A review by theverysleepygirl
Small Gods of Calamity by Sam Kyung Yoo

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 Small Gods of Calamity is a beautiful, heart splitting novella about forgiveness and retribution. I honestly can’t even begin to describe how much it touched me. I did not expect it to hit me so deeply. 

 

The root of this horror-fantasy is rooted in Korean culture and folklore as it pertains to occult communications with the spirits. This was a new perspective for me to explore, and was so interesting and compelling to read about. Sam Kyung Yoo’s titular character Kim Hang-il, a police department detective that can commune with spirits. He’s more of a loner, as he’s an outcast at the police station for being “strange.” He’s an outcast within the entire spirit community too, due to his terrible past with attempting and failing, at successful exorcisms. 

 

I loved peeling off the layers to his character, especially as we began to form the connecting threads between his actual personality, his backstory, and the perception of the people around him. I believe that something that definitely added to it was Kyung Yoo’s atmospheric writing. Every emotion was nearly palpable, and almost visceral to read about. There is a consistent thread of melancholy to the story that hit me really hard, but also a kind of sense of hope at the end that made me literally sob. The shining moments here were in the interactions between Kim Hang-il and the people around him, which progressed and shifted as he dived deeper into the case, and himself. 

 

I will say that this story is pretty okay in the mystery aspect. Though we do have a sense of intrigue in trying to paint the full picture behind the case we’re following, I’ve found that most of my interest was based in understanding the perpertrator’s character than  the actual steps of the investigative process. The whole discovery aspect was pretty clear-cut and uncomplicated. On the other hand, the horror aspect? Absolutely TERRIFYING. I have no choice but to mention the writing again because it did such a good job of amplifying the supernatural nature of what these characters were facing. 

 

Nevertheless, I am more of a character person at the end of the day, so that did not bother me.This book hit me so hard, I finished it in the span of hours. This is definitely an amazing read, that I can see myself recommending to anyone with an ear. 

 

Thank you to NetGalley, and Interstellar, for providing me with an eArc copy in exchange for an honest review!