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An “antic, madcap noir with flair" (Wired) and “fast-paced cyberpunk story” (The New York Times Book Review) from one of South Korea's most revered science fiction writers, whose identity remains unknown.
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On the fictional island of Patusan—and much to the ire of the Patusan natives—the Korean conglomerate LK is constructing an elevator into Earth’s orbit, gradually turning this one-time tropical resort town into a teeming travel hub: a gateway to and from our planet. Up in space, holding the elevator’s “spider cable” taut, is a mass of space junk known as the counterweight. And stashed within that junk is a trove of crucial data: a memory fragment left by LK’s former CEO, the control of which will determine the company’s—and humanity’s—future.
Racing up the elevator to retrieve the data is a host of rival forces: Mac, the novel’s narrator and LK’s chief of External Affairs, increasingly disillusioned with his employer; the everyman Choi Gangwu, unwittingly at the center of Mac’s investigations; the former CEO’s brilliant niece and power-hungry son; and Rex Tamaki, a violent officer in LK’s Security Division. They’re all caught in a labyrinth of fake identities, neuro-implants called Worms, and old political grievances held by the Patusan Liberation Front, the army of island natives determined to protect Patusan’s sovereignty.
Originally conceived by Djuna as a low-budget science fiction film, with literary references as wide-ranging as Joseph Conrad and the Marquis de Sade, Counterweight is part cyberpunk, part hard-boiled detective fiction, and part parable of South Korea’s neocolonial ambition and its rippling effects.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
July 11, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593680940
- File size: 133157 KB
- Duration: 04:37:24
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from July 3, 2023
South Korean sci-fi luminary Djuna makes their English-language debut with a tremendously propulsive thrill ride that would be at home on shelves beside such heavyweights as Doctorow, Stephenson, and Dick. On a former resort island, South Korean megacorporation LK has set up a factory city that powers the construction of LK’s space elevator. LK’s External Affairs spymaster, Mac, is kept busy finding anyone who might pose a threat to this mission. Choi Gangwu, a low-ranking LK employee obsessed with the space elevator, doesn’t seem terribly interesting to Mac when he turns up on a captured terrorist’s intel list—until Mac meets him. Choi Gangwu himself doesn’t know why, but he has fragments implanted in his brain of another personality, which belongs to the most important man in the world: LK’s recently deceased president, Han Junghyuk. Now Mac must protect Choi Gangwu from everyone who wants Han Junghyuk’s secrets—and find out what Han Junghyuk would defy death to see accomplished. Hur’s translation is zippy and often quite funny as the cinematic plot unfolds, packing in both twisty cyberespionage and deep questions about legacies, AI, and the price worth paying to do something truly great. English-speaking readers have been missing out. Agent: Jinhee Park, Greenbook Literary. -
June 10, 2024
On a fictional island in a not-too-distant future, South Korean conglomerate LK is building an elevator to space. The tiny, quiet island has become a bustling travel hub as people vie to head for the stars. Far above, space junk acts as a counterweight, keeping the elevator working. The story kicks into motion when it is discovered that critical data from the company's former CEO is hidden within the counterweight. Mac, the narrator of the novel and LK's chief of external affairs, races alongside other decidedly nefarious groups to retrieve the information that could determine humanity's future. Djuna's English-language debut is a science-fiction-meets-noir mystery. Full of convoluted identities, "worms," artificial intelligence, and literary references, this is a meaty and complex story harking back to the sci-fi greats. Narrator Daniel K. Isaac gives an excellent performance of Mac and the other characters as they race to fulfill their ambitions. His narration taps into the story's noirish atmosphere, drawing listeners into this twisty mystery. VERDICT A convoluted and intriguing story that asks big questions and delivers big action. For cyberpunk and hard-core science fiction fans.--Elyssa Everling
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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