I absolutely loved it! I read the webtoon first, so I had already all the pictures in mind, nevertheless it was still great to read some more detailed scenes than a manhwa can produce.

If Solo Leveling gave birth to Dungeon Crawler Carl.

I'm totally hooked. Can't wait to read the next volume. I love the validation given to the main character for being a long time reader of a web novel. Totally relatable to any reader who's spent years following a rarely updated fanfic on AO3 😜

I have been reading the manhwa and fell in love with the story, so I was so excited to hear we were getting it officially translated! It was so good and I can not wait to read the rest of the books!!

I've been waiting for this novel to come out and it did not disapoint. I've read the manhwa version and found that the novel also was a great version of the story. I think it led to more detials, internal thought, descirption, and gettign to see more detials that a manhwa can't give you. I felt that I was able to get closer to the characters I already adored and got to see more of the story through their lens as and see more of their thoughts, Both the manwah and novel are excelent version and if you perfer novels this yet fear you will be missing out without the manhwa, don't worry. The novel is just as good!

this is a good start to what i think will be a long journey since there's a lot of missions for the main character to accomplish. plunging into action (with a lot of literary references) from the first few chapters were entertaining. however, i think the novel ended too soon. i wish there was more time spent in worldbuilding since it seems that the main character is already well-versed in this world.

I'd heard about Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint before because it's popular. It's been made into a webtoon and an anime. However, I never really looked into what exactly it was about and after reading the first novel, I get it. I'm super interested in the world and characters. Looking at reviews I've seen people say the series gets better and I really liked this book, so I will absolutely be picking up the series as it comes out.

I'm not going to go into a synopsis here because I've reviewed the manwha and you can find that there. Plus, I feel like while getting new readers to this amazing series would be awesome, but, as someone who has read it I feel like targeting those who have read the manwha as well is important because this is somehow actually better than the manwha. Honestly, I can't believe I'm saying it myself but here we are. It just hits differently without the illustrations. The scene at the beginning in the subway especially, is far more gruesome in this. Dojka comes across as more complex as well. We know he's got some loose morals but seems to be a good person underneath it all in the manwha, but this fully threw that into question. He is a devious bastard and when he says that he is being genuinely selfish it's wholly believable. Everything is just ratcheted up a notch, the tension, the desperation, the violence, all of it.

If you read the manwha you'll want to read this!


As always thanks to NetGalley and Yen Press for the eArc!

I really enjoyed reading this. I rarely read translations of Korean novels and so I loved that I was given a chance to read this one. Having come from being a manhwa/webtoon reader of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint to the novel, I really enjoyed rereading the familiar storyline of how the main character overcame the first few scenarios. The novel adds a lot of details and interiority that improved my experience of the scenes I already knew. The pacing was great and the flow of the story felt really natural.

One of the most interesting differences with the novel mode (as opposed to the visual format of the manhwa) is that I felt a weird dissonance between the omniscient paragraphs and the first person point of view. The former felt distanced, whilst the latter were close to Dokja. But the more I thought about this, the more I began to feel it was a stylistic element of the story. Dokja as our OMNISCIENT READER is supposed to feel quite distanced from the narrative. He’s supposed to seem detached. It’s something that I think really works with the storyline and what I know from the manhwa.

My favourite interactions in this volume were the ones between Dokja and Gilyeong. Despite what Dokja says, I think he has a real soft spot for Gilyeong and I love how Gilyeong looks up to Dokja and trusts him. It’s really heartwarming.

I am a little frustrated that there isn’t more of the story, but that’s because I want to READ MORE. I’ll have to tide myself over by rereading the manhwa.

Thank you to Netgalley and Yen Press for providing an arc of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint for an honest review.

This was hmmm...interesting...definitely interesting.

The characters:

Nobody better come for me... but I didn't really like any of the characters in this... yet (I'm not talking about you, bug boy).

I think it’s partly because this was short and the characters haven’t really been fleshed out enough for me to feel strongly about them.

That said, I do think I'll end up liking Dokja and Sangah. I mean she's a Han Kang fan, I feel like we'd get along great haha.

The worldbuilding/plot/story/etc:

This book doesn’t waste any time getting started—it’s fast-paced from the start, and I honestly got really into it. Is this what LitRPGs are like? I’ve never read one before, but this was so much fun that I definitely want to try reading one now.

I’m a visual reader... like, I act out the scenes in my head as I go (if that makes sense?). So all the stat windows and game mechanics made it feel like I was watching a video game unfold or even playing it myself.

random bits and bobs:

There were quite a few random references, including The Matrix, which definitely caught me off guard.

Also: if anything happens to Bug Boy, so help me God, I will be suing every single one of you TikTok edit makers for emotional distress.

In conclusion

This isn’t a romance, so I didn’t want to use my heart rating system. And, honestly, if I were judging this strictly from a traditional publishing lens, it probably wouldn’t be a 4-star read.

But—I had a ton of fun reading it, and sometimes that’s all that matters.

An absolutely wonderful opening to a wonderful story. I enjoyed the reread. Dokja is a fascinating character with wonderful depth, and he surrounds himself with endearing companions as they fight to survive and improve their relationships with each other. I enjoyed rereading this via Yen Press' translation.

My main criticisms are with Yen Press' odd protocol in regard to translation, particularly as concerns Korean terminology that should have been kept, like honorifics and spelling names [Last name][First name], and cultural terms like "dokkaebi". Considering other terms like "mukbang" are kept, I'm confused why these others weren't. It's frustrating when other English-language publishers of translated works from Korea, like Seven Seas, do keep these such terminology, at least in some places. Even Yen Press, at times, keeps things like honorifics in at least some of its manga translations, so I don't know why their Korean works get worse treatment. That being said, the translation itself was generally very readable, and there's at least no sign of "bro" (and hopefully never, unlike their dubious "Semantic Error" translation). I don't read or speak Korean so I can't vouch for the quality of the translation, so there are possibly things I'm missing. Since this seems to be a translation of the ebook version of the story, I imagine this is the revision, rather than the original webnovel version, so it makes sense why at least some things were changed, though overall I can't recall anything major in this part of the story being revised.

The closeness between the characters and Dokja's complex personality come through well in this volume. I just love his relationships with everyone and the commentary on terrible workplace culture (especially for contract workers) and working as lower-middle class, as well as workplace sexism and surviving as a woman in the workplace via Sangah. Huiwon is also such an endearing character, and given the first time I read the manhwa I was worried she'd leave or be killed, I'm glad she stayed by Dokja's side and only flourished as the story progressed. The way Dokja so immediately rejects Namwoon's final plea for help while immediately rescuing Huiwon - whose initial plea is near identical - speaks so much about him and his relationship with other people and the novel. Hyeonseong's loyalty to Dokja is cute, and Gilyeong's affection is very sweet. Dokja's neat relationship with Junghyeok is also a delight, and their endless flirting is adorable. I look forward to future volumes.

If you're a new reader, you should try checking out the manhwa adaptation on Webtoon, which is free to read. There's also an upcoming anime adaptation. I would suggest ignoring the live-action movie series.

I've heard so many people sing the praises of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint (comic) that I had to give this a try when I saw it was available, and it didn't disappoint. The action is non-stop and kept me hooked the whole time, our main character is knowledgeable about what's happening without it veering into completely overpowered territory (dare I use ye olden term Mary Sue?), and it was a lot of fun to finally start putting context to some of the memes I've seen floating around with these characters. My only complaint here is that it felt short and I wanted to read more! This was a great first volume and setup for an apocalyptic story, the incorporation of video game-like mechanics felt fresh and interesting, and the translation seemed very good to my untrained eye.

Trigger warning of course for graphic violence/gore, on page death and murder (including of school aged children).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read this!

What initially drew me to this book was the interesting premise. Being thrown into your favorite novel and an apocalypse is such a cool concept, but I didn't find myself enjoying it as much as I'd expected.

It started off strong, and I was hooked by the first couple of pages. As I kept reading, I couldn't stop thinking about other books I've read/movies, or TV shows I've seen that felt so similar to this, which made it a little predictable.

I found it very difficult to connect with any of the characters as well. I know this series is meant to be pretty long, but I feel as though we should have gotten to know the main character a lot better. I also believe the way the story is set up keeps it from reaching its full potential. Because the main character already knows everything about the story and the situation at hand, it left me feeling left out. There was a decent chunk of information being thrown at us, and it was frustrating when the main character instantly knew what to do.

With that being said, this resulted in a lack of conflict. Yes, there was a lot of conflict, but the issue was that our MC had all the knowledge necessary to resolve the conflicts too quickly; therefore, he was too powerful.

Honestly, given the interesting concept, I could see how this would appeal to video game and sci-fi fans, but unfortunately, it was not for me.

I have read both the manga and the fan translation of ORV, and when I had a chance to grab the ARC for the official English translation, how could I resist? Volume one takes us from the infamous subway ride to the final moments in Geumho Station revealing a grim and dangerous world with goblins, humans, monsters and constellations — all of whom are familiar to Dokja Kim because he read the 3000+ chapter book that he’s now been teleported in to. Or, rather, that the entire world has been teleported into.

He knows the story beats, the important characters, where all the good loot is kept, and who the big name players are, and it gives him a different approach to the story. For one, he’s willing to let the people around him die, because they aren’t important. They aren’t “main characters,” and thus aren’t really real. Because to him, the world itself isn’t quite real. It’s a book, and he knows how it ends. In this first book, Dokja is a cruel, callous, manipulative monster who lets children die even when he might have been able to save them.

And … that’s the point of the book. You have to keep in mind that while this is book one, it’s not book one in a series, it’s the first part of a finished story. Like taking the first fifth or so of The Count of Monte Cristo, and judging the story on that. Dokja has to grow as a character, and the world will develop (and so will the plot!) So if you’re a new reader to OVR, welcome! I hope you stick around to finish the whole book (which will be in five volumes.)

If you’re on the fence, it might be better to wait until more or all volumes are out and read it then, when you can get the whole book rather than just the first fifth of the story.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC! I can’t wait for book 2!

Sooo good. I need to get the physical copy later so I could annotate it. Kinda hate that their names are reversed instead of how they say it in Korean but otherwise I cannot wait for the next book!

This was my first experience with ORV, and now I’m ready to read the webtoon! I love plots where characters get swept away into the stories they love – and the world building in this was immense. I would love to see more artwork!

I enjoyed the premise of “Constellations” being god-like beings who were spectators/investors in the games that Kim Dokja has to survive.

This was an excellent start to what seems to be a much larger adventure!

The original Korean light novel of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint by SingNsong (a writing duo pseudonym) is finally available in print and ebook in English. I’ve read the manhwa serialisation on Webtoon (first seven volumes are also available in print in English), so I was familiar with the story and characters going in.

Dokja Kim (Kim Dokja in original Korean; all the names have been westernised for some annoying reason) is an unimpressive office worker in his late twenties. The sole solace in his joyless life is a serialised novel Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse, which he has read over a decade, most of it as its sole reader. After three thousand chapters, the book has come to an end, and just as he wonders what he’s supposed to do next, the world ends.

The end isn’t random or a complete destruction. Humanity finds itself as participants in a universe-wide reality show for the amusement of Constellations, god-like beings who observe the show through thousands of channels somewhere in the universe. The show is deadly and very unfair. But Kim Dokja immediately realises he knows how the show is run. Because he’s been reading about it the past ten years.

Armed with the knowledge of the story and the rules of the new world, he sets out to survive. And from the very first scenario given to humans through game interfaces, he starts to change the story.

The first volume sets the scene, completes the first deadly scenario and starts the second. The scenarios are run by goblins who are hosts of the channels, their sole interest to amuse the gods and making as much money of them as they can. The gods interfere by claiming favourite players and paying in coins for interesting events.

From the start, Kim Dokja gains the attention of the gods, not least because he knows how to game the game. He also gathers a small group of people around him who all will play a great role in the story later. He doesn’t do it solely for kindness though. He does it to survive.

The manhwa adaptation is fairly faithful to the light novel. Not much is left out. There’s not much to leave out anyway. The narrative is fast-paced and sparce. Kim Dokja’s thoughts are portrayed well in the adaptation too.

The only difference I noted from the beginning is the way the second main character, Yu Junghyeok (Junghyeok Yu in English version), the original lead of TWSA novel, is portrayed. He's a regressor who has lived through the scenarios many times over, starting from the beginning every time he dies and getting stronger and more inhuman in every round. Kim Dokja makes clear in his inner thoughts that he’s afraid of Yu Junghyeok and sees him as a monster, though he admires him too. We also get Yu Junghyeok’s inner thoughts, which we seldom get in the manhwa. It adds an interesting layer to the novel.

The bromance between the pair is a fan-favourite that’s absent from the manhwa. I don’t know if it’ll develop later in the series, but it’s not here yet. Yu Junghyeok is absent most of the story anyway.

This was a good, fast-paced read, and a morally very grey story. Kim Dokja is the hero, but he’s not heroic or good in a sense we expect heroes to be. Side characters didn’t really become their own persons here yet, but as we learned, Kim Dokja’s abilities and knowledge of the story gives him insight into them too.

The layout with several different fonts, one of which was very difficult to read, made it visually busy. I also missed character profiles at the beginning—or end—of the book, like in the manhwa. And I don’t usually judge the cover, but I think the publisher could’ve gone with a better one. This one doesn’t reflect the story at all. There’s a long way for the characters to go yet, and even though I know how the story goes, I’d like to read the original version too.

I picked up Vol. 1 of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint intrigued by the concept, but it left me feeling mixed. The premise is undeniably cool: an ordinary guy who’s the sole reader of an obscure web novel suddenly finds himself trapped in that story. Kim Dokja’s insider knowledge and morally gray decisions are interesting at first, and the setup made me stick around to see what would happen.

The cast is large and the world-building heavy, which adds richness, though I found myself lost or bogged down at times. There’s a lot of names, scenarios, and rules to follow, and some sections felt slow. I got hooked by the emotional twists and clever “meta” themes, but the pacing and occasional stiff writing held it back a bit (perhaps the translation is partly to blame?).

Overall: Vol. 1 has promise, especially for fans of layered, slow‑burn stories with a sci‑fi or meta edge, but it demands a fair bit of patience. Thanks to NetGalley and Ize Press for the ARC!

Thank you publisher and Netgalley for this advanced reading copy

We finally have good layout and good translation. Love this story

Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press/Ize Press for the e-arc!

This series has always been hyped up to me and seeing as it is now getting two adaptations soon I wanted to finally check out the source material. This first volume packed a lot in with the world-building and the character work. I did find that there were times where it was a bit slow but besides that it kept me engaged till the end. I am intrigued to read volume two and see where the story goes. I'm also glad I read this as I'm prepared to go into the adaptations and see the changes. I recommend checking this out if you haven't already!

Dokja Kim has a problem. He has finished his favorite book only to have the events in the book start happening. Actually, he has several problems. He knows what is coming, but he need to survive the situations in front of him. But he has to do so without revealing to others that he has this knowledge, especially to the goblins and constellations that are watching and participating in this "game" he is now living. Dokja manages to solve the first situations through a combination of foreknowledge, memory, and choosing good companions. But will that be enough as each situation becomes harder to handle! It will be interesting to see what comes next in later volumes!

Thanks Netgalley and Yen Press for the chance to read this title!