Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint vol 1 manhwa by Sleepy-C and singNsong: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint vol 1 manhwa by Sleepy-C & singNsong

I kept hoping the manhwa would come out as an e-book, but no such luck, so I finally caved and bought a physical copy. My bookshelf is not thanking me.

This is an excellent start to a series, if somewhat abrupt. No time is wasted with backstories. We meet the protagonist, Kim Dokja on a subway train on his way home from work as he finally finishes a book that he’s been reading for ten years, Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse. He’s been its sole reader the entire time, and as he sends a thank you note for the author, he gets a free download in return, after which the book disappears. And then the world ends.

It turns out, the universe is a playground of constellations who watch the worlds and their inhabitants struggle in their final moments for their amusement. The best they support and sponsor as their incarnations, until it’s time to move to the next world. And everything is unfolding exactly like in Kim Dokja’s book. But he’s not the protagonist. He’s not even someone who’s supposed to be in the book, let alone survive the first scenario designed to kill as many people as possible.

However, he has the entire book at his disposal and knows how to play the game, which comes with displays of dialogue boxes and experience points. And he’s granted a special skill: omniscient reader’s viewpoint, which allows him to read the minds of his opponents. Armed with this knowledge, he sets out to survive.

The first book sets the scene and gives us a good idea of the kind of person Kim Dokja is. He’s a survivor, not a victim, underdog, but not discouraged by it. I like how he’s atop of things from the start, morally a bit grey, intelligent, and cunning. Other characters are introduced as well, but only briefly. Art is beautiful large-panel webtoon illustrations, and work in print too, which isn’t always the case.

My only complaint is the insistence of these English translations of switching the order of Korean (and other Asian) names to western one with first name first and family name second, as if readers are too stupid to know the cultural difference, and leaving out the polite ways of addressing people that are integral of these cultures. But it’s a minor thing; I can switch it back in my mind—and in this review. I’ll definitely continue, even to the detriment of my shelves.