r/kaiju

I've never liked the names of the creatures in the Monsterverse. I'm tired of "Titanus + Deity." I think those kinds of names just show a lack of imagination. They'd be amazing if they weren't real names, but rather the names of the species (for example: Titanus Gojira: Godzilla and Dagon are the same species, but each has its own name). And there are very few REAL names for the Titans, like Shimo, Doug, or the great apes. Because of this, I wondered, what would be better, more classic, and original names for the Titans?

Fans of Kaiju will enjoy The Big Bad Book of Kaiju (Titan Books) coming September 2026. This collection of short stories by Kevin J. Anderson, Kelley Armstrong, Maurice Broadus, Tananarive Due, Luke Dumas, Taiyo Fujii, Kane Gilmour, Christopher & Daniel Golden, Henry Herz, Jamal Hodge, Ai Jiang, Alma Katsu, Tim Lebbon, Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Lee Murray, Tobi Ogundiran, Jeremy Robinson, Scott Sigler, Ben Spada. More details at https://henryherz.wordpress.com/the-big-bad-book-of-kaiju/

This is an excerpt from my upcoming Thai Kaiju novel Nakra: Awakening of the Colossus (นาครา: อุบัติการณ์อสูรล้างโลก). I have translated this scene to share the atmosphere of my world, depicting the moment a civilian captured the first footage of the creature during its appearance in Nong Khai, Thailand.

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Grrrrrrrrr

A deep, low vibration rumbled through the storm. It didn't sound like thunder, but an ancient beast clearing its throat. Benja, a local civilian of Nong khai huddled in the rain with her parents, looked toward the source of guttural sound; The 1st Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge.

Through the blinding rain, the massive concrete structure stood illuminated by streetlights. Suddenly, the water beneath it began to bulge unnaturally, as if a small mountain were breaching from the abyss.

Boom!!!

An underwater explosion of sheer mass shattered the bridge. Concrete snapped like dry twigs. The light poles plummeted into the surging river. A massive silhouette, thirty stories tall, breached the surface at the bridge's broken center.

A flash of lightning tore through the dark, revealing the nightmare for a split second: gargantuan reptilian figure with a distinctive crest on its head.

'Holy shit' Benja swore inwardly while standing still.

"Is that... Nak?" an elder whispered, trembling.

The crowd stood frozen, stared to the giant while mouth agape. Someone took out their phones to take pictures with shaky hands, and Benja was one of them.

When the massive creature—Nakra—began to move, the stunned silence turned into a primal scream. Benja fumbled with her phone, her fingers slick with mud and rain. The creature stepped onto the shore. Each stride sent a shockwave that triggered every car alarm in the area. It didn't roar with malice but simply moved with the indifference of a god.

It waded through the city, houses crumbling beneath its mass as easily as paper. It didn't hunt humans but looked left and right as if searching for a forgotten land from a pre-ice age world. After a moment, it emitted one final low hum and retreated back into the Mekong, vanishing beneath the black waters as silently as it had arrived.

Left behind was a shattered city, and a girl with a recording that would change the world forever.

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WORLD DATA NOTES:

• The Setting: Nong Khai is a real border province in Northeast Thailand. For centuries, it has been the heart of the Phaya Naga folklore—the belief that a giant serpent god dwells within the Mekong River.
• The Landmark: The 1st Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge is a critical real-world landmark connecting Thailand and Laos. In this lore, its destruction signifies the end of the "modern peace" and the total collapse of regional security.
• The Culture: The term Nak is the shortened Thai version of Naga. By having the elder use this word, I wanted to show the bridge between ancient superstition and the horrific, physical reality of a biological Weapon of Mass Destruction.

If you were Benja or civilian, what would you do; run for your life, freeze and take a video, or fall to your knees and pray to an ancient god for luck?

I was on Mercari and I found this guy on there. I just thought it was a Godzilla bootleg (which still could be the case), that is until I saw the next photo and saw that on the back it has these porters on its back.

So now I’m even more confused to what its purpose is. Is it a charger, does it connect with more spikes or what? The description of the post only has “Charismac FireDino Fire Dino FireWire Hub 2002 Collectible Godzilla in good condition no power cable”

As elephants travel across the Sahara, the shadow of a Thesogigas shelters them, if only for a few brief moments. They might be threatened by the Thunderbirds, if the cryptid birds weren’t already satisfied with the meal the towering behemoth provides in the form of parasites and jettisoned flesh.

To continue my random showcase of renders on MonsterVerse Titans that'll appear in my MonsterVerse AU: Cinematic MonsterVerse, here's of course another render focused on Tiamat: The Sea Serpent Titan. Hope y'all like it as always.

Based off the Franchises 'Godzilla and The MonsterVerse' and Character Created and Owned by:

Toho Co., Ltd and Legendary

Also, Link to the original Monster Mountain Renders Here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Monsterverse/comments/1ix4exi/sfm_art_monster_mountain/

(P.S: Made these renders back of last year. This will explain why it doesn't look the highest quality but don't judge.)

I know nothing about Godzilla. But it was a fun way to spend an hour

Just got it! It is sooo awesome!
What are your thoughts on this book?!