unleash the Scalzi
KPS is peak Scalzi. I enjoy his work, because he has talent that he knows how to use to its full extent within the parameters of what he’s writing. But I’ll be honest: I wish he would do THIS, and nothing else, for the rest of his career. Find a weird premise, and run with it, the only way he knows how. Unleash the Scalzi. In a way, he’s a Kaiju of science-fiction, and Tor or whoever should be his Preservation Society, letting him be himself. I want more of this type of books, unrestrained imagination running wild with breezy dialogue, whipping fast plot, and more pop culture references than you can shake a stick at but without the, being obnoxiously dense or overplayed (I’m looking at you Player Number X).
God damned Scalzi and his god damned talent god damnit. Awesome book.
No, but really, and I know this is horribly selfish on my part, but can we please chain John Scalzi down in his office, and make him write these kind of books?
No, of course we can't.
Because this book exuberates joy, and the fact that he had fun writing it. It shines through like Bella's nuclear belches across multiversal barriers. But still. I wish there were more books like this, books that don't want to build franchises and kick off (or carry on) series... I want books to be fun. Make Books Fun Again – put that on a damn hat.
Anyway, Kaiju Preservation Society was an utter joy to read, and I chewed through it on a plane ride back to Iceland and half an evening the day after. In his afterword/acknowledgements chapter, Scalzi described it as a pop song, and he's right. (As usual.)
There's nothing wrong with pop songs. They don't save the world, but they don't mean to either, and by being what they are and nothing more they damn well save the world just the same. We need more books like KPS, we need more writers like Scalzi who know who they are and what they're good at and do exactly that while having fun – all the while being god damned serious about not compromising on the principles that make them amazingly good.
I recommend KPS to just about everyone who enjoys a fun ride from a writer who knows how to write fun.
Okay, but seriously: some chains, raw materials for disgusting burritos, hm? Can we make the environment the most conductive for the Scalzi Kaiju to thrive and give us more fun books?
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