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MonsterVerse #6
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
The official novelization of the summer blockbuster
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
, the latest film in the MonsterVerseTM franchise, starring Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, with Ken Watanabe and Ziyi Zhang.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters follows the heroic efforts of the cryptozoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient superspecies, thought to be mere myths, rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters follows the heroic efforts of the cryptozoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient superspecies, thought to be mere myths, rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance.
Audible Audio
First published May 28, 2019
About the author
Greg Keyes
73 books637 followersGregory Keyes is a writer of science fiction and fantasy who has written both original and media-related novels under both the names J. Gregory Keyes and "Greg Keyes".
Greg Keyes was born in to a large, diverse, storytelling family. He received degrees in anthropology from Mississippi State and the University of Georgia before becoming a fulltime writer.
He lives in Savannah, Georgia.
Greg Keyes was born in to a large, diverse, storytelling family. He received degrees in anthropology from Mississippi State and the University of Georgia before becoming a fulltime writer.
He lives in Savannah, Georgia.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
March 10, 2021
As a lifelong Godzilla fan, I can say that IMHO this is a great story. The book is based on the recently released movie and manages to capture the essence of Toho Films' Kaiju epics released over the last 60+ years. Unlike the other two Monsterverse novelizations, however, this one is fraught with some problems. It seems like the writing was rushed. The book should have had at least one more editorial review before release. That said, I still enjoyed reading it. The pacing is much better than the film and contains more story content. The author actually fleshes out the characters more so than the movie does. Four stars.
May 2, 2024
Included Extra Scenes, a Thrilling Adventure
This book was one of the rate treasure fans love, a novel that tells the story of the film and expands upon it bringing new scenes and a better understanding of what happened. It fills in the gaps and answers many question poses by the film. If you are a Toho film fan and have seen Godzilla, King of the Monsters, the film is a love letter to those of us who grew up with the Godzilla films. Special touches and elements are included here that harken back to those films. The events surrounding the ORCA make more sense in the book, since the extras were cut from the film. I hope the film will have a directors cut when released on Blu -ray. A gripping, thrilling story that was enhanced by the audiobook. A must for Godzilla fans. Audiobook version was great.
This book was one of the rate treasure fans love, a novel that tells the story of the film and expands upon it bringing new scenes and a better understanding of what happened. It fills in the gaps and answers many question poses by the film. If you are a Toho film fan and have seen Godzilla, King of the Monsters, the film is a love letter to those of us who grew up with the Godzilla films. Special touches and elements are included here that harken back to those films. The events surrounding the ORCA make more sense in the book, since the extras were cut from the film. I hope the film will have a directors cut when released on Blu -ray. A gripping, thrilling story that was enhanced by the audiobook. A must for Godzilla fans. Audiobook version was great.
May 30, 2019
Godzilla
This book just made me want to see the movie even more. Well written and enjoyable. Lots of action and suspense. Well done.
This book just made me want to see the movie even more. Well written and enjoyable. Lots of action and suspense. Well done.
January 15, 2021
Hollow cash grab. This definitely felt like the author was doing this for a paycheck and nothing else this doesn’t add much to what was in the movie and it felt very lifeless.
Read
July 10, 2019This is the kind of novelization I like: it covers the entire movie, adding point of views and inner thoughts of characters that enlighten the story and the action of the movie, like any novelization should. But on top of that, I like Research & Creativity.
For Research, Keyes incorporated the entire scope of the MonsterVerse: mentions of characters and events not only from Godzilla 2014 and Kong: Skull Island, but also from Legendary Comics' Godzilla: Awakening , Skull Island: The Birth of Kong and Godzilla: Aftershock .
For creativity, Keyes expanded on all the minor Titans seen in the movie. There is a whole chapter recounting each ones' escape from their respective MONARCH holding facilities in different parts of the world. There are new characters that works at these facilities, and new scenes showing how each of them deal with the escaping giants (after Ghidorah places his world-wide call).
A review of a novelization should not criticize the story or the characters, as those are not the author's creations. It should be reviewed based on how the author handles the screenwriters story, but also how he adds new material to it and makes a second viewing of the film more enlightened. I really enjoyed this novel.
For Research, Keyes incorporated the entire scope of the MonsterVerse: mentions of characters and events not only from Godzilla 2014 and Kong: Skull Island, but also from Legendary Comics' Godzilla: Awakening , Skull Island: The Birth of Kong and Godzilla: Aftershock .
For creativity, Keyes expanded on all the minor Titans seen in the movie. There is a whole chapter recounting each ones' escape from their respective MONARCH holding facilities in different parts of the world. There are new characters that works at these facilities, and new scenes showing how each of them deal with the escaping giants (after Ghidorah places his world-wide call).
A review of a novelization should not criticize the story or the characters, as those are not the author's creations. It should be reviewed based on how the author handles the screenwriters story, but also how he adds new material to it and makes a second viewing of the film more enlightened. I really enjoyed this novel.
November 4, 2019
I wanted deeper. I wanted more.
June 10, 2019
A novelization of a "summer" blockbuster in the general "emoting heroes wisecrack while swirling sky things go boom" category has the obvious flaw of translating a sub-genre designed around big visuals, loud sounds, pretty actors, huge soundtrack, and too many quick cuts into...well, the very nearly opposite thing. Still, there is a place for these sorts of things, right? Scenes cut or trimmed or special effects tweaked that can survive in book form if not in theatrical release. Descriptions of internal thoughts that might not have translated well to screen. A few pages of backstory that would have disrupted narrative flow in the movie but work just fine in the movie. Little literary games and tricks.*
This novel has most of that. Some nice added bits of backstory. A lot of internal thoughts that helped explained what the filmmakers were going for. This is especially true with the human villains which were very nearly background decoration (especially after the first forty or so minutes) and here are more like...background decoration with some motivation besides as an excuse for Charles Dance to steely glare at you. It helps even more with tying together the "Monsterverse" and its various parts and people and geographies [an issue the movies need to patch up, some, I think, if they are truly going for a cohesive whole]. It only gives a few extra detail to "lesser" Titans (aka, kaiju), which was a disappointment, but even those little extra details were nice since the movie glossed over them so much.
Interestingly, it brings in elements from the graphic novel prequels that help to actually make this whole thing feel like universe building up to something. There are chunks of the movie where you have to have a bit of faith that it makes sense, while the novel does a better job of putting the puzzle together.
The "real world" quotes that show the history of Titans/kaiju were kind of fun, but also got a little old. Maybe less of those would have been better (the last one, a quote from Job about the Leviathan, is relatively huge for chapter-intro flare) but, again, it helps to flesh out the vision of the world. Reminds me of the Pacific Records used in some recent Ultraman stories.
Overall, I liked it. I already know the story, having caught the movie on opening night, but now I feel like I know more about the intent, the behind the scenes concepts. Nothing was significantly gained, meaning nothing added by the novel is required to understand the story, but sometimes it is the small bits that make things more rounded. There were a couple of scenes for which I have a fairly different take, now, and some characters I understand better.
* There is also the practical element that not everyone can get to the movie theaters to watch a movie in a timely fashion (due to location, or opportunity, or social anxiety, or what have you). I grew up in a backwoods community and often I had to wait until things hit the (usually rental) VHS format to have a chance to see them. Novelizations used to help me fill in the gaps and "rewatch" movies.
This novel has most of that. Some nice added bits of backstory. A lot of internal thoughts that helped explained what the filmmakers were going for. This is especially true with the human villains which were very nearly background decoration (especially after the first forty or so minutes) and here are more like...background decoration with some motivation besides as an excuse for Charles Dance to steely glare at you. It helps even more with tying together the "Monsterverse" and its various parts and people and geographies [an issue the movies need to patch up, some, I think, if they are truly going for a cohesive whole]. It only gives a few extra detail to "lesser" Titans (aka, kaiju), which was a disappointment, but even those little extra details were nice since the movie glossed over them so much.
Interestingly, it brings in elements from the graphic novel prequels that help to actually make this whole thing feel like universe building up to something. There are chunks of the movie where you have to have a bit of faith that it makes sense, while the novel does a better job of putting the puzzle together.
The "real world" quotes that show the history of Titans/kaiju were kind of fun, but also got a little old. Maybe less of those would have been better (the last one, a quote from Job about the Leviathan, is relatively huge for chapter-intro flare) but, again, it helps to flesh out the vision of the world. Reminds me of the Pacific Records used in some recent Ultraman stories.
Overall, I liked it. I already know the story, having caught the movie on opening night, but now I feel like I know more about the intent, the behind the scenes concepts. Nothing was significantly gained, meaning nothing added by the novel is required to understand the story, but sometimes it is the small bits that make things more rounded. There were a couple of scenes for which I have a fairly different take, now, and some characters I understand better.
* There is also the practical element that not everyone can get to the movie theaters to watch a movie in a timely fashion (due to location, or opportunity, or social anxiety, or what have you). I grew up in a backwoods community and often I had to wait until things hit the (usually rental) VHS format to have a chance to see them. Novelizations used to help me fill in the gaps and "rewatch" movies.
March 14, 2024
I’m a Mothra fan. Period.
April 5, 2021
Als riesiger Fan des Films war dieses Buch für mich einfach Pflichtprogramm. Und ich kann nur sagen, dass es sich gelohnt hat. Die Charaktere wurden etwas mehr ausgearbeitet, man hat sie besser verstanden und es wurde hier sogar noch mehr World Building betrieben. Dieses Buch ist für jeden Fan des Films einfach nur eine Bereicherung, auch wenn es die Epik und die fantastischen Bilder des Films natürlich nicht so gut in Schriftform wiedergeben kann.
October 24, 2023
Godzilla: King of Monsters
Author: Gregory Keyes
Publisher: Titan Books
Publishing Date: 2019
Pgs: 304 pages
=======================================
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
Godzilla: King of the Monsters follows the heroic efforts of the cryptozoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and its ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species--thought to be mere myths--rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance.
_________________________________________
Genre:
Kaiju
Science Fiction
Apocalypse
Why this book:
Giant monsters eating the city.
_________________________________________
Tropes:
The mother-daughter relationship is a bit much, when you have the absent father who just wants his family back routine too...you know and the whole giant monsters eating the world subplot behind their family drama.
Eco-terrorists. Climate Change Anarchists. Company Line Yesmen. Government shills. Gung ho military types. Good monster. Bad monster. Indifferent monster.
The Sigh:
There are a couple of self-insert characters. But a lot of the movie strokes are here, so that could be cross-contamination at this point. It's well written.
_________________________________________
Pacing:
Pace is pretty good. During one of the family subplots, I was sorely tempted to fast forward some pages
Editorial Assessment:
I had every intention of continuing to read this series, but in the first 20 pages of the follow-up novel, the story contradicts a plot point from this novel, and if the writer and editor can’t be bothered to keep track of continuity between back-to-back novels that doesn’t bode well for my enjoyment. Pass on reading more of this series. May be interested in other stuff by the author, but preferably something that isn’t an ongoing series(autocorrect changed ongoing to annoying…not wrong there.)
=======================================
Author: Gregory Keyes
Publisher: Titan Books
Publishing Date: 2019
Pgs: 304 pages
=======================================
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
Godzilla: King of the Monsters follows the heroic efforts of the cryptozoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and its ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species--thought to be mere myths--rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance.
_________________________________________
Genre:
Kaiju
Science Fiction
Apocalypse
Why this book:
Giant monsters eating the city.
_________________________________________
Tropes:
The mother-daughter relationship is a bit much, when you have the absent father who just wants his family back routine too...you know and the whole giant monsters eating the world subplot behind their family drama.
Eco-terrorists. Climate Change Anarchists. Company Line Yesmen. Government shills. Gung ho military types. Good monster. Bad monster. Indifferent monster.
The Sigh:
There are a couple of self-insert characters. But a lot of the movie strokes are here, so that could be cross-contamination at this point. It's well written.
_________________________________________
Pacing:
Pace is pretty good. During one of the family subplots, I was sorely tempted to fast forward some pages
Editorial Assessment:
I had every intention of continuing to read this series, but in the first 20 pages of the follow-up novel, the story contradicts a plot point from this novel, and if the writer and editor can’t be bothered to keep track of continuity between back-to-back novels that doesn’t bode well for my enjoyment. Pass on reading more of this series. May be interested in other stuff by the author, but preferably something that isn’t an ongoing series(autocorrect changed ongoing to annoying…not wrong there.)
=======================================
February 7, 2020
2.5 stars
Would’ve been 3, the plot itself was okay, but the dialogue wasn’t really that great. It was like every action film ever, where the characters try and be funny with their one liners and it just falls flat. I think what made it worse for me is the lack of character development. Although I understand the book is based on the film, the author had the opportunity to go more in depth about the characters as well the titans. So for me, any character interaction and any deaths that occurred just fell flat because there was no background thus no emotion / connection there. Due to this, I didn’t really care much about the characters.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the book, there were some good moments in there (e.g. the very brief mention of King Kong- shoutout!) and how all of the Titans were woken up from their slumber. But in all, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would considering I love Godzilla. I’ll still watch the film.
Would’ve been 3, the plot itself was okay, but the dialogue wasn’t really that great. It was like every action film ever, where the characters try and be funny with their one liners and it just falls flat. I think what made it worse for me is the lack of character development. Although I understand the book is based on the film, the author had the opportunity to go more in depth about the characters as well the titans. So for me, any character interaction and any deaths that occurred just fell flat because there was no background thus no emotion / connection there. Due to this, I didn’t really care much about the characters.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the book, there were some good moments in there (e.g. the very brief mention of King Kong- shoutout!) and how all of the Titans were woken up from their slumber. But in all, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would considering I love Godzilla. I’ll still watch the film.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2021
I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a fan of Godzilla since it's been years since I watched the movies and I haven't seen the recent one. But I remember watching and enjoying the movies when I was young and this book came up in my Audible recommendation so I decided to give it a try. It was a lot of fun. It really is a combo of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and mythology. I enjoyed the action and the story behind Godzilla and Mothra and being reminded that just like humans, there are good and bad monsters and that some of them probably understand more than we do! I don't remember enough of the original movies to know if they stuck to the mythology of Godzilla as originally created, but I enjoyed this book and based on the way it ends, it's likely to have a few sequels, which I will be keeping an eye out for.
February 24, 2020
I have two expectations from a movie tie in novel. That the novel covers the events of the movie and that I get insights into characters as an author can describe what a character is thinking and feeling sometimes better than they can be emoted on the screen. Mr Keyes does a great job doing exactly this throughout this novelization of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
I also have hopes that we see scenes that aren't covered in the movies, or done so quickly that they are easily missed. The primary portion of this novel that is seen far too quickly in the movie is the awakening of the lesser monsters. In the movie, we see a snippet of video of several different 'titans' waking up and moving. In the novel, we little vignettes of background of most of these video moments. While we don't need the background, its nice to have. And its short enough that it doesn't distract from the overall story.
In all, I enjoyed this audible version of the novel and look forward to new movies/books in the series.
I also have hopes that we see scenes that aren't covered in the movies, or done so quickly that they are easily missed. The primary portion of this novel that is seen far too quickly in the movie is the awakening of the lesser monsters. In the movie, we see a snippet of video of several different 'titans' waking up and moving. In the novel, we little vignettes of background of most of these video moments. While we don't need the background, its nice to have. And its short enough that it doesn't distract from the overall story.
In all, I enjoyed this audible version of the novel and look forward to new movies/books in the series.
March 17, 2021
Why did I do this to myself? It's even worse than the film! And not only because the visuals and effects are missing.
Mark is so annoying and has basically no consistency. The military is just awful as they usually are. I hate American pronunciation and accent.
And there's no way Maddie is 12. That's not how a 12-year-old would think or act, even if they had a traumatic experience like a monster attack.
Mark calling her a "strong, independent young woman" is just no. Stop it! She's a child! Let her act like one!
Mark is so annoying and has basically no consistency. The military is just awful as they usually are. I hate American pronunciation and accent.
And there's no way Maddie is 12. That's not how a 12-year-old would think or act, even if they had a traumatic experience like a monster attack.
Mark calling her a "strong, independent young woman" is just no. Stop it! She's a child! Let her act like one!
April 24, 2024
Brilliant book. I really enjoyed the movie, so I wanted to read the novelization.
I feel that reading the characters' thoughts, feelings and perspective, makes it far more intense and emotional than the movie. The characters' motivations are much clearer too.
I also liked the extra scenes we didn't see in the movie, such as Kong's thoughts on Ghidorah's Alpha call and the other titans awakening that we didn't get to see.
I feel that reading the characters' thoughts, feelings and perspective, makes it far more intense and emotional than the movie. The characters' motivations are much clearer too.
I also liked the extra scenes we didn't see in the movie, such as Kong's thoughts on Ghidorah's Alpha call and the other titans awakening that we didn't get to see.
January 14, 2020
If you have seen the movie and are a casual fan then there isn’t much more here . But if you are a Godzilla fan this novel builds on the movie and elaborates more on each scene and backstory. It was Enjoyable experience given I’ve been a Godzilla fan since the 80s .
Definitely recommended for fans . Casual Godzilla fans can avoid this .
Definitely recommended for fans . Casual Godzilla fans can avoid this .
December 3, 2021
“I’d like to have children some day. Preferably without flippers.”
Lots of sarcastic humor. Crazy x-wife releases the Titans. X-husband, nearly blown up in the release, with a past wallowing at the bottom of a bottle chases after her & his daughter with his military squad, trying to mitigate the Titans’ path of destruction.
I think I need to see this movie! No. Really!
4.5 stars
Lots of sarcastic humor. Crazy x-wife releases the Titans. X-husband, nearly blown up in the release, with a past wallowing at the bottom of a bottle chases after her & his daughter with his military squad, trying to mitigate the Titans’ path of destruction.
I think I need to see this movie! No. Really!
4.5 stars
December 16, 2019
I haven’t seen the movie this was based off yet, but after this book I want to. It was exactly what I was looking for in a monster book. Big Kaiju and big fights. The story is fun and who doesn’t love Godzilla? Michael Braun did a great job on the narration as well. If you are in the mood for a monster book and like Godzilla check it out.
August 29, 2020
Notes:
Low End of 3 Stars
Currently on Audible Plus
The movie was more entertaining than this book. Narrator was fine but the story was not as engaging in audio format without the visuals.
Low End of 3 Stars
Currently on Audible Plus
The movie was more entertaining than this book. Narrator was fine but the story was not as engaging in audio format without the visuals.
March 24, 2021
Highly enjoyed this! Added alittle bit to the over all story but not as much as I was really hoping for. Still excited for the next movie! Wooo
May 3, 2024
It's a good read, simple and short. I wanted a little more details or new scenes but as just the movie novelization is has enough added to be really a good enough support to the movies
April 8, 2022
Ok...i know....but I love all those Godzilla movies
January 22, 2020
This novelization was a good recap of the movie and clarified several plot points that either I missed or were glossed over in the film. I don’t know if the Godzilla movie that’s due to be released later this year will pick up where this one left off (from the hook at the end, I’m guessing yes) but I wanted to be up to speed on the storyline and characters in case it did. This book got me there and was an entertaining read as well.
July 12, 2019
Godzilla: King of the Monsters, or as a friend of mine recently referred to it, Godzilla: This Time We’re Not Fucking Around, gets its official novel treatment by Greg Keyes and Titan books, charting the destructive events of the film as titans battle for supremacy across the globe.
One of the criticisms I saw of the film was that there was too much focus on monster battles and not enough time with the human cast. A complaint that I think is absolutely ridiculous, especially as people said the opposite thing about the first film. Luckily, for those that enjoyed the story of the film but want more focus on the human characters – the book has you covered.
Whilst the novel follows the plot of the film, the narrative always follows one of the human characters, meaning that the Kaiju battles are always observed from a distance by someone such as Mark Russell or one of the G Squad soldiers. The larger than life fights and the city wide destruction is secondary to how the people experience this. The reader doesn’t bask in the spectacle of Ghidorah and Godzilla battling in Boston, but stays with Madison Russell as she flees through the streets towards her childhood home, getting to experience the fear that she’s feeling.
These character insights extend beyond the action sequences, however, and actually gave me a better understanding as to character motivations from the film. A lot of the backstory to the Russell family was only given in brief pieces of dialogue, and left to the viewers to draw their own conclusions. The book actually goes a lot more into this, not just explaining more of how the family fell apart following the events of the first film, but showing how Mark’s feelings towards the creature he deemed responsible for his son’s death changes over time.
The book also adds some additional scenes to the narrative that were not included in the film. Some of these are scenes that provide more information on the titans that come out of hibernation thanks to Ghidorah, giving not only more information on the creatures, such as their names, places in mythology, and their abilities, but also throws some human characters into their emergence scenes too. It’s no longer just the spider-like Scylla breaking free of an oil field, but a scene where we get to know about Rick, the geologist that works there, and how his final thoughts before dying are of his family. We get something similar in Munich when Methusaleh breaks free of its mountain, observing the action from the point of view of a young couple on a romantic picnic.
For myself, though, the best new scenes in the book are the small conversations that take place where the events of the comics are acknowledged. There’s the mention of Godzilla fighting Shinomura in the the 1940s, events that were observed by Dr. Serizawa’s father in Godzilla: Awakening. The book also makes a point of including Emma Russell’s previous work on the ORCA device to help Godzilla combat another MUTO creature following the events of the first film in Godzilla: Aftershock.
Whether it’s the inclusion of the larger Monsterverse outside of the films that casual fans would be familiar with, or the focus on the human characters, Godzilla: King of the Monsters proves to be a competent companion piece to the movie. It adds depth and characterisation without having to stray from the narrative, and creates a version of the film’s events that feel even more connected to the wider universe. Not only is it a great read, but it’s the perfect place to direct those who wanted more of a human connection from the film. as this provides a decent alternative.
One of the criticisms I saw of the film was that there was too much focus on monster battles and not enough time with the human cast. A complaint that I think is absolutely ridiculous, especially as people said the opposite thing about the first film. Luckily, for those that enjoyed the story of the film but want more focus on the human characters – the book has you covered.
Whilst the novel follows the plot of the film, the narrative always follows one of the human characters, meaning that the Kaiju battles are always observed from a distance by someone such as Mark Russell or one of the G Squad soldiers. The larger than life fights and the city wide destruction is secondary to how the people experience this. The reader doesn’t bask in the spectacle of Ghidorah and Godzilla battling in Boston, but stays with Madison Russell as she flees through the streets towards her childhood home, getting to experience the fear that she’s feeling.
These character insights extend beyond the action sequences, however, and actually gave me a better understanding as to character motivations from the film. A lot of the backstory to the Russell family was only given in brief pieces of dialogue, and left to the viewers to draw their own conclusions. The book actually goes a lot more into this, not just explaining more of how the family fell apart following the events of the first film, but showing how Mark’s feelings towards the creature he deemed responsible for his son’s death changes over time.
The book also adds some additional scenes to the narrative that were not included in the film. Some of these are scenes that provide more information on the titans that come out of hibernation thanks to Ghidorah, giving not only more information on the creatures, such as their names, places in mythology, and their abilities, but also throws some human characters into their emergence scenes too. It’s no longer just the spider-like Scylla breaking free of an oil field, but a scene where we get to know about Rick, the geologist that works there, and how his final thoughts before dying are of his family. We get something similar in Munich when Methusaleh breaks free of its mountain, observing the action from the point of view of a young couple on a romantic picnic.
For myself, though, the best new scenes in the book are the small conversations that take place where the events of the comics are acknowledged. There’s the mention of Godzilla fighting Shinomura in the the 1940s, events that were observed by Dr. Serizawa’s father in Godzilla: Awakening. The book also makes a point of including Emma Russell’s previous work on the ORCA device to help Godzilla combat another MUTO creature following the events of the first film in Godzilla: Aftershock.
Whether it’s the inclusion of the larger Monsterverse outside of the films that casual fans would be familiar with, or the focus on the human characters, Godzilla: King of the Monsters proves to be a competent companion piece to the movie. It adds depth and characterisation without having to stray from the narrative, and creates a version of the film’s events that feel even more connected to the wider universe. Not only is it a great read, but it’s the perfect place to direct those who wanted more of a human connection from the film. as this provides a decent alternative.
June 28, 2019
This actually helps fill in some of the details from the movie that I didn't catch. Very well written adapted too, almost as much fun to read as the film was to watch.
January 25, 2020
I have not seen this Godzilla feature but have seen others. This Novelization of the movie may add backstory to moviegoers looking for a bit more, but it lacks the depth needed to be a good read. I was hoping for more. Did not finish.
October 20, 2019
This audiobook is actually called Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization. Ergo, a movie converted to the novel format. A codicil to this review, I've not seen this movie, but have seen several others.
Plot. In this book, Godzilla exists, as do other big bad creatures, but they've been dormant. A married couple develops a prototype they call ORCA, a machine emitting sounds that are hypnotic siren songs to animals, specifically large killers, etc.. The two decide that the ability to manipulate these creatures isn't such a good idea, and destroy their machine. Divorce, ten years later. Begin a story about the sudden appearance and deliberate release of The Titans, several monsters. Mothra, Godzilla, Moth, Monster Zero, etc., ten or twelve. They fight and kill each other and knock around cities, people, kill millions. The wife is in on this skullduggery thinking that mankind should live with these creatures peacefully, she has rebuilt ORCA. Hubby is the good guy trying to stop the world-wide carnage and rescue his daughter.
Liked. No sex scenes, no objectionable language inappropriate to the character or scene. The narration is fine.
Not so hot. Listening to this audiobook will not likely be a motivation to see the movie. You'll go see the movie if you like Godzilla movies. Godzilla, since the very beginning in the 1950s when the big guy demolished Tokyo with Raymond Burr skittering for his life, is a visual/special effects movie, always. This book just doesn't do it.
If you're into the Godzilla-type genre, see the movie. The old adage of "ya just gotta see it" stands firm; the book cannot give you those thrilling visuals. Description is lacking in the book, probably because the author decided to let you visualize for yourself, i.e., "see the movie".
Narrated by Michael Braun, about nine hours of listening in unabridged audiobook, released in May 2019 by Blackstone Audio.
Plot. In this book, Godzilla exists, as do other big bad creatures, but they've been dormant. A married couple develops a prototype they call ORCA, a machine emitting sounds that are hypnotic siren songs to animals, specifically large killers, etc.. The two decide that the ability to manipulate these creatures isn't such a good idea, and destroy their machine. Divorce, ten years later. Begin a story about the sudden appearance and deliberate release of The Titans, several monsters. Mothra, Godzilla, Moth, Monster Zero, etc., ten or twelve. They fight and kill each other and knock around cities, people, kill millions. The wife is in on this skullduggery thinking that mankind should live with these creatures peacefully, she has rebuilt ORCA. Hubby is the good guy trying to stop the world-wide carnage and rescue his daughter.
Liked. No sex scenes, no objectionable language inappropriate to the character or scene. The narration is fine.
Not so hot. Listening to this audiobook will not likely be a motivation to see the movie. You'll go see the movie if you like Godzilla movies. Godzilla, since the very beginning in the 1950s when the big guy demolished Tokyo with Raymond Burr skittering for his life, is a visual/special effects movie, always. This book just doesn't do it.
If you're into the Godzilla-type genre, see the movie. The old adage of "ya just gotta see it" stands firm; the book cannot give you those thrilling visuals. Description is lacking in the book, probably because the author decided to let you visualize for yourself, i.e., "see the movie".
Narrated by Michael Braun, about nine hours of listening in unabridged audiobook, released in May 2019 by Blackstone Audio.
July 2, 2019
This is an Ok book but it could have been better. There are only a few section of the book that where not in the movie or expanded upon what was in the movie. This book seems to be about multiple different reactions to loss. The main characters lose their son and neither appear to grief properly one drinking and throwing themselves into their work the other just throwing themselves into their work. Their surviving daughter emotions on this loss are really never covered. The main bad guy lost his daughter and now hates humanity and wants to kill just about everyone, because some bad people killed his daughter. Random old woman is added who lost her daughter and is taking care of her daughters son is the most emotionally healthy one of them all. She appear to be in the book for reasons? maybe as a contrast for less than a chapter then never mentioned again. This book could have been great it they had put more details into it as it followed the movie but lacked any good descriptors. If you had not seen the movie you would never know what any of the locations looked like. Also it was a bit of a jarring read where the book jumps from one area to another, while these jumps work well in a movie its not so in a book with out adding things to make the transitions smoother. The ending is also abrupt the main characters are on a plane looking at the all the titans surrounding Godzilla before running into the epilog setting up maybe something with the next movie that last for about a page. It could have had a decent or extended ending for the book instead of leaving things hang with all of the destruction that has been done. The two things I really liked about the book where the prolog with some of what Godzilla things and a small section with Kong it they put a few more of those things in the book would have been very interesting.
November 5, 2019
Not sure what I was thinking when I started listening to this as this genre generally doesn't appeal to me. The book came very close to being a DNF, but I was stuck in a car for 8 hours and barely managed to finish it.
The book brings together all of the great Monsters (Godzilla, Mothra, etc.) along with Monarch into the ultimate battle royale against King Ghidorah with nothing less than the fate of humanity at stake. Let's just say that if humanity survives, there will be plenty of opportunities to rebuild the world's major cities. The author interleaves excerpts from real and fictional texts to provide story context which I liked.
The pacing of the novel was off and I generally did not like the book. There was so much action going on that there wasn't time to describe non-battle scenes vividly nor for much serious character development to occur. Therefore, I wasn't able to invest myself into the story or its characters. This seems to be what happens when too many elements are thrown into the mix instead of focusing on few characters and scenes.
If you are fans of Godzilla and the other Monsters, you will most likely enjoy this book. However, for me, it was a non-starter.
The book brings together all of the great Monsters (Godzilla, Mothra, etc.) along with Monarch into the ultimate battle royale against King Ghidorah with nothing less than the fate of humanity at stake. Let's just say that if humanity survives, there will be plenty of opportunities to rebuild the world's major cities. The author interleaves excerpts from real and fictional texts to provide story context which I liked.
The pacing of the novel was off and I generally did not like the book. There was so much action going on that there wasn't time to describe non-battle scenes vividly nor for much serious character development to occur. Therefore, I wasn't able to invest myself into the story or its characters. This seems to be what happens when too many elements are thrown into the mix instead of focusing on few characters and scenes.
If you are fans of Godzilla and the other Monsters, you will most likely enjoy this book. However, for me, it was a non-starter.
December 8, 2022
Godzilla has been around for a very long time. I can remember watching black and white Godzilla movies on the weekends growing up and there have been some recent blockbuster movies. My point is that there is actually a long and rich history of the king of monsters and while I didn’t know that history very well before reading this book, I feel like Keyes has ret-conned it together in a wonderful package for me. This is an amazing book with both human and monstrous villains, and human and monstrous heroes. And I enjoyed every page of it.
Keyes really has a gift for bringing the monsters to life and making them relatable even while they are still terrifying. And the humans just muck everything up so incredibly well, always doing the wrong thing, it seems, even when they are desperately trying to do what is right.
I may just have to watch the movie.
Keyes really has a gift for bringing the monsters to life and making them relatable even while they are still terrifying. And the humans just muck everything up so incredibly well, always doing the wrong thing, it seems, even when they are desperately trying to do what is right.
I may just have to watch the movie.
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