Ocean's Godori

An Indie Next Pick • An Amazon Editors' Pick • A Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year

Becky Chambers meets Firefly in this big-hearted Korean space opera debut about a disgraced space pilot struggling to find her place while fighting to protect the people she loves.

“A thrilling, transportive ride from a powerful and evocative new voice.” —Lena Waithe, Rishi Rajani, and Naomi Funabashi, Hillman Grad Books

Ocean Yoon has never felt very Korean, even if she is descended from a long line of haenyeo, Jeju Island’s beloved female divers. She doesn’t like soju, constantly misses cultural references, and despite her love of the game, people still say that she doesn’t play Hwatu like a Korean. Ocean’s also persona non grata at the Alliance, Korea’s solar system–dominating space agency, since a mission went awry and she earned a reputation for being a little too quick with her gun.

When her best friend, Teo, second son of the Anand Tech empire, is framed for murdering his family, Ocean and her misfit crewmates are pushed to the forefront of a high-stakes ideological conflict. But dodging bullets and winning space chases may be the easiest part of what comes next.

A thrilling adventure across the solar that delivers hyperkinetic action sequences and irresistible will-they-won't-they romance alongside its nuanced exploration of colonialism and capitalism, Ocean’s Godori ultimately asks: What do we owe our past? How do we navigate our present while honoring the complicated facets of our identity? What can our future hold?

About the Author

Elaine U. Cho is the author of Ocean’s Godori. She has an MFA in flute performance from CalArts, and is a former film critic, former bookseller at Elliott Bay Book Company, and current associate editor for Shelf Awareness.