Description

‘Captivates you until the last page. Fast-paced, gripping, brilliant – a book with an accurate insight into this time filled with confusion’ J. M. Lee, international bestselling author of The Investigation and Broken Summer

One evening in downtown Seoul, Jeong-su is smoking a cigarette outside when he sees something impossible: a huge black orb appears out of nowhere and sucks his neighbour inside.

The orb soon begins consuming other people and no one knows how to stop it. Impervious to bullets and tanks, the orb splits and multiplies, chasing the hapless residents of Seoul out into the country and sparking a global crisis with widespread violence and looting. Jeong-su must rely upon his wits as he makes the arduous journey in search of his elderly parents. But the strangest phases of this ever-expanding disaster are yet to come and Jeong-su will be forced to question everything he has taken for granted.

Dryly funny, propulsive and absurd, The Black Orb is terrifyingly prescient about the fragility of human civilisation.

Publisher Review

Heart-pounding … The primal fear of being chased for no reason! You just can’t put down this book! — Kyoung-sook Shin, The New York Times bestselling author of Violets and Please Look After Mother A movie playing on paper. The orb in this book absorbs people, and this book absorbs your time. A powerful page-turner — Soyoung Park, international bestselling author of Snowglobe Captivates you until the last page. Fast-paced, gripping, brilliant – a book with an accurate insight into this time filled with confusion — J. M. Lee, international bestselling author of The Investigation and Broken Summer Stealthy, unflinching and flush with ideas, The Black Orb is a dark, propulsive nightmare that had me gripped from page one. Ewhan Kim is a brilliant writer … I loved it. — Tom Watson, author of Metronome Surreal structure, impossible imagination. Masterpiece! … Kim overwhelms the reader. I needed to catch my breath after putting it down. — Oi-su Lee, South Korean writer and judge for the Multi Award A social fantasy reminiscent of Jose Saramago’s Blindness * Newsis * I recommend this book to anyone feeling anxious and stifled by the here and now. * The Jeonbuk Daily * This book absorbs readers like a black orb. * The Korea Economic Daily *