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Carmen's Reviews > The Kaiju Preservation Society
The Kaiju Preservation Society
by
by
Carmen's review
bookshelves: american-author, fiction, he-says, published2022, science-fiction, traditionally-published
May 13, 2023
bookshelves: american-author, fiction, he-says, published2022, science-fiction, traditionally-published
”When you made your first offer, I was willing to let you pass if off as a joke,” Satie said. “You're not the first billionaire I've ferried around. I know how you all like to wave around your money dick to see who might be willing to suck on it. If you had let it go when I gave you the opportunity, I was willing to ignore it. But you had to push it. You wanted to see how much it would cost for me to compromise the safety of everyone on this aircraft, me included, to assert your dominance. So, now here is my answer, Mr. Sanders. I will let you out for free. And there is no amount of money, on this planet or the other, that you or anyone else could pay me to let you back in.” pg. 154
I actually really enjoyed this.
I think it helps that I have read a lot of Scalzi and pretty much know what to expect now. This is one of Scalzi's lighter works, akin to Redshirts. As per usual, Scalzi is shit at writing characters. That is to say, all his characters are basically the same person: smart, witty, sharp, and hilarious. It's kind of like Joss Whedon. All the characters are Scalzi himself, basically. Don't read Scalzi for character development or character arcs.
That being said, the book is so funny. I was laughing once or twice and definitely smiling a lot. It's also action-packed and fun. If you want a light, action-packed, fun book about Godzilla and Godzilla-type monsters, this is it.
Laertes's parents were the sort of outwardly very nice conservative people who wouldn't miss an opportunity to call Laertes by his deadname, and that shit will wear you down over time. pg. 7
Our hero, Jamie*,
*Scalzi does not mention in the entirety of the book if Jamie is male or female. This may SOUND revolutionary to you, but honestly I found it forced and annoying. It was fun and mind-challenging the first time he did it, in Lock In. There, I felt like he was making a statement and honestly having two versions of the audiobook – one narrated by Wil Wheaton and one narrated by Amber Benson – was smart, challenging, and fun. However, I don't have any desire for him to do it for every book and he seemingly does.
The problem with this is that (forgive me) Scalzi is not talented enough to write a non-binary or genderfluid character. Or, that is to say, a character that make you question if he/she is a male or female. Or both or neither or whatever. He doesn't have the skillz. So what he DOES is he just strips the character of anything resembling gender, sex, romance or personality. LOL Leaning into his strengths, LOL, writing personality-less characters is his strength. ANYWAY. It comes off stilted. It is created by building a main character who never mentions, thinks, talks about sex, romance, gender, dating, sexual attraction etc. etc. etc. Nor do any of the side characters mention this. So, it's very artificial.
”So, you worked there, you can tell me this,” Tom said, when I delivered his Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, which honestly I was surprised was allowed within the borders of New York City at all, much less this close to Little Italy. pg. 12
“Wait!” I can hear you say. “Some people are aromantic! And asexual! And gender-neutral!” OK, sure, fine, but somebody is going to say something and even in your own head you are going to think about things sometimes. Life isn't sterile. Not only does Jamie not have any sexual, romantic, or gender-based thoughts, but no one uses gendered pronouns around him, for him, asks him about his pronouns, looks at him with lust, makes any kind of question/comment about him, his romantic sexual life, his romantic sexual tastes, his appearance NOTHING. It's honestly ridiculous and so far-fetched.
Thirdly, Scalzi can't write a female MC. I'm sorry, he's not skilled enough at writing a female POV so his “genderless” characters sound like men. Rather neutered and repressed men, but men nonetheless. This MC didn't sound female at all to me, nor was I tempted to think or even wonder if he was female at any time.
So, where was I -
Our hero, Jamie, finds himself out of work after a HILARIOUS meeting with his asshole boss that I really have to give Scalzi credit for. It's an amazing first chapter. Quite funny and (like the book) full of science-fiction references. Down on his luck, he takes a job driving for a food-delivery service. This is during COVID.
”Our delivery people - “
“Deliverators.”
I shifted in the beanbag. “What?”
“Deliverators. That's what we're calling them now. Clever, right? I thought up the term.”
“I thought Neal Stephenson did.”
“Who?”
“He's a writer. He wrote SNOW CRASH.”
“And that's, what, a FROZEN sequel?”
“It's a book, actually.”
Rob waved his hand dismissively. “If it's not Disney, we won't get sued for it. You were saying?” pg. 3
By the way, Scalzi does a great job of placing his novel during Covid. He addresses Covid, talks about Covid, has his characters dealing with Covid and a Covid-world, but doesn't make it heavy or oppressive. I'd compare it to how it's dealt with in GLASS ONION: KNIVES OUT.
”Finally, with this one” - Dr. Lee pointed to one of the last syringes in the longest tray - “in one in about two hundred fifty injections, the recipient feels the urge for, let's just say, intense and homicidal violence. Like, 'murder everyone in the building and build a pyre with their skulls' level of violence.”
“I can understand that,” I assured her.
“No, you can't,” she assured me back. “Fortunately, there's a direct and accompanying side effect of extreme lassitude, which keeps most people from acting on the urge.”
“So, like, 'I want to kill you but that would mean leaving the couch.'”
“Exactly,” Dr. Lee said. “We call it MURDER STONER SYNDROME.”
“That can't be real.” pg. 23
During his delivery job he runs into an old acquaintance who ends up scoring him an interview at the KPS and the rest is history.
”You have a nemesis now,” Kahurangi said. “I'm officially jealous. I've always wanted to have a nemesis.”
“I'll be your nemesis,” I volunteered.
“Thanks, Jamie, I appreciate the offer. But you have to win your nemesis on the field of battle.”
“I could punch you if that helps.”
“Tempting, but no.”
“The offer stands.” pg. 102
The science here is kind of hand-wavy, please don't expect hard science fiction from this. But it's a lot of fun.
I liked the funny, smart, slightly badass and stalwart main character.
TL;DR I will definitely be recommending this book to a lot of people. It's smart, funny, a good time, and kind of resembles an action film. I think it will appeal to a lot of people. Scalzi also has a great number of female MCs who are super-smart and kick butt, he has transgender characters, non-binary characters, characters of every single skin color, ethnic background and religion. He writes all this with zero drama, creating this kind of LGBTQIA+ non-racist, non-religious-conflict society where everyone respects each other and works scientifically for the greater good. Reminiscent of Star Trek.
The downside is this kind of neutral society also strips his characters of anything interesting. Everyone is John Scalzi. Everyone speaks with Scalzi's voice. Everyone is smart, funny, whip-smart, quick on their feet and slightly badass. Do not expect real characters. Do not expect character arcs. Do not expect a character-driven story. Do not expect nuance, subtlety, deep-thinking nor a complex plot. DO buckle in for a riotous good time full of fun adventures, action, and cool monsters.
”She's probably going to hate your guts for the rest of the tour. Well, the rest of her tour, anyway.”
“It'll be fine,” Aparna said. “I'll bake her some cookies. All will be forgiven.”
“Those will have to be some damn fine cookies,” I said. “I was there. That was some heavy-duty stuffage.”
“They've worked before.”
“You've done this before?”
“Enough times that I've gotten very good at making cookies.”
“Damn, Aparna,” Niamh said, impressed. “You are now officially my new role model.”
“Shut up, I know it,” Aparna said, mildly.
“Now I want cookies,” Kahurangi said.
“You know the price,” I said.
“It'll be worth it.” pg. 103
Scalzi is great with the science-fiction references, I was enjoying them a lot. And he doesn't overdo it, like, say, Ernest Cline who just is TOO MUCH. Scalzi is just the right amount.
”They didn't consider that it was a cross-dimensional barrier. They came through to our world because it never occurred to them that they COULDN'T.” pg. 165
RELATED MATERIALS:
My Science Project https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089652/
Any Godzilla movie (obviously)
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
All Systems Red and the Murderbot series by Martha Wells
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein
So much more! If you love sci-fi, you will be jiving on all the references here.
NAMES IN THIS BOOK:
(view spoiler)
I actually really enjoyed this.
I think it helps that I have read a lot of Scalzi and pretty much know what to expect now. This is one of Scalzi's lighter works, akin to Redshirts. As per usual, Scalzi is shit at writing characters. That is to say, all his characters are basically the same person: smart, witty, sharp, and hilarious. It's kind of like Joss Whedon. All the characters are Scalzi himself, basically. Don't read Scalzi for character development or character arcs.
That being said, the book is so funny. I was laughing once or twice and definitely smiling a lot. It's also action-packed and fun. If you want a light, action-packed, fun book about Godzilla and Godzilla-type monsters, this is it.
Laertes's parents were the sort of outwardly very nice conservative people who wouldn't miss an opportunity to call Laertes by his deadname, and that shit will wear you down over time. pg. 7
Our hero, Jamie*,
*Scalzi does not mention in the entirety of the book if Jamie is male or female. This may SOUND revolutionary to you, but honestly I found it forced and annoying. It was fun and mind-challenging the first time he did it, in Lock In. There, I felt like he was making a statement and honestly having two versions of the audiobook – one narrated by Wil Wheaton and one narrated by Amber Benson – was smart, challenging, and fun. However, I don't have any desire for him to do it for every book and he seemingly does.
The problem with this is that (forgive me) Scalzi is not talented enough to write a non-binary or genderfluid character. Or, that is to say, a character that make you question if he/she is a male or female. Or both or neither or whatever. He doesn't have the skillz. So what he DOES is he just strips the character of anything resembling gender, sex, romance or personality. LOL Leaning into his strengths, LOL, writing personality-less characters is his strength. ANYWAY. It comes off stilted. It is created by building a main character who never mentions, thinks, talks about sex, romance, gender, dating, sexual attraction etc. etc. etc. Nor do any of the side characters mention this. So, it's very artificial.
”So, you worked there, you can tell me this,” Tom said, when I delivered his Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, which honestly I was surprised was allowed within the borders of New York City at all, much less this close to Little Italy. pg. 12
“Wait!” I can hear you say. “Some people are aromantic! And asexual! And gender-neutral!” OK, sure, fine, but somebody is going to say something and even in your own head you are going to think about things sometimes. Life isn't sterile. Not only does Jamie not have any sexual, romantic, or gender-based thoughts, but no one uses gendered pronouns around him, for him, asks him about his pronouns, looks at him with lust, makes any kind of question/comment about him, his romantic sexual life, his romantic sexual tastes, his appearance NOTHING. It's honestly ridiculous and so far-fetched.
Thirdly, Scalzi can't write a female MC. I'm sorry, he's not skilled enough at writing a female POV so his “genderless” characters sound like men. Rather neutered and repressed men, but men nonetheless. This MC didn't sound female at all to me, nor was I tempted to think or even wonder if he was female at any time.
So, where was I -
Our hero, Jamie, finds himself out of work after a HILARIOUS meeting with his asshole boss that I really have to give Scalzi credit for. It's an amazing first chapter. Quite funny and (like the book) full of science-fiction references. Down on his luck, he takes a job driving for a food-delivery service. This is during COVID.
”Our delivery people - “
“Deliverators.”
I shifted in the beanbag. “What?”
“Deliverators. That's what we're calling them now. Clever, right? I thought up the term.”
“I thought Neal Stephenson did.”
“Who?”
“He's a writer. He wrote SNOW CRASH.”
“And that's, what, a FROZEN sequel?”
“It's a book, actually.”
Rob waved his hand dismissively. “If it's not Disney, we won't get sued for it. You were saying?” pg. 3
By the way, Scalzi does a great job of placing his novel during Covid. He addresses Covid, talks about Covid, has his characters dealing with Covid and a Covid-world, but doesn't make it heavy or oppressive. I'd compare it to how it's dealt with in GLASS ONION: KNIVES OUT.
”Finally, with this one” - Dr. Lee pointed to one of the last syringes in the longest tray - “in one in about two hundred fifty injections, the recipient feels the urge for, let's just say, intense and homicidal violence. Like, 'murder everyone in the building and build a pyre with their skulls' level of violence.”
“I can understand that,” I assured her.
“No, you can't,” she assured me back. “Fortunately, there's a direct and accompanying side effect of extreme lassitude, which keeps most people from acting on the urge.”
“So, like, 'I want to kill you but that would mean leaving the couch.'”
“Exactly,” Dr. Lee said. “We call it MURDER STONER SYNDROME.”
“That can't be real.” pg. 23
During his delivery job he runs into an old acquaintance who ends up scoring him an interview at the KPS and the rest is history.
”You have a nemesis now,” Kahurangi said. “I'm officially jealous. I've always wanted to have a nemesis.”
“I'll be your nemesis,” I volunteered.
“Thanks, Jamie, I appreciate the offer. But you have to win your nemesis on the field of battle.”
“I could punch you if that helps.”
“Tempting, but no.”
“The offer stands.” pg. 102
The science here is kind of hand-wavy, please don't expect hard science fiction from this. But it's a lot of fun.
I liked the funny, smart, slightly badass and stalwart main character.
TL;DR I will definitely be recommending this book to a lot of people. It's smart, funny, a good time, and kind of resembles an action film. I think it will appeal to a lot of people. Scalzi also has a great number of female MCs who are super-smart and kick butt, he has transgender characters, non-binary characters, characters of every single skin color, ethnic background and religion. He writes all this with zero drama, creating this kind of LGBTQIA+ non-racist, non-religious-conflict society where everyone respects each other and works scientifically for the greater good. Reminiscent of Star Trek.
The downside is this kind of neutral society also strips his characters of anything interesting. Everyone is John Scalzi. Everyone speaks with Scalzi's voice. Everyone is smart, funny, whip-smart, quick on their feet and slightly badass. Do not expect real characters. Do not expect character arcs. Do not expect a character-driven story. Do not expect nuance, subtlety, deep-thinking nor a complex plot. DO buckle in for a riotous good time full of fun adventures, action, and cool monsters.
”She's probably going to hate your guts for the rest of the tour. Well, the rest of her tour, anyway.”
“It'll be fine,” Aparna said. “I'll bake her some cookies. All will be forgiven.”
“Those will have to be some damn fine cookies,” I said. “I was there. That was some heavy-duty stuffage.”
“They've worked before.”
“You've done this before?”
“Enough times that I've gotten very good at making cookies.”
“Damn, Aparna,” Niamh said, impressed. “You are now officially my new role model.”
“Shut up, I know it,” Aparna said, mildly.
“Now I want cookies,” Kahurangi said.
“You know the price,” I said.
“It'll be worth it.” pg. 103
Scalzi is great with the science-fiction references, I was enjoying them a lot. And he doesn't overdo it, like, say, Ernest Cline who just is TOO MUCH. Scalzi is just the right amount.
”They didn't consider that it was a cross-dimensional barrier. They came through to our world because it never occurred to them that they COULDN'T.” pg. 165
RELATED MATERIALS:
My Science Project https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089652/
Any Godzilla movie (obviously)
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
All Systems Red and the Murderbot series by Martha Wells
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein
So much more! If you love sci-fi, you will be jiving on all the references here.
NAMES IN THIS BOOK:
(view spoiler)
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Reading Progress
January 28, 2022
– Shelved
May 2, 2023
–
Started Reading
May 2, 2023
–
1.14%
"”Our delivery people - “
“Deliverators.”
I shifted in the beanbag. “What?”
“Deliverators. That's what we're calling them now. Clever, right? I thought up the term.”
“I thought Neal Stephenson did.”
“Who?”
“He's a writer. He wrote SNOW CRASH.”
“And that's, what, a FROZEN sequel?”
“It's a book, actually.”
Rob waved his hand dismissively. “If it's not Disney, we won't get sued for it. You were saying?”"
page
3
“Deliverators.”
I shifted in the beanbag. “What?”
“Deliverators. That's what we're calling them now. Clever, right? I thought up the term.”
“I thought Neal Stephenson did.”
“Who?”
“He's a writer. He wrote SNOW CRASH.”
“And that's, what, a FROZEN sequel?”
“It's a book, actually.”
Rob waved his hand dismissively. “If it's not Disney, we won't get sued for it. You were saying?”"
May 3, 2023
–
2.65%
"Laertes's parents were the sort of outwardly very nice conservative people who wouldn't miss an opportunity to call Laertes by his deadname, and that shit will wear you down over time."
page
7
May 3, 2023
–
3.41%
"Loving the Neal Stephenson references in here, he's one of my favorites."
page
9
May 4, 2023
–
4.55%
"”So, you worked there, you can tell me this,” Tom said, when I delivered his Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, which honestly I was surprised was allowed within the borders of New York City at all, much less this close to Little Italy."
page
12
May 5, 2023
–
8.71%
"”Finally, with this one” - Dr. Lee pointed to one of the last syringes in the longest tray - “in one in about two hundred fifty injections, the recipient feels the urge for, let's just say, intense and homicidal violence. Like, 'murder everyone in the building and build a pyre with their skulls' level of violence.”
“I can understand that,” I assured her."
page
23
“I can understand that,” I assured her."
May 12, 2023
–
38.64%
"”You have a nemesis now,” Kahurangi said. “I'm officially jealous. I've always wanted to have a nemesis.”
“I'll be your nemesis,” I volunteered.
“Thanks, Jamie, I appreciate the offer. But you have to win your nemesis on the field of battle.”
“I could punch you if that helps.”
“Tempting, but no.”
“The offer stands.”"
page
102
“I'll be your nemesis,” I volunteered.
“Thanks, Jamie, I appreciate the offer. But you have to win your nemesis on the field of battle.”
“I could punch you if that helps.”
“Tempting, but no.”
“The offer stands.”"
May 13, 2023
–
39.02%
"”She's probably going to hate your guts for the rest of the tour. Well, the rest of her tour, anyway.”
“It'll be fine,” Aparna said. “I'll bake her some cookies. All will be forgiven.”
“Those will have to be some damn fine cookies,” I said. “I was there. That was some heavy-duty stuffage.”
“They've worked before.”
“You've done this before?”
“Enough times that I've gotten very good at making cookies.”"
page
103
“It'll be fine,” Aparna said. “I'll bake her some cookies. All will be forgiven.”
“Those will have to be some damn fine cookies,” I said. “I was there. That was some heavy-duty stuffage.”
“They've worked before.”
“You've done this before?”
“Enough times that I've gotten very good at making cookies.”"
May 13, 2023
–
58.33%
"”When you made your first offer, I was willing to let you pass if off as a joke,” Satie said. “You're not the first billionaire I've ferried around. I know how you all like to wave around your money dick to see who might be willing to suck on it. If you had let it go when I gave you the opportunity, I was willing to ignore it. But you had to push it. You wanted to see how much it would cost for me to"
page
154
May 13, 2023
–
62.5%
"”They didn't consider that it was a cross-dimensional barrier. They came through to our world because it never occurred to them that they COULDN'T.”
The Cat Who Walked Through Walls
My Science Project"
page
165
The Cat Who Walked Through Walls
My Science Project"
May 13, 2023
–
Finished Reading
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Julie
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May 09, 2023 11:47AM
Uh-oh!
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Julie wrote: "Uh-oh!"Ha ha, it's ok. It's better than ARMADA. Just was getting flashbacks there for a second.
Fantastic book review, Moneypenny. I'll focus on Scalzi trying to do in prose what the script for my favorite film of all time did, which as you know is Alien. The original screenplay was ahead of its time, written so that characters could either be male or female, I'd argue doing what Scalzi does, giving them gender neutral names and no sexuality. Character is revealed by how they do their jobs or combat the alien. Is it your opinion that if Jamie simply had sexual tastes or thoughts, half of which were masculine and half of which were feminine, that would've worked? Or is the larger problem that Scalzi simply doesn't have much finesse with character?
Helpful review, Carmen. I have this one on my list. I don't expect to read it soon but I'll leave it on my shelves.
Fantastic book review, Moneypenny. I'll focus on Scalzi trying to do in prose what the script for my favorite film of all time did, which as you know is Alien. The original screenplay was ahead of its time, written so that characters could either be male or female, I'd argue doing what Scalzi does, giving them gender neutral names and no sexuality. Character is revealed by how they do their jobs or combat the alien. Is it your opinion that if Jamie simply had sexual tastes or thoughts, half of which were masculine and half of which were feminine, that would've worked? Or is the larger problem that Scalzi simply doesn't have much finesse with character?This is an AMAZING comment, Joseph. It really made me think. Am I not giving Scalzi enough credit?! It's possible. Hmmmmmm.
I guess it's just hard for me to believe that NO ONE thinks or says anything about gender, sex, romance, dating, attraction or lack thereof, etc. etc. etc. Or uses pronouns of any kind to refer to him. But maybe I'm just not progressive enough? Wouldn't SOMEONE refer to him by a pronoun? Wouldn't SOMEONE ask if he had a girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse at home? I just found it all a bit fake. No matter if he was a man, woman, nonbinary, asexual, aromantic, transgender, cisgender, etc. etc. wouldn't SOME aspect of this come up at some point? No? Maybe I just live in a world in which people have and discuss romantic relationships or lack thereof.... not ad nauseum, but as a matter of course.
Hmmmmmmmm. Very interesting. Maybe I'm doing Scalzi a disservice? I don't know.
And didn't Weaver become rather a sex icon from being in that movie? Generally considered hot, right? Generally inspired lust in a lot of viewers... right? Of course, film is a visual medium, it's important to remember that. But literature is a place to showcase thoughts and goings-on in the mind, and it's hard for me to believe there's NO gender/sex/romance aspects (whether someone is gendered, sexual, romantic or NOT) in the whole book? Even just in someone's thought?
Lisa wrote: "Helpful review, Carmen. I have this one on my list. I don't expect to read it soon but I'll leave it on my shelves."I'm glad I could help, Lisa! Fun time, no trauma. Has some hilarious dialogue. :p
Carmen wrote: "Hmmmmmmmm. Very interesting. Maybe I'm doing Scalzi a disservice? I don't know.."Your comment made me rethink my comment! I was being critical of Scalzi, but Dan O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett had an even lower ceiling than Scalzi when they sold Alien. They opened the door for a woman being cast as Ripley but quite a lot of their script was rewritten by the producers. I guess it comes down to a writer making a decision and living with the consequences. I can see a nonbinary novel being annoying and lacking depth, in exchange for an amazing character or characters who are not defined by their gender.
Your comment made me rethink my comment! I was being critical of Scalzi, but Dan O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett had an even lower ceiling than Scalzi when they sold Alien. They opened the door for a woman being cast as Ripley but quite a lot of their script was rewritten by the producers. I guess it comes down to a writer making a decision and living with the consequences. I can see a nonbinary novel being annoying and lacking depth, in exchange for an amazing character or characters who are not defined by their gender.But see, that's just the thing, Joseph: Jamie ISN'T nonbinary (that we know of). He's not female, male, nonbinary, genderfluid, genderqueer, nor transgender. He's just nothing - because Scalzi wants it to be a mystery, and he wants us to challenge our gender expectations. The problem is, he would be SOMETHING. No matter what he was, he would be SOMETHING. Nobody is NOTHING. By virtue of being a human being alive in the world (at least in 2020 or thereabouts where this takes place) you have to be SOMETHING.
I guess that's what was bugging me. If Scalzi was simply like, "This is Jamie, they are nonbinary." It would be a non-issue. *shrug*
Superb review, Carmen!😊
Sujoya wrote: "Superb review, Carmen!😊"Thank you so much, Sujoya!
Such an awesome review, Carmen! 😊💕
❀Shelley's Book Nook❀ wrote: "Such an awesome review, Carmen! 😊💕"Thank you so much, Shelley!
