Review by Booklist Review
When a mysterious black orb suddenly appears in Seoul, humanity doesn't quite know what to make of it. Once the orb begins absorbing any humans who touch it, however, the threat becomes apparent. People flee, mayhem follows, and the government tries to intervene to no avail. As more and more are lost to the orb, humanity devolves into something ugly and brutal as murder, thievery, sexual violence, kidnapping, and cultish practices become the norm. Despite all the horrors, Jeong-su has managed to keep himself alive and as he searches desperately for his family in a landscape devoid of life or hope, he begins to wonder how he can be the only survivor. Loneliness and terror permeate this entire narrative and every scene is carefully crafted to highlight the awfulness of people and the misery of a life spent running from an unknowable threat. What could have been a remarkable novel is marred by a drawn out ending that reads homophobic and feels out of sync with the rest of the story; it's likely to leave readers a bit disappointed and genuinely confused.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Debut author Kim explores the existential horror of isolation in this chilling and enigmatic apocalyptic novel. Jeong-su, a rising young office manager, is the first to encounter the mysterious, floating black orbs that relentlessly absorb his fellow Seoul citizens. As residents flee in a panic, Jeong-su tries to connect with friends and family while evading army patrols, religious cultists, bands of looters, and the ever-rising tide of black orbs. Eventually, trapped in an abandoned store, he and a fellow refugee question all that society has taught them--including the value of conformity and toxic masculinity--as they struggle to avoid being pulled into the void by the voracious orbs. Kim's universe is uncaring and unsparing, whether it's the orbs or fellow humans who are administering the harsh lessons. The key to survival is to find someone with whom to share and divide the pain, offering a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak world. This is sure to win Kim fans. Agent: Barbara Zitwer, Barbara J. Zitwer Agency. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
A shiny, black sphere appears in Seoul, and it's stalking and devouring people one by one. While the story takes the framework of classic sci-fi apocalyptic tales, such as War of the Worlds, it's not about the triumph of survival, but rather the pettiness, cruelty, and anger of endurance. While tense and thrilling, the focus of the novel is on lead character Jeong-su's journey from a man of average success to a selfish remnant of humanity. He begins nobly enough, planning to meet his parents so they can flee together. Along the way he collides with looters, a charitable but secretive congregation, and murderers. He occasionally helps, but more often flees in panic. In the latter half of the novel, there's no more room to run, but there is time to experience traumatic aspects of his background and to begin to understand how society molded him. Readers won't maintain sympathy for the character, however, as his revelations are entwined with his violence, cruelty, and homophobia. VERDICT This English-language debut by an award-winning Korean novelist is great for speculative-fiction lovers fascinated by humanity's depravity, but perhaps a pass for readers desiring a triumphant apocalyptic thrill ride.--Matthew Galloway
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
An Everyman flees a mysterious, all-consuming orb, only to reveal himself as an emotional black hole. How many things can change in just a moment, protagonist Jeong-su Kim reflects at the start of Kim's novel: an expression, a mood, the entire world as we know it. Or at least as Jeong-su knows it: He's handsome and well-liked at his swanky job, too busy to call his parents but still trying to make up for his shortcomings. Then one night, he witnesses a black orb appear out of nowhere and swallow his neighbor, before turning its slow, ominous path toward the next victim. Cue immediate panic--first in Seoul, eventually worldwide--as people attempt to outrun the inexorable orbs. Are they black holes? UFOs? Foreign experiments? They are indiscriminate in their consumption, though humans discover a few loopholes that merely prolong the inevitable. While a handful of chapters explore the brutal fates of other would-be escapees, the majority of the action focuses on Jeong-su's odyssey to track down his elderly parents. In the process, he must confront humanity's ugliest survival tactics, many of which he himself absorbs. Various interludes pair Jeong-su up with other men, from older bachelors representing grim visions of his lonely future to a prolonged period with a younger pseudo-mentee that exposes the toxic masculinity rotting at the core of Jeong-su's seemingly idyllic life. This emotional revelation comes in a confession whose haste undermines its effectiveness as a narrative bombshell, in part because Jeong-su fails to learn from his past trauma. Even so, while the book ends with humanity still demanding answers as to what caused the orbs, Jeong-su's story comes full circle--or, should we say, full sphere--in a rather satisfying fashion. A bleak read that unerringly examines toxic self-isolation, both chosen and forced. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
