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Synopsis

Men from South Hanguk undertake quests to gain social standing, to stand above their peers, to make names for themselves. To become heroes. Few ever return.

Ha Jun, sixteen years old, possesses a glyph sword crafted in foreign lands. Alongside a soldier, a knight, and a monk, he travels across the country to destroy a demon lurking beyond the running trees of Naganeupseong Fortress. Accompanying them is the dark elf, Windshine, who emigrated to South Hanguk from her own war-torn country centuries ago.

Distrusted by the people of South Hanguk, Windshine has the Emperor’s protection and is tasked with recording the valiant acts of quest groups battling creatures born from nightmares. Ha Jun becomes drawn to Windshine as they near Naganeupseong Fortress, but when he discovers the blood connection between the demon and the dark elf, he will either succumb to his fear, or rise up and become a hero.

Review

A massive thank you to Todd for sending me a copy of his book in exchange for an honest review.

Hollow Men is a fast-paced adventure quest story that has echoes of epic fantasy wrapped up in a small package. The book begins not with Ha Jun or Windshine, the two main protagonists but with Ha Jun’s father. Jeong Seok has made a huge financial sacrifice to obtain a glyph sword for his son so that he can become a hero. He inflicts horrific abuse on Ha Jun as the financial burden weighs heavily on him fuelling him to push his son to become the hero worthy of the sword. The irony is that as a result of him pushing his son, their relationship is fractured, lacking any warmth, the only thing he can offer his son is a purpose.

‘You will stand above other men and claim your place amongst the stars.’

His father is living through him, not able to become anything more than an orange salesman himself, he longs to live the heroic dream through his son. Ha Jun in the beginning is fragile emotionally despite his physical strength, with a whirlpool of emotions pushed down inside of him. I love how his character has growth even within the short page span of the novel as he is able to prove himself to be not just a shiny eyed youth but a decisive and brave young man. The other boys in his quest group underestimate him, believing that he won’t survive their deadly quest but his father’s gruelling regime and financial sacrifice together have formed a true warrior ready to be unleashed.

My favourite character is Windshine, the dark elf. It’s mentioned that the Dark Elves arrived four hundred years ago after fleeing their war ravaged lands to seek a peaceful life. Windshine’s job is to accompany warriors on their quests and capture their stories. She is employed by the emperor and as such she has a layer of protection in place however, this does not stop humans from mistrusting her and labelling her a ‘foreigner’. The history of the dark elves is part of the exquisite worldbuilding that takes place in this book. I love how we are told that the humans fear the magic of the elves so much that the emperor has forced male and female elves to live separately so as to control their population. This is one small detail amongst others that flesh out this Korean-inspired fantasy realm. Elements of the landscape come from real Korean places and coupled with the martial art references and diverse characters the world of South Hanguk is vibrantly bought to life.

Accompanying Ha Jun on his quest are three other men who come from varying backgrounds, each adding their own strengths to the success of the quest. Seong Min is a seasoned warrior who is fighting for the chance to return to his wife and son, Su Won is a monk with spiritual powers that can even penetrate the world of the dead and Yeong-Su, an officials son who has to prove himself worthy of his families famed name. Without spoilers, each character has a short amount of time to blossom within the book and each come to their own fated ends or beginnings.

The book quickly builds up to the final battle which has many twists and turns including one huge twist that I didn’t see coming, no spoilers here! Once the book had finished it left me wanting more, I wanted to know what happens to Han Ju and Windshine next, I wanted to know more about the dark elves history, I wanted to know more about the hero Han ju would become and the future quests he would undertake. The book felt like the beginning of a grand adventure for me rather than the end. Hollow Men may be a short book but contained within it is an adventure story with authentic characters, beautiful world building and the door left open for exciting future instalments.

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