Solo Leveling, Vol. 1 (novel)

If you are a fan, don't hate me. I took my time, did my research to get the right context ambiance, studied the Korean phonetics, and got the names' pronunciations right. I made an effort to like it and even went as far as to read the whole thing before writing this review. The storyline is ok. The stereotypical underdog character that, in a twist of fate (the author's pen), unlocked a videogame-like mechanics that allowed him to beat every obstacle in his new game-like life. Thank god, the story develops originally enough to keep the entertainment going. The fantasy environment with some even more fanciful excuses helped a lot with the world construction. And I'm grateful it kept the magic stuff and skills as mysterious as possible. As you can see, it is not something irredeemable. On the other hand, the writing is messy. It kind of gets fixed with time (the obvious growth process of the writer), but for me, it is a charm breaker. I found myself constantly reading back and forth some paragraphs of phrases, trying to make sense of what was going on when inadvertently the narrator's perspective switched to someone else. At times, the writing feels off. I don't know if it is the writer's or the translator's fault. Sometimes it feels like the sentence or idea it tries to express doesn't match the situation. Other times, the sentences are simplistic. I ignore the ups and downs of the Korean language, but you can find many examples of passive writing while relying on onomatopoeia (to the point that it gets annoying) to compensate for the lack of expressiveness of the writing. It made me feel like I was reading a script for a comic book instead of an actual novel. I've heard about Solo Leveling for a while now. I saw the anime adaptation, and even if it hardly met my expectations, I can't deny that it was a decent work. I'm sorry, but even reading the books didn't convince me to join the ranks of fans who think this is the best story ever.

This is a great book! I decided to start reading this because of the anime and I enjoy this more than the anime. They leave some things out of the anime and there are minor differences.

Got tired of waiting on the anime the books are even better and it was a good word

There’s no words to describe how much I love this story, this is where it all began and chugong is my favorite author it’s amazing both the novels and the manhwa I love how you get to see jinwoo’s thoughts and other characters as well that’s something we don’t see as much in the manhwa so I definitely appreciate that. Huge shout out to j torres for all the novel and manhwa English translations on behalf of all solo leveling fans we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and chugong on behalf of every heart you’ve touched with this amazing story we thank you and hope you are at rest whenever you may be thank you so much. Volume 2 here we come!.

This is my favorite manga of all time. The written version had a few slight variations but that only added to the overall plot in general. Greatly appreciated the other characters monologue outside just the main characters. My biggest worry. This is a work of art. I hope Japan doesn’t segregate and destroy any potential this manga provides.

I’ve read the Manhwa graphic novel twice and first time ever reading LNs, and words cannot explain how amazing and detailed this light novel is compared to the graphic version!

Great story that keeps you want to just keep reading nonstop!!!!! Love the action and the way written brings the characters to life!

Excellent read in manga or light novel. Just needs a anime now.

This book is incredible. I have been struggling to find a book that peaks my interest but this tops the cake. I couldn’t put this book down! Definitely recommend reading this now!! Go go go!! Before the 4th books comes out on 2/22/22

I’ve already read and reread the Graphic Novel so many times because I love the series but this was also a good read. Unlike the Graphic Novel, you get to hear his inner thoughts and the thoughts of others from their perspective as well. If I had to complain about one thing, it would have to be the lack of character appearance description. While most of us have read the Graphic Novel and have a name to a face, some of the readers who haven’t read the Graphic Novel will struggle with creating a face for each name. Otherwise, great read. A little pricey, but a excellent read all the same. 5/5