The stunning finale to the epic Snowglobe
With Snowglobe and the residents of the wider world still reeling from the revelation of the Goh Haeri project, Chobahm and her fellow Haeri clones find themselves not only under the ever-watchful eye of the YiBonn, but also stars of their very own series You, Me, and Us. As the only series that is streamed and accessible for residents of Snowglobe, the fishbowl that Chobahm thought she was in as Haeri has just become even wider. When Haeri is framed in the murder of her previous on-screen grandmother, she suspects Serin as the culprit. Then when she threatens to expose the YiBonn’s secret to the world strange things happen. After an encounter with a guest at the wedding of her dear friend, just the thought of the mirror transport systems sends her spiraling into fits of nausea and delirium. If being on the radar of the most powerful family in Snowglobe wasn’t enough, she is also approached by Chairman Shin who wants to help her bring down the YiBonn. Shin’s family is the mastermind behind Snowglobe and the magical mirror transport system that the YiBonn use exclusively as well as the design of the Snowglobe structure and operations. As the brains behind the family, Shin has her own reasons for helping Chobahm. With the yearly weather disaster raging and equipped with specialized tech courtesy of Shin, Haeri sets out to infiltrate the secret underground power plant and shut it down. When she arrives, she realizes that executing her plan is not as simple as the had imagined it to be. Chobahm will have all her loyalties and morals tested if she is to get out of the underground alive.
I first discovered Park SoYoung’s Snowglobe Duology last year due to a mass media marketing campaign. I bought a hardcover copy and was as impressed with the gorgeous binding and artwork as I was with the story that unfolded within the covers. Translated from the original Korean, Snowglobe and Snowglobe 2 captures the charm, essence and feeling of a K-Drama including tones of Hunger Games, Squid Game and any number of high society dramas and fantasies. In fact the massive Snow Tower reminded me very much of Hera Palace from The Penthouse and while reading the duology, I found myself picturing Snow Tower as Hera’s bigger more elegant sister. With such immersive imagery Park has created a world that will draw the reader in as they form their own version in their mind’s eye. While Snowglobe on the surface appears to be the picture perfect Utopia, with planned weather disasters to shake up the populace and delight the viewers in the outside world, this setting is far from idyllic. The Yibonn are the textbook all powerful rich, influential family calling all shots and controlling all narratives, and with the secrets they are holding nobody is safe from their wrath. The deeper Chobahm gets into this tangled web the more she does not know who to trust with her secret about Snowglobe. When the Yibonn find out that she knows their secret they hypnotize her to keep her quiet. It’s not until she attempts to infiltrate the secret underground power plant that she finally understands the depts of the YiBonn’s corruption and greed for all power. Even with the help of Chairman Shin, the mastermind of the entire Snowglobe compound and a clone herself she is not to be trusted. The fact that shin is the Korean word for God was not lost on me, and I felt that Chairman Shin was a sleeper villain in her own right.
If Snowglobe was the first half of the drama that introduces us to the characters and situations with a hint of the true nature of things, Snowglobe 2 is the exciting second half where the veil is pulled back and the corruption and lies are exposed. Park has taken an already intriguing and engrossing premise and has added in the secret underground power plant whose residents toil endlessly to power the massive, globed city above while the residents on the surface continue their lives without a clue of the world below. Both books in this Duology will satisfy not only the casual reader but also the rabid drama fan, and since many dramas are based from manga or other source material, I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t holding out hope for a future television adaptation.
If you are a fan of fantasies with themes of corruption, greed, mind control and the triumph of good over evil both Snowglobe and Snowglobe 2 are the perfect reads to cozy up to any time of the year.
Full disclosure: I was provided a Netgalley copy of this title by the author or their authorized agent, however, have voluntarily provided a review. All opinions are my own. Snowglobe 2 is scheduled for a May 6, 2025 release
Jennly Reads 