Scalzi's work and it was not what I expected! I was prepared for a very in depth, descriptive, harrowing book, but what I got was a summer blockbuster in book form. The dialogue was punchy, funny, and believable, and the book wasted no time getting directly into the action.

I would have liked more descriptions on what the kaiju looked like and felt that a lot of characters were overly quippy (I wish all my friends/coworkers were that quick with their wits). But all-in-all it was a fun, read-in-an-afternoon book that offered a great escape and 'what-ifs' in a post COVID-19 world (are we in post COVID? What year is it? Are we even alive anymore?).

When Jaime Gray loses his job, a fortuitous encounter opens him literally another world.

The truth is that I didn't have much luck in my previus encounters with Scalzi's works, however, this time I enjoyed it. Scalzi moves through several tropes of science fiction, and mocking them(Godzilla, Pacific Rim, Jurassic Park), and gives a quite unlikely explanation of the rules of this world with Kaijus!, but the conversations-sometimes silly- between characters, the somekind down-to-earth protagonist and the rest, leads a good pace that manages to maintain interest and entertain.

And, while you're at it, also comments about the business practices, the loss of jobs during the Covid pandemic. However he ends up on a very much blockbuster american movie way.

And ok , this is great for nerds.
And Have diversity in characters.


------------

{Esta vez en castellano:}

Cuando Jaime Gray pierde su trabajo, un encuentro fortuito le abre literalmente otro mundo.

La verdad es que lo que había leído antes de que Scalzi no me habia gustado mucho, sin embargo, esta vez disfruté con este libro. Scalzi se mueve a través de varios tropos de ciencia ficción, y burlándose de ello (Godzilla, Pacific Rim, Jurassic Park), y da una explicación bastante inverosimil de las reglas de este mundo con Kaijus!, Pero con las conversaciones, a veces bobas, entre los personajes, y su protagonista que parece anodino, consigue llevar un buen ritmo que logra mantener el interés y entretener.

Y, de paso, también comentar sobre las prácticas comerciales, la pérdida de empleos durante la pandemia covid. Aunque si bien termina muy en tono de pelicula taquillera norteamericana.

Para pasar un buen rato.

I received an ARC of The Kaiju Preservation Society in exchange for an honest review.
I am a big fan of Scalzi's previous books and series. I hadn't heard a lot about this one until very recently. I wasn't sure what to expect as it is set in the (very) current time. It starts at the beginning of the COVID pandemic and I was a little worried it would be a bit serious, but that was just additional settings and made it relatable with the mask requirements, air travel issues, and introduction of the vaccine.
This was a quick read with interesting and quirky characters. It is a stand-alone book which is nice. You don't get too deeply involved with most of the characters, but there is a core group that you feel somewhat connected to. As Scalzi himself says, this is popcorn fiction. It is quick, entertaining and is a welcome distraction for a period of time. It isn't going to set the literary world on fire. But, you will be entertained, and I could easily see a concept like this adapted for TV or movies.

This was really entertaining, and the first book I’ve read that even mentions the pandemic. Scalzi’s writing style is witty and its a fun read.

Kaiju Preservation Society follows Jamie Gray as he starts his new, enigmatic job studying "animals". What jumped out immediately at me was the wry humor and nerdy heroes. From page one I was hooked. This definitely isn't horror, if you were wondering. It's firmly in the realm of sci-fi. If you liked The Island of Dr Moreau or Jurassic Park you'll probably dig this book too. The monsters are nostalgic (think Godzilla with Rottweiler sized parasites) and weird. Although not high action, the plotline is interesting and of course with John Scalzi as the author you can't go wrong. I wanted more darkness and disaster but all-in-all Kaiju Preservation Society is a good four stars for fans of Monster Sci-Fi.

I was really looking forward to reading this book and was overjoyed at the chance to ARC read it.

I found the book to be an easy and exciting read. The pages just kind of flew past as I greedily wanted to learn more about the Kajiu. That being said, I think my 4 stars might be a little generous, if you like godzilla-like creatures, you'll like the book. If you don't, it might fall a little flat.

What I really enjoyed, is how much they explained certain things. They went over the origins of the Godzilla movies, they went over how different Kaiju biology was to what we know from earth. They went over how the Kaiju worked, how their biome worked, and stuff like that. I wish there was more talk about the actual science of things, Jamie is one of the few characters that is mentioned frequently in the book that isn't a scientist, so it makes sense they'd explain it to him (and thus us) in layman terms. But I personally enjoy books where the science is explained. But here it was all very pop fiction like.

One thing I really didn't like is how vague all description of the Kaiju were. At first, I thought they were just building up the suspense. But we never get proper descriptions other than "mountain-like" and "something out of lovecraft". So this entire time I'm just imagining a giant turtle with a mountain on their back. And.. honestly that was a big downer. I mean, we're going to a completely separate world? With an entirely different ecosystem? With all kinds of creatures? And you're not going to give me detailed explanations on how these things look?? They were vague about EVERY description, not just the monsters, the base camp was compared to an.. ewok village I think it was? It was in the trees, and that was all the information we got. Now, Star Wars is huge, and almost everyone has watched the movies. I happen to not have. So again, I sat there with no description of anything other than "in the trees" and "covered in nets"

My biggest complaint however, is the real-world ties this book had. It starts off with the Pandemic with the main character struggling to pay rent and finding a good job. Which, I personally felt like is too-soon to have in a book, but not that big a deal. No, what I disliked, is that the political climate in the US at the time gets mentioned in the book several times. No names are mentioned, but certain things are said and even mocked that it is [i]very[/i] clear what is being said. I was uncomfortable with it honestly. Now, don't misunderstand me, I'm not even American. I don't care much about who is or isn't president. But when I pick up a sci-fi book about big ass monsters, I don't really expect that to be part of the story. But, maybe this is me being overly sensitive to the subject. Maybe I've been lucky in the books I've read where the President, and the political climate, in the US is always kind of imaginary with fake names and stuff tossed around. Maybe it's perfectly normally to toss that level of in-real-life drama into a book that has nothing to do about that stuff. Or maybe it's a "bit", something to upset a certain type of people just enough that the book gets talked about. I don't know. I just know I didn't like it and you could hear my eyerolls from across the street.

That being said. If there is ever a sequel released, I will 100% read it. This book wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough about the Kaiju and their world, and I need more.

Jamie Gray is some sort of junior executive at food delivery app start-up füdmüd, who is inexplicably demoted to “Deliverator” during his 6-month performance review, but not before the CEO steals his big idea. His big idea being for füdmüd to compete better by improving its quality of service. In fact, this big idea is so big, that after making Jamie a no-benefits deliverator, the CEO goes on to enlarge the business until it is bought out by Uber Eats for billions. This comically simplistic plot hook sets the tone for the entire comically simplistic novel. You see, one of Jamie’s food delivery clients gets him hired as a replacement “guy who lifts things” on a secret project. The secret project is to support the study of giant kaiju creatures living on a parallel Earth, and keep them from invading our own world. The giant and grotesque life forms reminded of David Gerrold’s Hella, but with a more mundane narrator. Scalzi plays it for laughs, with plenty of sarcastic dialog and heroic instincts among the small group of newcomers that includes Jamie. Sadly, the once timely mentions of pre-delta and pre-omicron covid are already in need of updation before the novel has even been released.

John Scalzi broke out of his 2020 writing slump by quickly creating this on a rebound, and hopes we all like his “fun” story. Sure, ok, so next please show me something a little more substantial. Maybe you can sell this one to Disney.

I read an Advance Reader Copy of The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi in ebook, which I received from Tor Books through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review on social media platforms and on my book review blog. This new title is scheduled for release on 15 March 2022.

📚ADVANCED READER REVIEW📚⁠
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Reviews are in for Kaiju Preservation Society⁠
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John... Johnnn. May I call you John? No? Okay, Mr Scalzi... this was a very cathartic read. Why'd you have to do me like that? ⁠
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Jamie Gray, our personal every-person, is dealing with some very real situations which are also very relatable and if I may be so bold, captures perfectly the frustration we are all feeling, still, 2 years into this pandemic. What is impressive is, like with Red Shirts, the author has allowed us to step inside the skin of a purposefully oblique character to vent some of our frustrations. By shooting monsters. ⁠
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This book is a call-out post. Its slow in some parts, but swiftly picks up due to snappy phrasing. This is not the... (sorry, Chuck... you know who you are) woke-ish namedroppy popcharged panphlet we have seen (im looking at you, Book of Accidents... again, no offense, Chuck).⁠
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By using satire, Mr. Scalzi does it once again.⁠
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Thank you TOR/MacMillan/Forge for the lovely galley. I hope you like my... er... art piece for it. ⁠
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@jscalzi @torbooks @macmillanusa #ARC #galley #netgalley #AdvancedReaderCopies ⁠
#book #bookstagram #reader #reading #booklover #instabook #booksofinstagram

Okay, disclaimer: I have an irrational fear of dinosaurs. Irrational. I know.

So when I say the Kaiju are described as a sort of dinosaur, I nearly put this book down. But I worked past it and I began, instead, to imagine the word Scalzi created here as one of fairies and butterflies -- but with teeth.

And I loved this book. The ending felt a bit rushed, but the book itself was beautiful and fantastic and laugh out loud funny. Scalzi is one of those authors that I read and I think, why don't I read more of his work?

This book is coming out in March and I want to strongly suggest you put it on your list, especially if you are a fan of Andy Weir. They aren't super similar, but I got the same sort of joy out of reading this book that I got from reading Hail Mary.

I am a big Scalzi fan and each new book of his is appointment reading. This one, as the author describes it himself in the acknowledgements, is like a pop song. Not as deep or dark as some of his other books, it is an easy, light, thoroughly entertaining read with his usual comedic voice and expansive world building.

This is a great book to spend an afternoon or two in the company of. It's fun, funny and a page turner. There were moments when the constant puns and jokes were a bit too much but overall a great book. If you are looking for a break from long and tiresome books or overwritten squirrel killer tomes - this is your book. You'll thank me if you pick this one up
And I would read a whole book centered around Satie! He is AWESOME!

I know the title seems kind of crazy but that’s only because the novel itself is kind of crazy. But that’s John Scalzi for you in all of his snarky, lunatic glory. And yet despite the fanciful premise involving giant lizards with nuclear cores that occasional go critical and explode, this novel is grounded by the friendships at the heart of it. Our young protagonists are tasked with protecting these majestic beasts and yet, despite the overwhelming odds, they come together to banter and banter and banter some more on the way to…no, that would be spoiling it for you. A fun, spirited read.