Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Taps Into a Very Human Response

I don’t think I’d be exaggerating if I said anyone who loved any kind of video game, comic, manga, or piece of fiction would also at some point fantasize or dream about what it would be like to be a part of that work or genre. How would you handle it? Would you survive and thrive in that world? Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint by singNsong, Yen Press’ latest novel, shows exactly how that type of scenario would play out. As a result, I felt like it makes it even easier to connect with the hero Dokja Kim and idea of getting so caught up in a story that it would eventually pay off in real life.

Editor’s Note: There will be some very minor spoilers for the first volume of the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint novel.

 Dokja Kim read a web novel called Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse. He got through all 3,149 chapters and was astonished at how it ended, as it closed out with a message saying that if someone read that story, they would make it through. He’d kept up with it since high school, but seemed to be the only one since it had 1.9 average views and 1.08 average comments. (Naturally, he commented.) He even recommended it. The author reached out to thank him personally, said the work would soon become paid, but offered Dokja a “gift” as thanks.

Then one day, when Dokja is on the subway riding home from work and talking with a coworker named Sangah Yu, he gets a message from the Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse author that said paid content starts in five minutes and included an attached file. It’s then that the “world’s” free trial ended, and Planetary System 8612 became a paid experience. A goblin boarded the train and said everyone needed to “pay” after enjoying their “free ride.” And Dokja know what would happen because he read that web novel. And, as the first main scenario involving “killing one or more living creatures” progresses, we see him understand the author sent him a text file for the story, he’s gained a speed reading perk, and gains the ability to do things like see character profiles for people he interacts with to know who they are and where he stands with them. 

In execution, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint feels like it incorporates a lot of different fantasy genre elements from the last five to ten years from Asian media in a way that makes it feel compelling and fresh, even though you can also see how other concepts might have inspired singNsong. While this is taking place in our real-world setting, the incorporation of these more fantastic and otherworldly element makes this feel like an isekai story in a way. In particular, the ones in which our protagonists are fortunate enough to “reincarnate” in a way that puts them at an advantage. Dokja has that, but it’s because he read a web novel. While it can feel similar, it’s different enough to be compelling. 

It’s also offering a more perfectly channeled “what if we were in our favorite world” experience. Dokja is going through what we as readers, players, and viewers likely experienced at one point in our lives. This means as we go through the experience singNsong sets up, we get an idea of how we’d fare. Because things don’t go exactly as Dokja read or expected. Which is how things would happen in the unlikely instance our own daydreams would become real. Seeing his responses based on knowledge from the book, and then likening it to how we might react in similar situations, is fascinating.

What I also appreciate about Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is that while Dokja is our hero and the character we’re connecting with, he isn’t the hero. As he points out throughout the story, Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse established Joonghyuk Yoo as the web novel’s hero. So we get this interesting approach where-in we can still get the sort of “self-insert” experience as a result, even though Dokja is clearly leading the story and making major differences throughout. 

Also, as a quick aside, Hye Young Im did a wonderful job translating the Omniscent Reader’s Viewpoint novel. It remains compelling and is a great read.

The Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint novel uses its premise to offer a different approach to an isekai and perhaps even self-insert sort of story, allowing us to read through the experience of someone getting to “live” through their favorite story. The execution setting up Dokja as a hero and his situation works well, especially in this first volume. It builds connections. SingNsong’s narrative decision to still portray the web novel’s “established” hero as a lead even still allows us to more deeply connect with Dokja as being “like us.” It’s a strong and well-translated start.

Volume 1 of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is available now through Yen Press, and volume 2 in the series debuts on Nov 18, 2025.