Available for free, here: http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/new/new-fiction/kaiju-maximus-so-various-so-beau...

"Kaiju," of course, refers to the Japanese film genre featuring battles between giant monsters. (I used to work at a club where the band "Kaiju Big Battel" played frequently, so I can't see the word without thinking of their shows...)

Here we meet a family, one of whom is a Hero, travelling out of humanity's safe dwelling caves to do battle against a destructive alien monster.

The story is intercut with a couple of different kinds of texts. Some are notes from a geneticist, talking about the project to change some humans into "heroes" in order to fight the alien menace.
The others are like video game strategy notes, talking about how much XP and power a character can get from their companions.

The story seems to have been inspired by the idea of "lending strength" to someone, and how one might "take strength" from their family bonds - here the idea is taken quite literally.

I liked the story, and thought it got quite a lot of complex and fascinating ideas into a short amount of space. However, I wished that the main narrative had been clear enough to dispense with the need for the 'genetics notes,' and I also thought that the 'video game notes' weakened the story rather than strengthening it.
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Available for free, here: http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/new/new-fiction/kaiju-maximus-so-various-so-beau...

"Kaiju," of course, refers to the Japanese film genre featuring battles between giant monsters. (I used to work at a club where the band "Kaiju Big Battel" played frequently, so I can't see the word without thinking of their shows...)

Here we meet a family, one of whom is a Hero, travelling out of humanity's safe dwelling caves to do battle against a destructive alien monster.

The story is intercut with a couple of different kinds of texts. Some are notes from a geneticist, talking about the project to change some humans into "heroes" in order to fight the alien menace.
The others are like video game strategy notes, talking about how much XP and power a character can get from their companions.

The story seems to have been inspired by the idea of "lending strength" to someone, and how one might "take strength" from their family bonds - here the idea is taken quite literally.

I liked the story, and thought it got quite a lot of complex and fascinating ideas into a short amount of space. However, I wished that the main narrative had been clear enough to dispense with the need for the 'genetics notes,' and I also thought that the 'video game notes' weakened the story rather than strengthening it.
( )