Happy Godzilla Day to those who celebrate! In honor of one of the biggest stars or books, comics and big and small screens everywhere, I’ve selected some random big creature centric stories to enjoy this November, including a bestselling manga, a hilarious act of pulp insanity and a classic tale everyone should read.
Mike Nelson’s Death Rat by Michael J. Nelson
Nelson is likely best known as one of the driving forces behind Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and its evolution, RiffTrax, but his first novel has some of the best laugh-out-loud situations and one-liners I have read. It is partly a sweet satire on some famous Minnesotans like Prince, as well as a witty tribute to the pulp fiction and mid-Century sci-fi and monster movies. A past-his-prime history writer, Ponty Feeb, has just lost his job. He decides to write a “historical fiction” about some locals in the early 1900s taking on a giant rat. He is turned down by publishers, because of his appearance and age, so he hires a younger, more attractive local actor to stand in for him. Although the book gets published it somehow ends up credited as an actual real-life historical event. Now, this giant rat is getting a little too big for Ponty and his imagination, as a famous Garrison Keillor-esque author tries to discredit him, and a flamboyant funk rock superstar starts his own giant rat-based religion. It just gets more ridiculous from there. There’s misdirection, misinterpretations, misunderstandings and misadventures, all very much worth the read.
Kaiju No. 8 by Naoya Matsumoto
This is one of today’s most popular mangas, and it has all the elements manga readers love. There are big fight scenes with really big weapons and even bigger Kaiju of all shapes abilities. On the surface, it’s a cool ongoing battle to keep the threats of kaiju at bay by the elite forces of the Japanese Anti-Kaiju Defense-Force, armed will well honed fighting skills, a variety of weaponry, and cool protective suits constructed partially from kaiju parts. This alone sounds fun, but the main draw is the main character, Kafka Hibino. He wants so much to be part of the JAKDF, fighting force but just never seems to make the cut. Yet, his childhood friend he vowed to protect, Mina, is a celebrated member. One night while sleeping, a parasitic Kaiju crawls in Kafka’s mouth, and he begins to take on the form of a humanoid kaiju, This is a cool underdog story, as well as a fight of humans against monsters.
I’ve talked before about the fantastic high-powered anime this inspired, but really the manga is where it’s at, as it features some gorgeous and terrifying two page spreads, and very….very fast-paced storytelling. Matsumoto also includes nifty character and weapon profiles throughout the volumes. There are currently more than 14 volumes out, as well some spin-off tales. Not too big a feat to catch yourself up to speed on these.
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne
Hopefully, this is one you have read before, but even if you haven’t I would think everyone is familiar with this Jules Verne classic. This story actually has two creatures of note. The more familiar one may be the giant squids who terrorize Captain Nemo and the crew, but that is only a small part of the tale. The big creature is the Nautilus itself, the elusive and futuristic submarine thought by many to be a sea monster, built by Captain Nemo. And it remains impressive. Can you imagine reading the description of this electrically charged undersea vessel in the late 1800s, long before many of the features were even a thing in the real world? Verne’s storytelling still holds up, and the dark spiral of Nemo, as well as a fate we don’t completely learn, is groundbreaking. If you’ve seen the wonderful old school Disney adaptation of this film, you are not getting the whole story by far. Pick up a good physical copy fo this book and read it now.
November is a nice calm between the storms of Halloween and Christmas chaos, so make sure you take some time enjoy a book, just for the sheer joy of reading.
