The Kaiju Preservation Society was published by Tor Books in March 2022. Scalzi has been open about its genesis: during the pandemic he attempted and abandoned a more serious novel, then wrote this in a burst of creative relief — describing it in his afterword as “a pop song” rather than a symphony.
Jamie Gray, laid off from a food delivery app at the start of the pandemic, is recruited by a friend into an organization called KPS — the Kaiju Preservation Society. It turns out that massive creatures the size of skyscrapers exist on an alternate version of Earth, accessible through interdimensional portals, and KPS serves as a combination wildlife preservation service and research station. Jamie joins as a “lift and carry” grunt, hauling supplies and learning about the biology of creatures that are essentially nuclear-powered ecosystem engines.
The novel is deliberately lightweight — Scalzi explicitly refuses to make it “about” the pandemic in any heavy-handed way, instead using the setting as pure escapism. The kaiju are magnificent, the science is handwaved with cheerful abandon, the villain is cartoonishly corporate, and the resolution is satisfying without being challenging. It works precisely as intended: as joy, as relief, as the literary equivalent of a monster movie watched with friends.
Collecting The Kaiju Preservation Society
First edition (Tor Books, New York, 2022): Hardcover with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $15–$35
- Signed copies: $30–$60