Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon

I'm a big fan of Matt Dinniman's work. I don't know how I stumbled on his first book THE SHIVERED SKY years ago, but I'm so glad I did. I've been telling people about this new book and showing them the Amazon description, and I get such strange looks. This part of the product page doesn't help: "No, uh, traditional, sex." I've said I'll read anything Dinniman writes and after reading KAIJU: BATTLEFIELD SURGEON, I have to amend that statement: Each book by Dinniman makes me want to keep reading his stuff. I'm not into watching someone play a video game, but I think I could be happy reading a LitRPG book from Dinniman every month for the rest of my life. KAIJU is an insane, non-stop, unique, bizarre, thrilling ride. There are enough warnings about the gore and violence in this book between the other reviews and blurbs on the book itself that I don't have to take the time to warn anyone about it. I didn't think it was too much or too gross, but I'll pretend to be a normal person and say it's understandable if other people feel differently. I bought the brick that is the paperback of this book and, at 650 pages, it was a little tough to hold onto at times, but I would have been okay if it was twice the size. Part of me didn't want this adventure to end.I didn't have the same emotional attachment to the characters in this book that I have felt in many of Dinniman's other stories, but I think a big part of that is due to how this story is told. We find our main character, Duke, thrown into this unwinnable situation and he spends nearly the entire book reacting to and strategizing about everything thrown at him. And it works. I'm not complaining about it. It's very effective. Frankly, I felt drained when I finished the book because of the constant action, but some of the nuances of character building were not there for me. This does not mean his character was unsympathetic or two-dimensional, quite the opposite: Duke felt very real to me. Banksy, Duke's pet/familiar, is bound to get a lot of love from readers and is an unlikely but very likable heroic character. I'll just say, while I really dug Banksy, he's no hippocorn.The real standout of KAIJU is the action. It's relentless. And many scenes were so unique I was in true awe. Add to this detailed world-building (which may be Dinniman's greatest skill) woven in with a deft touch and this weird story about a person trying to win an RPG game so he can escape it takes on a life of its own. It's compelling and tense, and it feels real. Real enough, anyway. Most books I read, I just read. Some are better than others. KAIJU is the first book I've read in a long time that I have been excited about picking up the next day, and had to make myself put it down for the night to sleep. And I felt that way throughout the entire thing. KAIJU is a real achievement. It's not for everyone, no, but what book is? I don't rate books on how many people will like it. People suck. This book does not.

Matt, if you read these, please know that God loves you. No matter what life throws at you, it will always turn out for the best.I know that sounds insensitive, but I mean it earnestly. What you wrote might not be what you believe, but if so, that was the single part in this book that was actually painful to read.I’m sorry if you’re in that pain, truly, and I pray that true peace finds you in this world. God bless you sir, you are loved, and I am looking forward to the next floors in DC Carl.

I came to Dinniman's work through the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, which on the whole is wonderful, and you can see the roots of what would become the bloom of that series stretching here in Kaiju. Dinniman balances the horror with humor in that series, the gore of the many many fights is offset by character moments and genuinely ingenious plot work. Here, he's aiming for something else: true horror. When it works, it's good and troubling and smart, but when it doesn't work it's a slog to push through the viscera and find any sort of beating heart of a character beyond. The main character, Duke, is either a brilliant tactician planning fifty steps ahead, or a helpless victim merely swept by the current of events and seemingly incapable of making connections that should be obvious to him. His intelligence comes and goes as needed by the plot, as does any cynicism or introspection he might have gained along the way. He believes, he buys lies, he does not question the truth, or he is so far ahead of the competition he's basically playing a different game. The inconsistency of the character fails the book, even as the plot and, often, the writing, elevate it. It's a tepid mix as a novel, unfortunately, sometimes boiling hot when you need it, other times sadly cool and tasteless at crucial moments.I love Dinniman's later work, but I recommend this early novel only selectively. If you're jonesing for more of his particular litrpg chaos, give it a try. There's some worth to be found here, but don't expect to be blown away.

The book itself is good, though not spectacular. Its greatness hits like a sledgehammer in the last page. It's a conclusion so raw, so real, and so honest that it shakes your entire set of expectations off their foundation. Absolutely worth the read.

Not one to read if you're a sensitive soul but b'gods it was incredibly enjoyable and such a hugely imaginative story that sounds ridiculous at first but as soon as you start reading it's totally believable and enthralling.I've read the dungeon crawler carl series by this author and love it with all my heart, this book while on a similar high quality level isn't more of the same, it's a completely different scenario, really original with a wide range of emotional bits and humour in unexpected places, engrossing...and also gross!I love a good series but I do like a satisfying stand-alone and highly recommend this.So glad I found this genre, it's brilliant!

Truly horrific, great plot, and interesting characters. I wasn't sure what to expect but as I've read a lot of the authors other stuff, I was happy to give it a go. There were definitely some scenes which made me somewhat regret that - you can't unread some things afterall - but it was part of the genre /goal so 🤷‍♀️

This is one of the craziest books I've read in a while. The world setting is totally insane. There are a lot weird angles and dimensions to this story that would mess with your mind if you're not careful. For all that, it's a literary masterpiece. Totally riveting from start to finish. I enjoyed it for the most part. But it also left me feeling upset about a few things. (SPOILERS) I don't like how it ended with Clara. I feel that outcome was just plain nasty, unnecessary even. A!so that final scene with Banksy was heartbreaking. That upset me a lot. There's no happy ending for the MC either. If anything, by the end of the book his mental torment seems only to have just begun.I feel the author owes us a sequel to make things right. Reunite father and son. Undo some of the trauma. Seems only fair.

I bought Kaiju:Battlefield Surgeon for something to read while waiting for another book to come out. I had never heard of it before seeing it on Amazon. I’m so glad I did. I didn’t want to stop reading and I didn’t want it to end. I’m hoping there will be another. This is easily in my top 5 of litrpg. Do yourself a favour and just buy it

A strange book and the ending doesn't really satisfy, but I enjoyed the story. I can't imagine there'll be a sequel but I would read one.