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At Ocean
Eun Kim, a solitary research professor at a mediocre university in middle America, is one of the last chemists whose moments of rare brilliance can still outwit the world's vast networks of supercomputers. But when a nearby comet threatens to disrupt the global telecommunication system, Eun’s talents come to the attention of Haylon Labs, one of the world’s most powerful corporations and one party in the frantic and violent race to find and claim the vast natural resources hidden beneath the melting arctic ice.
These forces pull Eun to a remote arctic village governed by mafia and inhabited by a dangerous religious sect before she sets out on a research vessel more like a floating prison than a boat. But as Eun pushes herself to learn to adapt to her lack of control in these harsh surroundings— to learn to live “at ocean”— she finds that there may be more beneath the ice than she was told.
At Ocean blends cyberpunk and scientific themes (dangerous criminal and corporate organizations, cellular automata, chemistry and the search for stable, super-heavy isotopes, religiosity, ancient weapons that slice through steel, the distribution of prime numbers and their relationship to patterns hidden in classical art) into a meditation on our existential search for love and meaning in a universe with no apparent permanence.
These forces pull Eun to a remote arctic village governed by mafia and inhabited by a dangerous religious sect before she sets out on a research vessel more like a floating prison than a boat. But as Eun pushes herself to learn to adapt to her lack of control in these harsh surroundings— to learn to live “at ocean”— she finds that there may be more beneath the ice than she was told.
At Ocean blends cyberpunk and scientific themes (dangerous criminal and corporate organizations, cellular automata, chemistry and the search for stable, super-heavy isotopes, religiosity, ancient weapons that slice through steel, the distribution of prime numbers and their relationship to patterns hidden in classical art) into a meditation on our existential search for love and meaning in a universe with no apparent permanence.
- GenresFiction
190 pages, Paperback
Published May 20, 2016
3 people are currently reading
306 people want to read
About the author
Oliver Serang
2 books17 followersOliver Serang is an American computer scientist and author of two novels, Stay Close Little Ghost (2013) and AT OCEAN (2016).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 23, 2016
This was an incredibly rough read due to the grammatical inconsistencies. It would benefit from a thorough line and copy edit. The errors were many and they distracted from the story line. Which is a shame because the novel itself was kind of intriguing.
A full review to come.
A full review to come.
April 4, 2018
This book was received from the author in exchange for a review
At Ocean is a complete diversion from the author’s last novel, Stay Close, Little Ghost, which I read a long time ago. It was a magical realist novel about failed relationships. There are some elements from that novel in this one, but Ocean is completely unique, focusing on a somewhat cyber punk universe in a Nordic setting.
Although, it kind of suffered from sophomore slump. The novel wasn’t badly written, the plot made sense and his metaphors were improved and prettier. But there was a still a handful of grammar and typo mistakes, but whatever this blog is filled with mistakes, and it’s not even that old yet. At Ocean instead suffered from the ennui of its characters. The novel moved slowly, switching back and forth from the main characters memories of her abusive childhood and her only friend that went missing and was never ever found. The main objective was for her to find this boat in a Arctic village and pull out some information and resources, this was a job given to her by the Haylon Labs.
I feel like At Ocean should’ve been longer and spent more time trying to figure out the answers to these mysteries, which was the missing boy and what was going on under the ice in the arctic village. It felt more like one of those TV shows that just ended suddenly and you’re left there sitting at the sofa totally dazed. Which I understand that just like the previous novel, Serang’s purpose is to focus on the characters rather than the plot. But At Ocean didn’t really do that that well and Stay Close, Little Ghost is a magical realist fairy tale, so it’s kind of supposed to make you feel dazed and dreamy. It needed more time and more plot editing. It had a lot of interesting concepts but it focused too much on the characters and then rushed into the mystery thriller it was meant to be, only to end suddenly with no oxygen and little answers. Which is probably the intention, but I wasn’t satisfied. If the book was maybe 50 or more pages longer and it gave me all the answers, I would’ve been okay with it, but instead I didn’t get that and it made me frown.
Try it if you like: Environmental science, short reads, Nordic settings, mystery, Haruki Murakami
Crosspost from Across From Here.
At Ocean is a complete diversion from the author’s last novel, Stay Close, Little Ghost, which I read a long time ago. It was a magical realist novel about failed relationships. There are some elements from that novel in this one, but Ocean is completely unique, focusing on a somewhat cyber punk universe in a Nordic setting.
Although, it kind of suffered from sophomore slump. The novel wasn’t badly written, the plot made sense and his metaphors were improved and prettier. But there was a still a handful of grammar and typo mistakes, but whatever this blog is filled with mistakes, and it’s not even that old yet. At Ocean instead suffered from the ennui of its characters. The novel moved slowly, switching back and forth from the main characters memories of her abusive childhood and her only friend that went missing and was never ever found. The main objective was for her to find this boat in a Arctic village and pull out some information and resources, this was a job given to her by the Haylon Labs.
I feel like At Ocean should’ve been longer and spent more time trying to figure out the answers to these mysteries, which was the missing boy and what was going on under the ice in the arctic village. It felt more like one of those TV shows that just ended suddenly and you’re left there sitting at the sofa totally dazed. Which I understand that just like the previous novel, Serang’s purpose is to focus on the characters rather than the plot. But At Ocean didn’t really do that that well and Stay Close, Little Ghost is a magical realist fairy tale, so it’s kind of supposed to make you feel dazed and dreamy. It needed more time and more plot editing. It had a lot of interesting concepts but it focused too much on the characters and then rushed into the mystery thriller it was meant to be, only to end suddenly with no oxygen and little answers. Which is probably the intention, but I wasn’t satisfied. If the book was maybe 50 or more pages longer and it gave me all the answers, I would’ve been okay with it, but instead I didn’t get that and it made me frown.
Try it if you like: Environmental science, short reads, Nordic settings, mystery, Haruki Murakami
Crosspost from Across From Here.
June 30, 2016
This is an unknown book for me
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews