47 pages • 1 hour read
John ScalziThe Kaiju Preservation Society
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Jamie Gray
Jamie Gray is the novel’s protagonist, a new KPS recruit, and one of the four new members of Tanaka Base Gold Team. Throughout the novel, Scalzi leaves Jamie’s gender ambiguous, never revealing their gender and using the first-person pronouns in Jamie’s point-of-view. Leaving Jamie’s gender ambiguous suggests that their gender has no impact on their day-to-day life or work, suggesting that the typically gendered activities in which they participate, such as rescue missions and defense missions, are equally performable by a person of any gender. For example, Jamie quickly learns how to use the KPS weapons and earns Tanaka Base’s respect after defeating the kaiju parasite. Jamie’s gender neutrality also makes their experiences more easily relatable to people of all genders. Jamie is a self-proclaimed nerd who wrote their master’s thesis on science fiction and refers often to science fiction novels, such as Neil Stephanson’s Snow Crash. Jamie’s love of science fiction makes them further relatable and suggests that they will have useful information in the science-fiction world in which the KPS operates.
Much of the narrative traces Jamie’s first KPS deployment, during which they become confident and self-assured, capable of protecting something more important than themself. At the beginning of the novel, Jamie works as a delivery driver, a job they do not find fulfilling but keep to protect Brent and Laertes. This shows early on that Jamie is a kind person and supportive friend willing to make sacrifices to help others, setting up their growth in the KPS and their relationship to Teamwork and Community in the Face of Global Catastrophe. Before joining the KPS, Jamie has strong morals and self-respect but little confidence. For example, in the beginning of the novel Jamie sees Sanders’s manipulative and greedy nature but does not have the power or confidence to fight him. Once they join the KPS, Jamie slowly learns to appreciate and respect the kaiju and becomes devoted to their protection, learning The Importance of Conservation and Environmental Stewardship. Jamie’s strong bonds with their teammates and desire to protect the kaiju inform their work at the KPS, motivating them to learn as much as they can and further emphasizing the theme of teamwork. Scalzi illustrates this building devotion through Jamie’s relationship with Bella. At first, Jamie laughs at Bella and Edward’s mating difficulties, suggesting they do not take the kaiju seriously. However, by the end, Jamie risks death to rescue Bella, illustrating their changed attitude toward Bella and their newfound confidence. Scalzi emphasizes their growth through increasingly tense confrontations with Sanders. By the time Jamie and the team defeat Sanders and save Bella, Jamie is a defiant, confident, and capable defender of the natural world.
Dr. Aparna Chowdhury
Dr. Aparna Chowdhury is an Indian American biologist from Los Angeles and a new member of Tanaka Base Gold Team. She tells Jamie and the others that she joined KPS after a breakup, needing the money. Though Aparna ultimately becomes passionate about her work with the kaiju, this reasoning suggests that devotion to the cause of kaiju protection develops as she acquaints herself with the creatures. As Bella starts nesting, Aparna learns The Importance of Conservation and Environmental Stewardship and becomes devoted to helping Bella and her species thrive. Though she initially struggles with the existence and complex biology of the kaiju, she begins to understand that their biology is different and unique, but still adheres to the laws of science.
Aparna is the shiest of the four new members, asserting that being known to the 150 people at KPS is “about the level of fame I would ever want” (137). As she becomes more devoted to the kaiju, however, she becomes more assertive, suggesting that she draws strength from her purpose. For example, she defends herself and her abilities when Angel Ford doubts her understanding of Bella’s nesting behavior and the level of threat to the barrier. Aparna also appears to sometimes try to see the good, or at least the rationality, in others. For example, she suggests at one point trying to negotiate with the people who took Bella, hoping they will understand the danger of an exploding kaiju.
Dr. Kahurangi Lautagata
Dr. Kahurangi Lautagata is a Māori organic chemist and geologist from New Zealand and one of the four new members of Tanaka Base Gold Team. Early in the novel, Kahurangi’s behavior suggests that he does not take the KPS seriously, making fun, for example, of Edward’s inability to mate with Bella and suggesting that they return to base without delivering the mating pheromones. However, the fact that he stays after MacDonald explains that his predecessor lost limbs suggests his humor is a coping mechanism. Ultimately, Kahurangi sees the kaiju’s value and The Importance of Conservation and Environmental Stewardship.
Kahurangi works to create pheromones to help direct the kaiju’s behavior so the KPS can safely protect them. He soon begins working more with the pheromones and even experimenting with them. This becomes useful in the team’s mission to retrieve Bella illustrating the importance of Teamwork and Community in the Face of Global Catastrophe. In addition, his plan with the uranium pellets brings the team to the main Earth and allows them to discharge the capacitors. Kahurangi is easygoing and wisecracking, forming a quick bond with Jamie and frequently making jokes with them. He also has a caring but somewhat vitriolic friendship with Niamh, whose temper and strict adherence to established scientific practice contrasts Kahurangi’s laid-back nature and occasional interest in experimenting with theories and ideas. However, they respect each other as scientists and teammates, forming a strong friendship.
Dr. Niamh Healy
Dr. Niamh Healy is an Irish astrophysicist and one of the four new members of Tanaka Base Gold Team. Niamh is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. They study the barrier, Bella, and her nest, sometimes working with and training alongside Aparna. They are quick to defend Bella against Tipton and Sanders’s assumption that she is a dumb animal, indicating an understanding of The Importance of Conservation and Environmental Stewardship.
Niamh’s strong personality and fiery temper, which come out frequently in defense of their friends, emphasize theme of Teamwork and Community in the Face of Global Catastrophe. Niamh uses the electric baton twice in defense of their friends, once against the creature that attacked Ardeleanu and again against Dave Berg, the soldier who stopped them in the Canadian forest. They also have a vengeful streak, considering leaving Dave to die as punishment for his involvement with Sanders’s team. Niamh’s caring but competitive friendship with Kahurangi, with whom they sometimes argue, is indicative of their approach to problems and other people. For example, Niamh believes Kahurangi’s plan with the uranium pellets is unscientific and ridiculous, denying it worked even after arriving at the main Earth. Despite the ongoing friction, however, Niamh fiercely defends the team and Bella, showing that their cranky attitude masks a brave and determined ally.
Colonel Martin Satie
Colonel Martin Satie is a French Canadian colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force, a Canadian liaison for KPS, and the pilot of Chopper Two at Tanaka Base. Satie often flies Jamie and the others on their Kaiju Earth missions. Satie enjoys his work as a pilot, describing it as fun and stimulating, and he prefers being involved in the science and fieldwork at KPS. However, his fun-loving attitude does not mean that he doesn’t take his work seriously. For example, when Kahurangi suggests early in the novel that they return to base without distributing the mating pheromones for Bella and Edward, Satie quickly shoots down the idea. When Sanders tries to bribe him, Satie pretends to be interested while setting Sanders up to learn a hard lesson by landing Sanders on the jungle floor away from the nest and filing an incident report. This incident reflects both his playfulness and his dedication to protecting the kaiju.
Satie also has a strong moral code. He agrees to help Jamie and the others retrieve Bella despite knowing he will get in trouble because the administration did not approve the mission. Further, he crosses the barrier to help the Gold Team, putting himself in further danger. This willingness to sacrifice himself and his career suggests that he understands The Importance of Conservation and Environmental Stewardship.
Robert “Rob” Sanders
Robert “Rob” Sanders, the novel’s antagonist, is Jamie’s former boss at füdmüd and Tensorial’s representative on Kaiju Earth. Scalzi implies that Sanders’s wealthy background informs much of his greedy behavior. For example, Sanders grew up learning about the kaiju and KPS from his father. That Sanders sells füdmüd for a billion dollars implies his father’s statement that he could only go to Kaiju Earth after he made a billion dollars inspired his materialism. Scalzi illustrates this overreliance on money when Sanders attempts to bribe Satie during the tour of Kaiju Earth. Further, at the climax, he offers Gold Team money and Bella’s return in exchange for the USB key. Sanders’s family also has a history with nuclear energy and the KPS, purposely causing the first Tanaka Base’s nuclear failure to harness the kaiju’s nuclear energy. Sander’s intent to fulfill this decades-old plan continues this history of damaging behavior, suggesting an authorial critique of generational wealth.
Sanders embodies the theme of Humans’ Impact on Ecosystems. His kidnapping of Bella risks disaster on both original Earth and Kaiju Earth, putting Bella’s species in danger of extinction and potentially killing thousands of people. This also relates to theme of Teamwork and Community in the Face of Global Catastrophe, as Sanders is not above killing innocent people and creatures to achieve his financial goals. Sanders has no connection to his team or other humans, and his disinterest in protecting the lives of other people puts the entire world at risk. For example, the idea that Bella’s explosion will cause mass death, war, and martial law in the United States, delights him as a chance for more power and money.
Charismatic and manipulative, Sanders successfully reinvents himself several times to disguise his nefarious intentions. For example, he convinces MacDonald that he is sorry for attempting to bribe Satie, allowing him to remain on Kaiju Earth. However, these changes are an illusion, and Sanders is a flat character who does not have emotional complexity or change during the novel. Scalzi’s text suggests that Sanders is heavily inspired by former US President Donald Trump, for example, calling his plan to sell füdmüd “the art of the deal,” the title of Trump’s book (151). Sanders also shares Trump’s charisma and business background.
