The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi

You may have wondered, Where do all those giant monsters in the Godzilla movies come from?  John Scalzi has the answer.  In The Kaiju Preservation Society, Scalzi takes us on an adventure to a parallel universe, where Earth is sort of like Earth, but different.  One of the key, immediately obvious differences is the large number of creatures of all sizes that can kill you.  And by the way, the world's elite have known about this place for decades, carefully keeping it secret from people like you and me.

In a story that is part Jurassic Park, part King Kong, Scalzi keeps it light, with hip, young characters and a tone that makes me think, hmmm, it's possible.  After Jamie gets shut out of a start-up she'd been working for, one of her customers somewhat randomly offers her a job.  Little did she know she'd be working at a research center studying unimaginable creatures in another world.  And of course, when money-hungry businessmen get their hands on some of the research subjects, it's all going to go wrong.

I haven't read a lot of Scalzi, but Kaiju seems different from the space operas and military sci-fi that made him famous.  This is more of a diversion, like Redshirts.  Kaiju was fun to read, and one can't help thinking it would be a blast to see on the big screen.  

Thanks to NetGalley for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Don't Burn This Country: Surviving and Thriving in Our Woke Dystopia, by Dave Rubin

 As a follow up to his first book, Don't Burn This Book, Dave Rubin shows growth and maturity as a writer and commentator in his new book, Don't Burn This Country: Surviving and Thriving in Our Woke Dystopia.  Rubin's intellectual evolution has been honest, public, and fascinating.  As a Jewish gay man, he wouldn't necessarily be considered a spokesperson for political conservatism.  But the ranks of gay Republicans and conservatives keep growing, as people of all stripes become disenchanted with the radicalism of the left.  

Rubin talks about his intellectual journey a bit, but mostly talks about issues and ideas.  His web program of long-form interviews, https://rubinreport.com/, has given him a great stable of interesting and compelling guests, many of whom he quotes in the book.  Most importantly, Jordan Peterson has been a mentor and collaborator; Peterson's influence on Rubin is deep and strong.

If you've seen his show or listened to his interviews, his writing style will be familiar to you, with his casual humor (at one point he was a stand-up comic) balanced by a willingness to explore a wide variety of intellectual topics.  His Rand-influenced classical liberalism shines through, but it has been softened and molded by contemporary conservative thought.

Don't Burn This Country, and Rubin's work in general, is a solid introduction to the secular conservatism that has come to dominate much of Republican activism.  Readers on the right will find much to affirm and agree with, but, more importantly, readers on the left will find someone who is engaging and inoffensive while portraying conservative principles. 

Stringers, by Chris Panatier

 Don't panic, Douglas Adams's status as the greatest sci-fi comedy writer of all time is safe.  But Adams did pave the way for some worthy successors like Chris Panatier.  Stringers is a wild galactic trip with aliens, artificial humanoids, and a swarming extragalactic super species.

When Ben and his buddy Patton head for a rural rendezvous with a stranger they met in an internet chat room, they had no idea they were going to be abducted by an alien slave trader.  As it turns out, Ben has the key to the destruction of the galaxy in his untapped memories, and the swarming super species wants to tap him.  With the help of his fellow trafficking victims, maybe they can save the galaxy.

Stringers is an enjoyable story that doesn't dwell on the meaning of life, but has a fun plot and likable characters. There are plenty of good moments and memorable lines, like this character's comments about immortality.  In response to another character's question about whether he is immortality, the artificial humanoid character says, "If no one kills me, yes. Of course, how does one prove immortality? Forever has no endpoint. So, I suppose I'm immortal in the sense that I will live until I die."  This kind of thoughtful humor is sprinkled throughout an adventure story that will leave you asking for more. And, not to give a spoiler, but Panatier does leave it open further adventures. . . .  I would go on another adventure with this crew!

Thanks to NetGalley for the complimentary electronic review copy!

If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk, by John Pavlovitz

I love the title of this book! I picked it up with anticipation, knowing nothing about the author.  Once I started reading, it didn't take long to know that this guy represents so much that is wrong with Christianity.  He's a proud and outspoken progressive Christian. You know, the group that calls themselves Christians then spends all their time telling you about how they reject Christianity.  I mean, seriously, Pavlovitz rejects so much of historic Christianity that I wonder if he really could be considered a Christian.

Besides slinging mud at theological principles, he spends even more time slinging mud at his fellow believers.  The main theme of the book is that he has grown in his progressive understanding, and now, if you don't believe the same things as him about the death penalty, abortion, immigration, same-sex marriage, etc., you clearly have not grown at all and are stuck in backwards, entrenched, unChristian viewpoints.  In other words, you're a jerk.

I'll tell you who's a jerk.  It's the guy who calls faithful Christians who disagree with him racists, prejudiced, territorial, hypocritical, cruel, lacking compassion.  He has no room for anyone who holds conservative political views, no matter how based in Christian faith they might be, and he certainly has no room for anyone who supported or even cast a vote for Donald Trump.

I'll give him this: he can be engaging and entertaining.  But his writing is poison.  My heart breaks for the American church.  I have seen too many Christians buy into this type of progressive rejection of evangelicalism.  It's true, in many cases it's a failure of good discipleship.  But mostly it's the embrace of the lies of the world.  God help us.

https://amzn.to/3MUvCD2

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy.