Fiction. "A perfect embodiment of mid-20th-century anxiety, GOJIRA, KING OF THE MONSTERS touches on hubris and nuclear testing, lunatic perfectionism and fire-tornadoes and the schisms wrought by grief and silence. In Jim Shepard's deft and darkly brilliant tale about the Master of Miniatures behind a legendary film, the complexities of creating a monster and shooting special effects resonate exactly with one man's inner life. No one writes like Shepard, quietly layering loss over loss--and no one orchestrates catastrophe better"--Andrea Barrett. "This is a poignant and important story that seems to me a summation and condensation of many themes that have preoccupied Shepard before. Like a diamond held aloft, each turn of this tale in his deft hand flashes still more light"--Ron Hansen.