Emperor Tiamat, the space dragon in Constantine Furman’s latest novel, had nothing to do with Mesopotamian or Biblical mythology. Nor was he a Dungeons & Dragons or Final Fantasy rip-off. 

Instead, Tiamat was a five-headed monster with crazy laser powers from outer space. Nobody knew exactly where he came from but some people believed he escaped from an alternative universe where time flows backward. Other people said he was created by an unknown race at the center of the universe as the ultimate weapon of conquest. Another theory speculated that Tiamat hailed from the evil planet Gokemidoro at the very edge of space. 

Regardless of his origin story, the fact remained that Tiamat was coming to Upent (née Earth) to destroy the entire planet. “He’s the vanguard of a great evil from the outer depths of the cosmos,” warned a pretty and mysterious prophet named Maas Neekol Suiim.

What were the options for the people of Upent? A squadron of fighter jets? Nukes? Prayers? What could possibly defeat the “God of Destruction”? There’s only one hope, said Mara, the High Dragoran Priestess of the Almonds from Dragora Island. Upent needed to enlist the help of three titanic kaiju monsters. 

It’s too bad Dragora, a large grub, Farmarna, a giant sea creature, and Fire Bird, a Rodan-like Pteranodon, were a fractious bunch with no affection for humans. “They built weapons to hurt us,” said Farmarna with a sneer. “Why should we help them now?”

Monster of Monsters, Tiamat was a sweet homage to mid-century Toho kaiju movies. G-fans will love the various creatures and the city-destroying battles (the buildings went down like Jenga towers, said the author). Over all, Furman does an excellent job of capturing in print the awkward and comical clashes featured in those early films. in addition, there’s humor and enough cheeky moments to please any grumpy book critic. 

I really only have one negative comment. The author apparently doesn’t know the difference between an astrologer and an astronomer. At first I thought it was the kind of funny typo you often see in indie books without editorial support. But I was wrong. The author continually used the two words as synonyms throughout the entire novel. 

On the other hand, possibly my favorite moments in the book revolved around the princess-prophet Maas Neekol Suiim. She came to Upent with an urgent message from the stars. “Space is as vast as it is limitless,” she said. “It is time that mankind unites with members of other worlds.” Like Michael Rennie in The Day the Earth Stood Still, she was a harbinger of hope. 

[ Monster of Monsters, Tiamat / By Constantine Furman / First Printing: January 2024 / ISBN: 9798871660584 ]