Reviews with content warning for Murder - Ocean's Godori

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Ocean's Godori by Elaine U. Cho

6 reviews

chanlo1994's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I wasn't too sure of the character foils presented.

I thought the crew Ocean was with didn't seem to go with her personality and therefore the initial tone of the book, but maybe it was the voice actor who I didnt enjoy so much.

I did start enjoying the book about halfway through and I really liked the action scenes.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense 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? No

4.0

Thanks to Zando for the free copy of this book.

- Y’all know how much I love a ragtag space crew adventure, and OCEAN’S GODORI is a great one, full of gunslinging, witty quips, and found family love.
- Cho hits that sweet spot of worldbuilding and interstellar politics where it feels real but doesn’t get bogged down in too many people or other details.
- My one gripe is the pacing - some parts moved very fast and others felt super slow. However, it’s a pretty short book so even the “slow” parts don’t last too long.
- I really hope this becomes a series. The ending is left wide open, and I’d love to see what else Cho can do.

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caidyn's review

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An interesting debut scifi. I wasn't quite sure and then the twist and genre shift caught me off guard. But an excellent read!

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bookish_purrsuits's review against another edition

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Super disappointed in this one! First off, this is really nothing like Becky Chambers. I was expecting cozy vibes and I was very mistaken. In the first half of the book, a whole ship of people

get burned alive.

I was absolutely not expecting that and it really caught me off guard. I read about half of the book and things had just started happening. The first half should have been 2-3 chapters not 150 pages. I was also super confused about the world. I guess there was world building, but it's all off page and the reader has no idea. The characters also don't make a lot of sense- how does the lovable oaf of a captain go to

unfeeling hard ass who only cares about herself

?
Maybe it's because I went into this book expecting something like Becky Chambers, but none of this worked for me which is a huge shame. The cover is gorgeous and I really was looking forward to reading a diverse space opera!

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starrysteph's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

Ocean’s Godori is a clever sci fi adventure with an eclectic cast and a whole lot of heart.

Ocean Yoon is a brilliant spaceship pilot, but she’s been demoted after a [redacted] mission that squandered her reputation and chances of rising up in Korea’s renowned space agency the Alliance. Luckily, she’s found support from her charming crewmates on her simpler but safer new assignment.

Haven is Mortemiam - a religious, thoughtful, and ostracized group that does death rituals. His dad has sent him off to work for Captain Song for a bit and immerse himself in the greater galaxy. He wants to bridge the gap between him and his father, has mixed feelings about his expected marriage to his fiance back home, and is quietly curious about his crewmates - especially Ocean.

And Teo is the outwardly cocky and charming second son of the Anand Tech empire. He never wants for anything, but secretly struggles with living up to his father’s expectations and being there for his family. He’s also got a lot to learn about the truth behind his empire, especially after he winds up at the center of a complicated & violent plot.

Then there’s a whole swirl of chaos and escapades. It’s a story of navigating identity & figuring out your legacy, tackling complicated parental relationships and expectations, and finding family outside of blood.

There are intense spaceship battles, terrifying body morphing technology, thrilling escapes, the SWEETEST misfit found family, and two smatterings of romance (once is queer and one is very will-they-won’t they). The technology is both interesting & fun, and I enjoyed learning some Korean words (and some imagined future Korean slang). The glossary, which was written in-character, was both helpful and a delightful addition to the journey. This was a really cool and creative world and vision of the future.

The events of the summary don’t happen until the book is more than halfway through - I actually flipped back a few times to make sure I had read it right, since it seemed like the inciting event. And then I was just anticipating it! I think that’s a bit of a marketing mishap. And then there’s a massive cliffhanger at the end. I don’t see this listed as the first in a series, but it HAS to be, right? If so, I think this story will absolutely shine now that the setup is done.

I absolutely adored these characters. They’re a prickly but loveable group, and even though we only get deep glimpses into some of them (it’s a very large cast), I was thoroughly charmed. I particularly loved the raider Phoenix and his crew who came in at the end; I’m sure that their roles will be much bigger if there are future books.

There’s a start here to a galactic exploration of colonization & capitalism - mostly through Teo’s influential family - and Teo starts to unpack his own biases. There’s also condemnation from supporting characters from various planets who have been directly hurt by the Anand Tech exploits and innovations. I would love to see deeper conversation around these themes, going beyond just acknowledging them. How do our main characters envision a better world? What will they do to bring us closer to that?

If you love books featuring charming found families & characters puzzling out their relationships with their parents - AND books set in cool, futuristic worlds with action scenes galore - I think Ocean’s Godori will be a perfect match.

CW: death (family/parents), murder, war, colonization, classism, guns, panic attacks, fire, grief

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(I received a free advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

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sakeriver's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Interesting space opera set in a solar system where a reunified Korea is the dominant space power. There's a fair amount of action, but it's pretty character-centric. Each of the main POV characters has an internal struggle related to their backstories, trying to understand their current identity and how it fits with their personal history and culture. Found family and queer love are also major themes. Based on the rather abrupt ending, this one appears to be the first of a series, and I'm interested to see where it goes.

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