Daikaiju! Giant Monster Tales (2005)

Editors Robert Hood, Robin Pen
Publisher Agog! press
Length 352 pages
Genre Anthology
Blurb Astounding stories of absurd size and impossible dimension!
Country

Talk us through it

Messers Hood and Pen present a collection of thirty various pieces with the central idea being that each piece somehow has a giant monster in it. The title itself "daikaiju" breaks down to "dai" giant and "kaiju" monster. While the collection is dominated by short stories we also get poetry, including naturally some haiku verse, a screen play, a short history of daikaiju cinema, and flash fiction stories. Needless to say there is something within the covers of Daikaiju for about every reader excluding the Mills & Boon hordes.

While the concept, amply backed up by the lurid yet compelling comic style covers, would on initial impression scream out pulp fiction, there's more than meets the eye as the collection unfolds.

Ready to rock and roll over at the Godzilla place?

Review

"some friggin' huge mutant reptile just burned our exchange to the ground." - Like a Bug Underfoot

Daikaiju! arrived courtesy of my wife who was wondering what to get me for my last birthday. Naturally for the man who has everything, a collection of giant monster tales is just the thing. Actually she outdid herself by also including the second and third volumes in the trilogy from agog! press, so no complaints over here friends and neighbours. And I should add a big thanks to Rob Hood who was instrumental in getting the books into my hot little hands. So hey if reading and wondering what sort of insanity you have dipped your toes into then blame my wife, besides she supports the Waratahs, never a good sign in itself. Before completely diverting into the biographic swamp lets get down and funky with Daikaiju!.

The collection kicks off with the moody Lullabye by U.S author Doug Wood that hinted at a possible religious theme running through the collection. There's definitely a Biblical connection within the story, a feeling of you shouldn't look back as the big G himself demolishes all in his path. Perth writer Martin Livings is certainly more explicit in his contribution, the excellent Running, "I'm frozen in my tracks, a pillar of salt in the shape of a man who foolishly looked back." And while we can certainly pull out a number of other stories also exposing various religious tenets, Hood and Pen devilishly aren't letting us off that easy in attempting a review. Before I leave the whole religious thing in our dust I should point out that not all the stories that can be construed as having a religious basis keep to the Christian straight and narrow. In various stories it can be argued we happen upon H. P. Lovecraft's elder gods, the pre-classic titans get a look in, and there's a whole slew of pieces viewing our large monsters as almost elementary gods beyond the human keen.

Not content with simply trying on the metaphysical for size Hood and Pen include quite a number of humorous stories within the collection. A highlight for mine was the smile inducing Seven Dates That Were Ruined by Giant Monsters by Melbourne writer Adam Ford, that would be sporadic love life in the ruins of various giant monster attacks to you and me Russ. Naturally the rampaging Chuck MacKenzie delivers his zany view of things in Like a Bug Underfoot, now there's a new take on not being able to get down to Centrelink. And Canberra resident Anthony Fordham takes the cake with a tale about a time travelling hero and his genetically modified Yak attempting to save humanity from sentinel glaciers in Aspect Hunter. In the wash-up you would have to say that Editors Hood and Pen are not being overly precious about their collection theme here and can see the natural humour giant monsters inspire in audiences.

Fantasy fans needn't think they are being overlooked either with two stories managing to somehow combine aspects of the fantastic with daikaiju. Well okay three if you want to include Footfall by Brisvegas resident Terry Dartnall in the category. Hey I'm pretty sure Terry Prachet would be smiling over that story. The out and out fantasy fables however are The Greater Death of Saito Saku from the pen of Sydney sider Richard Harland, set in the heartland of traditional Feudal Japan, and the sword and sorcery narrative The Unlawful Priest of Todesfall from Melbourne resident Penelope Love. Actually in what might be a first Ms Love's Mother Rosaleen Love also has a story included. Remember that fact, it might come in handy when we get our quiz module up and running.

Which of course brings us to the "just too hard to put into a category" inclusions in this wide ranging and entertaining collection. Read It In The Headlines is just what the title says, a series of sensationalist headlines that tell a tale. Garth Nix is having a wry grin with that yarn. Californian Frank Wu delivers The Tragical History of Guidolon, the Giant Space Chicken, which is a tale of Daikaiju making a Daikaiju movie told via a film script. And in a similar vein if you ever wondered where giant monsters go when they retire have a peek at Canberra lad Andrew Sullivan's Notes Concerning Events at the Ray Harryhausen Memorial Home for Retired Actors. Anyone not understanding the Ray Harryhausen reference should immediately go and watch some stop motion dinosaur epics, the one before Spielberg's theme park kids. And of course Brian Thomas entertains with a brief recap of daikaiju cinema via Wonders 8 Through 88.

A final word then on the packaging, to go all Marketing 101 on your arse. Bob Eggleton provided the cover artwork which impresses with it's almost 1950s retro look and feel. The front cover, all green hues, features a nasty looking denizen of the deep no doubt about to use a submarine as a tooth pick, while the rear cover reminds of one of those U.S comic ads we probably all vaguely remember from Creepy magazine or the like. An added bonus is a Todd Tennant colour plate that leads into The Tragical History of Guidolon, the Giant Space Chicken, and I simply love saying that title out loud kids. The packaging maintains the high standard agog! press seem to have set themselves.

Unfortunately you may find the collection slightly hard to come by as agog! press seem to have gone into a holding pattern while Cat Sparks and Robert Hood spend some quality time working on their own fiction. Amazon have copies available and at a pinch keep an eye on eBay for the odd copy of the collection that might come up. If really desperate then drop me a line via the contact form and I'll see if I can't sort something, no promises there folks.

ScaryMinds Rates this read as ...

surprisingly satisfying read and a must have for daikaiju fans of all ages. Congratulations to Hood and Pen on an excellent collection, now gasping to get into the second anthology in the trilogy.