It takes a while for the real dramatic tension and conflict to rear their head, but it is a fun and familiar box of set pieces Scalzi throws to readers as the novel hits its crescendo. There’s an engaging, and interesting backstory to the KPS that eventually comes to affect the present, Jamie and his friends specifically. Well, animals is a stretch, because they are described more like an ecosystem than a singular living entity in the same respect a human, dog, or even a plant is. Much of his duties involves lifting things, which he notes repeatedly, but he gets to see Kaiju and the KPS essentially treats these humongous creatures like farm animals. That team is of course, the Kaiju Preservation Society. What Jamie learns is that he is part of a team of people who spend months at a time on a parallel Earth where Kaiju have evolved and humans are not native. Jamie just needs to be able to lift things, but his friend tells Jamie that his passion for Science Fiction will be quite helpful with this new job. Jamie Gray, a recently out of work young man at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, is presented with a life-changing opportunity during a chance encounter with an old college friend. And their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die. It’s not just the Kaiju Preservation Society who have found their way to the alternate world. They’re the universe’s largest and most dangerous panda and they’re in trouble. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm, human-free world. What Tom doesn’t tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. 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.
When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps.
Scalzi’s style, which often has well-timed humor injected, seems a perfect fit for a story about Kaiju. When I learned he was tackling one of my favorite SF mainstays, the Kaiju, I was very excited. I’m a big fan of his Old Man’s War series, as well as the other many, many books he’s written. John Scalzi is one of the more popular, prolific, accessible, and intelligent Science Fiction writers plying his trade these days.
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