The Heart of the Nhaga
core novel 2026 The Bird That Drinks Tears
Record
| First published | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  KO |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.12 (2,723 ratings, collected 2026-08-30) |
| Page count | 448 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780063349896 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The Heart of the Nhaga is set in a world divided by the Line of Limit, north of which live humans, the fire-wielding Tokkebi, and the bird-like Rekon, while the reptilian, heart-relinquishing Nhaga dwell to the south. When the Nhaga envoy tasked with a sensitive mission northward is murdered, his unusual replacement is Ryun Paye, a young Nhaga who, unlike his kind, has kept his own heart rather than surrendering it, leaving him unusually vulnerable. To fulfill an old prophecy that three must handle one, an escort party is assembled from three different races: Kaygan Draka, a human hunter of the Nhaga who wields the blade Baragi and serves as pathfinder; Bihyung Seurabeul, a fire-wielding Tokkebi riding a giant beetle; and Tynahan, a Rekon warrior who dreams of the sky.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Bird That Drinks Tears
- Series: The Bird That Drinks Tears core; position 1 of 1 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Lee Yeongdo
Awards (verified)
- Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire (Foreign Novel), 2026: nominated; Shortlisted among 6 finalists for the 2026 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire's Foreign Novel category, on the strength of its French translation; did not win.
Notes
- From the series record (The Bird That Drinks Tears): Originally serialized in Korea in 2002 and published in book form in 2003 as a four-volume epic (marketed on its English release as "Korea's most celebrated fantasy epic"), following a commando sent to recover a lost scientific team who instead find themselves caught between warring godlike figures on a fantastical, medieval-styled world. Its English translation, by Anton Hur for HarperVoyager, began publishing in 2026 as a multi-book series starting with The Heart of the Nhaga; only that first English volume is catalogued as Core Canon here, since later volumes' English titles and release dates are not yet confirmed.
Sources
- Wikipedia: The Bird That Drinks Tears
- The Korea Times: Fantasy writer Lee Young-do falls short of French literary award
- Amazon: The Heart of the Nhaga (Book One of The Bird That Drinks Tears)
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