From attacking a Pac-Man pizza moon with paper folded spaceships to bridging communication delays and launching satellites: Launch Something! by Korean author Bae Myung-hoon.
Launch Something! synopsis
Earth is experiencing a sweltering heatwave caused by a second “sun” – a shining object in the sky that either looks like Pac-Man or a pizza missing a slice, depending on who you ask. As this object increases in size and risks making Earth uninhabitable, the Korean government decides it has to do its part and help the US-led Allied Space Force. Launch Something! is a sci-fi novel about a Korean Space Force that contains his quirky brand of political satire.
Book review
With the title story Launch Something! the book is off to a good start with discussions on how to attack a Pac-Man pizza with paper folded spaceships. But don’t be fooled: the first story is all about moving your agenda and manipulating public opinion. Comments about society are lurking behind the funny way topics are introduced. Some examples include the Pac-Man responsible for global warming and the power of an individual with status projected in god mode on a wall.
At great heights
While the first story in the book felt new and exciting, the book goes downhill from there. Most conversations are a drill to get through. The basketball game in the second story is full of double meanings that won’t leave you guessing. And guessing is often what makes a story fun to read. To me it feels like the first five stories, including the character descriptions at the start, are preparation for the real story that unfolds in the last four chapters.
The third and fourth stories involve a member of a k-pop boy band doing his military service: a theme that has the potential to immerse a reader. Yet, you are still waiting for something to happen. The last paragraph of the fourth story finally hints at some future excitement. Imagine my glee upon seeing the title of the fifth story: Strict but Flexible: the rigidity and unwieldiness of the military organization is perfectly illustrated by the writing style.
AI brought down to earth
The sixth story, Throwing Away a Stuffed Bear, marks a change towards a more spacey/sci fi execution. I liked thinking about the challenge of optimally timing a broadcast to cope with the distance between Mars & Earth at different moments in time, and how the existence of a job such as interplanetary communications officer can give rise to a market for short movies that can bridge communication delays. Not to mention that I can get into personal drama about a stuffed teddy bear.
The remaining stories finally make me want to know what happens next. We see some action. But as before, the outcome is predictable. I never imagined the description of a fight in space would have the same feel to it as the description of a basketball game. Is this book too ‘down-to-earth’ to spark one’s imagination?
Recommendation
You would say stories about space have the potential to be more exciting than stories set in a Tower, but the latter turned out to be the more unique setting. Perhaps my expectations for Launch Something! were too high. So unfortunately, my recommendation for this book has to be: skip it and read Tower instead.
Interested?
Buy your copy of Launch Something! from Amazon.
Book details
Title: Launch Something!
Author: Bae Myung-hoon
Translator (from Korean): Stella Kim
Language: English
Publisher: Honford Star
Pages: 368
ISBN (13): 9781739822545
Publication date: 17 October 2022
About the author and translator
Bae Myung-hoon is one of the most popular science fiction writers in South Korea. Much of his work can be seen as political satire, and he has received both science fiction and traditional literary awards. His novel Tower was also published by Honford Star.
Stella Kim is a Korean-American translator, currently based in Korea. Her translations have appeared in ASIA, Asia Literary Review, Asymptote Journal, and Korean Literature Now. Launch Something! Is her first full-length novel translation.
