The Black Orb 절망의 구 by Ewhan Kim김이환 (Author), Sean Lin Halbert (Translator)

'Captivates you until the last page. Fast-paced, gripping, brilliant - a book with an accurate insight into this time filled with confusion' J. M. Lee, international bestselling author of The Investigation and Broken Summer
One evening in downtown Seoul, Jeong-su is smoking a cigarette outside when he sees something impossible: a huge black orb appears out of nowhere and sucks his neighbour inside.
The orb soon begins consuming other people and no one knows how to stop it. Impervious to bullets and tanks, the orb splits and multiplies, chasing the hapless residents of Seoul out into the country and sparking a global crisis with widespread violence and looting. Jeong-su must rely upon his wits as he makes the arduous journey in search of his elderly parents. But the strangest phases of this ever-expanding disaster are yet to come and Jeong-su will be forced to question everything he has taken for granted.
Dryly funny, propulsive and absurd, The Black Orb is terrifyingly prescient about the fragility of human civilisation.

                                                                                                                             from Amazon

번역가의 노력이 보이는 작품이다. old man, flee, rumour, orb, deserted, bandits, bodies, revenge, church, prophecy, cigarette, mob, Good Luck, experiments, school, stealing, escaping, justice, family, killing, neighbour, despair, unknowns, They deserve to die 등의 다양한 이야기를 다루고 있는 작품이다. 이런 장르에서는 '재난'이나 '미스터리한 사건 자체' 보다는 '군중의 심리' 나 '인간들의 모습들'에 대해서 더 심도 있게 다루고 있는 경우가 많은데 이 작품도 인간에게 '절망과 죽음의 공포를 경험하게 만드는 검은 구체' 보다는 인간들의 반응들에 대한 이야기가 더 깊은 인상을 준다. 문장이나 표현이 난해하지 않아서 읽는데 큰 부담이 없는 작품이었다.