The Three Siblings and Akis - 007 -

God of Labor, X - 029 -

Deus, the God of Intelligence - 109 -

God of Care, Makina - 199 -

Grape Jelly and Golden Scales - 263 -

Author's Note - 282 -

Review - 285 -

Three beings that resemble even the fatal flaws of humans,
The weight of a single jelly bean that judges their sins

“The belief that humans are a special species is finally bursting out of the blue.”
-From the review comments

'Deus ex machina' is a 'god made of mechanical devices' that appears in ancient Greek tragedy.
This refers to a mechanical device that suddenly solves all the plot clues, but Aristotle criticized this absurdity and stated that such a device can only be used "when talking about past events that humans cannot know, or prophecies, or future events that must be announced."

The names of the three inbot siblings (robots that resemble humans or have abilities that surpass humans) that appear in 'The Last Jelly Shot' are Deus, X, and Machina.
Galatea, the researcher who created the three siblings, gave them the nicknames of Goddess of Intelligence, Goddess of Labor, and Goddess of Nursing.
The three siblings are sent to their respective homes for socialization training, where they try to complete tasks that live up to their nicknames, but fail.
So, you end up having an accident without solving any clues to the plot.
So the three siblings are referred to an ethics trial.

Novelist Kim Seong-jung says, “This work uses the mechanical device called ‘deus ex machina’ as a metaphor to blow the fuse in each chapter,” and despite the brazen strategy, “the impact is the same.”
The robots in the novel try to explain the situation with their own logic, but end up making mistakes and harming humans.
No, it goes beyond harming and behaves strangely.
He cuts off human ears, rides a crowbar in a frenzy, drains human blood, and then injects oil.


There is a peculiar humor embedded throughout this shocking narrative.
Literary critic Ina Young described the novel as “a comic courtroom drama in which an ethical trial is held on an android who has committed a crime.”
Novelist Kim Seong-jung, who appeared earlier, also called this novel “a work full of humor and vitality.”
The robot's tumultuous social adaptation journey can be read as a satire after reading it all.
The joke-like sentences embedded in every corner make the novel even more readable.

But the core content of the novel is weighty and meaningful.
The common theme that the judges were preoccupied with throughout this novel was, "What is a human being?"
Through these three beings, who resemble humans but have fatal flaws in themselves, we are able to reflect on our own existence by projecting our own image.
The narrative of the three siblings, each with their own themes of art, faith, and family, sharply exposes the "most inefficient" aspects of humankind's pursuit of "efficiency."
Through this novel, readers will learn how absurd human expectations are from androids.


Humans expect future androids to have the ability to solve everything at once, like a 'deus ex machina'.
But they must not contain even a little bit of 'humanity'.
This irony is the blatant truth of the 'value neutrality' that humans believe in.
The author clearly and interestingly reveals this thematic consciousness throughout the novel.


The judges confidently invite readers to this trial.
Literary critic Kang Ji-hee wrote the following in her review:
“The unique domain of humans may be an inefficient and irrational hole.
But what if the desire to break taboos, the tragedy of horrific betrayal and murder, could even be likened to this? The novel boldly reaches this point.”

Ultimately, 『The Last Jelly Shot』 hits the most vulnerable and swollen part of humanity and bursts it.
The reader will feel both lighthearted and cool at that point.
Last human shot!

The innocent faith bursts like jelly on the judgment seat
A lighthearted and brutal condemnation of human error

"A liveliness that isn't afraid of cartoonish leaps."
-From the review comments

This novel is exciting in that it 'betrays' the reader's expectations from beginning to end.
The vain beliefs of human beings are lumped together and brought before the judgment seat.
(Like the blue heart on the futuristic scales on the cover) the author bursts that belief through a very small needle.
As if mocking human innocence.
Readers are drawn into such a calm and composed attitude.

In the novel, the one being judged in the judgment hall is the researcher Galatea, but if we delve deeper, we can see that the one being judged is actually the reader of this book.
When we think of courtroom dramas, we often think of scenes of people sitting around tables and discussing things, but that's not the case with "The Last Jelly Shot."
Compared to other novels, it is more vivid, and this is due to its bold and overwhelming expressiveness.
As novelist Kim Hee-sun said, as you read the book, “the details are absurd and cartoonish, but rather than being a drawback, they actually enhance the novel’s liveliness and fun.”
That is why it “enables exciting reading until the very end.”

These vivid expressions make readers feel like they are sitting in an actual courtroom, and the events committed by Inbot also feel like they are watching them through VR.
The novel seems to have a clear grasp of how to captivate and dominate the reader when it comes to 'interest'.

What message does the author want to convey through this "funny and heartbreaking" story? There are certainly many, but in the author's note, the first sentence begins with this:
“The first thing I want to know is whether you enjoyed it.” So, the author wanted the readers to first experience ‘fun’ with this book.
In that respect, this novel can be seen as a complete success.
It's rare for a work to receive a score for "fun" and "interesting" from all the judges.
However, this work received positive reviews from all the judges, who said it was fun and interesting, and novelist Gu Byeong-mo said it was “like a black comedy.”

How did the author manage to create such a captivating work from beginning to end? It's likely due to the author's ingenuity, which he achieves through a "liveliness that doesn't fear comic leaps," and his courageous ability to consistently defy readers' expectations and tell his own story.
Any reader who has ever experienced a courtroom drama that is both engaging and realistic will find it impossible to leave this book unreadable.