Thursday, March 3, 2022

read: The Kaiju Preservation Society (5 stars)

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

I don't need to describe what this book is about. It says exactly what it is on the cover and most of the other reviews and the back cover blurb will give you some additional details. What I will do is tell you why I enjoyed this book and why you might, too.

Picture yourself on the couch flipping channels on a Saturday. 350 or so channels of sports, talking heads, old sit-coms and movies you didn't care to watch when they first came out. But wait. Go back. Is that Godzilla? The actual 1956 Godzilla with Raymond Burr? Cool! It's almost over. But you watch anyway. Flip, flip, flip. There's Silent Running! The 1972 eco-flick with cute robots and Bruce-effing-Dern saving the trees in a space ship. Flip, flip. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. "Captain! There be whales here." You get the picture. That's this book. And I loved every page.

Disclosure: Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for providing a free copy of this book in return for my honest review.

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read: The Lightning Rod (4 stars)

The Lightning Rod (Escape Artist, #2)The Lightning Rod by Brad Meltzer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved the first book in this series and couldn't wait to get my hands on this follow-up. Maybe it was just me, but it took a long time to warm up to the story and the characters. Perhaps I had been spoiled by the first book, which had the added revelations about the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base and the U.S. Army's artist-in-residence. This one didn't grab my attention as quickly or firmly.

Eventually, I did get into the story and warmed to the characters again. And the mysteries are so abundant, the reader does not dare look away for fear of missing some important detail. A conspiracy thriller like this can feel familiar and risks falling into cliché and cardboard characters. Somehow, Meltzer manages to walk that tightrope and not fall off, keeping the reader guessing right up until the end. I gave The Escape Artist five stars and this one four. I look forward to where the author takes these characters next.

Disclosure: Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for providing a free copy of this book in return for my honest review.

View all my reviews on Goodreads