Reviews

The Plotters by Un-su Kim

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aliencatl0rd's review against another edition

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4.0

This is definitely going to be a movie someday.

lorenz32's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

kriseaf's review against another edition

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2.0

I am simultaneously proud of myself for finishing this and questioning why I finished this. But the real travesty is that Desk and Lampshade have to live at the cat café because Reseng wanted to... honestly, I have no idea what Reseng wanted nor why he did anything that he did. This book was definitely not for me, it turns out.

danon17's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It takes its time revealing the main plot, allowing it to build out an interesting ecosystem. It takes tangents and includes subplots where you're not sure if they are going to impact on the main story or if they are there just to inform on the character's state of mind.

But once the main plot reveals itself, it feels suitably pitched - epic without being bombastic - and brings in aspects that complement the story and its characters well (it also allows it to homage another seminal noir story). The world-weariness does feel a bit studied at times, and it is a bit too infatuated with its lead character, but there is the occasional beautiful turn of phrase.

kylaoren's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

a fun and sexy romp! un-su kim had a lot on his plate contextualising the density of korea's political state of affairs post democratisation (where the novel is set in) while also having to marry a sense of lightheartedness to the tone and pacing and what a wonderful job he did! the particular brand of "assassination" that comes with being a plotter is fun and exciting so it feels like a silly little crime novel but also intensely political wherein you get some insightful illuminations on the korean war, the north/south divide, and ultimately korea fighting for its democracy. sounds like a lot of historical politics going on but overall found it to be a fun and exciting piece of genre fiction! would recommend it to someone looking for a piece of gritty korean lit to sink their teeth in, particularly for someone first foraying into the genre.

also if this ever gets a film/tv adaptation then dohwan i have a very interesting proposition for you????????

nabilahs's review against another edition

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4.0

An assassin who loves to read and he literally spends his time in the library.

The Plotters is a Korean noir, follows a story of Reseng, a great young hired killer. One day, he breaks one of The Plotter's rules; which he changes how his victim's supposed to die. And now, someone (The Plotters) is trying to kill him. The Plotters are someone who plans the whole murder scene and there is no absolute leader, only an empty chair.

The Plotters sometimes work with the government, assemblyman, and other killers, and are assisted by The Shadows: who follow their victims first and report them back to The Plotters.

I love how brilliant Reseng is: he loves to read science and all genres and blurted science facts to his friend. The humour and quirky characters in this book are totally unexpected.