Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Vol. 6 by Umi .
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wild. Yes, the mid-level organizers are damn cheaters, but then, I think everyone is at this point. Damn author. Loving it, though.

The art is great, but the story is fantastic. Very Dungeon Crawler Carl but with even smarter scenarios and twists, if possible.

I'm totally hooked.

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Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Vol. 5 by Umi .
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The third scenario was great. I loved how it ended. But I'm really looking forward to how the fourth is heading. I'm chortling.

The art is, as always, great. I absolutely love the premise of this manhwa. It really puts the power in the reader. So to speak. Or actually. :)



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Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Vol. 4 by Umi .
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to admit, this is a sight more clever than most action series I come across. In fact, I think I'm in love. There are hints of an OP nature, but the balance is JUST right. Teamwork and special skills and just having a bit of foreknowledge about the scenario makes it rather SATISFYING, in fact. Like watching someone play a great game for the second time while you, yourself, don't know anything.

You get right to the point. It's really fun. And then, there are all the scenarios and changes to the story that don't fit, creating a great sense of mystery at the same time.

I'm impressed. Very.



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The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Read 5/25/26:

Still a fantastic read. And what a FRESH and GOOD read after his immediately prior publication. :)

I DO want to take a moment to mention something, however: With all the AI talk we've had for years now and with the standard of Mike fully realized in actual reality, sans lobbing rocks, it's all pretty amazing.

And with the whole lobbing rocks thing in the novel, and with the current standard of the oligarchs and technofeudalists, technofascists, taking all the WORST ideas from the BEST SF books and building their own Torment Nexuses at their first opportunities, I'm kinda surprised they aren't just skipping the whole Mars thing to set up colonies on the Moon to create a wonderful catapult system to sit next to and laugh like the Bond villains they are as they threaten all of Earth.

I mean, seriously, I totally expect it of them now.

Beautiful book, other than the fact it would give all the wrong people even worse ideas.
Sigh.



Original Review:

What do you want us to do? Throw rocks at them?

Nah, but we could have a tea party.

Wow. I'm still amazed at how good this Revolution novel has held up over the years. I had read it twice before this latest re-read, but it hasn't lost any of its charm.

Of course, I love Heinlein's heavy reliance on self-reliance, libertarianism, and TANSTAAFL. I'm lucky to have read him early so as to be fully indoctrinated in this gung-ho politicism of Rational Anarchy and I can laugh and whoop and grin foolishly all the while.

But I'm weird.

Still. When it comes to the story, the most amazing thing about this novel is not that it's set on the moon or that it has been populated with all of Earth's undesirables, or that they're economic slaves to the Earth. Nope. It's amazing that this book is actually a How-To-Guide on how to stage a successful revolution against a technologically and militarily superior foe, from initial planning, leverage, sleeper cells, and of course, political preparation, communication, diplomacy, and economics. And, of course, the resulting MASS DEATH of so many innocents. Can't forget that.

But I suppose the one thing that sticks in my mind most strongly is the planetary computer, Mycroft. What a guy/gal. He/she always gets me in the feels. That's leverage.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I keep on seeing tons of good revolution books or modern SF still stealing from this classic, either knowingly or unknowingly. Perhaps all AIs that show up in SF are a reply to Mycroft in one way or another. Who knows? This is the one that stands out supreme in my mind and perhaps always shall.

Call me a Lunatic. I dare you. ;)

This one won the Hugo in '66, but I also place it firmly in one of my top 100 novels of all time. :) Great stuff. :)

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Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Vol. 3 by singNsong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm really getting some great Dungeon Crawler Carl vibes off of this one. The art is still fantastic, but the unexpected humor goes really well with the truly dark themes. You know, like DCC. But unlike DCC, there's a pretty excellent balance of craftiness, gore, and forethought in this one.

Really shaping up to be something excellent.

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Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Vol. 2 by Umi .
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm hooked immediately. Not only is it a reverse Isekai done smart, but it's also directly addressing the ethics of murder and culpability right away.

This isn't an easy-going fantasy manhwa at all.

I'm very impressed. Let's goooo.

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전지적 독자 시점 1 [Jeonjijeog Dogja Sijeom 1] by Umi .
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Omniscient Reader webtoon.

Honestly, I just read it on a recommendation without much in the way of expectation, but DAMN, that artwork was beautiful. And the setup, while fairly standard for Isekai, just flipped the script to have all the fictional webtoon become OUR reality.

Ding, ding, ding. The dinner bell has rung. Fun characters so far, but the artwork? The best part. From what I hear, it'll have some similarities to Solo Leveling, at least for gore. I really like the hook of this guy being a 10-year fan of the webtoon, knowing all that will happen before it actually happens for real.

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