Series: Solo Leveling (light novel)

Review – Solo Leveling (light novel), vol 2

Posted April 24, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Solo Leveling (light novel), vol 2

Solo Leveling

by Chugong

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novels
Pages: 327
Series: Solo Leveling (light novel) #2
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

ARISE! Once dubbed the Weakest Hunter of All Mankind, Jinwoo is now…well, something else entirely. Armed with his mysterious system, he’s currently powerful enough to single-handedly clear dungeons that once would have proven life-threatening. He just has to ready himself to take on the Demon’s Castle-and what better way to do so than finishing a quest? Exclusive new weapons and skills from an assassin-class job may be just what Jinwoo needs… but the system seems to have other plans for him!

As with volume one, volume two of Chugong’s Solo Leveling novel has been adapted pretty closely by the manhwa I’ve already read. There are a few details that I don’t remember popping up, and maybe a bit more detail for side characters’ and their thoughts — I don’t remember Park Heejin having quite so much detail in the manhwa, for example — but mostly the adaptation was very faithful.

Despite the story being so familiar, it’s fun to get more of Jinwoo’s point of view, especially as he starts to really get to grips with being a Player, and figure out things like his job change quest. It’s still such fun to read about him subverting the system a little bit (e.g. by going to the penalty zone for four hours to extend his timer, albeit that’s a bit accidental on his part) — and of course to watch his journey toward being so absolutely OP he could probably rip down a bit of sky and beat someone with it. He’s not there yet here, but he’s gonna get there.

The scene between him and Jinho when Jinho says Jinwoo’s like a big brother and Jinwoo says he’ll consider Jinho a brother then is so cute, too.

As with the first book (and indeed the manhwa), it’s fun light reading.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Solo Leveling (light novel), vol 1

Posted April 11, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Solo Leveling (light novel), vol 1

Solo Leveling

by Chugong

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novels
Pages: 350
Series: Solo Leveling (light novel) #1
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

THE WEAKEST HUNTER OF ALL MANKIND!

E-rank hunter Jinwoo Sung has no money, no talent, and no prospects to speak of-and apparently, no luck, either! When he enters a hidden double dungeon one fateful day, he’s abandoned by his party and left to die at the hands of some of the most horrific monsters he’s ever encountered. But just before the last, fatal blow… PING! [Congratulations on becoming a Player.]

Having read the manhwa adaptation of Chugong’s Solo Leveling, I decided I wanted to give the light novel a try and just start with getting volume one. This might’ve been a mistake: I started it on Christmas morning and instantly knew I was going to want to read the whoooole series in pretty short order. Luckily, I was saved: someone bought me volumes two and three for Christmas.

As that story suggests, it’s a pretty quick read, and not that different from the manhwa if you’ve read that first. You get a little bit of extra insight into Jinwoo’s thoughts, but it’s amazing how much the manhwa manages to directly translate into that format. You get maybe a liiiittle bit more of the side characters as well in volume one.

Honestly, this first volume is probably the most I ever felt Jinwoo facing real peril, which makes sense. Once he’s figured out the system and started leveling up, he’s got the protagonist’s halo. When he’s still just an E rank hunter — the worst hunter of all mankind — then he could genuinely die.

Mostly, the fun of this series is watching Jinwoo go from zero to hero to obscenely overpowered, and enjoy the nods to typical video game systems as you go. It’s really not that deep, it’s just fun. That’s the same in both the light novel and the manhwa, but it’s fun to experience it again in another format, and actually more so than I thought it might be.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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