A review by starrysteph
Ocean's Godori by Elaine U. Cho

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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