I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Small Gods of Calamity by Sam Kyung Yoo is a contemporary fantasy mystery taking place in South Korea and featuring Korean, Japanese, and Chinese spiritualism. Han-gil is a detective and also a spiritualist who can see and communicate with the supernatural. When the same kind of creature that killed his mother is suspected to be responsible for another murder, Han-gil is ready to do what it takes to destroy it.

I really liked Han-gil and his dynamics with his partner on the force, his adopted sister, and the former host of the same creature that killed Han-gil. Each one felt very different and informed by a deep history and previous experiences. Han-gil is a very likable, stand-up guy despite how often he breaks the rules and he displays compassion for others while also having his hardline limits.

The references to spiritualism were very cool, especially Han-gil’s ability to hear different souls and sometimes taste and smell them. I love when multiple senses are included in the more fantastical elements and this was very well done.

Content warning for the depiction of transphobia and deadnaming (not by the MCs)

I would recommend this to fans of Korean fantasy, readers looking for a mystery with some supernatural elements, and long-time animanga fans looking to dip their toes back into the world of novels.

Enjoyed this a lot! From the first page, the reader is thrust into an alternate South Korea full of magic and monsters - most specifically in this case, a magical parasite running rampant in the city. The quick pace and the straight-to-the-point world building meant that in only a few pages I was completely invested and I felt this could definitely have been longer than it was. Since it's on the shorter side, it felt almost like a dramatic episode of some kind of crime detective drama which again, helped maintain the rapid pulse of the plot. I particularly enjoyed the friendship arc of our two male MCs, especially in the way they had to take care of each other. I also found the idea of a parasite removing all of the senses are really interesting one - not something I've read or come across before.

I won't lie, I was initially interested in this one because it was centered in Korea and then was even more drawn in when I read the synopsis and learned that it followed a detective who also deals in the supernatural and is on the hunt for a specific type of spirit that they have been following for years. There is a lot of talk about Spiritualism in both Kora and Japan, especially when Han-Gil internally reflects on his memories of his mother and goes searching for those who might have information regarding the person he suspects is the current victim of the spirit.

I was immediately sucked in and found a lot of the descriptions very well fleshed out. There were some passages, especially when Han-Gil or other characters were being introspective. I did not expect the emotional depth and introspection that happens later in the book and found it really wonderful as Han-Gil especially finally processed some of the events of his past. All in all, I really enjoyed the adventure of this read and would definitely pick up any future books by this author.

A gripping and immersive read that combines elements of crime, fantasy, and thriller, with a focus on the ties of a found family and the struggles of BIPOC individuals in a mystical, urban setting.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sam Kyung Yoo for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Small Gods of Calamity coming out March 4, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Ghosts that speak in smoke. Spirits with teeth like glass. A parasitic, soul-eating spirit worm has gone into a feeding frenzy, but all the Jong-ro Police Department’s violent crimes unit sees is a string of suicides. Except for Kim Han-gil, Seoul’s only spirit detective. He’s seen this before. He’ll do anything to stop another tragedy from happening, even if that means teaming up with Shin Yoonhae, the man Han-gil believes is responsible for the horrifying aftermath of his mother’s last exorcism.

In their debut novella, Sam Kyung Yoo weaves a tale of mystical proportions that’s part crime-thriller, part urban fantasy.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I love Korean novels and this one sounded really interesting. I loved the ghosts aspect of the book. I think some things could’ve been explored and explained a little more. It was a novella, so I get some of that. But I think there could’ve been a little more to the story. I would be interested in checking out more books by this author.

I'd rate " Small Gods of Calamity" 5 Stars. It's a fairly quick read in comparison to my recent reads and a very compelling and interesting story. I loved the representation and the development of the characters. Sam Kyung Yoo uses excellent imagery and descriptions that set a good scene. It never got boring since it was so compact. It's a read I definitely recommend!

This was a really deeply fascinating book that I honestly wish was longer. I found myself sucked into the story from the very beginning and the world the author brought us into was well thought out and interesting. I do wish that this was more fleshed out, but I hope to see a longer story from this author soon as I would love to see these characters and plot continue. 3.75/5

This book was an unexpected delight!
It follows ‘Spirit Detective’ Kim Han-gil as he tries to take down a vicious spirit that he has been pursuing for years - a unique premise, and one that catches the reader from the start.

The world building and magic system is complex, especially for a shorter novella, but I think it works really well. We’re thrown right into Han-gil’s life, and it’s like we’re being put into an already established world that the audience just has to roll with. I legitimately love when books don’t over explain things!

I also loved how the author created multifaceted LGBT+ characters; In my reading experience, there is a tendency to shy away from flaws when including LGBT+ characters - but Sam Kyung Yoo crafts layered, believable people with both flaws and redeeming qualities. Their characters are realistic, and relatable as a result.

Throughout, there are great descriptions of action, which borders on horror at times, and I found myself swept away and on the edge of my seat at the story’s climax.

I would like to have known Azuna better, however. For being a pretty crucial character to the plot, we don’t know a lot about her, and she tends to leave scenes conveniently as the plot requires. Perhaps this is my subconscious begging for a sequel, who knows?

Although this is not a comment on the writing itself, I think that the book needs some trigger warnings at the beginning - particularly for transphobia, gore, and suicide. This may upset some readers if they come across it unexpectedly.

Overall, this is a spectacular read and I look forward to reading more of their work in the future.

4.5/5 Stars

This is a very different book from my usual, but I found myself really enjoying it. Since it’s not my usual, it’s hard to say if the symbolism is based on actual cultural reference and how much is from the author’s imagination, I suspect it’s cultural reference though. I enjoyed how fast-paced of a read this was, and how easily it pulled me in. There’s a fair amount of action and a lot of paranormal activity.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Sam Kyung Yoo presents their debut novella, Small Gods of Calamity. Readers follow police detective Kim Han-gil who also happens to be Seoul's only spirit detective. Han-gil has been investigating a series of apparent suicides that the police department has been content to consider as open-and-shut cases. Han-gil has encountered this type of incident before and will team up with Shin Yoonjae, the man at the center of the previous occurrences, to avoid future tragedy.

Yoo includes casual queerness at all phases of this novella from Han-gil's bold proclamation of his bisexuality in conversation with his new police partner to the trans woman Han-gil is desperate to help and the doctor who uses they/them pronouns. Yoo never shies away from the realities regarding mixed reception for queerness, but that only made the representation more welcome and intentional.

I can be a bit of a hard sell on detective stories, but I do love the spirit detective plotline and our story focuses almost exclusively on this compared to the actual policework. I think this was a smart choice and contributed toward making a more enjoyable story for me. Yoo also managed to include a decent bit of character backstory while moving the plot forward steadily.

While this novella does have a satisfying conclusion, one could argue that the ending is actually a beginning. I would love to see Yoo continue to write more stories about Han-gil and Yoonjae as there is plenty of room for more in this world. Overall, I found this novella to be a fun introduction to both Yoo's writing and to Han-gil as a character. I look forward to exploring whatever Yoo chooses to write in the future.

I enjoyed this novella a lot. Yoo's writing is very engaging and the use of mythology and the supernatural was great. I liked the way the reader was immediately dropped into the action, and information about the setting and background was revealed as the story went on. There were some things I didn't love in one of the trans character's storyline, but in general the secondary characters were vivid and well-described. I'd love to read more about these characters, and in general I'm eager to read more of the author's work.

I am SCREAMING I am trying hard to think of a way to articulate this properly but all I can say is I've been waiting for a book like this for what feels like forever, and I ended up reading the entire thing in a single sitting starting from this morning. I love a good mystery, to begin with, but the way this book weaved in supernatural elements from Korean folk culture gave it a unique and exciting flavor that made it all the more fun to read. I adore the way this book went beyond the conventional tropes of a lot of Korean diaspora lit I've seen, from acknowledging the existence of trans people in Korea, KSL, to even acknowledging that, yes, Korea is a multi-ethnic nation where Chinese and Japanese people live and reside! It felt more *real* to me getting to read about these tiny details that are often lost in favor of presenting a more monolithic view of contemporary Korea, so I felt myself grinning throughout the entire book. I had an absolutely wonderful time with this!

Small Gods of Calamity is the debut novella from author Sam Kyung Yoo. The story features Kim Han-gil, a detective with a sense for the supernatural (which his fellow officers don't know exists) and a traumatic past related to the infestation of his mother (a mudang) by a worm spirit - a deadly parasitic spirit that most other supernatural practitioners don't think is real. So when Han-gil's latest case shows clear signs of a worm's presence, Kim finds himself desperate to stop it before it causes more harm...and burdened with the help of Shin Yoonhae, the man whose exorcism eventually resulted in his mother's tragedy.

The result is a story that deals heavily with trauma and with suffering as a result of loved ones actions, along with issues like transphobia (and how that can cause the aforementioned trauma) and the burning need to keep one's resentment inside. It's a story that works really well in this regards and ends in a hopeful ending, which I will definitely be keeping in mind come next year's award season.

Trigger Warning: Transphobia, particularly from family members, Suicide/Suicidal-Actions.

Quick Plot Summary:
Years ago, Kim Han-gil's mother performed one last exorcism of a boy, Shin Yoonhae, who had lost all of his senses due to a strange possession. But no one realized the possession was by a deadly new spirit - a worm curse - and that the exorcism had only moved the worm from Yoonhae to Han-gil's mother...who nearly killed Han-gil and then died as a result.

Years later, Kim Han-gil is a detective in the Jong-ro Police Department who is thought to be crazy - both by his fellow mundane detectives who can't see or know about spirits and by the practitioners of the supernatural who believe him to be obsessed with a worm spirit that they doubt exists. But when Han-gil finds a man having seemingly jumped to his death at the behest of a worm spirit, he finds himself reliving his past as he tries to prevent it from repeating...especially when his only available ally turns out to be Shin Yoonhae, now 16 years older, the boy he once blamed for his mother's death...

Thoughts: Small Gods of Calamity uses a very interesting and well laid out setting to tell a really good story dealing with some serious themes. We have a Korea that is thought to be entirely mundane by some people and also has spiritual/supernatural practitioners who know better that ghosts and spirits, sometimes dangerous ones exist. It's in this setting that we find Kim Han-gil, still trauma-wracked by the way his mother died and almost tried to kill him under possession, and desperate to do something to stop it from happening again. Han-gil hasn't really come to terms with what really happened and also has as a result been unable to not blame Shin Yoonhae, the boy whose possession got his mother killed through no fault of his own. Meanwhile, Shin Yoonhae also deals with the trauma of that event and blames himself. And a new third character, dealing with a modern case of worm possession, is a trans woman who has dealt with transphobia and being outcast from her family, from her boss, and even mistreatment from her boyfriend, and has struggled oh so hard to keep herself from being provoked by all that into violence

Small Gods of Calamity deals with all of this and recognizes the struggles these people all have with their trauma, while also showing how with help these people can all find some kind of better and happier path. It's a supernatural cop story - not a buddy cop story as it seems to be at first - that winds up with a hopeful and happy ending despite its exploration of these very harmful traumas, and it does so really well. A definite recommend for those looking for a really great novella, and definitely award worthy.

Huge thanks to Interstellar Flight Press for giving me an access to an arc of this! This is a book I didn’t know I needed to read. It was equal parts heart-wrenching and unsettling but in the best way. This book isn’t very long but it packs a punch and it manages to sit with you for a bit. It’s always fascinating to read fantasy/supernatural stories that are grounded in the rich folklore of one’s origin, especially when it is something other than the usual European folklore, which gets centered much more often. Love that this also doubles as meditation and exploration on grief and how one processes all of this.

I believe that the writing was very strong for this and I’ll be adding this author to my reading radar. I’m looking forward to hearing what others have to say when this comes out.

Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley!

4.5 Supernatural Stars!

I absolutely loved and devoured this book. The world building felt a bit rocky until the second or third chapter, then things went smooth-sailing from there. I find it a bit lacking that Han-gil’s new partner just gets tossed to the side and forgotten at the latter half of the story. I wish Han-gil’s backstory was better explored and that Han-gil and his co-worker’s relationship was highlighted a bit more. I know that’s not the point of the story and that it wouldn’t really serve any purpose, but it just felt like it was a thread left hanging there—now, if there were to be a second book, disregard this comment lol.

The story definitely tugged at my heartstrings. I love the dual POV and I love how there was a small asexual representation from Han-gil. I love that it wasn’t such a huge thing, that it wasn’t such a big part of his personality or anything of the sort.

Anyway, there was great pacing, great fleshed-out characters, and I wish for a sequel!!! I think that’s the biggest takeaway I had after reading the book because I find myself wanting to know more about the characters, where they go from there, and how they’re going to deal with life moving forward—especially if they’re going to keep being partners!!

Beautifully written and this cover art!

The back story of Detective Kim Hang-Gil, how his struggles have spilled over into his work life and are wreaking havoc. I got into this world without issue. Being a detective with the ability to see the dead and smell spirits that most can not, causes Hang-Gil to obtain a less-than-desirable reputation around the office, which means he tends to go through partners pretty quickly. So much so, that his coworkers take bets on how long his newest partner will stick around.

Hang-Gil gets himself wrapped in a paranormal case that brings him face to face with a ghost from his past. A ghost that he blames for the death of his mother, a ghost that he will need to solve this case and save the life of a young transgendered woman.

There are no dull moments in this book.. the story moves at a very steady pace. The attention to detail was perfect, I could see the colors, feel the atmosphere, smell the smells.

I can see this going to film, this world can be expansive. I will most definitely look for more titles from this author.

This book was an intriguing combination of a crime thriller and a ghost story. Dark and gritty. I was excited by the Korean setting and the ensuing cultural references, particularly those of Korean shamanism.

I did find the prose to be a bit clunky and/or basic at times. And the pacing was slow at the start. But by the end I was intrigued, and the ending even brought a tear to my eye.

I enjoyed this a lot. Reading this was like watching a thriller-mystery kdrama. I liked the description of the spirits and the effects they are causing on each person. If there will be a second book, I will definitely reading it.

Thank you so much to the author and netgalley for this book!
Weirdly, I requested this by accident but after reading the synopsis I thought Id give it a go and I cannot get over how amazing this short little read was!
I really loved the main character Kim Han-gil and the world that was created within 150 or so pages. It was full of mystery, magic and was so intriguing!
I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a murder mystery, Korean set novella with demons and magic.

I didn't know much going into this other than that it was a novella about a detective hunting down a malevolent spirit, but once I started reading I simply couldn't stop.
Kim Han-Gil, Seoul's only spirit detective, goes to hunt down a soul-eating malevolent worm and soon finds himself forced to team up with his childhood arch-nemesis Shin Yoonhae, whom he has always held responsible for his mother's horrifying fate.

What is on the surface a quite dark and haunting urban occult story about spirit possessions peeled back its layers to reveal itself to be a tale about pain and broken souls, about trauma, and ultimately, about forgiveness and reconciliation.
Atmospheric, steeped in Korean folklore and dripping with emotions, Small Gods of Calamity put me through the wringer and left me feeling almost like I had just undergone a purifying experience - and while this is going to sound contradictory to everything I just said, it is also utterly charming.
I thoroughly enjoyed this little book and will definitely pick up whatever Sam Kyung Yoo writes next - dare I hope that there may be a squel? I would love to spend more time with these characters.

I want to thank NetGalley, Sam Kyung Yoo and Interstellar Flight Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here expressed are my own.