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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
In The Plotters, we follow Reseng, a stoic hitman living in Seoul. As the book goes on, he slowly starts to question the morals of his own livelihood and whether he chose the right path in life.
The book opens with a brilliant introduction in which our protagonist has an unusual experience with a target. Afterwards, though, it takes a while to get going. Kim spends a lot of time exploring Reseng's past and what makes him tick; I liked this, but at the same time, the narrative was a bit too concentrated on what had already happened. For example, aside from the aforementioned introduction, we don't actually witness Reseng carrying out a job in the present. This means that the plot doesn't progress much for the first half, with almost all of the time being spent on building up characters and the relations between them.
Where the book shines is in its depiction of the bureaucratic assassination world, which itself may be an allegory for the political and sociological landscape we live in. Un-su Kim offers an interesting perspective by focusing not only on the hitmen themselves, but also the people controlling them — the titular plotters. These are the individuals planning each gig and making sure that no evidence is left behind. I enjoyed how the book explored the structure of the criminal society it takes place in and the parallels that are drawn to the real world. It made Reseng's struggles more believable.
My biggest disappointment has to do with the blurb on the back of the book. It describes a certain event as a major turning point in the story, when in reality, it just happens in a flashback and doesn't have much of a consequence on the protagonist's life. Perhaps it's unfair to judge The Plotters based on this description, but I do feel like what was promised sounded more interesting than what I got in the end. It does pick up during the final chapters with a decent plot twist and some cool fight scenes, but the feeling of slight disappointment still lingered in my mind.
Even so, I enjoyed The Plotters — it's not particularly sophisticated or enlightening, but it does provide a slick story about a killer for hire and the criminal underworld.
The book opens with a brilliant introduction in which our protagonist has an unusual experience with a target. Afterwards, though, it takes a while to get going. Kim spends a lot of time exploring Reseng's past and what makes him tick; I liked this, but at the same time, the narrative was a bit too concentrated on what had already happened. For example, aside from the aforementioned introduction, we don't actually witness Reseng carrying out a job in the present. This means that the plot doesn't progress much for the first half, with almost all of the time being spent on building up characters and the relations between them.
Where the book shines is in its depiction of the bureaucratic assassination world, which itself may be an allegory for the political and sociological landscape we live in. Un-su Kim offers an interesting perspective by focusing not only on the hitmen themselves, but also the people controlling them — the titular plotters. These are the individuals planning each gig and making sure that no evidence is left behind. I enjoyed how the book explored the structure of the criminal society it takes place in and the parallels that are drawn to the real world. It made Reseng's struggles more believable.
My biggest disappointment has to do with the blurb on the back of the book. It describes a certain event as a major turning point in the story, when in reality, it just happens in a flashback and doesn't have much of a consequence on the protagonist's life. Perhaps it's unfair to judge The Plotters based on this description, but I do feel like what was promised sounded more interesting than what I got in the end. It does pick up during the final chapters with a decent plot twist and some cool fight scenes, but the feeling of slight disappointment still lingered in my mind.
Even so, I enjoyed The Plotters — it's not particularly sophisticated or enlightening, but it does provide a slick story about a killer for hire and the criminal underworld.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Un-su Kim was very brave when writing this. He went into this knowing he would have to add female characters, but rather than letting his phobias control him, at just over the half way mark he was able to give one of them a name. 168 pages; sometimes the most difficult things are marathons, not sprints. And Soil is a good strong name. It gave her so much depth.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"In my opinion, a man ought to be able to choose a death that gives his life a dignified ending. Only those who truly walk their own path can choose their death."
"Just as a plant grows wherever it sets down roots, so all your life's tragedies spring from wherever you first set your feet."
"Whether brilliant or mediocre, everyone's unique. Which is why it's so complicated to love in an ordinary way, be nice in an ordinary way, meet and leave people in an ordinary way. Plus, in that sort of life there is no love, no hate, no betrayal, no hurt, and no memories. It's dry and flavorless, colorless and odorless. But, guess what, I like that kind of life. I can't stand things that are too heavy. That's why I'm learning how to keep people from remembering me. It's tricky. It's not in any book, and no one teaches it. Everyone wants to live a life that makes them special, that makes others remember them. The ordinariness that I'm after is a life that no one remembers. I want a forgotten life. That's what I'm working toward."
"You can't knock over the chessboard just because you lost a pawn."
"True hell is living in a constant state of fear, without even knowing that you're in hell."
"Just as a plant grows wherever it sets down roots, so all your life's tragedies spring from wherever you first set your feet."
"Whether brilliant or mediocre, everyone's unique. Which is why it's so complicated to love in an ordinary way, be nice in an ordinary way, meet and leave people in an ordinary way. Plus, in that sort of life there is no love, no hate, no betrayal, no hurt, and no memories. It's dry and flavorless, colorless and odorless. But, guess what, I like that kind of life. I can't stand things that are too heavy. That's why I'm learning how to keep people from remembering me. It's tricky. It's not in any book, and no one teaches it. Everyone wants to live a life that makes them special, that makes others remember them. The ordinariness that I'm after is a life that no one remembers. I want a forgotten life. That's what I'm working toward."
"You can't knock over the chessboard just because you lost a pawn."
"True hell is living in a constant state of fear, without even knowing that you're in hell."