The Kaiju Preservation Society: Shortlisted for the 2023 Hugo Award for Best Novel

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I’m glad you asked, Rob. I feel really good about it. And in fact”—I held up my tablet—“I’d like to spend some time in this session talking about how I think we can improve not just the füdmüd app, but our relationships with restaurants, delivery people, and users. It’s 2020 now, and the food delivery app space has matured. We really need to go all out to distinguish ourselves if we want to genuinely compete with Grubhub and Uber Eats and all the others, here in NYC and beyond.”

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. think to look past it. We were looking at creating nuclear bombs and didn't think about how nuclear energy might mess with a multiverse. We didn't consider there was a multiverse. It's not built into our model." Thule Air Base turns out to hide the gateway to a parallel Earth, in which evolution took a different turn after the early Mesozoic era, resulting in a planet dominated by impossibly immense creatures whose growth is fueled by internal bio- nuclear reactors. Mankind first became aware of this world in the wake of World War II, when the use of atomic bombs opened temporary portals between the worlds, to which and through which the creatures were attracted by the radiation fallout, on which they feed. After Japanese filmmakers were inspired by rumors of the initial breakthrough to make " Kaiju" movies such as Godzilla and its successors, the creatures were dubbed Kaiju. Aside from such rumors, their real-life existence has been kept secret by governments around the world, who formed KPS (the Kaiju Preservation Society) to study the Kaiju Earth, prevent additional breakthroughs, and protect the denizens of each world from those of the other. See, this reads as if the author had written the book with perfectly assigned hetero genders and in the first or second edit-pass aimed for the (more crowd pleasing) diversity, only: he couldn't really be bothered, hence the sloppiness.Yes!” I made a pointing gesture, which sunk me further into the bean bag. “I mean, we’re already better than the other apps. We just have to drive the point home.” 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.

In New York City, Jamie Gray is a 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. So that was my day,” I said to my roommate Brent. We were in the pathetically small fourth floor walkup on Henry Street that I shared with Brent, Brent’s boyfriend Laertes, and a convenient stranger named Reba who we almost never saw and, if she didn’t leave long strands of hair on the shower wall on the daily, might not believe actually existed.I think it was actually the idealistic nature of the KPS that I needed right now, when the world around me seems to be going to the dogs. I have days when I just have to turn off the news and turn up the music. I have the privilege of being able to retreat from reality for a few days when the world seems too heavy. Fantasy literature has been my haven during the whole pandemic, not to mention my whole life. Thank you, Mr. Scalzi for an inspiring, funny fantasy novel that cheers me up when I'm feeling blue.

Deliverationing,” Rob repeated. “That what our deliverators do. They deliverate. So, deliverationing.” I’m ready to come and get you if you need an emergency extract. Please don’t need an emergency extract. Then he connects with someone he knew in his previous life and that person offers him a job “in a remote location working with big animals.” Jamie jumps at the opportunity and we are on our way. Why? I mean, thank you, and I really, sincerely mean that. Thank you so much. You’re saving my life right now. But, why?” I snorted at this. “You have a much more optimistic view of the academic landscape than I do. I was looking down the barrel of adjunct professorships for the rest of my life.”Jamie Gray goes to a six-month performance review as an employee for food delivery startup füdmüd expecting to impress boss Rob Sanders with plans to grow the company, only to be terminated and offered a delivery contract instead. At first rejecting the offer, Jamie is eventually forced to take it after all to make rent, as jobs are scarce in COVID-19-afflicted New York City. One delivery client turns out to be Tom Stevens, an old acquaintance, and over the next few weeks of deliveries they renew their friendship. Tom has a lucrative position with KPS, a secretive animal rights NGO, and is slated to head out into the field right about the same time Jamie loses the delivery job (füdmüd having been bought out). Tom offers Jamie a job with his own employer, and Jamie, again out of options, goes in for the interview, is accepted, and is soon on a plane to Thule Air Base in Greenland.