I really struggled to get into this book, I spent most of my time rolling my eyes at the main character. Other than that, the plot felt very meandering, and the characters did stupid things for what felt like nothing more than plot contrivance.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Fast paced, gritty and fascinating. I loved this whirlwind thriller and the departure from the ordinary provided by the backdrop of Korea.

A fast-paced thriller that constantly kept me at the edge of my seat. Kim's stark prose, aided by Sora Kim-Russell's translation, fit this novel perfectly, since it gave it a realistic touch combined with a sense of dread for what is going to follow next - in the world of The Plotters there is no need for flowery language or any kind of attempt to pretty up the grim reality its characters experience. Despite his questionable occupation, Reseng was a great character to follow, mostly because he was so complex and weighed down by the cruel world he was born in.

A great introduction to Un-su Kim's writing and an excellent thriller overall that raises some important questions alongside its page-turning plot.

I LOVE Korean thriller fiction and this book was not a disappointment. I've heard so many good things and glad to have loved it too. its gripping and fully fleshed and carved out. would recommend

This one started so well for me - I was hooked by the opening scene. The language was poetic with an almost mythic quality and the set-up seemed interesting. Unfortunately the character that initially intrigued me was almost immediately killed off and it was all downhill from there. The book seems all set-up, little substance and very little pay-off. The blurbed action didn't really kick off till two thirds of the way through - yes, there was stuff going on but a lot of it was more than a little tedious. Plus I found I couldn't entirely fathom the motivations and actions of the main characters. I also found it a little gory/violent for my liking. Thematically there is a lot of interesting stuff represented here but I'd lost my interest in the plot. I didn't enjoy this book but feel I was never going to - it was the wrong book for the wrong reader.

What a book! I´ve been trying to decide whether I would want to give it 3 or 4 stars but I will be settling for 4.

I can´t say I have read anything like this before but I would happily read another book written by this author. The writing was beautiful. I am sure it is even better to read it in its original language but I think the translator did a great job.
I have to admit, I found the second half much better than the first, especially since Mito entered the story (officially that is, she was probably there all along). It was only then that I started to like Reseng because I could see some of his character. Besides his line of work, he deeply cared for his friends and his cats.

The second half of the book was fast paced and much more exciting. I did enjoy the beginning, even the part where Reseng visits the old man and his dog, despite it being sad, but then the story becomes a bit slow for my liking. A lot of it takes place in Reseng´s head and his past. Throughout it all, there is an atmosphere of desperation and resignation, and a feeling of insignificance of individual lives as death is such a big part of life for the characters in the book.

However, since I couldn't stop reading towards the end, I think the book deserves 4 stars.

Reseng is a hitman for hire. Abandoned in a bin outside a nunnery as a baby, he was taken in by Old Racoon, a cantankerous man who owns a library full of dusty tomes which nobody ever borrows. To those not in the know, Old Racoon’s place is just a library; to those that do, it’s a hub organised crime where assassinations can be arranged for the right price. Reseng has been raised to be a killer and he’s one of the best hired guns in the business.

Set in modern-day South Korea, the novel’s premise is that after the fall of the country’s dictatorship and embracing of democracy, the government could no longer just kill with impunity. Assassinations needed to be disguised as accidents, or the bodies disappear. And it’s not just the government. As the economy boomed, corporate entities also got in on the assassination game, taking out business rivals and others. The assassinations themselves are ordered and paid for by the “Plotters”, shadowy and powerful characters who act as brokers for those paying for an assassination and commissioning the assassins to carry it out.

If readers have seen a Korean thriller or crime movie, such as Oldboy, then they’ll know the country’s film industry has a tendency towards the surreal, the disturbing, and rather farfetched, albeit entertaining plots. The Plotters fits very much into this mold, but while entertaining in movie format, it becomes a little draining in narrative fiction. I found the plot of this novel just a little too inconsistent and stretching of credulity and towards the book was losing my interest.

To be fair, the characterisation in this novel is effective in that the reader warms to the main character, Reseng, despite the fact that he’s a hitman. To be sure the violence isn’t graphic, and he doesn’t kill gratuitously, but the author also fleshes him out as a person. So, I was invested in the character and wanting to know how his story panned out, which kept me turning the pages.

This was just as well as there were just too many plot holes and I have to admit having struggled to stick with it around the 50% mark. I nearly gave up on this book. Luckily the last third picked up the tension enough to see me through to the denouement, which was satisfying in its way, though the central questions raised in the narrative were never fully answered.

All in all, I found The Plotters to be a disappointing read with an interesting premise which never fully met its potential. This is a novel that might well make an entertaining popcorn movie in which the fast-paced action sequences can paper over the flaws in the plot, but as narrative fiction, it left a lot to be desired.

I'm a fan of Murakami and thought that I would check out a novel set in Korea rather than Japan - enjoyable read and definitely an author I would check out in the future. Korean noir for the win.

Thank you NET GALLEY for my copy

Reseng is the main character and if you have spent time in South Korea this book will taker you back. It is a bit more complex than the average American novel but I good story I thought.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, one that I had been eagerly awaiting for several months but also one I couldn’t wait to get to, and it more than lived up to my expectations.

A very fun and enjoyable plot following assassins and an assassin questioning his reasons for killing and ending up the hunted in the process. A very fun cast of characters from the Old Man to Resing and Bear. Some of the dialogue had me chuckling and I would love read more from the author, as well as Korean literature in general. Always great to discover new countries and authors in translated fiction, there are some great writers and works waiting to be discovered by a new audience.

The ending was very bittersweet and turned out sort of how I expected but got there differently. I think the book had great pacing and whilst there was some violence there was nothing too over the top, not a gory or bloody book at all.

I would highly recommend this.

I read this as both a ARC from NetGalley and an Audible audiobook I picked up in a recent sale. My thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

A little note on the audiobook, the narrator is very slow and the book greatly benefits from being sped up to about 1.4 speed.

Just a bit too strange for me. A Korean Network of Plotters and assasins with their own rules and culture. The reasons for anything are not very clear and unless you are a fan of strange Asian underworld stories, then this one misses the mark. Not really sure what actually happened in the end as they had so many threads that were being interwoven that, apart from the obvious Action, the rest of it leaves you guessing.

Unusual literary thriller with a distinctive voice and an interesting setting in South Korea. I do feel that I admired rather than loved it but if you like novels in translation, or novels that contain elements of both crime and literary fiction, it's worth a look.

A stellar book, with wit, style and dark humour. You’ll be dragged into this story and be grateful for it.

Full review at MurderinCommon.com here: https://murderincommon.com/2019/03/10/un-su-kim-the-plotters/

Reseng is an assassin. Assassin's follow instructions made by plotters, who decide who will die, when and how, and who will kill them.

On the positive side I did like the characters, this is obviously a strong point for the author. There were definitely interesting personalities in the book, some craziness and individuality which I liked. There were a couple of scenes in the book I enjoyed, probably most of all the very beginning of the book where Reseng meets and old man and his dog. I loved the idea of the library, and the pet crematorium was also a glimmer of genius.

Sounds exciting and interesting, but actually I found the book to be quite slow and not very exciting at all. I feel like it was more of a conversational, thoughtful piece than anything else, but not one that was particularly immersive. I also think that something was lost in translation, because the writing seemed a bit stilted in places and not very flowing. Some of the language seemed a little clumsy.

Overall this was quite a disappointing piece and I found it quite difficult to push through to the end. Sadly I can't say I would recommend this to anyone. A shame because there were good things about it, but on the whole I didn't enjoy it much.

In South Korea if you need to get rid of someone there are plenty of hitman available. however a sophisticated assassination requires the work of a plotter - someone who plans it out so that nothing is left to chance. Reseng was rescued from an orphanage as a young child and brought up by Old Raccoon, the coordinator of the Doghouse Library, one of the kingpins of the trade. However when Reseng doesn't follow orders and kill the way he was ordered he finds himself and his world under threat. Caught up in power struggle between the old guard and the new, Reseng has to try to survive the only way he knows how.
It's really hard to describe this book and to categorise it. At it's heart it is a thriller about violence and organised crime in Korea but running parallel to this is the utter delight of the characterisation and the dark streak of humour that runs through. It is completely unlike any other book I have read and for that reason alone I loved it but it's such an enjoyable read, the characters get under the skin and the little vignettes are so clever. I heartily recommend this book to all!

A funny. quirky take on the crime thriller, set in South Korea. It;s dark, and gruesome at times, but the humour lightens it. Featuring a Gangnam-style Philip Marlowe-type assassin and his various bosses, antagonists, friends, enemies and girlfriends, it is well worth a read for any crime lovers. Gives an interesting insight into the culture of South Korea as well. Recommended.

I found this to be a beautiful translation - I've never read Korean noir before and I really enjoyed it. Given the subject (assassins) I expected a high-octane story but it was actually kind of mellow, and mundane in a lot of ways. This wasn't a bad thing - I enjoyed having my expectations confounded.

Plotters are just pawns like us. A request comes in and they draw up the plans. There’s someone above them who tells them what to do. And above that person is another plotter telling them what to do. You think that if you go up there with a knife and stab the person at the very top, that’ll fix everything. But no-one’s there. It’s just an empty chair.

Reseng was raised by cantankerous Old Raccoon in the Library of Dogs. To anyone asking, it’s just an ordinary library. To anyone in the know, it’s a hub for Seoul’s organised crime, and a place where contract killings are plotted and planned. So it’s no surprise that Reseng has grown up to become one of the best hitmen in Seoul. He takes orders from the plotters, carries out his grim duties, and comforts himself afterwards with copious quantities of beer and his two cats, Desk and Lampshade.

But after he takes pity on a target and lets her die how she chooses, he finds his every move is being watched. Is he finally about to fall victim to his own game? And why does that new female librarian at the library act so strangely? Is he looking for his enemies in all the wrong places? Could he be at the centre of a plot bigger than anything he’s ever known?

Something a bit different this week. A semi-comic crime thriller translated from Korean to English. My gut reaction is that The Plotters by Un-su Kim is not something that can be easily categorised. I should stress I mean that as the highest of compliments. When it comes to fiction, something this unique should most definitely be lauded.

Reseng is a complex young man. He has been raised in environment where death is common place. He knows nothing else and so accepts killing as the norm. Becoming a professional killer is the only path available to him, so growing up Reseng embraces it. It’s when Reseng starts to question his career path that things start to get interesting. There is a point in the story where Reseng tries to walk away from his chosen profession and those chapters are particularly telling. Can a man raised in violence and death really walk away from that life, or will it inevitably follow him? Reseng has a colleague (friend?) called Bear who works in a crematorium that specialises in disposing of assassin’s victims. Their conversations are so matter of fact, almost mundane, that you quickly realised just how desensitized to death Reseng has become.

The relationship between Reseng and his adoptive father, Old Raccoon, is a fascinating one. Old Raccoon has made stoicism an art form. We learn very little of this enigmatic old man. His history is a blank page. I love how Raccoon’s actions and reactions are depicted. He is a master of understatement and subtlety. A barely perceptible nod of the head here, a withering glance there. These displays of micro-emotion make him that much more mysterious. I guess that is exactly what you want from a person who manages assassins. Discretion is key. There is a sense of real depth existing between these two men. The discussions they have can often be interpreted in multiple ways. It feels like Reseng is at the point in his life where he is seeking answers, Old Raccoon may not be the best person to ask. The equilibrium that has existed between the two for many years is suddenly thrown off kilter. The older man appreciates the inevitability of change but Reseng remains conflicted.

Conversations between characters have a tendency to spiral off on unexpected tangents that often lead to darkly comic humour. Initially I was a little unsure about this, but the more and more of the novel I read the more I got into the quirky rhythm of events. How can you not love a book that ends a chapter with one character wiggling their bottom at another?*

The novel ends on a bittersweet note that acts as a perfect full stop to the entire narrative. I expect it might divide some readers, but I rather like that. The Plotters is an introspective piece of writing. The main protagonist spends a lot of his time pondering the nature of his existence. It seems only fitting that the novel’s climax will elicit exactly the same contemplative feelings.

If I’m being brutally honest, I don’t think The Plotters will not be for everyone; it’s literary Marmite. Personally, I loved it. The Plotters is just the right level of weird to capture my attention. I’m a big fan of Asian cinema, but I don’t think I’ve ever read any South Korean fiction, so this was untested waters for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

When it came to my music recommendation to accompany The Plotters, I found myself exploring Korean soundtracks. After much pondering I decided The Prison by Bang Jun-Seok fit nicely with the overall tone of the novel.

The Plotters is published by Fourth Estate and is available now. Highly recommended.

*I may not be doing this particular moment justice. The bum wiggling totally works within the context of the book.

A Wee Summary

The Plotters is my first foray into what has been dubbed by many as 'Korean Noir'. With a synopsis that immediately piqued my interest, this novel is unlike any thriller I've ever read.

Following the end of military rule in South Korea, there's been an emergence of an industry for hitmen. The Doghouse Library is home to a guild of such assassins-for-hire, headed by the seasoned and cantankerous Old Raccoon.

Our protagonist, Reseng, is one such assassin. Having been raised in 'The Library' by Old Raccoon, Reseng is one of the best assassins in Seoul.

Throughout the country there are people known as Plotters holed up, contracted by the powerful to devise and plan assassinations.

It's Reseng's job to unquestioningly complete assassinations as planned by an anonymous Plotter, down to the last detail. Reseng doesn't know for whom he wields his knife, but he follows orders in return for payment.

When Renseng finds himself veering from the stringent plans of the Plotter, he finds his every move is being watched. Is he now the focus of a Plotter? Could his life be at risk? After all, to eliminate an assassin you need to set another hitman on his tail.

My Thoughts

It took me a wee while to get into this book. While I was intrigued from the opening page, it took me some time to piece things together and feel involved.

Reseng is a character that, despite his occupation, I quickly came to like - I'm sure his love of book, reading and cats helped to accelerate the process!

He's the kind of flawed but likeable character that I enjoy in a thriller. I appreciated the humour that this character brings at times, which is needed to balance the dark, occasionally graphic, nature of this tale.

When it comes to translated fiction, the translator is so important to its success. I  was really pleased to find that I found Sora Kim-Russell's translation flowing, often lyrical, and easy to read. Kim-Russell has managed to weave in the Korean language which helps to root this novel in its Korean setting.

I found the whole concept of the novel fascinating and, for the most part, I enjoyed this novel. It's a bit quirky and different from other novels I've read. The writing and translation played out like a film in my mind.

As I've said, it's dark - well, it's about assassins and plotters so what would you expect? It's also humorous in places though, so it made me chuckle at times. I wasn't 100% sold on the pacing of the novel, but it's full of action, and. as the story progressed, I found myself unable to put the book down.

This is my first 'Korean Noir' novel, but it won't be my last.