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The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
Synopsis:
“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 at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and 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’s found their way to the alternate world. Others have, too. And their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.” -Audible
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Opening thoughts:
I picked up this book to continue my John Scalzi streak. This book had a high number and average rating, and it sounds like an interesting concept. Not sure what to expect but I’m sure I’ll enjoy the book.
Key notes:
Chapter 1
- Jamie just got fired from his food delivery company amidst the Covid pandemic shutting everything down, despite him initially thinking it was a performance review
Chapter 2
- He formed a relationship with Tom, one of his regular delivery customers, who eventually offered him a job after his current employer was bought out by Uber Eats
- The job was an NGO that dealt with wild animals
Chapter 3
- KPS is an animal rights organization. The supervisor offered him a job at their company
- After his physical exam, he had to receive a large number of vaccines and boosters
- The salary and bonuses were great, and they would take care of his home expenses while he was gone for months at a time
Chapter 4
- The four newbies found out and saw firsthand that Kaijus were real. That’s what their new job dealt with
Chapter 5
- This new world was in Greenland but looked nothing like it
- Tom revealed that this place was another world technically in space/time, and these kaiju were drawn to nuclear energy
- Nuclear bomb tests in 1951 caused the real-life Godzilla to cross over to their world, and eventually, the story made its way over to Japanese filmmakers
- This real Godzilla wasn’t at all destructive or violent
Chapter 6
- They accidentally happened upon and almost got in between two kaiju fighting
Chapter 7
- He found out that each of the three teams stays for six months at a time and overlaps with another team for 3 months at a time between Gold, Red, and Blue teams
- There’s also a lot of tradition when swapping out teams
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
- Their job was to try this new batch of pheromones to help encourage two of the kaiju to mate, which apparently is not a normal thing for them
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
- The pilot explained how when the reactors within the kaiju malfunction for whatever reason, they vent to prevent themselves from exploding if possible
- But if it’s too bad and they know they’ll die, they instinctively go to a body of water before they blow up
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
- Jamie was asked to be essentially a tour guide for the incoming tourists/clients that would be coming in in the next few weeks because of the kaiju explosion
- He got first-hand experience with what the jungle floor was like, and it wasn’t even the most dangerous thing he would encounter
Chapter 14
- He got weapons training on weapons that would actually be more effective than traditional human guns
Chapter 15
- They managed to survive a mission to plant cameras and devices around the nesting kaiju
Chapter 16
- When they got back, they were heroes as everyone saw everything in high definition live through the video feeds
- In the dining hall, they got awarded in a very informal, but apparently traditional ceremony with medals and speeches
Chapter 17
- Jamie happened to be a tour guide for his old boss who fired him, and he ended up being a huge asshole to the pilot
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
- Jamie brought Sanders down to the jungle floor to scare him and get him to admit he was actually trying to smuggle samples of kaiju eggs back to Earth
- He blackmailed Sanders into not coming back once he went back home
Chapter 20
- He went in a helicopter to scout the site and found helicopter one down (the team probably dead) and Bella and her eggs were missing
Chapter 21
- They needed to figure out what happened to Bella and her eggs fast and needed those answers so Jamie volunteered to go to the ground and see what he could find
Chapter 22
- They found that their instruments had been purposefully destroyed and shot at by a rifle, and found a phone at the site
- They found videos on the phone that showed some military people who killed the crew and did something to teleport Bella and the eggs to the other dimension
Chapter 23
- Their team decided they needed to figure out a way to save Bella tonight. The pilot also said he was in
Chapter 24
- They managed to make it to the other side of the barrier and back to their Earth next to Bella
Chapter 25
- They got caught and found out the mastermind was Rob Sanders
Chapter 26
- Sanders mentioned that his family’s company has had this technology for decades and we’re waiting for a perfect opportunity like this to try and transport things over the barrier
- They managed to get Sanders to monologue and then tricked him into letting them set off the pheromone bomb that would cause all the parasites to start attacking everyone, and give them time to escape
Chapter 27
- They barely managed to get Bella back to the other side
- Afterwards, they flew to a nearby Canadian military base, and everything was fine because Satie was a Canadian military colonel
Chapter 28
Closing thoughts:
I enjoyed this book as much as I expected. It was a unique and fun premise, and I liked how the main characters in the crew interacted with each other. I also liked how the main antagonist got what he deserved, and it really felt like a fun, action-comedy sort of sci-fi movie. Overall, would highly recommend this book, especially for fans of John Scalzi or this genre of books.
Nutshell:
Jamie Gray and his squad in the Kaiju Preservation Society must protect the kaiju from a looming threat that might endanger both dimensions
Similar books:
- Lock In by John Scalzi
- Head On by John Scalzi
- Armada by Ernest Cline
- Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
- Redshirts by John Scalzi
Rating:
4/5
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