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  • The Kaiju Preservation Society

  • Written by: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (442 ratings)

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The Kaiju Preservation Society

Written by: John Scalzi
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Publisher's Summary

The Kaiju Preservation Society is John Scalzi's first stand-alone adventure since the conclusion of his New York Times best-selling Interdependency trilogy.

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. 

©2022 John Scalzi (P)2021 Audible, Inc.

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What listeners say about The Kaiju Preservation Society

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Strong Sunday School energy.

1-capitalists are evil
2-get vaccinated. wear a mask!
3-gender is not binary
4-Christians cannot be trusted.
5-monsters. (rawr)

there. I saved you a few hours.

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13 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Pulpy story and over-exuberant narration

this book had a neat concept, but didn't really have much depth to it. I didn't care about the characters, and the exhaustingly exuberant narration made it difficult to listen to at times. This was my first Scalzo novel, but the second time I've listened to Will Wheaton. I had expected better of the narrator.

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6 people found this helpful

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yes

This book combines the Covid pandemic, Kaiju, a parallel world, morally questionable rich people, food delivery service, and it all somehow works well and results in an easy good time. Somehow the concept is made to feel scientifically plausible and interesting without dragging you down with dry technical details. The dialogue made me laugh. Listening to certain things play out in the story was quite cathartic, although saying more than that would require getting into spoilers.
It's great to find something to like so much. Wil Wheaton does a great job with the voice acting.

The style of humour is fairly snarky/sarcastic so if that isn't what you like then this might not be a book for you. The humour comes across as "punching up" in my opinion but even so I get that isn't everyone's thing. It also may not be for you if you prefer a more dedicated hard science approach. A framework is built that makes the concept seem plausible to my uneducated ears, but if you know more about these things and would want more technical plausibility this might not work for you either.

Ultimately I liked it for the sake of it being about people surviving difficult times, having adventures, and trying to do the right thing by one another while maintaining a fairly light and easy to listen to quality.

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5 people found this helpful

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Bloody Great!

I am already a big fan of kaiju movies so when I came across this book, I knew I had to get into it. I especially loved Wil's impression of a French Canadian. I can't wait for another book if there is a plan for another

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3 people found this helpful

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OMG

I was planning to get this book when it released, but I haven’t been listening to much lately. I decided to give it a try because I’m WAY over tired and a fun book might help me relax for sleep…. Well it’s after 1am, the book is over and I’m not in any way tired anymore. This book was so much fun and never had a boring or thick section.

This is going on the list along with the Martian and Ready player one to re listen to when I need a fun break. I desperately hope it also has a movie made.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Pure fun

Wheaton brings these very 'Scalzi' characters alive with all the sarcasm and humour they deserve. I recommend reading the author's note at the end before you read the book so you know where it's coming from. Don't overthink the science, just... roll with it and have fun!

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1 person found this helpful

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  • Me
  • 2022-12-03

simply fantastic

Everything about the book and performance are simply fantastic. Highly recommend for fun listening

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    4 out of 5 stars
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A fun read, but the reader really killed it

enjoyed the book, though it was a little predictable. Glad the bad guys got theirs. The reader was way! Two enthusiastic. in some spots they are having a conversation he makes it sound like they’re having a shouting match.

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1 person found this helpful

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Great fun read

I loved this book. In a real world of darkness and chaos this book brings some fun to life. A great light fun read when we needed it. A relief.

The narrator was great adding rather than taking away from the story.

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1 person found this helpful

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Wow!

I held off getting this one for a while; boy was I wrong! great book, one of my favorites now from him.

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  • Lucy A. Pithecus
  • 2022-03-15

I'm listening with a permanent smile on my face

A fast-paced funny story with current reference and wild imagination, classic John.

Wil also brings his flavor and personality to the story.

For those who are new to John Scalzi or want to get more of him after the KPS book, here are my personal suggestions:

- Start with his "The Dispatcher", two free novellas for Audible members. They are science-fiction and detective stories that keep you in suspense, but with chuckles.

- If you like John's detective stories after the Dispatchers, try out his "Lock-In" Series. These two detective and science-fiction tales are full of surprises and rapport between characters. More thought-provoking but still humous. Also, the main character can be either male or female, depending on which narrator's version you choose (Wil Wheaton or Amber Benson).

- If you like imaginative stories, check out "Redshirts", his Hugo award-winning work in 2013. The story starts as a star-trek-style space science fiction and takes you through a captivating fun ride with unexpected turns. It's not your regular space adventure legend.

- If you are intrigued but still hesitant to spend the precious credits, his "The Human Division" book can be bought by chapter ($0.69 per chapter) - a low-cost-and-low-risk way to check his work out further. This book is part of a more extensive series but also a fantastic stand-alone story. I couldn't stop chasing the story about Wilson and Schmidt - just a tech guy and a low-ranked space diplomat trying to dodge what life (or space) throws at them. Their struggles are real and just as genuine as their optimism and ability to laugh at themselves and life's toughest challenges.

- If you are want to explore more, his "Old Man's War" series is a classic and Hugo nominee. It's a military science fiction series, of which "The Human Division" is right before the final book. Everyone in the series is competent and acts rationally. The rapport among characters and the character development is excellent. The story takes you through a fun and imaginative journey of being a soldier in space during "interesting" times, full of actions and sometimes with ridiculous solutions.

I hope you find this helpful, and you can find some laughs and ponders from John Scalzi's works.

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182 people found this helpful

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  • Roswatheist
  • 2022-03-15

Fun, Hardcore Geekery

Disclaimer: I am incredibly biased and am sure that bias will be heavily reflected here.

Scalzi and Wheaton are always a pleasure for me, but this was the story I needed most in this horrendous time. Without spoiling anything, my imagination frequently heard a rusty, grumbly gate opening in the background of my mind while listening. The Kaiju Preservation Society is so much fun that anyone who grew up between the 70s and 90s can enjoy. Good-naturedly poking gentle fun at Millennials added some pleasant seasoning to the story; stir in a dash of telling a genuinely inconsiderate billionaire to his face exactly what he could do with himself and his money was like molten chocolate cake warming my gooey bits.

To paraphrase the author, this is the right novel for a really awful time. Please do yourself a favor and read/listen to it.

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  • Paul
  • 2022-05-22

Ignore the political reviews, it's no political

I almost didn't get this book because there were so many negative reviews that talked about politics overwhelming the story, those reviews are "inaccurate". This is a typical story written by Scalzi and read by Wheaton, if you like his other books of this type you will like this. The characters speak with usual Scalzi dialog and Wheaton gives his usual performance. (This is like Scalzi's Red Shirts and not God Engines.)

As to the politics (I'm fairly certain that nothing in here is a spoiler):
1) It is set in the quarantine and the main character is in a city where people think you should wear masks (wow, that's political!). Oh, and this effects the story for all of the first 15 minutes and is only used as setup for the story,
2) It has a character who is the worst part of person who creates a startup company and screws over employees. While this plays into the story it is just a way of setting up the main character to progress through the story, it isn't preachy and isn't a main part of the book.
3) 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"...
4) There is one scene where they talk about the president (or maybe former president's) big dumb sons wanting to do something stupid. I learned from one of the other reviewers that this is apparently a reference to Trump.
5) There is another scene where they refer to a President who seems to favor business and would like a crisis to help him get re-elected. This scene also makes a 2 line reference to Elon Musk. The entirety of this is under 5 minutes.

This is literally what has other reviewers losing their minds about virtue signaling and this being political. (yes I'm liberal but that doesn't mean I have to scream at authors who don't have the same perspective as me, this has less political perspective than anything written by John Ringo and John Ringo writes entertaining books too (I'm not a fan of Sara Palin but maybe she would be good in a zombie apocalypse and it's definitely entertaining.). ((This is like when people protested the film Dogma for being anti-Christian))

So in summary, it's typical Scalzi read by Wheaton and is no more political than anything else he's written except that there is a character referred to using "they" and starts in the pandemic...

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41 people found this helpful

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  • C. White
  • 2022-03-16

Mommy… I want a pet Kaiju when I grow up! 🦖

There is no greater writer/narrator duo in the entire multiverse than John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton. This simple fact is once again proven in the presentation of “Kaiju Preservation Society” As much of an admitted Scalzi/Wheaton fan that I am, even I can honestly admit that KPS is not Scalzi’s finest work, BUT... you can also tell that he wasn’t gunning for mind binding SciFi, rather he just wanted to have fun. Mission accomplished Mr Scalzi👍 I can imagine Scalzi chuckling to himself as he completed each chapter, and Wheaton repeatedly devolving into fits of giggles during multiple recording takes. Simply put, this book is fun. If I have any complaint, it is that the book felt a bit too rushed, but I also think that the rushed pace was primarily done to speed the reader along to all the great bad jokes, puns, and innuendos that abound in this story. The “science” behind the Kaiju premise is a pretty big pill to swallow, but for once I didn’t mind. This book is an homage to all nerdy things that us geeks grew up wishing really existed. Put your discerning SciFi critiques aside and saddle up for a fun ride where Kaiju are only a short inter-dimensional hop from Greenland! Enjoy!

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34 people found this helpful

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  • Dennis Bingham
  • 2022-03-17

amazing, hit exactly where I needed it.

Scalzi called this a "pop song" of a book, in comparison to a dark and brooding piece he set aside before writing it. This was definitely the time when I wanted something as fun, fast, and catchy as a pop song, and he delivered.

I laughed out loud; I commiserated on early 2020 woes; I finished the book and was immediately ready to go back and listen again. Strongly recommend two shots of this, and maybe a booster in 6 months.

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24 people found this helpful

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  • An Alaskan
  • 2022-03-17

Gloriously Scalzi

This book is a fun Fuzzy Nation-Redshirt-Android’s Sheep-style romp. I’ve already listened to it once and am re-listening now. It’s just so enjoyable. And Wil Wheaton is once again the perfect narrator for John Scalzi’s work.

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  • Snarkstress
  • 2022-03-17

A pop song for dark days

This book is an absolute delight — inventive, funny, and wonderfully human. As usual, Wil Wheaton does a great job of bringing Scalzi’s words to life.

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18 people found this helpful

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  • pandanator
  • 2022-03-15

Enormously fun

Very entertaining and full of heart. And giant monsters. So many giant monsters. Who doesn’t love a giant monster?

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17 people found this helpful

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  • lb
  • 2022-03-17

The Book I Needed

I'm sobbing. Not at the story - which was great btw! it lifted my spirits. I made me laugh when things would happen and I would think ... "because of course it did" and that would be the literal next line of the book. I'm sobbing because Scalzi, your author's note at the end spoke to my soul. This book...it put me in a good mood. And I am having one of those weeks! but this - it made me laugh and I just want to say thank you John Scalzi for this book. You are amazing. your work is amazing and Will Wheaton always narrates spectacularly. read this book. it will lift your spirits. it will make you smile. it's easy and happy.

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16 people found this helpful

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  • Trekkergrl
  • 2022-03-17

What ride!

John Scalzi never fails to amaze, amuse & in general create great stories with a twist. Wil Wheaton performs admirably!

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12 people found this helpful