Red Sword

Amid a literal fog of war on a disputed planet, a woman is thrust into battle, forced to fight in her captors' war. With an empire at her back, ready to kill her at the slightest hesitation, this slaveturned- reluctant hero must battle through an unknown enemy, scientific abominations, and truly alien terrain to uncover the truth about her identity and that of her enslaved companions.Chung's novel—told in sparse, evocative prose and expertly translated by Anton Hur—draws on the real history of Korean soldiers who fought and died in a war against Russia on behalf of the Qing Dynasty. Red Sword combines stunning world-building with a thought-provoking challenge to readers: what does it mean to wield power over others?

Bora Chung has written four novels and a whole lot of short stories. She has an MA in Russian and East European area studies from Yale University and a PhD in Slavic literature from Indiana University. She translates modern literary works from Russian and Polish into Korean. Among her works, Cursed Bunny, a collection of short stories, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022 and was a finalist for the National Book Award in the translated literature category in 2023. She currently resides in Pohang, South
Korea.