"Humans" describes the fantastical adventures of a young man (Minho) who is transported to an alternate universe to become the servant of a domineering school girl (Mira). Mira has cheated her way into magic school, and summons Minho to help her win an important magical contest. It is written clearly and concisely, with realistic, immersive dialogue, page-turning suspense, surreal humour, and clever, original action sequences.The well-written characters are complex, unusual but convincing. Mira is a self-centred, narcissistic, entitled, insensitive, manipulative, insecure, jealous brat who cruelly abuses Minho and coerces him into serving her. Minho is courageous, caring and clever, but his extreme submissiveness and hatred of schoolboys can make him unsympathetic. Their slowly developing relationship adds a background level of intrigue that complements the main action.The novel's battle scenes are it's main strengh: brilliantly written, with plenty of imaginative twists and turns, and satisfying, inventive endingsThe magic school setting is very brutal: students compete in animal-killing contests, with those performing in the bottom half expelled, and they are constantly gossiping, belittling and bullying each other. Whilst this may seem unrealistically cruel, it may be symbolic of the highly pressurised school enviroment of South Korea.This dystopian world can make for uncomfortable reading, and the amount of swearing and casual violence makes it unsuitable for those under 15. For example, Mira frequently attacks Minho with kicks to the balls, punches to the face and choke-holds, habitually puts him down as an "idiot" and "fool
