Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the review copy!


Ocean’s Godori takes place in a future world where South Korea is a dominating power with its Alliance (space exploration and military type of power) at the forefront. Ocean Yoon, one of the Alliances best pilots is spending her career on a low-class ship doing small jobs and mostly staying out of trouble until a longtime friend is in need of her help.

The simplified version of the plot is that Teo Anand playboy heir to the Anand Empire is framed for murder, and his good friend Ocean, steps up to the plate to help him out. The complicated version involves politics, eco-terrorists, and some crazy face-stealing tech!

On the whole, the plot sounds rather light when you write it out like that. And in some ways, it is because Ocean’s Godori seems more like of jumping off place to begin a series, than it feels like a complete story.
Which was fine (depending on your expectations) because while the main plot progresses and ends on a bit of a cliffie, it was the relationships building throughout that kept it interesting and had me quickly flipping the pages.

So, if you’re looking for sci-fi action- you’re going to get a little of that but it’s the relationships that are the driving force of this tale.

***
The cast are likeable and varied and I liked that they could be as selfish at times, as they could be generous.
Most of the events revolve around three key players (Ocean, Haven and Teo) with the rest moving in and out of focus as needed. Later we have a few new faces added, that will likely be key in the next book and add some fun dynamics.
It did take me a few chapters to settle in due to the largish cast and the setting-things-up, but it all gets a lot easier as the focus narrows to the crew of the Ohneul and we get to know everyone and the world they live in a little better.

While I was expecting this to be more sci-fi/pulpy leaning, I ended up being pleasantly surprised that there was a little more to it then just shoot ‘em up action. (That title gave me the idea this was going to be a heist story- probably word association on my part because of Ocean’s in the title, and knowing Godori is a strategic card game.)

I really enjoyed the relationships building between the characters- the bonding over family expectations, food, and even their losses and raw grief. I especially appreciate when an author can produce choke-you-up moments of grief, over characters we haven’t even had a chance to get to know outside of the people speaking about them.


Ocean’s Godori has a strong relationship story at is core but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking in action.
There were plenty of exciting action sequences, some very cool fights; especially the face-off with the baddies- I loved that moment of slow-motion focus feeling to that fight!
The end sequence goes from 0 to 60 in a heartbeat and when Ocean finally gets to show us her stuff- I was ready for her to bring it on!



Other notes-

- If you’re a Korean drama fan you’re going to enjoy this one! Ocean’s Godori is like a book version of a k-drama! It has a lot of those tropes you’ll find in dramas- the chaebol’s family conglomerates doing wrong things, strong women, strong friendships etc. it’s just a lot of fun in that regard!

-The cover is fabulous! Sci-fi pulpy but the style/colouring/cherry blossoms reminding me of a muted version of the backs of the godori cards (which I have only ever seen in drama’s so ymmv but I am assuming it was intentional considering the title.)

-There were a ton of little tidbits of South Korean culture, that my numerous years of drama/movie watching and colossally slow attempt at learning the language allowed me to enjoy on my own. But if you’re unfamiliar with the terms etc. there is a handy dandy (and quite funny) glossary at the back.

I wanted to like this more than I did. I struggled on two fronts: characters and accessibility.

There are a lot of characters. They are introduced in bits, pieces, pairs, and different combinations. All characters are routinely referred to sometimes by their first/personal names, and sometimes by their last/family names (when the character has a two-part name; not all do). There doesn't seem to be any consistency in when which part of the name is used; this made it feel like I was having to juggle and remember twice the number of characters.
<spoiler> The first two characters introduced seem important, as there is a somewhat violent action scene. These characters are never seen again as such, but I kept waiting for them to reappear. This scene is more important in setting up the multi-book arc than the this-book plot.</spoiler>

The book sets up a series, as the reader doesn't have time to learn much about the bad guy. The scale will be a sort of space-opera-within-the-solar-system, with spaceships, pirates, rebels, evil corporations, fighting, sneaking, and so on, but just within one planetary system.

I also struggled with following a lot of the details. The book is set in a future in which Korea dominates space, so Korean culture and terminology are used heavily to set the stage. Terms for snacks, curses, slang, and other cultural vocabulary are present throughout. I'm not familiar with these, so it was a lot of guesswork on my part. There does turn out to be a definitions list at the end of the book, but reading the eBook, this wasn't at all apparent-- no footnotes or indications to refer to the back matter were included. Readers should be aware of this before choosing a format, as it definitely affects the reading.

eARC from NetGalley.

Pirates, space ships, and flying action. A cozy found family space fantasy.

Years ago, Ocean saved a crewmate's life and lost her job & high level piloting license as a reward. Now the only job open to her is on a cheap ship with an even cheaper captain. Ocean finds herself drifting passively through life, her introverted personality not helping matters. When her closest friend's life is in danger, Ocean finds herself in the middle of a political conflict. With bullets flying and a mysterious enemy attacking her friend & his family, Ocean needs to decide if she's willing to get involved in another fight.

It took me some time to puzzle out the direction and pieces of this book, and I still don't understand over half of the Korean words thrown in, but once I caught onto the flow of the story, it turned out to be pretty good. The book starts off flipping between different characters, and I didn't have enough time to read it in a single sitting, so by the time I picked it up again, I'd half forgotten who was who. But the story and characters became clearer after the first couple of chapters, and i ended up learning a few Korean words. There's a (humorous) glossary at the end of the book that i should've referenced while reading.

The book focuses on Ocean, but it also gives some of her friends and crewmates their own subplots.

Ocean is a highly talented pilot who was demoted to the lowest possible license level, forcing her to accept a job with a cheap, lousy captain who cares more about making cash than about the lives of her crew.

Teo, one of the side characters who occasionally gets his own POV, is the spoiled son of a famous wealthy family. He's always depended on his friends and family, but after escaping an assassination attempt, Teo realizes that he can't keep relying on others to solve his issues.

Haven comes from a strict religious background. Having never left his planet before, Haven finds himself exposed to new ideas, forcing him to question and expand his boundaries.

There are a couple of other crew members, and each one has a unique personality. Ocean was burned the last time she stepped out of line to help someone. With her crew at her back, Ocean will need to decide if she's willing to do so again, and to hopefully bring some meaning back into her life.

A fun space-opera set in Korea. I will have to wait for the next book to see what happens next.

I just reviewed Ocean's Godori by Elaine U. Cho. #OceansGodori #NetGalley

This book is exactly what you would expect, dazzling adventurous. I won’t lie I was requesting this one because of the description that I assume will be on the dust jacket, and that summarizes it best. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

I'm not sure why I was expecting this to be a stand alone story....it's not! This book ends just as the action really gets going and some of the pieces of the story start falling into place, but absolutely nothing is resolved. I was not mentally prepared to have to wait for another book to find out what happens to these characters. That being said, by the end I was starting to get attached to these characters, and I absolutely want to find out what happens to them, so there better be another book, and I better not have to wait too long for it!

Writing: 3/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot: 3.5/5

A decent space opera set in Alliance space where the Alliance is Korea’s solar system dominating space agency. Honestly, the plot isn’t that important — suffice it to say that there is plenty of action and a lot of interesting characters (most of whom match to well known tropes but are still attractive in the reader-grabbing sense). Each character comes with his or her own backstory immersed in cultures that I can see as futuristic evolutions of various cultures today. I loved all of the embedded Korean language and references — a glossary is at the back though obviously Google will suffice. Something about it made me visualize the Blade Runner world — don’t ask me why. The best part of the writing (for me) were the action sequences which I thought were quite well done. I found the interpersonal scenes to be a little stilted, with evolving romance / relationships that I think will appeal more to a younger audience (under 30). Equal time given to both heterosexual and gay romances. While it didn’t end with a cliffhanger, it did end rather abruptly, and it is easy to imagine it launching a series which I would probably read because I find myself wondering what will happen to these people …

gorgeous, must read sci-fi space novel that i would absolutely recommend to everyone in sight! thanks so much for the arc, would recommend.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book!*

I absolutely *LOVED* "Ocean's Godori". It gave me a Becky Chambers vibe with its found family, queer love, and character driven storylines. While I had a somewhat hard time immersing myself, I later really did not want to leave the world again. This Korean space-opera debut by Cho is one of my reading highlights of 2024 so far and I really want a sequel, please!

5 stars

Ocean’s Godori

Thank you to the publishers at Zando, Hillprint Grad for the chance to read Ocean’s Godori by Elaine U. Cho!


A space western with a murder mystery for good measure, Ocean’s Godori is a fun ride. The book comps bring up Firefly, and while the vibe is right, this is a high sci-fi/fantasy story that is adamant about its protagonists being people of color. If anything, it imagines a universe in which Korea became *the* Earth’s premier space nation and features a disgraced protagonist who comes from deeply Korean roots.

There’s no handwringing here or big soliloquies about generational trauma or how homophobia ruins everything. It’s a fun jaunt through space that happens to have queer characters of color interacting with each other in fun and interesting ways.

I’m actually really hopeful this is the first of many books in this world because just when I was getting into the world, the book just.. ended without much fanfare. This speaks more to my desire to keep reading about Ocean and her crew of misfits and a bit of a let down with the ending. The prologue implied a lot more political intrigue that just didn’t end getting resolved and even if there’s plans for more books in this universe, it just feels a bit like a let down.

Regardless, it’s a romp through the universe with layered protagonists of color that will hit the spot for any Star Trek/Firefly/band-of-misfits-becomes-chosen-family buffs out there. Excited to see what comes next from Elaine U. Cho!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!!! As most people know by now, I really like sci-fi. Especially criminal sci-fi with a side of romance. This has both plus a side of action and chasing. I really like the errata at the end as well. Read this for a good hero turned criminal plus a side of internal espionage.

Ocean’s Godori is an amazing space opera debut novel by Elaine U. Cho.

The book follows three main protagonists: Ocean, Haven and Teo. It takes place in a world where Korea is the main dominating power that, together with the major corporation, dominates the exploitation of different planets in the solar system.

This book started very confusing with different storylines from different characters, but it converged to a fast paced story with mystery, romance and a lot of action sequences to keep it engaging. In addition, it keeps its politics quite light and easy to understand while still going into enough detail to understand the world. There is a clear focus and integration of Korean culture, which I found very interesting after visiting South Korea just last year. It took me some time to getting used to the Korean words used and I had to use Maggie’s Glossary of Alliance Parlance once or twice, but overall it was understandable using context.

This book includes raiders, chases through space, some romance, adventure, strange worlds and a crew that melts anyone’s heart. It was such an enjoyable read and I can’t recommend it enough. Be mindful however that it ends in a cliffhanger, as I just kept looking at the Acknowledgements in confusion for a very long time.

I’ll definitely be continuing this series, as I am now very much invested in the story and I have grown to love the characters.

Thank you very much Zando and NetGallery for providing me this ARC.

This book had promised so much to me and it fell flat in those promises. Yes, what was promised happened but it didn't pull it off in a great way and it made the whole book mid for me.

As a Korean American studying astrophysics I genuinely really loved this book, from the characters, to the plot, to, of course, the world, it was <i>astronomically</i> well done. I loved this book, and I would love to see more from this author, especially in this universe. The romances felt sweet, and the main character was incredibly reminiscent of Han Solo in all the best ways, Han Seoul-oh if you will.

That being said, the main detraction tot his book is that it's half a book. The climax to this fairly long book is given in the final 50 or so pages and wrapped up at a lightening fast speed, and it was a genuine shame. You didn't really get to see any character arcs brought to resolution, nor do you get to see any satisfying fleshing out of the world past it's initial exploration. I would love to see this story genuinely finished, because as it is, I don't think I can really recommend it due to the genuinely unsatisfying way this book ends up reading.

I don’t think that “Ocean’s Godori” is a “bad” book. But I also don’t think that it worked well for me. My impression while reading this book was that it has, in theory, many elements that usually make me like a book. But there was something that just didn’t fit for me — I believe it was the way some of these aspects were used in the book. Even so, I believe “Ocean’s Godori” has many qualities, and I understand the reasons why most of the readers enjoyed it.

The writing in “Ocean’s Godori” is good, fluid, and interesting. I enjoyed the fact that different narrators had their perspectives shown using small details in the writing — in the parts narrated by Ocean, for example, the members of the crew were treated by their given names; but, in the chapters narrated by Hasan, all of them were referred by their surnames. This attention to detail is something that can be seen in other parts of the book, especially in the ambiance; in which South Korean pop culture, history, and traditions contributed to the realism of the futuristic universe created in the book.

The characters are… Fine. The problem is that there are a lot of them, and the ones that aren’t narrators end up seeming a bit unidimensional — it’s as if they are in the story just to fill very specific and small roles. And, even though it is realistic for the different narrators to refer to the other characters in different ways, that was something that made it harder to keep up with all the characters being introduced. Besides, I believe “Ocean’s Godori” falls into the trap of wanting every single character to be too interesting and ends up making them not that interesting in turn (but still, they are quite fun, superficially speaking).

On the other hand, I was surprised by the romance in the book. Of course, it is a pretty slow “slow burn”, so I believe that there are a lot of people that won’t enjoy it as much as I did. But this type of romance is always interesting to me, and it was executed quite well. The tension created in some scenes is great, and I felt truly engaged in those moments. However, there is an indication that there will be a love triangle (I believe that is a coherent interpretation at this point in the story), and that is something that I hate — but I do believe that the execution of the trope will be totally fine for the readers who enjoy it.

The plot of “Ocean’s Godori” is not bad, but it didn’t work for me. It is possible to see that the book intends to mix a narration of the day-to-day lives of the main characters with an adventure that involves more collective and ample problems. In theory, this idea is cool; and I wouldn’t say the execution was “awful” or anything of the sort. However, I believe the pacing of the book didn’t fit quite well — the story seemed too focused on the crew’s daily life for too long, and, on the other hand, when the more “adventurous” part of the plot was inserted, that seemed to be done too quickly.

Despite all of this, I enjoyed myself while reading this book. It has really good elements and the story has great potential. The first volume of a series usually isn't my favorite (I believe “The Fifth Season” was the only exception, but this is a curveball of a book in many ways), so I don't disregard the possibility of liking the next volumes more than I liked “Ocean's Godori”. That being said, this is a book that I would recommend, depending on the person’s taste.

“Ocean’s Godori” by Elaine U. Cho is a science fiction novel that offers a unique perspective through a Korean American lens, blending futuristic elements with cultural nuances. The book follows the story of a disgraced space pilot navigating a world of hoverbike chases and face mask sessions, creating an ambitious and big-hearted science fiction narrative.

The novel has been praised for its ambitious and witty approach to the science fiction genre, as well as its incorporation of cultural elements that add depth and richness to the story. Cho’s ability to weave together futuristic technology with cultural references has been lauded as a refreshing and engaging aspect of the book. However, the book’s availability and detailed critical reviews are limited, making it challenging to provide a comprehensive critical review based on the available information. While the novel’s premise and the author’s unique perspective have been positively received, a more in-depth analysis of the book’s plot, character development, and narrative structure would be beneficial to offer a complete critical review.

In conclusion, “Ocean’s Godori” by Elaine U. Cho presents an intriguing blend of science fiction and cultural elements, offering a fresh perspective through the eyes of a Korean American protagonist. The book’s ambitious and big-hearted approach to the science fiction genre, combined with its incorporation of cultural nuances, makes it a promising read for those interested in a unique and diverse science fiction narrative.

This book was the most pleasant surprise. I read it in one sitting and it was absolutely amazing! It definitely starts a bit slow, as it introduces us to all of the many characters, but then it quickly picks up into an action packed space opera. I loved all of the action, especially the fancy flying from Ocean, and how it all continued to escalate as the story went on and the stakes got higher. I also loved all the characters. They each had so much depth and complexity, both within themselves and in their relationships with those around them. I especially loved Ocean and Theo, both in how much they had been through and their developments over the course of the book, but also how amazing their platonic relationship was. I did wish we had gotten more insights into their past. And the found family vibes in the rest of the crew and the raiders were amazing. Also, I was so happy to find this is book set in a queer norm society. As for the ending, I was not ready for the book to end. I need more! So overall, I highly recommend this book.

I'm officially throwing in the towel at 37%. I've had to push myself to read even that far, despite this book sounding like it would be great fun. It promises high stakes conflict, thrilling action, a possible romance, and a ragtag group of crewmates thrust into something bigger than they can handle.

Usually the setting and character work elevate such a cliche sounding story into something fun and interesting, but I don't think Ocean's Godori achieved that. It was definitely a new and fresh setting fully immersed in the concept of a futuristic space-faring South Korea, but not much else was happening. Ocean felt like the most cliche of all cliche characters. Haven and Teo were felt the same. Ocean's shipmates felt like they were supposed to be a charming motley crew you grow to love, but I wasn't connecting with anyone in this story.

It all fell flat for me, which makes me sad because I really was excited for the idea this book promises. Many other readers seem to be loving this, so I would point to other highly rated reviews to see if anything they say appeals to you more than my disappointment, because this book definitely has an audience out there for it - that audience just doesn't include me.

I adore space operas, and I absolutely loved this read!
The story was rich and so different to what I usually come across, the three main protagonists were unique and the adventure was superb.

This is a fun and visceral space opera that is well-paced and exciting. It's set in an interesting futuristic world in space and I'd like to see more of it, it seems like a fascinating system.