The Black Orb
A Novel
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- ¥1,700
発行者による作品情報
The object was a black orb, roughly two meters in diameter. Despite its large size, it made no sound as it moved. Although it wasn’t chasing Jeong-su fast enough to catch him, it was unrelenting and persistent in its pursuit…
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 neighbor inside. Jeong-su manages to get away, but the terrifying sphere can move through walls, so he’s sure he won’t be able to hide for long.
The orb soon begins consuming every person caught in its path, 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 on 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 civilization.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Debut author Kim explores the existential horror of isolation in this chilling and enigmatic apocalyptic novel. Jeong-su, a rising young office manager, is the first to encounter the mysterious, floating black orbs that relentlessly absorb his fellow Seoul citizens. As residents flee in a panic, Jeong-su tries to connect with friends and family while evading army patrols, religious cultists, bands of looters, and the ever-rising tide of black orbs. Eventually, trapped in an abandoned store, he and a fellow refugee question all that society has taught them—including the value of conformity and toxic masculinity—as they struggle to avoid being pulled into the void by the voracious orbs. Kim's universe is uncaring and unsparing, whether it's the orbs or fellow humans who are administering the harsh lessons. The key to survival is to find someone with whom to share and divide the pain, offering a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak world. This is sure to win Kim fans.
