Story: A group of teenagers are pressed into service for a super secret military unit training with ultra advanced weaponry and technology for the unthinkable possibility that Godzilla may appear in the U.S. after having already crushed many Japanese cities. Not only does the unthinkable occur, but several other beasts begin to rampage on America soil, including King Ghidorah, Varan, and Kamacuras. Because of their inexperience, the teens are held back, watching helplessly as conventional forces suffer defeat after defeat. Finally, they receive their orders. The only thing standing between total destruction of the landscape and the U.S. economy is a group of teenagers with no previous combat experience.
Review: Before we go any further: this book is NOT a novelization of the movie Godzilla 2000. Instead, this a sequel to Marc Cerasini’s previous Godzilla novel “Godzilla Returns”. In “Godzilla Returns”, the King Of the Monsters rises again from a a slumber of many years and terrorizes Japan. In “Godzilla 2000”, he comes to the U.S. to wreak havoc.
Godzilla 2000 is tagged as a “Young Adult” book, and there’s no doubt about its target audience. Many teens fantasize of being the best at a video game and as a result being pressed into service in a super-secret government defense project. In this case a Godzilla fighting squad.
The book breezes along at a pretty quick pace, piling on problem after problem and monster after monster. Cersini makes effective use of giant praying mantis type creature Kamacuras, even more effective than in the original Godzilla movies. Godzilla wrestling with a tornado represents his might as a force of nature.
The highlight, of course, is the final showdown between Godzilla and the three-headed space monster King Ghidorah in New York. It’s vividly written and you can practically feel the ground shaking as the monsters crash through the city destroying famous landmarks, including the World Trade Center, which betrays its pre-9/11 publication.
There’s plenty of serious property damage as Godzilla makes his way from the west coast to the east, with additional destruction brought by Kamcuras, Rodan, and Varan. Mothra shows up to provide key support to Godzilla.
As strong as Cerasini is with handling the monster action, he also does a good job with the human characters. Most of them are fairly well drawn and using spare, almost throwaway sentences, he provides depth other novelists may pass on. Even minor characters that may only appear for a couple short pages are real.
Equally as impressive are the real-world ramifications of giant monsters crashing through the countryside. There is significant rebuilding that will need to be done, and the radiation emanating from Godzilla is deadly. A person doesn’t have to be stomped or burnt like bacon in order to die from Godzilla’s march.
Just as with most any other paperback novel, it had a short lifespan on the racks and is now out of print. It’s not easy to find, but it’s worth picking up if you can buy it used for close to its original retail price or less.
Year: 1997
Author: Marc Cerasini
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 324