Axie Oh

Pacific Rim meets Korean action dramas in this mind-blowing sci-fi novel set in New Seoul in the year 2199.

Rebel Seoul

fc ♡

 “Yes,” he teases. “That’s all you are.”

 She frowns again and he laughs at her annoyance. He likes this vulnerable side of her.

He  takes her face in his hands. “You’re just a girl. A girl I think I’m falling in love with.” 

 He brings her face closer to his. “How do I show you how I feel?” he whispers against her lips. “How do I show you how much you mean to me?” Softly, he kisses her

He moves one hand to the back of her head, drawing her closer. He’s so desperate to show her how he feels that when he finally ends the kiss, they’re both breathless. 

 She stares at him, at his boyish, dazed smile and bruised lips. She feels a little stunned. She doesn’t think anything could make this moment better than it already is.  “I love you,” he says.

His grin grows wider. “I heard what you said, you know.” 

The girl frowns to hide the sudden blush in her cheeks. “It’s easier to speak of love when you think the person you love is lost to you forever.”

"How could you just jump like that? When you were the one who tried to stop me from jumping off the Tower!”

 “It’s a little different,” he says, feeling a little dazed from the fall, and from the way he feels in her arms — safe. 

I’m reminded of Alex’s words back in the Tower. I don’t see the use of flowers. And yet I recognize the rose she holds. 

“Roses are your favorite flower,” I say softly. “Yellow is your favorite color.” 

He moves to the window and notices a bouquet of yellow roses. “Can I take these?” 

She steps forward until she stands before me. I close my eyes and raise my face. She brushes her fingers across my lips and cheekbones. 

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“You shouldn’t have to.” I open my eyes and curl my hand around her wrist. I pull her gently toward me until she’s half on the bench, half on my lap, her leg draped over my knees. Wrapping an arm around her, I breathe into her hair, still somewhat damp from her shower. 

We’re quiet for a moment.  Strange, but I’ve never felt more safe, here in her arms. “I don’t want to go back,” I say. 

“Inside the house?” she teases, willfully misunderstanding. 

  She laughs, her breath tickling my collarbone. “Where would we go?”

  “And what would we do there?” She snuggles closer. Her voice is barely a whisper.  She falls asleep in my arms. The lantern dims. I press my lips against her hair.  

She spins in my arms, raising her fist. I do the only thing I can think to do — I get in close and wrap my arms tighter around her. She struggles, but I hold tight. My hot breaths rake against her ear. “Stop,” I say. “You’re going to kill him.”  

 I can feel Tera’s heart racing against my own

Ama stops twirling, and Alex approaches her. “You look beautiful,” I hear him say.  

Through the mirror, Tera watches me. “You don’t like it?” 

She sighs. “What kind of answer is that?”

She whirls around from the mirror. “Why can’t we have a normal interaction?” 

“You look like a dream,” I say, “one I never want to wake from.”

Some dreams are better than real life. It’s worth sounding like a fool when she blushes. “Do you dream in red, Lee Jaewon?” 

I take a step toward her. “Now I will.” 

She matches my grin and moves forward to place a hand on my shoulder. 

“Jaewon,” Tera says. I hold still as she drifts her cool fingers over my cut lip. “Who did this to you?” 

 “Why? Are you going to go after them?”

Her expression is serious as she waits for me to name the location of my attackers. Maybe I’m a sadist, because I find the idea of her avenging me really hot

I ache to crawl into bed with her. To find comfort in her and let the memories of the day wash away in dreams and forgetting. But that’s not possible. She’s a weapon, and I’m a soldier.

  I lean down and brush my fingers against her cheek. “Sweet dreams, Tera.”

then Tera’s between us. She grabs Tsuko’s wrist in midair and forces it down. 

 Tsuko’s eyes widen and then narrow. “Tera.” 

“He’s my partner,” Tera says. “I won’t let you hurt him.” 

A spark of pleasure burns in my stomach at her defense of me.

Alex crouches beside Ama, helping her out of the Helm. He finds a bar at the back of the helmet that detaches from the contraption. The helmet breaks into halves. Released, Ama throws her arms around Alex, burying her face against his neck. 

"You shouldn’t feel anything for me.”  

“But I do.”  It sounds like a confession. 

She looks up, her eyes stricken. “Don’t. Please don’t.”

 “Tera . . .” There’s a hollow knock on the window from the outside. “Dammit.” I stand. “I should go.” 

As I leave, she reaches out and grabs my hand. Her hand is cool and light. “Tomorrow, be a soldier to me, Lee Jaewon. Don’t be anything more.” A soldier. A stranger. “Promise me,” she begs. 

  “You’re asking if you can eat from my highly prescribed rations I’m allowed twice a day?”

 “What are partners for if not to eat each other’s food?” I take a bite of the apple

 She opens her mouth as if to answer, but then she looks away. Moving to the bed, she sits down, pulling her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “You’re annoying,” she mumbles into her kneecaps. 

I decide not to push her. I lean my back against the wall. “It’s not so bad,” I say. “You get food. You get me.” 

“For six hours a day. Not including weekends.” 

“And I can do anything I want with you?”

 “Within reason.” I nod at the one-sided mirror. “We’re being watched.” 

“I don’t know why they gave you to me,” she says. “You’re not like the others. Did they think I wouldn’t break you just because you’re young and attractive?”

“You sound like a villain in a bad film.” 

 I retrieve her meal from the alcove and approach the bed. “Is there a table?” 

“There was. But they took it away after I threw it at my last guard and knocked him unconscious.”

 I sit down on the bed and place the tray between us. “Whatever this is, it’s not going to work.”

 She scowls at my use of her words. “This?” 

“Threatening me, telling me you’re dangerous so that I’ll be wary of you.” 

“You don’t believe me when I say I’ll hurt you?”

“You think you’re the exception to the rule?” 

“I think,” I say slowly, “that I got pretty far in tae­kwondo.”

 “Are you joking?” I shrug. “I did manage to defend myself pretty well in the simulation.”

“Whatever this is, it’s not going to work.” Tera stands by the door, having followed me through. 

“This?” I ask. There’s an alcove in the wall, and I place the tray into it. 

 “Being kind to me. It won’t make me trust you.”

 I raise a brow. “Have I been kind to you?”  

“I know who you are,” she says. “You’re my new partner.”

 That sounds better than supervisor. “I am.”

 “The last one didn’t last long.” She sweeps past me. I turn in time to see her jump off the boarding lift. She does a graceful somersault in the sky and lands on her feet. She stands and looks back at me. Our gazes meet. 

“You’ll know soon,” she says, her eyes moving across my face. “And then you won’t look at me the way you’re looking at me now.”

 Like she’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met before. Like she’s mysterious and strange and easily annoyed. 

I move to her left and look over the ledge, whistling at the far drop.

“I’d wait until night if I were you,” I say. “The Skyway shuts down then, and the lines disappear. You’d have an unimpeded fall. Much less messy.” 

A tightening around the corner of her mouth is all she gives me as an answer. Apparently, she’s not amused.

“Death isn’t freedom.” I try to sound like I believe my own words. 

 She raises an eyebrow. “Who says I want to die?” 

“You’re standing at the edge of a building a kilometer in height.” 

“One kilometer and two hundred and fifty meters,” she corrects. 

“It’s that extra fifty that will do it.” 

She scowls, and I grin — why do I feel this urge to annoy her? 

“Well, you’re wrong.” She closes her eyes and spreads her arms wide. “I don’t want to die.” She inhales and breathes out, “I want to live.”

 For half a second, I think she’ll jump. I move to reach out and catch her. But she remains still, holding that position

Moth

The writing was good. I felt like it was engaging and was vivid in its description of things. I could see the God Machines, I could imagine every character. The story goes fast and carries, it keeps things interesting and you aren't left bored, even in the more domestic scenes. The only issue is that time passes fast and you aren't sure how. Sometimes it feels like it was only a few hours or a day when weeks had gone by. I wish that was a little clearer, but that's really it.

(Full Review On My Blog)

Jamieson

"Maybe this love is a love that's worth dying for, I don't know. All I know is that it's worth living for, again and again


I was very excited to read Rebel Seoul, which was pitched as a blend of Pacific Rim and Korean Dramas. I've seen lots of hype for this book, especially from Korean reviewers and so I was very excited to get an arc of this book. Although I didn't love Rebel Seoul, I still liked it. I still really appreciate the ownvoices elements of the story and the setting. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to connect to the characters which effected my reading. 



My favourite thing about Rebel Seoul was definitely the setting. In this futuristic world, the Great War of the Pacific was fought between the East Asian nations, which eventually led to the creation of the Neo Council - a body which presides over all East Asian states and makes decisions on behalf of them. Following this unification, a war was waged between The East and The West, which was won by the East, solidifying the Neo-State. Now, a third war is being waged, between the Neo State, and rebels who seek to undermine and dismantle the regime. I loved the worldbuilding, and how the setting was described. The inclusion of other elements such as gangs, virtual reality simulations of military situations, and the God Machines also contributed to me really enjoying the setting. 

Rebel Seoul is also incredibly racially diverse. Every character who appears is of East Asian descent. The main character is of South Korean heritage, as are the majority of characters he interacts with. There is also one character who's explicitly said to be Japanese and one said to be Chinese. Unfortunately however, there was no lgbt+ representation, if anyone was wondering. 

I was incredibly engaged in the first 100 pages. The explanation of the world and how it unfolded was really interesting, there was some really cool action sequences, and the stakes were really high! I was really intrigued. 

Unfortunately, after the first 100 pages I began to run into some issues with characters and character development. The main character is quite well developed, but I found the side characters to be not nearly as developed. It was hard to grasp or understand the motivations of the majority of the characters. I felt that the female characters, who had great potential, were regaled to being love interests. The romance that appears was unconvincing to me, and since most of the romance happens off screen it was hard to grasp and believe the relationship. 

I found the middle of Rebel Seoul dragged quite a bit. The plot seemed to be put on hold while the characters interacted and ultimately I found myself really bored. I wasn't invested in the characters at all, and the way the plot developed left me confused. I wasn't sure which plot threat to follow. I think Rebel Seoul had issues in the middle with trying to be too many things at once.

 I was really glad the last 100 pages picked up a lot more. The action returned, and the book seemed to get black onto it's central plot. I only had one issue with the last one hundred pages, that the villain had the (view spoiler)[ "a girl rejected me and I want revenge" (hide spoiler)] trope/motivation. I really hate this trope so I was a little disappointed when it cropped up. I was also a bit disappointed I guessed the plot twists well before the reveal. 

However, on a final positive note, I did think the ending/epilogue was great! The stories were well wrapped up and checked in with each character. I think that the conclusion was quite satisfying and that Axie Oh did a good job in gathering all the plot threads up and giving them a good ending. 

Personally, I was a little disappointed with Rebel Seoul. Although it didn't have any glaring issues, I personally just found it difficult to connect to the characters which impacted my reading. However, just going to the Goodreads page you can see I am very much in the minority with this review - most loved it! I've also seen a lot of hype from Korean reviewers about the representation.

 I wish I had loved this book, I really do, but I find it very difficult to love books if I don't love the characters. 

Overall, Rebel Seoul is an incredibly diverse book set in an amazing setting. The world of Neo-Seoul will suck you right in, and you'll find yourself loving being among the characters of this world. 

actual rating 3.5*

I was provided an arc of Rebel Seoul from the publisher. All opinions are my own. Thankyou to Tu Books!

Lauren

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I bought this book on my own. Support yo authors!

Book Series: Rebel Seoul Book 1

Rating: 2/5

Diversity: Korean set and characters

Publication Date: September 14, 2017

Genre: YA Dystopian Sci-fi
 
Recommended Age: 15+ (violence, test subjects, and loyalty).

Publisher: Tu Books

Pages: 389

Amazon Link

Synopsis: After a great war, the East Pacific is in ruins. In brutal Neo Seoul, where status comes from success in combat, ex-gang member Lee Jaewon is a talented pilot rising in the ranks of the academy. Abandoned as a kid in the slums of Old Seoul by his rebel father, Jaewon desires only to escape his past and prove himself a loyal soldier of the Neo State.

When Jaewon is recruited into the most lucrative weapons development division in Neo Seoul, he is eager to claim his best shot at military glory. But the mission becomes more complicated when he meets Tera, a test subject in the government’s supersoldier project. Tera was trained for one purpose: to pilot one of the lethal God Machines, massive robots for a never-ending war.

With secret orders to report on Tera, Jaewon becomes Tera’s partner, earning her reluctant respect. But as respect turns to love, Jaewon begins to question his loyalty to an oppressive regime that creates weapons out of humans. As the project prepares to go public amidst rumors of a rebellion, Jaewon must decide where he stands—as a soldier of the Neo State, or a rebel of the people.

Pacific Rim meets Korean action dramas in this mind-blowing, New Visions Award-winning science fiction debut.

Review: I really liked the concept of this book and I thought this was a really interesting plot. I really wanted to like this book because the synopsis hit all the right chords with me, but in the end I didn’t connect with it.

I felt that the characters were flat and didn’t jump off the page to me. The world building was a bit lacking and the pacing was really slow. I just didn’t connect with this book that much unfortunately.

Verdict: This seems like an amazing read! Might try it again in the future.

Rebel Seoul

Reviews

Highlights