Review: There be monsters...and they're freakin' awesome! (Though I'd advise not pissing them off.) KAIJU RISING anthology
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 10, 2014
Godzilla... King Kong... Cyclops... Kaiju is the Japanese word for "strange beast" - and the many authors of the KAIJU RISING: AGE OF MONSTERS anthology have their own unique ideas of how to celebrate monster mayhem. Here's a brief summary of the what's what in this collection:SPECIES: Dragon, thorny polar bear, alligator, tentacled sea creature, turtle, dinosaurs, walking tree, squid, bipedal "it", two-headed snake, undead, A.I., insectoid, spiny things, deformed WTHPURPOSE: Destroyer, savior, revenge, teacher, eat, friend, world domination, fame, hoard, servantEXTRA ABILITIES: Air, water, earth, fire/cold, magic, spiritual, undead, technology, combination (Can being freakin' huge count?)POV: Kaiju, human who becomes kaiju, adult, teen, child, pregnant womanTHEME: Military, school, honor, misfits, the environment, science/technologyGENRES: Science fiction, alternate history, dystopian, apocalyptic, children's, military, historicalYEARS: Historical, alternate present-day, futuristicCOUNTRIES: USA, Canada, England, Japan, India, Germany, fantastical landscapesOf the book's 23 short stories within its more-than 400 pages, here's a handful of individual story summaries for a more detailed look inside KR:AoM.Kane Gilmour  presented a moving alternate historical WWII short story with "The Lighthouse Keeper of Kurohaka Island". Most WWII stories printed in the USA are from the POV of the Allies, but Gilmour's relates that of a Japanese youth in the country of his birth. It begins though, not in the past, but in the future, with a father teaching his son about their family's heritage. What follows is a first-person narration from the destruction of Nagasaki in the voice of a teenager.Nathan Black's "One Last Round" was a pleasing toast to comic book geeks and robot aficionados. Leaping to the idea of a mobile mechanical construction with humans controlling it from the inside wasn't much of a kaiju-killing innovation. After all, if the Power Rangers could do it...? What made it worth the read was the balance of politics with action, selflessness with real-world concerns. It's one thing to demand that the country be defended from the kaiju by a giant robot; it's another thing to pay for it.J. C. Koch treated readers to a return to first grade in "Bright Shining Faces". Mrs. G didn't know why her students were acting "off," until she pegged down it had something to do with Sukie's drawings (which explained absolutely nothing). But when a girl drew monsters which frightened the boys - Houston, we have a problem (or, just perhaps, a solution?).Tracy and Paul Genesse played with a plethora of elemental powers in "Of the Earth, of the Sky, of the Sea". The Empire of the Sun was faced with a fleet of dirigibles. When conventional Japanese weapons of bow and sword were seen to be outmatched and the enemy without honor, a general approached a traditional shrine for help. This fable-style piece is rooted in respect for one's elders and appreciation of consequences on the personal and national levels.James Swallow's "The Turn of the Card" could be nominated as the "conspiracy-theorists' kaiju". This story was the explanation for why every monstrosity known in every mythology was possible...and currently tearing up metropolitan areas all over the world. The setting was London. There was fighting kaiju, helicopters, a rescue, and a museum. As for me- I want to know "the rest of the story."But my relationship with the kaiju began in September of 2012. This anthology was "crowdfunded," meaning that the publisher, Ragnarok Publications, raised money to pay the authors and artists, print the books, and handle the other expenses through a credible donation website. I take part in every project in which my best-selling gal-pal, Gini Koch, is featured - in this case, under her pen name "J. C. Koch". Along with my advance eBook and a host of other backer-only goodies, you can find my friend "Sukie" and me, "Lori," kicking up our heels in Koch's "Bright Shining Faces".If you threatened me with being smashed by a kaiju or finding fault with this collection, I'd have to say that I was a tiny bit disappointed in the commonality between a number of the short stories. Quite a few of the authors thought "Japanese" or "military" would be a unique and unexpected kaiju story element -or, why not include both? That's where the diversity in the monster species, kaiju special abilities, POV, date of the action, and skill of the authors determine whether the story was a "dud" or a "stud." I won't claim that this is an anthology for the faint of heart, but it should be a no-brainer for every comics geek, science fiction buff, robot aficionado, and anime junkie. If girls don't seem to qualify, guess again!Like your anthologies action-packed? you might also like...The Monster's Corner: Stories Through Inhuman EyesAfter: Nineteen Stories of Apocalypse and DystopiaSongs of Love and Death: All Original Tales of Star Crossed LoveAnd don't forget to read J. C. Koch how we better know her , as the best-selling and fabulous...Gini Koch...Touched by an Alien: Alien Novels, Book 1But, since one pen name isn't enough, here's Gini writing SF as Anita Ensal:A Cup of Joe