흉담 is a really great novel if you like occult and curses. I also really loved the presence of Jeon Gun-woo himself as protagonist, it made the book even more compelling!
I’ve been seeing 흉담 everywhere since it came out, but it’s funny because I read three books by Jeon Gun-woo published this year, and this one is my least favourite. It doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, but it was less my cup of tea. First of all, I really love the mystery part, when the characters don’t know for sure what’s happening or are investigating the curse: how it works, how it comes from, how to escape it, etc. In this novel, this part was shorter I feel like, and there were a lot of action/suspense scenes as well as horror scenes, which I liked less. I like horror that comes from the realisation of something horrible, rather than our characters seeing apparition or being in danger.
It’s just a personal taste, but it explains why I loved 믹스테이프 better, especially side A, because it was mystery/investigation focused. Both novels share a similar theme, but I loved the background of 흉담 (the origin of the curse and historical background) more, it’s just that 믹스테이프 was a more enjoyable reading experience for me.
죽은 집에 관한 기록 stays my absolute favourite book of 2026 by this author, and 불귀도 살인사건 might still be my favourite overall.
The number of books published by Jeon Gun-woo this year is very impressive, maybe I’ll read another one before the end of the year!
