Ocean's Godori

Real Rating: 3.75* of five

The Publisher Says: Ocean Yoon has never felt like much of a Korean, even if she is descended from a long line of haenyeo, Jeju Island's beloved female divers. She's also persona non grata at the Alliance, Korea's solar system-dominating space agency, since a mission went awry and she earned a reputation for being a little too quick with her gun.
When her best friend, Teo, second son of the Anand Tech empire, is framed for murdering his family, Ocean and her misfit crewmates are pushed to the forefront of a high-stakes ideological conflict. But dodging bullets and winning space chases may be the easiest part of what comes next.

A thrilling adventure across the solar that delivers hyperkinetic action sequences and show more irresistible will-they-won't-they romance alongside its nuanced exploration of colonialism and capitalism, Ocean's Godori ultimately asks: What do we owe our past? How do we navigate our present while honoring the complicated facets of our identity? What can our future hold?

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Well, what can I say. I love Firefly, I love Becky Chambers, I thoroughly liked the Ketty Jay. This story hits all those tales' beats, and does it from a new angle that centers Korean culture. The author, who lives in Seattle, is definitely working inside that frame. The strong anticolonial message is interesting, as the entire ide of human expansion is by definition colonialist....

Is the story anything groundbreaking? No. Do I want to read the next one, assuming there is one? Yes. The fun of being within this group of cooperative misfits led by a Korean lesbian far exceeds the investment in absorbing the different cultural background unfamiliar to most Western readers.

It is, to me, very much an enhancing feature of the read. Get out of your cultural rut within your genre preference. show less

This was an absolutely delightful experience to read. The characters were so interesting and engaging. The world building was phenomenal and really immerses the reader into the world of Ocean Yoon our protagonist/rebel Alliance pilot.
If you are a fan of Firefly and "found family" scenarios you will love this story.
The story circles the main character, Ocean Yoon, a pilot with a troubled past filled with loss and reckless decisions. When Teo, the second son of the Anand Tech empire and Ocean's best friend, is falsely accused of murdering his family, Ocean and her unconventional crew are thrust into a high-stakes battle. However, evading bullets and triumphing in space chases might prove to be the simplest challenges they face.
I really show more enjoyed this book and I anxiously await the next book because this one sure left off on a cliffhanger!
Highly recommended! show less

OK, I can believe that the Koreans in charge of the largest space force are snobby and exclusive. I can believe the captain of a small spacecraft expects her crew to support her but doesn't go out to support them. I can't believe that a spaceship pilot uses a literal gear shift in flight, and I object to onboard falls to the ground rather than the deck.

In a Korean-dominated space culture, a disgraced pilot tries to follow her captain, but her captain’s unwise decisions lead to conflicts with pirates and with people out to kill a scion of an important industrialist—the pilot’s old friend/partial source of her disgrace. Also, a new member of the crew comes from a death-handling caste and may have trouble fitting in. I probably could have done with more time to breathe on the worldbuilding, but if you like not-totally-cohesive crew stories this might suit.

This was a big oof for me. There was an interesting beginning: disgraced master pilot serving on a small ship of no consequence with some pretty quick action. However, this story lacked any cohesive "oompf". There were so many subplots and story threads going on that stuff got tangled really badly and there was an epic shit ton of loose threads. The ending seriously did not really kick into gear until the last few chapters and then things just....ended. I rounded up from a 1.5 just because I did enjoy the individual story bits, even if they didn't weave together very well at all.

When you read as many SF books as I do you get to placing them in categories. I hate it when publishers say "Perfect for fans of XXX and YYY" but here I am doing it myself. This is perfect for fans of Miles Vorkosigan, and if you don't know who that is, read this book and then the Kosigan books.

Space opera and convoluted plots with lots of deception. I like it.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.