Hwasangorae 2014

It’s 2070 and our planet is ravaged by earthquakes and volcanic activity. Nowhere on Earth is hit worse than the Korean peninsula. Ha-jin, a sly, savvy orphan, prowls the rubble of a broken, barely functioning Busan wracked by daily tremors. Her petty crimes land her in jail, and from there the clutches of human traffickers — and finally far out to sea, rescued (or rather, kidnapped?) by a ragtag band of pirates seeking the precious crystals at the heart of a volcanic island. To reach their prize, they’ll need to defeat the island’s fearsome guardian, the legendary volcano whale. And to do that, they’ll need Ha-jin’s special talent for summoning whales. But is her rare power a blessing, or a curse?

• The Crimson Whale