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atlasrising41818's review
4.0
Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this in an exchange for an honest review!
As a big k-drama fan, especially supernatural/paranormal ones, I was pretty excited to come across this. Yes, it was short obviously because it was a novella, and some worldbuilding was definitely missing. I could see this turning into a series of novellas to expand on the world and characters and I hope this is something the author considers! I really liked the characters and was engaged with the story the whole time. I finished this in one sitting and had a blast reading it. I definitely recommend this as a short but fun read for anyone who likes k-dramas or Korean culture in general!
As a big k-drama fan, especially supernatural/paranormal ones, I was pretty excited to come across this. Yes, it was short obviously because it was a novella, and some worldbuilding was definitely missing. I could see this turning into a series of novellas to expand on the world and characters and I hope this is something the author considers! I really liked the characters and was engaged with the story the whole time. I finished this in one sitting and had a blast reading it. I definitely recommend this as a short but fun read for anyone who likes k-dramas or Korean culture in general!
emkellreads's review
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
amcgeewrites's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
books_and_cocktails_afterhours's review
4.0
This novella is an urban fantasy that intertwines east asian culture, a thriller murder mystery and parasitic monsters that completely blew my expectations.
The supernatural elements are seamlessly integrated into the urban landscape of Seoul, creating a unique setting for Detective Kim Han-gil, a detective with a side-hustle of trying to exorcise soul eating parasitic worms that seem to be undetectable to anyone but him. He is both misunderstood in the magic community and at work, but he keeps trying to do the right thing and exorcise these demons. I knew I was going to like him once I read the last phrase of chapter 2:
“Han-gil just waves dismissively. He’s officially exhausted his communication stamina for the day."
The pace of the story is quite fast, as expected of a Novella that includes as much story and context as this one, but it has the right pacing overall. It slows down perfectly in the right moments to show us flashbacks of what brought the characters to this point. The change of pace and tone once we get a perspective from a different character was a really nice touch as well.
An honorable mention goes to the description of the different character’s souls and how they were perceived by different people who somehow could feel/see/hear/... them. It really made me wonder about the different colors, tastes, feelings and smells. More than that, the description of how they were perceived was detailed enough to paint the picture, but left just a bit of room for your mind to fill in the gaps.
The only complaint I have is the one I usually have with Novellas: I felt like it ended right when I was connecting with the characters. I wanted more: more about the Han-gil’s detective partner, who surprised him time and time again by not listening to rumors and trying to help; more about Azuna, as she seems like an amazing character that could be so much more; even more of Yoonhae and why he was able to do what he does.
My main critique and something to take into consideration is that this is a urban fantasy with a side of murder mystery. But it is just a side, as the entire thing is not the only focus of the story and it was quite predictable. However, the fantasy setting more than makes up for it!
Overall, I really enjoyed this beautiful story about grief, guilt, forgiveness and making peace with our own demons.
Thank you very much Interstellar Flight Press and NetGallery for providing me this ARC.
The supernatural elements are seamlessly integrated into the urban landscape of Seoul, creating a unique setting for Detective Kim Han-gil, a detective with a side-hustle of trying to exorcise soul eating parasitic worms that seem to be undetectable to anyone but him. He is both misunderstood in the magic community and at work, but he keeps trying to do the right thing and exorcise these demons. I knew I was going to like him once I read the last phrase of chapter 2:
“Han-gil just waves dismissively. He’s officially exhausted his communication stamina for the day."
The pace of the story is quite fast, as expected of a Novella that includes as much story and context as this one, but it has the right pacing overall. It slows down perfectly in the right moments to show us flashbacks of what brought the characters to this point. The change of pace and tone once we get a perspective from a different character was a really nice touch as well.
An honorable mention goes to the description of the different character’s souls and how they were perceived by different people who somehow could feel/see/hear/... them. It really made me wonder about the different colors, tastes, feelings and smells. More than that, the description of how they were perceived was detailed enough to paint the picture, but left just a bit of room for your mind to fill in the gaps.
The only complaint I have is the one I usually have with Novellas: I felt like it ended right when I was connecting with the characters. I wanted more: more about the Han-gil’s detective partner, who surprised him time and time again by not listening to rumors and trying to help; more about Azuna, as she seems like an amazing character that could be so much more; even more of Yoonhae and why he was able to do what he does.
My main critique and something to take into consideration is that this is a urban fantasy with a side of murder mystery. But it is just a side, as the entire thing is not the only focus of the story and it was quite predictable. However, the fantasy setting more than makes up for it!
Overall, I really enjoyed this beautiful story about grief, guilt, forgiveness and making peace with our own demons.
Thank you very much Interstellar Flight Press and NetGallery for providing me this ARC.
fawnsbooks's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
4.5
Thank you Netgalley & Interstellar Flight Press for the ARC.
---------------------------------
If I am being 100% honest, I mostly requested this ARC for the cover.
I wasn't quite sure if this would be fitting for me, but the cover looked fun. It took me a while to get to this, but am I glad I did. And I wish this had been longer. This story has quite a lot going on. And I am so glad this was a digital copy that I could read in my Kindle app, because there were a lot of words that I had never seen before. Despite all that, the story was easy enough to follow without getting boring at any point, the characters were interesting and the magic system was definitely different from most of what I've seen. Add to this a tragic backstory, a human spirit detective with his own personal problems and the mystery of a string of suicides and you've got yourself a pretty interesting read.
Small Gods of Calamity is Sam Kyung Yoo's debut novella, and I genuinely hope to see more from this author.
Thank you Netgalley & Interstellar Flight Press for the ARC.
---------------------------------
If I am being 100% honest, I mostly requested this ARC for the cover.
I wasn't quite sure if this would be fitting for me, but the cover looked fun. It took me a while to get to this, but am I glad I did. And I wish this had been longer. This story has quite a lot going on. And I am so glad this was a digital copy that I could read in my Kindle app, because there were a lot of words that I had never seen before. Despite all that, the story was easy enough to follow without getting boring at any point, the characters were interesting and the magic system was definitely different from most of what I've seen. Add to this a tragic backstory, a human spirit detective with his own personal problems and the mystery of a string of suicides and you've got yourself a pretty interesting read.
Small Gods of Calamity is Sam Kyung Yoo's debut novella, and I genuinely hope to see more from this author.
cobwebshelves's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"He remembers thinking Shin Yoonhae looked like someone who was just quietly waiting to die. He guesses that hasn't really changed, even after all this time."
tw: transphobia, gore, body horror
Since my discovery that I do, in fact, enjoy ghost stories a couple years back, I haven't actually picked up that many. "Small gods of calamity" turned out to be a ghostly delight. Despite its relatively small page count, it's enthralling and had me invested in the story pretty quickly. The slice-of-life view of Kim Han-gil's life as a detective-slash-ghost-hunter had pretty solid worldbuilding, introducing a range of paranormal phenomena and spiritualists. I did not expect the POV to shift halfway through yet I loved the contrast between Han-gil and Yoonhae's voices and experiences.
The thing is, I was left wanting more - the small thing keeping it from being a five-star read for me. Give me two hundred more pages, give me a webtoon, a series (I saw a few reviews mentioning it felt like a k-drama structure but I'm not sure there's enough to fill 20 90-minute episodes), anything – I would love to stay in Han-gil's bubble for longer. The biggest let-down is that in such a fast-paced story, the secondary characters are left unexplored, feeling almost like an afterthought at the very end.
Nevertheless, this made for a wonderful buddy read with my best friend and I plan to keep an eye on what Sam Kyung Yoo has in store next as their debut novella left me impressed.
Thanks to Interstellar Flight Press and NetGalley for the arc.
tw: transphobia, gore, body horror
Since my discovery that I do, in fact, enjoy ghost stories a couple years back, I haven't actually picked up that many. "Small gods of calamity" turned out to be a ghostly delight. Despite its relatively small page count, it's enthralling and had me invested in the story pretty quickly. The slice-of-life view of Kim Han-gil's life as a detective-slash-ghost-hunter had pretty solid worldbuilding, introducing a range of paranormal phenomena and spiritualists. I did not expect the POV to shift halfway through yet I loved the contrast between Han-gil and Yoonhae's voices and experiences.
The thing is, I was left wanting more - the small thing keeping it from being a five-star read for me. Give me two hundred more pages, give me a webtoon, a series (I saw a few reviews mentioning it felt like a k-drama structure but I'm not sure there's enough to fill 20 90-minute episodes), anything – I would love to stay in Han-gil's bubble for longer. The biggest let-down is that in such a fast-paced story, the secondary characters are left unexplored, feeling almost like an afterthought at the very end.
Nevertheless, this made for a wonderful buddy read with my best friend and I plan to keep an eye on what Sam Kyung Yoo has in store next as their debut novella left me impressed.
Thanks to Interstellar Flight Press and NetGalley for the arc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Transphobia, and Body horror
unicornsbookshelf's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
I got an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It took me a moment to get into this book but when it hooked me, I was in full-time and stayed up late because I wanted to finish it. It's a novella about a detective who can see ghosts trying to solve a suicide case but while the plot is an important element, the book is mostly about Kim Han-gil coming to terms with his past.
The first thing that came to my mind after I finished this is the pacing, which is unusual for me to consider most of the time. Novellas are a short form and it's very easy to lose the balance between the past, present, character building, and action. Not here though. We get a perfect amount of backstory for the characters with nothing important being omitted and nothing unimportant being added. Everything mentioned at first is explained later as the plot goes on. At the same time, the book never loses sight of the present and leads the plot to a very satisfying conclusion. The character arcs are heart-warming and I honestly wish this was a series to see more of their interactions. The book is also very queer, which I loved.
Overall, I was positively surprised by this novella and greatly enjoyed it. I'll keep an eye out for more books from this author in the future.
It took me a moment to get into this book but when it hooked me, I was in full-time and stayed up late because I wanted to finish it. It's a novella about a detective who can see ghosts trying to solve a suicide case but while the plot is an important element, the book is mostly about Kim Han-gil coming to terms with his past.
The first thing that came to my mind after I finished this is the pacing, which is unusual for me to consider most of the time. Novellas are a short form and it's very easy to lose the balance between the past, present, character building, and action. Not here though. We get a perfect amount of backstory for the characters with nothing important being omitted and nothing unimportant being added. Everything mentioned at first is explained later as the plot goes on. At the same time, the book never loses sight of the present and leads the plot to a very satisfying conclusion. The character arcs are heart-warming and I honestly wish this was a series to see more of their interactions. The book is also very queer, which I loved.
Overall, I was positively surprised by this novella and greatly enjoyed it. I'll keep an eye out for more books from this author in the future.