The seeds of this website were sown way back in the early 2000s when the three-volumes of Daikaiju! were first published. Each anthology—Giant Monster Tales, Revenge of the Giant Monsters and Giant Monsters vs. the World—proved to me that there was a burgeoning audience for kaiju fiction.

Furthermore, I instinctively understood that a new genre of literature needed a clear standard in order to coalesce into a healthy, fully formed fanbase. First you needed the books. Then you needed the readers. And finally you needed a platform to provide an interpretive lens—a book review site like MonsterBookClub, for example. 

Author Neil Riebe acknowledges this inflection point in the introduction to Kaiju Bites, his new collection of short stories. Up until the publication of the first Daikaiju! book, Riebe had been content writing fan fiction based on popular Toho films. He resisted the urge to create his own characters. 

“Kaiju is a visual medium,” he figured at the time. “People want to see their monsters. They don’t want to have to figure out from a few words on a page what the creatures are supposed to look like.”

Fan fiction, on the other hand, was different. Readers didn’t have to rely on a writer’s prose to imagine what the monsters looked like. “The visuals are already implanted in the reader’s head,” he said. 

But I say this: What’s more visual than your own imagination? Why let a film, video game or comic book define your optics? There’s no reason a kaiju novel can’t be as explosive and visual in prose format than any other format. 

Eventually, Riebe switched gears and began creating his own unique “Riebean” universe. Starting with the novel I Shall Not Mate in 2019—followed in succession by Vistakill, Gilgamo vs. Super Allosaurus and War of the Sea Monsters—his books feature an entertaining mix of monster fights, political intrigue, military response and collateral damage along with a big dose of charity and benevolence. There’s even a little bit of romance too. In particular, the ongoing relationship between Shindo Yamaguchi, a Japanese secret agent, and his comely soldier-of-fortune nemesis is quite compelling. 

Kaiju Bites contains all of these elements and more—most notably an invasion of Earth by “skull-faced reptile men” from outer space. 

After destroying the world’s top military powers, the Melgorthians target the Middle East because of its religious significance. It’s clear that the aliens want to break humanity’s spirit by smashing their faith. As one character says: “Without faith, you have no hope. And without hope, you lose your will to resist.”

The invasion might have worked had it not been for an unlikely alliance between Reibe’s kaiju critters. Noregon, a modern-day nodosaur; Golgotha, a giant praying mantis; and a flock of pterosaurs team up to save the world. Monsters are truly mankind’s best friends. 

[ Kaiju Bites / By Neil Riebe / First Printing: August 2025 / ISBN: 9798299280111 ]