Safe Return Doubtful

translated from the Korean by Janet Hong – published October 2025

This is the second in a series of books called Lovecraft Reanimated published by the Stockport publisher, Honford Star.

I’ve also read The Call of the Friend, the first in the series, which is a short graphic novel, not quite as good as this.

Though Lovecraftian in its atmosphere and sinister news, this is something refreshingly different in the horror genre. It’s a graphically developed and nasty novella, complete with a suitably dark endung, and still satisfying; nasty in the malodorous sense, and its reference to bodily fluids, and satisfying in its acknowledgement to HPL.

Seul, is a project manager at Yukwang Construction whose luck is in (or is it?..) when she wins an important contract, a major repair at the upscale Saesegae Department Store. The job was simple. A smell was coming from the basement, and it could be detected on the first floor

But it’s not as straightforward as she expected, the stench comes and goes, and the exact source is difficult to locate. It’s also not the first time this has been a problem, in the 1930s, during the Japanese occupation, the floor had to be reinforced. The regular maintenance company refused to deal with it.

This is a case of the female focus breathing new life into a familiar and even predictable tale. Yi’s writing is very effective.

My GoodReads score 4 / 5