{"product_id":"counterweight","title":"Counterweight","description":"                                            \u003cb\u003eFor fans of the worlds of Philip K. Dick, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eSquid Game\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e, and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eSeverance- \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn absorbing tale of corporate intrigue, political unrest, unsolved mysteries, and the havoc wreaked by one company's monomaniacal \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eendeavour\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e to build the world's first space elevator-from one of South Korea's most revered science fiction writers, whose identity remains unknown.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the fictional island of Patusan-and much to the ire of the Patusan natives-the Korean conglomerate LK is constructing an elevator into Earth's orbit, gradually turning this one-time tropical resort town into a teeming travel hub- a gateway to and from our planet. Up in space, holding the elevator's \"spider cable\" taut, is a mass of space junk known as the counterweight. And stashed within that junk is a trove of crucial data- a memory fragment left by LK's former CEO, the control of which will determine the company's-and humanity's-future.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRacing up the elevator to retrieve the data is a host of rival forces- Mac, the novel's narrator and LK's Chief of External Affairs, increasingly disillusioned with his employer; the everyman Choi Gangwu, unwittingly at the centre of Mac's investigations; the former CEO's brilliant niece and power-hungry son; and Rex Tamaki, a violent officer in LK's Security Division. They're all caught in a labyrinth of fake identities, neuro-implant \"Worms,\" and old political grievances held by the Patusan Liberation Front, the army of island natives determined to protect  Patusan's sovereignty.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eConceived by Djuna as a low-budget science fiction film, with literary references as wide-ranging as Joseph Conrad and the Marquis de Sade, \u003ci\u003eCounterweight\u003c\/i\u003e is part cyberpunk, part hardboiled detective fiction, and part parable of South Korea's neo-colonial ambition and its rippling effects.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDjuna \u003c\/b\u003eis a novelist and film critic, and chair of the Korean Science Fiction Writers Alliance. For more than twenty years they have  published as a faceless writer, refusing to reveal personal details regarding age, gender, or legal name. Widely considered to be one of South Korea's most important science fiction writers, Djuna has published ten short story collections and five novels.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnton Hur was double longlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize and shortlisted for his translation of \u003ci\u003eCursed Bunny\u003c\/i\u003e by Bora Chung. He has also won PEN translation grants transatlantic ally and has taught at various institutions in both Korea and abroad including the National Centre for Writing in the UK. He lives in Seoul.\r\n                                        ","brand":"Counterweight","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42346343235775,"sku":"9780593317211","price":67.5,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/1689\/8751\/files\/qSanuqko4NrH2H0WRTvsOpjcOda2GLvEa0IAIYiIl0DoQg_60_60.jpg?v=1683523901","url":"https:\/\/www.popweasel.co.nz\/products\/counterweight","provider":"Pop Weasel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}