1 The Story You Started - 7
2 Stories You've Faced - 14
3 Sync Section - 107
4 Secret Garden - 134
5 Gyeongseonsanseong Fortress - 140
6 Stories You Endured - 184
7 Here - 245
8 Stories of Your Choice - 248
Step 9 - 304
10 Stories You Don't Know - 342

With character changes and tasty lines
The novel unfolds its story like a novel,
The most outstanding novel of all the debut novels to have appeared in the genre fiction world recently.

A group of superpowered people who use telekinesis are divided into factions and fight against each other, and one of them is connected to a secret national organization, including the National Intelligence Service.
Ultimately, these three groups live in a strange state of mutual dependence and checks.
Killing each other.
Meanwhile, a woman whose side we don't know for sure is moving between these three groups, doing something.
But it's not clear what it is.
The balance of power between the three groups is just slowly collapsing… .

I once heard a joke about the creative writing world from someone who writes for film.
He asked why it seemed so difficult to find a novel with such a delicious dialogue.
Then he said with a smile.
It's been a long time since all those talented people went into the film industry.
I don't know if it was a sincere statement, but I thought the part where he analyzed the phenomenon was correct.
If there's one area where the works of recently debuted genre novel writers lag behind those of other media like film, it's the flavor of the dialogue.
Often, they wrote lines that sounded like something from a popular novel a generation ago, had a vaguely literary sensibility, or were just so absorbed in creating an interesting plot that they didn't pay much attention to lines or characters.
Of course, establishing the character of a character and delivering sharp lines is not an easy task.
Just as there are natural storytellers, there are also those who are born with a gift for speaking.
Especially considering that Korean creative genre fiction is still in its long nascent stages, it sometimes feels like it's too much to expect witty dialogue from these newly emerging writers.
I would say that just having moderately interesting material running smoothly is enough to be considered good news.
It was like that even before I read "Reversible".
Lower your expectations a little bit… .

However, "Reversible" was a work that provided a more enjoyable experience than expected.
For the overall plot, there are references that immediately come to mind, but there's nothing wrong with a genre novel borrowing plots that readers are familiar with.
The key is how to reconstruct that reference in your own unique style.
《Reversible》 deserves high marks for that very reason.
The introduction features a psychokinetic psychic, but the first half of the film abruptly shifts to a story of espionage and betrayal between the police and an unidentified illegal organization.
The author piques the reader's curiosity by presenting two different subgenres, supernatural and police noir, without any particular connection, and then seamlessly combines the two.


That's a good job.
The unique characters move with their inner selves clearly hidden from each other, and it constantly gives the feeling that something hidden is about to explode.
This part is really fascinating.
This discord feels destined to explode, not because the characters' goals are in conflict (which I suspect is hidden), but because their personalities themselves are in conflict.
The part that contributes the most to this tension is the dialogue.
The very sentences that characters with completely different speaking styles use when catching each other's words create tension.
It's even more enjoyable because you can feel the wit in the words used in the dialogue.
In particular, the main character and the main villain(?) have a lot to talk to each other, so the dialogue gives the impression that it was carefully constructed, and interestingly, both of them use a style of speech that seems familiar.
They are not the same work, but different famous works.

I won't say which works they are (neither are novels), but these two references that remind me of these two characters also have a huge influence on the plot of the novel "Reversible."
It's almost like a fan fiction piece written while having fun wondering what would happen if you combined two of your favorite creations.
This seems like a good strategy.
If you only bring in one reference, it's less fun because it feels like you're hearing something you already know, but when two or more are combined, it's hard to predict where the character will go.
Besides, the author is quite meticulous and skilled.
To the extent that the foreshadowing is hidden not only in the external setting but also in the character.
The parts that make you think, 'Why is this person like this? It's so artificial,' all become understandable as the story progresses.
We all know how to tell a story through character changes, but not everyone can do it.
《Reversible》 gently accomplishes this difficult task.
It's always a pleasure to see a novel unfold its story in a novel-like manner.

That's why seeing the ending (you could consider it an epilogue) of this work is enjoyable in many ways.
The skill in developing the setting of the work considered as a reference and creating a special space is also impressive, as is the determination to present a stable story without forcibly expanding the character of the work and to bring it to a clean conclusion.
In terms of completeness, Reversible is arguably the finest debut and early work to have appeared in recent genre fiction.
Please try it out.
And please join us in celebrating the arrival of this writer, Moon Mok-ha.

- Winter 2018, Kim Gyu-rim

Reader Reviews

The most romantic story in which the word love never appears even once - how***
What a terrible romance ― yoh***
A romance where everyone follows each other, no one gets ahead.
― ppi***
The last line of dialogue has been lingering for years - wel***
If this isn't love, then what is? ― car***
Romance disguised as science fiction ― min***
A work that brings tears to my eyes no matter how many times I read it - myb***
Don't look for spoilers, interviews, or reviews, just watch it. It's really fun. ― bbm***
Before reading this, I want to clear my mind and read it again anew ― aye***