I always want to read a story about infection and abomination. So you know I had to read A Plagued Sea. The audiobook breezed by and soon enough it was over! Keep reading this book review of A Plagued Sea for my full thoughts.
Summary
While waiting for a train to Haewon, an isolated Korean seaside village, bodyguard Mu-young gets a disaster alert on her phone. TVs throughout the station report breaking news of a massive earthquake on the eastern coast. Despite the danger, Mu-young boards the train with her niece: she’d rather face the earthquake than leave the girl in her mother’s care. That choice haunts her for the rest of her life.
Three years later, Haewon Village is home to horrors. The earthquake unleashed an ancient plague that transforms its victims into fishy monsters, and the government’s lockdown has cut off any hope for help. Mu-young’s niece is dead, and all that’s left for her is to hunt villagers who break isolation. When an officious bureaucrat from Seoul arrives in the village, he stirs up even deeper trouble. Will Mu-young survive? Does she even deserve to?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I loved the concept of A Plagued Sea. This story of survival at the end of our world. While it may not be THE end of the world, what happens when our world ends? When a version of ourselves, of our world dies? A Plagued Sea is a Lovecraftian story about transformation and monstrosity. To be fair, I didn’t realize the Lovecraft influences until when I was writing this review. But I was intrigued by this world premise. However, A Plagued Sea left me a bit disappointed. The story felt a bit thin and while I liked the idea of the world, I wish it had a bit more depth. There were so many fascinating concepts and now that I know about the Lovecraftian, I am even more intrigued – but still a bit let down.
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I don’t want to spoil the ending, but yeah it did not swing around for me. Joy Osmanski did a phenomenal job at making the story fly by, the emotions high. A Plagued Sea is supposed to explore, a bit abstractly, the idea of being isolated, and what that does to us. I don’t mind a quiet story, but this one left me wondering about the resolution of the themes and the ideas behind it. Find A Plagued Sea on Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.