Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi, 2022

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi, 2022

The Kaiju Preservation Society is like bubblegum-cotton candy-flavored caffeinated soda pop full of nerdiness, absurdities, and humor delivered at a near-constant pace.

Jamie and the other new KPS employees experience their journey to the other Earth where Godzilla and Mothra-like creatures exist and in a Jurassic Park-esque set-up. The KPS team is responsible for preserving and protecting these animals.

The afterword by the author, I found, was just as fascinating, if not illuminating, as the story itself. It summed up some of my opinions of the book.

It's definitely not one of the author's more substantial works, but if you don't have anything else on your plate and are a John Scalzi fan, I suggest you read it. The KPS is a quick and easy read, and it's fun and lighthearted.    

I rate this book 2.5 out of 5 stars.

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Head On (Lock In #2) by John Scalzi, 2018

Head On (Lock In #2) by John Scalzi, 2018

While Head On is a sequel to Scalzi’s earlier science fiction novel, Lock In , it’s a stand alone mystery story. Still, I would suggest starting with Lock In so you can get to know the world and characters before diving into Head On.

FBI Agent Chris Shane is watching a live game of hilketa, where players operating robotic bodies (“threeps”) attempt to behead each other on the playing field. The game is a showcase for potential investors in the league, so the stakes are high. Then, one of the players dies in the middle of the game, a first for hilketa. Is it simply an accident or is more at work? As Chris and Leslie investigate, coincidences pile up and more dead bodies soon appear.

With Lock In and Head On, Scalzi imagines a near future where one percent of the population has Hayden’s syndrome, which lives them conscious but locked into their non-responsive bodies. Through a series of tech and research initiatives, Hadens now interact with the world through neural interfaces, either digitally online or with robotic bodies to navigate the physical world.

The premise is fascinating, combining interesting science fiction concepts with themes relating to disability rights. Many people tend to look on the Hadens as less than human, overtly or subtly mistreating them for it. This is clear in Chris’s everyday interactions. Chris has been a Haden since birth and tends to find gender insiginicant to life; subsequently, Scalzi writes the books without ever gendering Chris. For the audio book, there are two different versions with male and female narrators, respectively.

Although Head On is largely a stand alone with an independent mystery, the world has changed from book one to book two. Laws have been passed slashing or eliminating government benefits to Hadens, leaving many struggling as a result. While Chris’s wealth provides some insulation, Chris is more than aware (and unhappy with) the suffering of the larger Haden community.

Obviously, fictional sports is the name of the game in Head On. Hilketa is an interesting concept seeming sort of like a cross between a traditional team game like football or hurling and those robotic fights I’m always seeing footage of. Only, in this world, those robots are directly linked into and piloted by people’s consciousnesses. I’m not super into sports. 

Like anything else by Scalzi, Head On is fast paced and fun, full of snarky dialog. Sometimes I find his writing style a bit tiring or too much on the snark, but that isn’t the case for either Lock In or Head On. 

My rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5 stars) - I liked it.

The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency #1), John Scalzi, 2017

The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency #1), John Scalzi, 2017

Scalzi continues to be almost insufferably good at his brand of fun but think-y sci-fi adventure.

A group of barren planets and space stations ruled by trading houses are linked by the Flow, an extradimensional mode of travel. Occasional shifts in the Flow have cut off the Interdependency’s connection to some planets (including Earth), but it's remained relatively stable...until now. Count Claremont, a physicist stationed on the remote planet of End, has determined that the Interdependency will soon lose access to the Flow completely. Once that happens, every member of the Interdependency will be cut off from all the others by impassible light-years of distance, and a delicate web of commerce and survival will dissolve. Claremont sends his son to the Interdependency’s ruler, the Emperox Attavio IV, to share their findings before the Flow routes disappear. But Attavio IV is dying, and his daughter, Cardenia Wu-Patrick, was never intended to assume the throne. The reluctant new emperox is immediately confronted with assassination attempts and the ruthless machinations of the ambitious House of Nohamapetan, whose members seem to have their own knowledge of the radical change in the Flow.

Readers might wonder whether Scalzi can write another space opera that shares the elements that made his Old Man’s War series (The End of All Things, 2015, etc.) so popular but be sufficiently different to feel fresh. Both include political plotting, plenty of snark, puzzle-solving, and a healthy dose of action, but there’s just enough here that’s new for this to avoid becoming a retread.

There’s nothing groundbreaking, but you’ll still want to find out what happens next.

Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi, 2004

Agent to the Stars, by John Scalzi, 2004

In a nutshell, smelly slimy aliens want to make first contact with Earth but decides they need an image (and smell) makeover first. Tom Stein, a
Hollywood agent, is charged with the impossible task and craftily devises the means to, not only humanize the aliens, but to have them well received.

Humor and some snark made the read quite enjoyable. I must admit, there were more than a few times I had to ask myself where the current subplot is going or what it had to do with everything else that preceded it.

Though the story meandered a bit much to my liking, in the end, everything tied together and with no leftover questions. Everyone got their happy ending; even the Aliens.

You can read the entire novel on John Scalzi's website.

My rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5 stars)

“The Human Division: The B-Team” by John Scalzi, 2013

“The Human Division: The B-Team” by John Scalzi, 2013

"Colonial Union Ambassador Ode Abumwe and her team are used to life on the lower end of the diplomatic ladder. But when a high-profile diplomat goes missing, Abumwe and her team are last minute replacements on a mission critical to the Colonial Unions future. As the team works to pull off their task, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson discovers there's more to the story of the missing diplomats than anyone expected...a secret that could spell war for humanity."

I really love the idea of a B-team of not-quite professional-grade diplomats who nonetheless have great improvisational skills. I think that it's a lot easier for us to imagine ourselves as, rather than being part of the A-team of brilliance and unfettered success.

And oh, it does feel good to return to this universe; Scalzi's "Old Man's War" universe. This universe  is one where humanity fights for its survival among other intelligent species all searching for the few viable colony worlds that exists, and uses supersoldiers to do it.

 The B-Team grabbed my attention right away with the sudden death and destruction in space and spends the rest of the story solving the mystery of the vanished ship.

Scalzi accomplished his mission of creating a story complete unto itself and yet the beginning of a longer story arc.

The logic used by Harry Wilson to solve the mystery of the missing ship was reminiscent of the robotic puzzles in I, Robot by Isaac Asimov.

My rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars) - I really liked it.