I liked John Scalzi before I encountered this audiobook. I’d read Redshirts, all of the Old Man’s War books, and I’d listened to two of his audiobooks read by Zachary Quinto. I’d enjoyed them; they weren’t ever going to trouble my “best of” lists, but they were enjoyable, readable, imaginative, and went at a good clip. So I’d no hesitation in forking over a credit for this…dribble.

There is a transgender character who is a main part of the story. Does this character have a romantic roll in the story? No. Does this character scream on about how they need to be respected? No. What is this character's cardinal sin? They are referred to as "They" throughout the book. You could literally replace the pronoun "they" with "he" or "she" in the book and make no other changes and have the exact same story. I have to admit, I found it jarring for the first hour or so because I'm not used to hearing "they" referring to a character in the story, after that I have kept noticing because all I can think of is "I bet that's making one of the other reviewers head explode"... Turns out, these "pandas" are in mating trouble and not all humans want to preserve them and their world. Tourists are a menace in any world, I guess. So Jamie and his team need to get creative, evade huge-ass tree-crabs, and get some Twilight monsters to get a groove on, all while fending off more sinister threats. Jamie’s dream was to hit the big time at a New York tech start-up. Jamie’s reality was a humiliating lay-off, then a low-wage job as a takeaway delivery driver. During a pandemic too. Things look beyond grim, until a chance delivery to an old acquaintance. Tom has an urgent vacancy on his team: the pay is great and Jamie has debts – it’s a no-brainer choice. Yet, once again, reality fails to match expectations. Only this time it could be fatal. Jamie Gray gets demoted from an executive position right as the 2020 pandemic hits New York, by the Boss From Hell. While barely making ends meet as a food delivery person, Jamie runs into an old friend who offers them a new job in "large animal care" ("I lift boxes," Jamie tells everyone.) But the benefits are fantastic, as long as you don't mind being completely out of touch with society for six months. Tom is a little cagey about the job details, though ... it turns out, for good reason. Treetop Town: Tanaka Base. All bases on Kaiju Earth could be this, but Tanaka is the only one seen. Specifically, the entire base is off the ground and built around individual trees under a mesh dome to keep the ever-present Scary Stinging Swarm at bay. It's a much higher-tech version than others in fiction as it goes into the various adaptations to things like plumbing and infrastructure needed to get a base of 150 people functional.

I think this book is an easy read, I had fun at some point, and I'll probably read more Scalzi in the future, especially his serious stuff. A huge part of the pleasure here is the worldbuilding--the plot doesn't start until about 2/3 of the way through and that is absolutely fine because the worldbuilding is hugely entertaining. The bad guy pretty much has 'bad guy' tattooed on his face, which is also absolutely fine because wow is his depiction and fate satisfying. There's a diverse cast, entertaining banter, lots of good swearing, pop culture references at a level I found entertaining rather than intrusive, and I have a low tolerance for that. It's also grounded in the utter shitness that was 2020, and actually that was pretty cathartic to read too. You have no idea how difficult it was for me to not say, ‘Welcome to Jurassic Park!’ to all of you just now.”" This is the first book I read, which was not only written during the Pandemic, but was also relevant, in a round about or direct way, to it:) The author was a good deliverator to some laughs, if you take the book for what it was meant to be and suspend disbelief as far as the science is concerned. Or maybe, that is just me unable to process concepts that do not support our human-centric thinking of the Universe and everything we do not understand, we tend to render impossible. Maybe:)

I whipped through it in one evening, and it's the kind of book I might read again sometime, just for the sheer enjoyment of it. 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. I think, if you like Scalzi's writing style, then this book is simply fun, it has stinky pheromones, it has flying kaiju cloacas, asshole billionaires, trading-places references. critique of gig-economy and doctoral reveals, what more can a person want to spend their Sunday on a book? Kaiju Preservation Society (for those like me who are insufficiently cool, for “kaiju” basically think “Godzilla”, but nuclear reactor-powered. Yes, just roll with that) is light-hearted and very funny, full of present-day references and neverending quips and snark, almost a meme in book form. It’s meant to entertain above anything, with a bit of self-aware “reverse lampshading”. And banter — or dear, the banter comes in kaiju-sized chunks and is perfect. But let’s have Scalzi himself explain things just a bit in his Author’s Note:This book was such a delight. When it first came across my radar, it seemed exactly the breath of fresh air I needed to recharge my reading routine. And it was. What Tom failed to mention is that Jamie won't be working on their own Earth, but rather on a parallel Earth where evolution took a different path. And the large animals are, in fact, kaijus. The KPS is a multinational organization funded by major world governments and private companies. Their task is twofold. First, they keep the kaijus from invading our Earth whenever a nuclear explosion weakens the fabric between the world, something that has happened several times in history but was covered up. Second, they protect the kaijus from poachers who find a way to cross over illegally. Jamie’s dream was to hit the big time at a New York tech start-up. Jamie’s reality was a humiliating lay-off, then a lowwage job as a takeaway delivery driver. During a pandemic too. Things look beyond grim, until a chance delivery to an old acquaintance. Tom has an urgent vacancy on his team: the pay is great and Jamie has debts – it’s a no-brainer choice. Yet, once again, reality fails to match expectations. Only this time it could be fatal.

Supremely,” I said. As discreetly as possible, I adjusted my center of gravity so I was no longer listing ever so slightly starboard. You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Niamh is professionally outraged when Kahurangi's idea to use uranium pellets to go through the thin place in the dimensional barrier that Bella was snatched through not only works, but works when everyone does a group fist-bump while holding them. Subverted a few minutes later when everyone realizes they were actually right; the technique did nothing but get them all in place when a breach in the barrier opens for unrelated reasons. Scary Stinging Swarm: Pretty much 100 percent of the time you'll encounter one when you go outside, necessitating a Hazmat Suit. These swarms are even hazardous to helicopters, as they can clog the vents. Bigger components need to be punched out of the way. You have no idea how difficult it was for me to not say, ‘Welcome to Jurassic Park!’ to all of you just now.”

For those who are new to John Scalzi or want to get more of him after the KPS book, here are my personal suggestions: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi is a thrilling, fast-paced adventure set on an alternate Earth – perfect for fans of Adrian Tchaikovsky and Michel Crichton's Jurassic Park. Here the Godzilla connection becomes more clear ( So we’re the monster police, too). What follows is a fun, fast ride, with Kaiju's called Bella and Edward, cinematic villains and an overall happy ending. Yes!” I made a pointing gesture, which sank me farther into the beanbag. “I mean, we’re already better than the other apps. We just have to drive the point home.” I think my first response to the title of this book is to equate "Kaiju" with the creatures in the "Pacific Rim" movies which is probably not a stretch. You leave our Earth for a parallel "Kaiju Earth" through a portal created by vast amounts of energy and radiation. Once there, it's like every predator is cranked up to 11 on methamphetamine.

Yeah. We don’t know why it happens, we just know it does. When it does, just look at something not blue for a while.” Injection Plot: Jamie is very reticent to be doing this as they have to take thirty vaccines to work for KPS. They can't move their arm afterward and Jamie is told of the various side effects they have to deal with, including supreme laxitude that will sometimes occur with strange homicidal thoughts, migraines after looking at the color blue for too long, and because their system will call diarrhea for 24 hours in regards to fat you could well foul yourself after eating bacon. Worse all these problems can occur simultaneously.This truly felt like going on an adventure. Being in a real jungle of another dimension, trekking dangerously on the lush ground crawling with danger. A legit Jurassic Park in outer space but one that hits so close to home with integrity, curiosity, treachery and greed but most of all, heart. You will grow to care about what’s going on and that makes this book all the better. 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. I think so. I know, wild, right? But that’s the whole point. We’ll be where everyone else in the food delivery app space isn’t. And by the time they figure out what we’re up to, we’ll own New York City. For starters.” I read snippets about “humor” and “fun” and “funny” and I was mostly rolling my eyes and swearing if I read “I lift things” one more damn time I’d scream.