“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.” Going into John Scalzi’s 2022 novel, I didn’t know what to expect, and for a good while I didn’t know if I liked it. Though I’ve had his 2005 novel Old Man’s War on my TBR for a while, I’m a mood reader, a slow reader, and someone with an extensive library of sci-fi already before jumping into the bibliography of a new author (new to me).

At first, his style is jarring and frustrating, possibly for trying desperately to cling to pop culture. I’d go as far as to say it feels like someone older keeping the attention of someone young by mentioning things they know. It isn’t too far from Steve Buscemi and his skateboard looking for drugs. Yet pushing past name-checked references and a bit of CW-style 45-year-olds writing for 30-year-olds playing 16-year-olds dialogue, Scalzi’s pop-song of a book is a fantastic shot of energy. A simple story we’ve seen before (with a twist) doing enough to make you forget about Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg, until that is name-checked too.

The Kaiju Preservation Society follows the story of Jamie Grey, a young guy that gets fired from a Grubhub-like gig and ends up meeting an old friend. Soon, we’re thrust into the secretive society of Kaiju preservation. We’re also thrust into the scientific super friends in Aparna, Kahurangi, and Niamh. All four are thrust into this world of thermonuclear dinosaurs the size of Arabian buildings. Jamie provides us with a good enough window into the science-fiction world as he’s as stupid as some of us are. Which is to say he isn’t drooling on the carpet, but is a good vessel to filter questions through.

As much as I can throw dirt when it comes to Scalzi’s abundance of references, this is where I think he does a fantastic job at making the reading as comfortable as possible while not entirely dumbing it down. Character voice is among the many tools that are utilized to keep your eyes from glazing over. The dialogue doesn’t like wasting time and neither does the plot really. Once we’re into the thickness of Godzilla Land’s atmosphere and plunged deeply into the work of keeping a billionaire’s theme park afloat (and secret), there is little else to hold back the plot from going places.

I don’t intend on spoiling too much, but I do have a criticism of a later point which I’ll try and be vague on. The titular secret society goes straight for the most action this place of wonder has seen in years with its hand-waving science. The kaiju themselves and their world are explained, though if you’re expecting Andy Weir levels of nuanced detail you’d be onto plumbs (or poo potatoes) sunshine. With moving mountains and buildings for creatures and a whole alternate world, there is plenty of adventure for our plucky 20-somethings.

As Scalzi later says on The Kaiju Preservation Society, it is a pop song of a book. I like that, we all need that. He also doesn’t make chapters feel like a slog. E-reader predictions of how long a chapter takes or page counts in the table of contents can be off-putting. It is digestible. Characters are likable or hate-able in simple ways, nothing gets too in the way, there is a cool concept, and generally, it is easy to imagine because (as Tom points out) the plausible dependability of there being a portal to another world with nuclear-powered monsters we’ve seen in Japanese films (sadly an American one too) is ingrained in us.

The point that is slightly mishandled is the death of someone on the other side. The fast pacing keeps us on this constant road to new jeopardy for Jamie, but when clear and present danger is shown to us, it feels like it is part of the furniture because we need to move on to the next thing. It makes the character in question feel very replaceable, like they didn’t have to be there after introductions because anyone could fill those shoes. It isn’t entirely a criticism of Scalzi, but rather his approach to the pacing which never feels like it is given the time to settle. Arguably a pop song even has a bridge or a middle-8th.

Ultimately, John Scalzi’s The Kaiju Preservation Society is a fun and energetic read that wants nothing more than to give you a brief moment away from everything depressing you daily. I want to say it is a great book to put a late teenager/early 20-something onto reading more fun sci-fi, but some are prudish about swearing and although it starts simple, it becomes more frequent though nothing unheard before. A little heavy on the references that are on the nose, but it becomes something you’ll get used to as you progress through Jamie’s first tour with the KSP.

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The Kaiju Preservation Society

$11.99+

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• A very easy, fun, and energetic read.
• Do I have to literally tell you that it is Jurassic Park with Godzilla or something?
• Reasonable chapter length.

Cons

• We get it, you've observed some media from the last 100-ish years. 
• Some CW Teen-Drama-style dialog before settling down a bit.
• The heavy moments don't really get time to breathe with the pacing.