Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint (2024)

HOOOOOOOW IS ORV SO GOOD WHO GAVE IT THE RIGHT??????

IM DROWNING IN THE STREAM OF MY TEARS

SOMEONE NEEDS TO PUT KDJ UNDER HOUSE ARREST

already read the english translations. this is more like a challenge to myself trying to read the whole novel in korean :)

4.5/5

This definitely could have used some editing in the later arcs but god the emotional roller coaster in that last 10%. So long, yet so worth

oh, wow. what a ride! this is officially THE longest novel i’ve ever read. and the most twisted in terms of logic, probably. i’m gonna miss these characters like crazy. 😪 yoohankim forever. 🙌🏻

I thought this novel would never end (/pos /neg)

This is a masterpiece. Everything about it was incredible from the character development, the side character interactions, and the final ending.

I don’t think you can read this and not fall in love with Kim Dokja as a person. He’s terribly real and such a fanboy loser, but it’s because of these qualities that you find yourself rooting for his every success.

He’s also just so cool. From the very start, he had a plan for everything that would follow, and because he’s an unreliable narrator, you genuinely have no idea what crazy sh*t he’s going to do next. He straight up won’t tell you. Knowing that the perspective you’re reading from is holding out on you is such an interesting experience.

Another thing this series does so well is creating a large cast of side characters with their own ambitions and dynamics. I loved them all, and they all contributed to the story in their own way. Han Sooyoung and Jung Heewon were particularly badass, and I loved their dynamics with Kim Dokja where Jung Heewon declared herself as his sword and Han Sooyoung understood him in a way that no one else could. Don’t even get me started on the lemon candy scene.

As for the secondary mc or the original protagonist of the story, Yoo Joonghyuk, he had a fascinating role to play. The story began because he was perceived by Kim Dokja, and it’s as simple as that.

The concept of writing, reading, and being read is an endless cycle of loving, knowing, and wanting to understand. The author displayed that concept perfectly, of deeply appreciating a story and being unable to say goodbye to it.

There were so many twists and turns, but everything came full circle, and it was worth all the tears to see it to the end.

It’s one of those works of fiction that you’ll never be able to forget.

I think this is one of the most amazing books I've read in quite some time. The theories, the circulatory nature, just about everything I found to be thrilling and amazing. However, I would not consider it a perfect '5/5.'

Plot: 5/5

The plot was spectacular; every single character and object introduced was important throughout it, and I'm a little amazed by how detailed the book could get without throwing off the readers as well as how well the authors could stick to the details. Every arc felt significant, if not sometimes a bit long. The whole idea of the Star Stream, the Constellations, the Fourth Wall...everything was both novel and interesting. Any places where the MC seemed to get a little too lucky got wrapped up with a solid explanation by the end.

Characters: 4/5

I think Kim Dokja is one of the best MCs I've seen in a while, if not the best. He was charming in all the right ways, and it was so easy to resonate with him, both his rights and his wrongs.

However, I wish more of the characters had the same depth as him.

Often times, the development of the other characters comes off as abrupt, and I think that it's because the authors introduce the backstory a little too late. For instance, Gil-yeong came off as a little too accepting of the changed world. We know later that it's because he viewed the world as a video game, but at the start, he seems to go along with it as a plot convenience. Or more about why Yoo Sang-ah seems to so perfect; I wanted to see more complexity than a simple paragraph about her upbringing (side note: I don't think this novel, for all its chapters, passes the Bechdel test except for maybe one between Sang-ah and Soo-young (but I think it was about Dokja)). Furthermore, a lot of their stories are short when delved into or are narrated by Dokja. So as much as I could care for Kim Dokja, Han Soo-young, Shin Yoo-seung, and Yoo Jung-hyeok, I could not resonate as well with the other characters or understand them and their motivations.

I think this is more important than other novels because the whole reason the book starts is because Dokja wants to save them and considers them incredibly important to him. So I should be able to understand why he cares so much for them, and yet I find it too difficult because unlike him, I haven't read their stories. I don't understand them.

Story Structure: 4.5/5

I love the POV switches. If it gave more in-depth understandings of the characters as much as it gives Dokja's, I would love it even more. The story structure was solid, and I liked the way the story unfolded.

However. The ending.

I can't say I love it or hate it. I think it gave the book the most impactful ending, but also a depressing one because we never see the end. We have to imagine it, just like Dokja had to struggle to reach the conclusion he wanted. It's the best possible ending for a book so magnificent. And yet, so dissatisfying. Out of pettiness, I dropped the rating a little.

So in total: about a 4.7/5 for me.

one would think this book is way too long but i beg to differ. i believe this is exactly how long it should have been. from the first chapter to the very last, it never ceases to surprise and amaze the reader. i saw couple people saying the first chapters were boring but i genuinely don’t think that’s the case. it did not make me cry and sob like my friends recommended this to me did. but it had certain moments that broke my heart and made my eyes tear up, even during the very last sentences. the reader can guess but also cannot guess what will happen in the next paragraph whatsoever. just a very very big tip from someone who made this mistake, DO NOT. GET. SPOILED. MY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK. that’s my major tip to the readers. other than that, it was such a beautiful book. i enjoyed ever second of it.

"This story is just for that one reader."

5 stars! God how can a novel be so good TvT

I absolutely adored Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint from start to end. The worldbuilding, character arcs and character relationships were just so well written. A very long read (551 chapters in total) but absolutely worth it. Looking at my Kindle I could compile a whole list of my favourite quotes from the novel.

My favourite arcs probably are Demon King of Salvation, Great War of Saints and Demons, The Secretive Plotter, The Oldest Dream, and the Eternity and Epilogue

Special Mention: Kim Dokja will forever be one of my all-time favourite protagonists - very well-rounded, and I could relate to him in far too many ways TvT. If I had read ORV when it first started releasing, I think he would've been what Joonghyuk was to him for me.

my entire worldview shifted because of this book let me tellyou oh my god
there is so much love in the book and you can really see it in the characters and the plot itself the book is just a love story for authors and readers and characters there is so so so much love in nonnuclear family dynamics

i read this 2022 november and i still think about it daily

I WILL NEVER EMOTIONALLY RECOVER FROM THIS BUT I HAVE NO REGRETS

prepare your heart for pain, joy, confusion, the desire to snap your fingers and send everyone to a peaceful meadow and the urge to jump in the story and save your favourite characters from everything (including themselves)

HOLY sh*t.

idk what else to say. this was the most complicated thing ive ever read and i love it. whatever crack the last 100 chapters were packing hit me like a truck. ill miss reading this in class. long live joongdok and f*ck 49/51

4.75*

(Ahora iré a leer muchos fics Joongdok para sobrellevar el trauma y la depresión que me dejó ese final XD)

4.5-4.75 depending on the arc. Rating 5 stars because of the last 1.5k pages. Wow, this was a roller coaster.

i don't even know if i can muster up anything in me to write a proper review but just... wow....... ah............. my heart...........

Me destrozo la psiquis y eso me gusto

Perhaps one day I will find the words to explain why this book means so much to me. Perhaps you will read it and understand, wordlessly.

MUY BUENO

I think this one starts out feeling like a fantasy/RPG game novel and turns pretty philosophical compared to 멸망 이후의 세계 which starts out philosophical but turns pretty RPG (IDK I haven't finished that one yet so maybe not lol).

Overall, I really liked how it was poking fun at different web novels and popular genre novels, and with a twist that the main character is a Reader. The characterisation of the female characters were a bit disappointing though. At points I couldn't tell which one was which unless there was a description about the weapon they were holding, but I guess it's hard to flesh out all the characters when you're trying to get to a full story.

Rereading it now, just to see how it reads after finding out about all the twists!