“A Plagued Sea” by Kim Bo-Young (translated by Sophie Bowman) is the latest installment from the Lovecraft Reanimated project, which “features leading Korean speculative fiction writers reimagining the works of horror master H.P. Lovecraft.”
The story instantly drew me in. I lived in Korea during the start of the Covid pandemic, so the emergency alert text messages that our protagonist, Muyoung, receive are vivid in my mind.
Muyoung, a security guard, travels to the eastern coast of Korea with her niece in tow, despite the massive earthquake warnings. Once they leave the train station, there is no turning back. Three years later, we watch as Muyoung has adapted her profession to become a security guard rounding up the infected humans who have broken their mandatory isolation.
What are they infected with? Something absolutely grotesque and otherworldly that calls them toward the sea–or perhaps, to return to the sea.
I couldn’t put this book down when I started reading it. It’s my favorite of the translated Lovecraft Reanimated series and I can’t wait until it comes out so I can immediately buy a copy and read it all over again.
The only issue I have with the book is the fact that unlike the others in the collection, it has a color cover. I love the cover, don’t get me wrong, but there’s just something about having a set of similar books across a series.
You can pre-order a copy from my favorite publisher here!
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