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.

"Ocean's Godori" by Elaine U. Cho is an impressive debut space opera that grabbed me right from the beginning with its rich character storylines and original premise. It is the first book in a series and a good start to it. I picked up the book on a whim because I was intrigued by the premise, and I wasn't disappointed. It is one of the best space opera novels I've read in a long time.

The book follows three main protagonists (Ocean, Teo, and Haven) and takes place in a world where Korea is the main dominating power, which, together with the help of major tech corporations, exploits planets in the solar system.

Ocean Yoon is a disgraced Korean space pilot of the Alliance, Korea’s space agency, who has to fly the Ohneul, a low-class Alliance ship, and bow to Captain Dae Song's orders. The other crew members are Maggie, a mechanic and engineer; Haven, a Mortemian and the new Medic; and Von Kent - the xenobotanist. And then we have Teo, the second son of the Anand Tech empire and Ocean's best friend. Last but not least is the soft-hearted pirate Phoenix, and his team consists of Aries, Cass, Lupus, and Gemini.

The storylines start out separately and then overlap in interesting ways. The plot thickens when Teo is framed for murder and has to run for his life. Ocean steps up to help him, and what follows is a great adventure chock full of ordeals, raiders, space chases, and even romance thrown in for good measure.

I enjoyed the book very much. It was slow to start, setting the stage, but after a bit, it picked up the pace and kept me fully engaged. I loved that the author didn't give us all the information right away or spoon-feed us. Bit by bit, the author uncovers more and more pieces, filling up the dots. I liked the writing and the way the story unfolded before my very eyes. The storylines are well thought out and engaging.

The author provided enough information on the background stories of the characters, so it was easy to keep up with the story. Although there were multiple characters in the book, I didn’t find it difficult to keep track of all of them. The characters are well-rounded, and the author did a great job of establishing them as people. I loved the friendships, the sharp ripostes, and the interactions between them, as well as the references to Korean culture and the exploration of humanity, cultures, values, and relationships.

If I have any complaint, it is that the ending was rather abrupt, ending with a cliffhanger. There is a hint of the development of a love triangle (my least favorite trope), and I hope it fades away in the next book. Other than that, the novel was wonderfully unique and exceeded my expectations. Full stars from me! I would love to read the next book in the series. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy space opera novels, action, and strong female characters.

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

Elaine E. Cho's debut novel, Ocean's Godori, is a great read. It's largely set in space, and is centred around Ocean Yoon, a disgraced space pilot slumming it in a lower-grade ship doing missions she's not very interested in. She's a likeable rogue: "Handling Ocean is like trying to pet a cat. You have to feign complete disinterest and leave the door ajar for her to nudge open on her own."Along comes a space pirate, Phoenix, and suddenly Ocean and her rich gay bestie, Teo Anand, are tangled in quite the mess. Sometimes it's quite a hot mess, which will no doubt please queer readers: "The hand he puts up to push Phoenix away clutches a fistful [of] his shirt and brings him closer instead."

Bar for the first few chapters where you're trying to get a handle on who everyone is, the book's pacing is fast. Cho's descriptions of the action are also quite visceral: "Blood flies in ribbons, the hot viscosity painting his face, the messy gust of it a contrast to the bitter cold." Cho also integrates some interesting aspects of Korean culture into the book without interrupting the main storyline. Ocean, for example, is descended from the "fabled women divers of Jejudo, mermaids of Korea [who] call the surface of the water the line between death and life." Korean food is another vehicle for Cho to subtly showcase Korean culture: "Ocean can taste the undertone of sweetness in the spicy sauce. Maggie likes to fold in a little brown sugar to the gochujang, adding depth to the red pepper paste." I just wish I had known about the rear glossary sooner as using my Kindle's Korean dictionary simply wasn't cutting it.

I really wanted to like this based on the description and other reviews, but it just... didn't do it for me. I have tried for many days to try and articulate it, but it's difficult to say why. It felt like it was a lot of description of food and mundane parts, and not a lot of plot-driven content, and even then, it landed flat. Maybe space operas just aren't for me.

Some reviewers have noted the use of Korean throwing them off - that wasn't the case for me, I felt there were enough context clues to be able to piece together what was happening.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an early copy of the book in return for an honest review.

This was the perfect marriage of the found family crew trope a la Becky Chambers or Firefly, with the stakes of space age humanity a la The Expanse. Except, the main power players are Korean space pilots and Indian tech chaebols. Not gonna lie, I may be a bit biased as a Hallyu pop culture aficionado, but what makes this truly delightful are the best of Kdrama tropes -- formidable Korean women, sassy banter and intense interpersonal emotional bonds. Ocean and Teo's friendship is the beating heart of this story even though they both have romantic side plots developing. And just the sheer non-Western-centric space opera sci-fi makes me so so happy. I need this to be adapted to the screen so badly! Knocking off a star because that was a VERY abrupt ending. Still one of the most fun sci-fi reads in a very long time.

Unique and peculiar book, I had never read anything like that, I must say I liked it. The world building done rather well, sometimes I found gaps in the description of the characters, but it is a reading even if a bit slow at the beginning, very pleasant and different from the usual!

Ocean's Godori, set in the future, is a mix between a fantasy sci-fi and a space opera. Although this wasn't completely the book for me I did enjoy a lot of it. I loved learning about the characters and the world building was really interesting, although it could have been developed more in places. I just didn't feel completely absorbed into the story but I think a lot of sci-fi fans will love this.

Thank you to Zando and Net Galley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

In Ocean's Godori we follow Teo, wastrel son of a billionaire mining/communications company, Ocean, disgraced alliance pilot and Haven, a death priest out on runspringa. When Teo is accused of murdering his entire family, Ocean and Haven become caught up in a web of interstellar conflict.

The cover compares it to firefly, which confused me until just over half way in. The comparison doesn't really reflect most of the main characters but rather some side characters which become important in the second half. For me that last 50% is where this book grabbed me! It takes a while to get to the plot points described in the blurb

This book throws you straight in, there's no tedious info dump in the first 50 pages to read through! This can be a little overwhelming but works for the style of the story! The ending is rather abrupt though and didn't feel like a satisfying ending to me?

I did love the cosiness interspersed with action scenes and would recommend people pick this up if they are fans of Becky Chambers, Nathan Lowell or Firefly!

I enjoyed this story, set in the future, with humans spread out to other planets and traveling between them very quickly with no attempt at explaining this scientifically. This is more fantasy than science fiction, with the tiny spaceships having gravity, and an entire moon having a force field shield. There's nothing too complicated or unexpected, but it's a lightweight, fun read. The romantic relationships have a very YA feel, but they are not the sole focus of the story. The characters are interesting, nicely developed and likeable, if not entirely relatable. Each of the main characters are in the process of working through some past, or current trauma. The ending leaves things somewhat in limbo, though the gist is that extremely wealthy companies or individuals are bad, resistance fighters or pirates are good, in a fairly unsophisticated way.

Introducing bold, new, city-scapes of futuristic Korea, to the outer-workings of the Space Alliance and the tech companies that own it, Ocean's Godori was an inventive new work in sci-fi.
I really enjoyed the detail to Ocean's spacecraft flying skills, and the whole feel whenever 'The Crane' got into the pilot seat was epic-- I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how she would maneuver her way through whatever obstacle she had to outrun.
It was a good book, but overall, I felt a little more confused than hooked. For instance, what WAS a Mortemian, really? From the reception, one would assume black-ops troops that obliterated countries and kicked puppies in their spare time, but were they actually just a funeral assistants? I am honestly still a bit unsure.
I liked the banter and family feel of the crew of the Ohneul, but had a hard time placing who was speaking, sometimes. A few more dialogue indicators would have been a bit easier on the flow.
I really did NOT like the love interest of Teo's, and found it bizarre and forced, and just, really uncomfortable. I think the second crew that was introduced was fairly neat on their own, but came off a bit strong on the 'we're so not what you're expecting, and we're really just the poor good guys/ bantering pirates who are hot'. If you'd spaced out their encounters, and dialed back the attempt to make them instantly likable, it would probably be a bit more believable.
But I have to say Haven was my favourite character, and I'd be excited to see where he went in the next installment. I'd love to see more of the Alliance, and experience some more of the charged and diverse cities and environments.

3.5 stars?

This was a strong debut!

Teo was a great character and I liked Ocean a lot. Unfortunately even though I liked Haven, by the end I still didn’t feel like his point of view was necessary for the plot. I hope that as the future books come out, his character arc intertwines with the main plot more. Unfortunately, in this one even when the inciting incident occurred, it never felt like his actions were moving the story forward.

In general the character work for the main characters was well done, but I did want more from some of the side character and overall some felt a bit flat. For example, I was hoping to get more from the Captain. She had her moments throughout, especially when at one point she discusses aspects surrounding class and the Alliance. However she didn’t feel consistently utilized throughout the second half of the book. Most of the side characters from the first half even felt underutilized in service of newer characters.

Thank you to Zando and Net Galley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Space operas and I have a strange relationship. I love them, but often find myself disappointed by the them. Whether it’s problems with the way the female characters are written, or the pretty blatant ableism the genre can perpetuate, they often just aren’t up to scratch.

That isn’t the case with this one, though. Elaine U. Cho has created something truly epic with Ocean’s Godori. The story is rich and colorful and the characters are full of life.

1: The Plot

Ocean Yoon is a Korean pilot who works for the Alliance, Korea’s space agency. Despite her talent, she’s currently flying a Class 4 ship after shooting someone against orders. When her friend Teo is accused of murdering his parents, Ocean and her crew become caught up in the conflict.

2: Narrative, Prose, and Story

The choice to throw the readers into the thick of things with very little up front exposition was the right one. Cho is masterful at weaving exposition into the right places without infodumping on the reader.

With unique sci-fi names, I sometimes have trouble keeping up with who’s who. Luckily, Cho was able to introduce characters well and switch POVs often enough that I wasn’t left confused, but not so often that the narrative felt choppy.

The fast pacing made this an easy read. I had no trouble getting into and keeping up with the story.

Ocean, Teo, and Haven are all great characters who are interesting and feel real. They make excellent POV characters for a well-rounded story as they’re all quite different and have their own perspectives and motivations. It was a delight to get to know them and realize I would die for them.

3: The Romance

This space opera is quite heavy on the romance, which is great for me because I love a good romance. However, if that’s not what you enjoy, I’d recommend something else.

There are two main pairings, Haven and Ocean (Gemini, my guy, I love you, but BACK OFF), and Phoenix and Teo. They both mean the world to me. Neither are weird or feel forced. I think they’re really well done. I’m rooting for them!

4: Characters

As usual with my reviews, I’m only going to talk about the characters and dynamics I have something to say about.

Ocean’s captain is Dae Song, my nemesis, who I’m really hoping we get both a decent amount of backstory and a character arc from. She’s difficult and selfish, but I think there’s a lot of room for her to grow.

Phoenix is a criminal with a heart of gold who ends up helping them. Yeah, his character is totally unrealistic. But do I care? Absolutely not. I love him.

Ocean and Teo’s friendship is so adorable. They’re cute and codependent, and I love them for that.

While I loved everything I saw from all the characters, I felt like we only scratched the surface of all of them. So, I’m hoping we spend enough time with them in later books.

5: Other Notes

As is often the case with softer space operas when compared to harder sci-fi, the science wasn’t quite there. The novel has the aesthetics of sci-fi without the pseudoscientific explanations. The world feels real, but most of the technology isn’t explained to us.

Mixing Romaja with English text was a bad idea. It’s just usually a bad idea to mix multiple languages like that, especially if you’re not including any kind of footnotes. Readers who don’t know Korean will either have to stop to look up the words (annoying, and they aren’t even written in Hangul so they won’t automatically translate) or ignore the text entirely (meaning readers are missing dialogue). There is a glossary at the back of the book, but personally, I’d recommend switching to footnotes.

Colonialism, capitalism, and identity aren’t explored much in this novel. But, most of this first book is set up for what I assume will be a series of 3-5 books (though, I couldn’t find anything saying how many there’d be), so I expect those themes to play a larger role later.

5: Conclusion

This novel was definitely exceptional for a debut. I can tell that Cho is going to kick ass in this genre. I can’t wait for the next one!

★★★★★ (4.5/5)