Godzilla Novels by Marc Cerasini
While Toho Studios’ giant monster Godzilla has primarily been a movie star lo, these past decades, he has also starred in other media, including fiction, comics, games, and more. In this article, we’re taking a look at a specific series of novels written by Mark Cerasini.
Over his writing career, the author has worked as a magazine editor and writer, a consultant, a screenwriter, and an author. He’s published dozens of books, ranging from children’s picture books and YA novels to mysteries and military nonfiction. He’s even ghostwritten for Tom Clancy. His tie-in novels include several Star Wars books, as well as novels related to such properties as 24, Wolverine, Alien vs Predator, and (of course) Godzilla.
“As odd as it sounds, Toho seemed to prefer it if I created a new origin for an existing kaiju, as I did in Robot Monsters,” Marc told Toho Kingdom. “They loved that I tied kaiju to American Indian lore and more or less ignored the movie origins. They didn't seem to mind when I ‘killed’ a kaiju, either, because I mostly did it with a good chance the creature might not be dead.”
Complete Godzilla Novels by Marc Cerasini In Order
Godzilla Returns (1996) by Marc Cerasini
As Godzilla rises from the Pacific Ocean to again wreak havoc on the modern world, young Japanese-American reporter Brian Shimura is assigned to cover the story. Brian soon becomes obsessed with discovering the truth of the Godzilla legend. From the gripping opening, when Godzilla destroys a Russian Typhoon-class submarine, to the action-packed final confrontation with a full fleet of Japanese Defense Force fighter aircraft, this action adventure-sci-fi thriller will keep old and new fans of the Big G glued to the page! World Fandom magazine called Marc Cerasini's 1996 novel Godzilla Returns “an astounding debut of a new series.” Buy the book from Amazon (affiliate link)
Godzilla 2000 (1997) by Marc Cerasini
In Cerasini’s new Godzilla adventure, teenager Kip Daniels is grabbed by two mysterious men after he breaks all previous records on a new video game called Battleground 2000. The military created the game to recruit new talent for training on a high-tech flying weapon to be used against Godzilla and other giant monsters who have been wreaking havoc worldwide. Kip and five other teenagers agree to join the secret organization called G-Force USA, but do they stand a chance against the mighty Godzilla? This nonstop science fiction thriller takes readers from the Russian Mir space station to the wheat fields of Kansas, and from a secret Pentagon testing base to the top of Mount Rushmore! Buy the book from Amazon (affiliate link)
Godzilla at World’s End (1998) by Marc Cerasini
A team of young science students makes an eerie discovery. Miles below the surface of the South Pole, the Ancient Ones, a race of crystalline beings, have awakened after a million years, horrified to find “their” world infected by a plague of humans. To eliminate humanity, the Ancient Ones create an army of cybernetic monsters who lay waste to South America, China, and Russia before descending upon Japan to do battle with Godzilla. The young scientists in Antarctica and Godzilla, King of the Monsters, are humanity’s last line of defense against the giant monster army of the Ancient Ones. Nonstop action and thrilling battles will keep young adult readers glued to the page! World of Fandom magazine praised Marc Cerasini as “an impressive voice,” calling Godzilla At World’s End “an epic adventure that has the flavor of a Tom Clancy, Jules Verne, and Edgar Rice Burroughs story all rolled into one!” Buy the book from Amazon (affiliate link)
Godzilla vs. the Robot Monsters (1998) by Marc Cerasini
The battered nations of the world prepare to fight back against Godzilla by constructing a pair of gigantic robotic weapons to be operated by teams of teenage geniuses. Unknown to the teams, however, the evil three-headed dragon King Ghidorah has returned. Rebuilt as a cyborg weapon, the creature can only by stopped if the robots now combine their forces and find an ally in the newly awakened Godzilla! Buy the book from Amazon (affiliate link)
Godzilla and the Lost Continent (cancelled) by Marc Cerasini
An unpublished novel based on the Godzilla franchise, Godzilla and the Lost Continent would have been the fifth novel in Random House’s series of young adult novels written by Marc Cerasini. The book was cancelled by the publisher in the wake of the poorly received 1998 American Godzilla film.
According to the book’s summary on Wikizilla, Godzilla’s rest in the Pacific Ocean is disturbed when a landmass the size of Texas appears in the Pacific Ocean and the countries of the world rush to control it. But when they arrive they discover vast ruins and a small group of survivors of a long lost civilization.
Of even more concern is that the monsters Varan, Manda, and Battra have made their homes on the lost continent. As the invading armies roll in, the monsters begin to combat them but then flee and a totally new monster, an extremely powerful humanoid made of rock and stone dubbed Raijin (or Daitengu) appears and destroys all the human interlopers.
Matters are made even worse when it's revealed that Raijin is merely a herald and champion for an even greater intelligence, the very Earth itself, which is not only responsible for the sudden return of The Lost Continent and the calling of all monsters to it, but has also possessed the body of Biollante to serve as its avatar, along with creating equally monstrous forest growth which soon appears across the globe, in a catastrophic bid to cleanse itself of all human life. Now Godzilla is the only hope for both mankind and the inhabitants of the Lost Continent against these two sentient literal forces of nature.
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