The Kaiju Preservation Society

This is a fun, lightweight science fiction novel about an alternate Earth with “kaiju” exist – essentially large monsters, like Godzilla. It’s a lot like Jurassic Park.

(“Kaiju” is a Japanese word for “strange beast.” It’s become a genre for Japanese monster movies.)

The author provides some great science background. The monsters, it turns out, have internal, biological nuclear reactors, and they’re able to cross between alternate Earths when a nuclear explosion “thins the barrier.” As wild as it sounds, it’s presented very logically and …makes …perfect …sense?

The story is lightweight. This is a standalone novel, and in an acknowledgment, the author (who is quite prolific) discusses how it got written. He was working on a darker, more serious novel, but had a bit of a personal breakdown over COVID, and decided to do something lighter.

And that might be a weakness. The novel tries very hard to be…funny? The dialog, in particular, is basically a collection of action movie cliches. The characters don’t speak, they banter. Sometimes it’s witty; often it’s annoying.

Again, this was “fun.” That’s about the best thing I can say about it. I enjoyed reading it, but it’s not a story that’s going to stick with you for any length of time. It would make a decent movie.