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달빛 조각사 1

(The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor Novel #1)

Heesung Nam

4.41 · Rating details · 1,732 ratings · 50 reviews

이 소설은, 어려운 환경에 처하여 아르바이트 등을 전전하던 소년가장 이현 이라는 사람이, 가상현실게임으로 돈을 벌며 여러가지 만남과 새로운 경험을 겪게되는 이야기를 서술한다.

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Harn Lee, a debt-ridden teenage orphan, puts up for auction his account of the top-level avatar in 'The Continent of Magick', once the most popular online RPG game in Korea. Once the news is spread nationwide, a fierce competition to win Harn's avatar breaks out, raising t ...more

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Paperback, 344 pages

Published January 15th 2007 by 로크미디어 (ROK Media)

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LitRPG: the books set in virtual reality online MMORPG games

638 books — 948 voters

MMORPG

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Start your review of 달빛 조각사 1 (The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor, #1)

Jul 11, 2013 Guilherme Coppini rated it it was amazing

Ok, I just read translations, but it doesn't seem the author writes VEEERY well... (in fact, the translations make the story seem very poorly-written!!!).

So... why 5 stars? Well, because, even with all the problems in these "books", it still gets my attention and makes me lose whole nights of sleep just reading shady translations... Oo ...more

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Mar 06, 2015 Jocylin Anthony rated it it was amazing

If I could marry a series, this would be the one. Even the unprofessional and mostly amateur translations are amazing!! First few chapters took a while getting into but by the 3-5 I was hooked. Once it has you, you'll stay up all night reading and pretty soon you'll have read all 20 free volumes ;( I want moreeeee but I can't read Korean... ...more

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May 31, 2016 Lazybee rated it it was amazing

Very slow world building. It is very detailed and will pull you in very quickly.
If you like litrpg genre, you will love this book.

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Oct 14, 2015 Elspeth rated it liked it

I am reading the comic of this, but it's not on here for rating.

Read up to chapter 37.
...more

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Jul 07, 2014 Kiz rated it it was amazing

Greatly enjoyed the first book and it succeeded in sucking me into the series.

The locations you can find translations are - The author has allowed free translation for the first 20 chapters so unfortunately the next 20+ are unavailable =(
- http://www.royalroadl.com/table-of-co...
- http://japtem.com/projects/moonlight-...
- https://sites.google.com/site/lmsroya...
- http://nlinkzone.blogspot.com.au/2014...

Unfortunately only the first 20 Volumes have been manually translated, you can find online the ...more

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Apr 28, 2016 Tasha rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-stars, japanese-novel, 2016-non-manga, light-novel

I am giving this 3 stars because, for some reason, I enjoyed reading it. The plot, characters and writing (although, some of that is probably the translation) would have put it at 1 star.

The numbers in this book are ridiculous. Unless the translation was wrong, it said that the VR units cost 10 million won (which roughly equals 10k USD). Yeah, right, like enough people are going to shell out $10,000 for a video game console to make it viable. Also, the party Weed joins occasionally is made up o ...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Deep rated it really liked it

Somewhat similar to SAO (Sword Art Online - a Japanese light novel) except lighter, funnier, and with far more crowning moments of heartwarming... an excellent book with follow-ups that do not disappont either.

The protagonist somewhat reminds me of the Sun Knight from Legends of the Sun Knight, which is definitely a plus!

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Mar 04, 2016 Catherine rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, fantasy, high-fantasy, super-nerd, games-in-fiction, litrpg, bechdel-fail, in-translation

I read this in a free translation, which you can find here. The first 20 volumes of Legendary Moonlight Sculptor have been translated by fans. The translation is not excellent, but it's good enough.

This is a light novel, called a ranobe (ラノベ) in Japan (though this one is Korean). These are short (novella-length) works that come out rapidly and are targeted at middle- and high-school students. I would call it the Asian analog of, eg, Goosebumps or Sweet Valley Twins. It's very similar to the Japa I read this in a free translation, which you can find here. The first 20 volumes of Legendary Moonlight Sculptor have been translated by fans. The translation is not excellent, but it's good enough.

This is a light novel, called a ranobe (ラノベ) in Japan (though this one is Korean). These are short (novella-length) works that come out rapidly and are targeted at middle- and high-school students. I would call it the Asian analog of, eg, Goosebumps or Sweet Valley Twins. It's very similar to the Japanese LN Sword Art Online.

Legendary Moonlight Sculptor is the story of Hyun Lee, a young, impoverished man in Korea whose only escape is the MMORPG Continent of Magic, which he has been playing diligently for years, where he is known as Weed. When he decides he needs to give up his gaming time to spend more time working to make money for his family, he decides to sell his character off to make a few extra won. Hyun's dedication to his character pays off when the auction soars to hundreds of millions of won. When loan sharks come and take all his newfound wealth, he vows to do it all over again and starts playing the full-immersion VR MMORPG Royal Road with a plan to build the strongest possible character to sell off and get rich again.

This is one of the seminal works of the LitRPG genre and is a great introduction to this genre and to Asian light novels in general. The writing is not spectacular and the translation isn't helping it any, but if you like this type of novel the story is gripping enough that you won't notice the low-end translation after awhile. In spite of the pretty simple plot and storytelling, Weed is a surprisingly complex character: he's driven to acquire money by any means necessary to support his family, which makes him hardworking and dedicated almost to a fault -- but at the same time, he's often moved by compassion not only for his fellow players but even for NPCs.

Volume 1 is a quick read. If you're interested in litRPG or enjoyed SAO, give this a try. ...more

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Jun 15, 2014 Kenneth the 13th Doctor rated it liked it

I can't read Korean so obviously I read it off translations from other fans of the book. I must say, I was duly impressed.

This is a MMORPG-based story of a virtual reality game called Royal Road. The point of the game is to become the Emperor, a position that allows you to gain immense influence in the world.

I love playing MMORPGs and love reading about it. This novel did not disappoint.

Our hero (who calls himself Weed in the game) is deceptive and enjoys swindling other players. However, he i ...more

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Dec 30, 2017 Topher rated it it was amazing

Shelves: litrpg, sci-fi, 1st_books__kept_reading

I've been looking for a translation of this after reading the first two Play To Live books from D. Rus, as a number of Amazon and goodreads commentators mentioned it as a likely inspiration. I can see where that thought came from - the story is set mostly in an RPG - but in this case, it is someone's job, someone who can still get to the real world. I found a translation via wattpad, and have been reading that, and I've really come to enjoy Weed as a character. I would like to find an official t ...more

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Jun 13, 2015 Darkd rated it really liked it

I wanna rate this book higher because it is such an enjoyable read, but there really are glaring errors in it. I only give 5 stars if I can't find anything obvious and there are a few obvious problems with it. BUT, it doesn't hurt the book much at all. I don't think there is anyone I wouldn't recommend this book to because it's so damned awesome. Amazing concept.

The problems? Mainly the side characters. The side characters basically have carbon copy personalities, or in light of Lee Hyun's amaz ...more

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Feb 24, 2019 Dan Zhang rated it it was amazing

Currently caught up to the 53rd volume, the series as a whole is quite good, the worldbuilding is enjoyable, a high amount of hype for many of the parts youd expect. Never really gets boring even though a bit formulaic. The unexpected twists are very creative. Some criticisms, at times its difficult to visualize the proportions/scale of the setting since a lot of hyperbolic numbers seem to be thrown into the climactic events, certain mechanics of the game are unexplained, somewhat formulaic with ...more

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Feb 27, 2019 Tippfehler rated it it was amazing

This was a page turner for me. I continued reading all the way until volume 22 in one go and didn't want to stop even then. However, this was when the novel was fan translated and the author just released plans to have it officially translated so they stopped. I'm currently waiting for the English version to come out so I can continue... I've been waiting for more than 3 years now and am starting to lose hope.

But anyhow, 5/5 would recommend and read again ...more

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Jun 05, 2020 Azel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: light-novels

.... I started reading it and didnt stop for so long. It was like playing a game but being good at it. Also so funny, my first introduction to Korean humor. Everything was so good and the thing about it was that it never really turned bad, the only reason I stopped was because I caught up with the translator and just never returned. I was about to read it again but so much has piled up that I need to concentrate to read it plus I have so many other things to read.

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Jul 19, 2017 Jenna rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult, fantasy, gaming-fandom, graphic-novels, science-fiction, webcomics

Not a bad drawing style, rather simplistic, but I enjoyed the dynamic fight scenes and the focus on artistic ability that makes for a stronger person overall, as well as a person's movements affecting their online avatar. Entertaining and a sympathetic main character. Supporting cast is not focused on that much, as Weed is really trying to simply make money rather than have a fun MMO experience. ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 ZL0ki rated it really liked it

Good series. It's a shame the translations isn't up to scratch. Makes it difficult at times to know what's actually been said or what the author intended. Still good enough to entertain.

I think it would have been a lot funnier if I could have read it in it's original language. Almost deadpan humour which has been lost in translation.

...more

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Jan 08, 2017 Fernando rated it liked it

(Review for Volumes 1 - 20)
Interesting adventure of a "sculptor" in a fantasy game world. Part of the story takes place outside of the game and both sides come together to drive the main character's motivation.
...more

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May 19, 2017 Andre Sales rated it it was amazing

Extremely good plot and development.

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Apr 08, 2020 Dustardlyhoplite rated it it was amazing

Shelves: manga

Novel is so good but manga is also as good as novel.

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Dec 28, 2014 Mike rated it liked it

Edit: So I've read the first 7 books in this series and this review is applicable to each of those individually. I initially rated these 4 stars but came back and lowered the rating as that is simply not fair to the other authors whose work I've rated as four stars.

The story line and concept for this series is great and I have enjoyed each of these books. However, though the translations are decent, I feel the work suffers greatly simply due to the lack of a professional English translation as Edit: So I've read the first 7 books in this series and this review is applicable to each of those individually. I initially rated these 4 stars but came back and lowered the rating as that is simply not fair to the other authors whose work I've rated as four stars.

The story line and concept for this series is great and I have enjoyed each of these books. However, though the translations are decent, I feel the work suffers greatly simply due to the lack of a professional English translation as well as English editing and publishing process. This series has tremendous potential though. Unfortunately, at this point, what is publicly available to English readers is seriously lacking. I've read that there are plans in the near future to professionally translate and publish.

Each volume is relatively short (between approximately 350-390 pages), which is not a problem, but what is an issue is that each subsequent volume has a lot of repetitive information. Also, there's a lot of story that just didn't interest me (i.e. grandma and sister. You could probably cut out 95 percent of what has been said about them and still paint the same picture that has been created about those characters and their impact on the main character). Some of my qualms may just be a cultural difference too, so I can't judge to harshly.

I feel that the 7 volumes I've read so far, in the hands of a good editor and translator, would probably make a good 3 or 4 books. Potentially an amazing 2 or 3 books. As of now, I've decided to take a break from the series. There's a few books that have just been released that I'd like to read. Though I'm vested and interested in this story and its main character, I feel I should be more vested/interested after 7 volumes. By the way, there's about 40 volumes published currently. Approximately 20 of which have been unprofessionally translated by various people. Which, when you think of that, it's pretty impressive as it speaks to the overall love for the story as these translators are typically simply fans of the series.

Original: I've said this before, but I really enjoy this type of book. Now if the authors works would just be officially translated and sold. Starting the next one soon. I imagine I'll be reading these for a while if the translation quality remains at the level this book was or better. Thanks to my GRs friend H.P for turning me on to this read in particular. ...more

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May 15, 2019 Phoenix added it

I can't begin to describe the awesomeness that is Lee Hyun/Weed. He is clever beyond compare. An ingenious tactician. A warrior beyond comparison. A man of true dedication to succeeding no matter how grueling the path to his goals are. Yeah it pretty much reads like that. Side characters are not so much part of the story as they are vehicles for moving Weed's progression along. I like the humor but it's sparse. There is a lot of exposition explaining the game mechanics just to subtly ignore it l ...more

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Nov 16, 2014 Brett rated it it was amazing

Edit: As of the 16th of November 2014 the translations were taken down at the request of the Author to make way for an official translation.

Read 20 volumes of this semi-continuously for over 80 hours. So while the writing reads like sub-titles (only unofficial translations are available), any book that easy and enjoyable to read (despite the writing) gets a 5 by default.

The main character Lee Hyan, a 20 year old guy, has been the bread-winner for his sister and grandma since their parents died Edit: As of the 16th of November 2014 the translations were taken down at the request of the Author to make way for an official translation.

Read 20 volumes of this semi-continuously for over 80 hours. So while the writing reads like sub-titles (only unofficial translations are available), any book that easy and enjoyable to read (despite the writing) gets a 5 by default.

The main character Lee Hyan, a 20 year old guy, has been the bread-winner for his sister and grandma since their parents died when he was young. His dad also left some large debts from loan sharks. The combination- and being endlessly exploited as a kid laborer- leads to a very cynical and worldly view of life. Whenever possible Lee plays VR games, bringing the same ethos of endless hard work and cynicism.

The game Royal Road is a VRMMORPG accesible via the stereotypical pod. Less typical is that the game combines the social positions of TV, celebrity and games, where a reasonable number of the population plays, knows of characters and watches broadcasts on the game and in-world activities. Because of the social importance, rare items in the game can sell for money (up to $10K etc).

The predessor to Royal Road- can't remember the name- was a game the main character played and became famous in. He was too poor to afford a better computer so played the old game endlessly, solo'ing, killing monsters and players alike, becoming somewhat of an urban myth.

The story follows Lee as he sells his old account, getting enough money to buy into Royal Road and pay off the loans sharks, and charts his rise in the game and how it flows through into the 'real world'. The game itself is probably the best I've read about, it sounds amazing, is realistic and is well described.

Anyone that likes RPG games, anime, or read and enjoyed Alterworld will likely enjoy this book. But only expect to enjoy the story. Currently about 22 volumes (2500 pages ish) are translated of 44 published volumes. Translators are slowly working through at about 1 volume every two weeks.
...more

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Nov 17, 2015 Neo Jiaming rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Read the English Translation. I stopped after finishing Vol 18 and my rant about the series so far.

Unsure if it's the English translation that didn't do the original story justice during the translation process. The writing was not something that will excite its readers, but the concept and progress of the story was very promising, to the point that I couldn't put the book down.

However, after reading 10+ volumes, IMO a lot of the plot points & twist felt repetitive and predictable. Weed's char Read the English Translation. I stopped after finishing Vol 18 and my rant about the series so far.

Unsure if it's the English translation that didn't do the original story justice during the translation process. The writing was not something that will excite its readers, but the concept and progress of the story was very promising, to the point that I couldn't put the book down.

However, after reading 10+ volumes, IMO a lot of the plot points & twist felt repetitive and predictable. Weed's character doesn't seem to had progressed in some senses. He lacks real struggles and challenges that forced him to grow, mainly due to him having a really OP(overpowered) hidden class & being a main character. He can literally do everything himself, leaving other characters in the sideline.

As the story progresses with Weed basically not needing much help. A lot of the characters introduce in his adventures felt painfully one-dimensional. Their purpose was only to fill gaps in a sentence to move the story along.
thus felt like his friends' characters appears to have stagnated and forgotten.

Also some of Weed's powers are extremely OP, with summoned minion having advance A.I. for interaction, ability to learn , command army..... and A.I. freewill. another ability shapeshift for long period of time at will to blend in with A.I... everything just seems too convinent, fitting into weed's need. Initally weeed had some struggle with limits to loot storage because of class restrictiones, with Merchant having the highest storage. Author seems to have forgotten about it as Weed's initial struggle with loot storage dissapears with weed having a bagpack seemingly unlimited space.

my opinion is his adventure had became boring at this point, as he is getting really OP to the point of unrealistic. He can learn everything and do everything without really needing help, and no one seems to match his combat ability or discovers anything new, because no one seems to be discovering anything without Weed's involvement.

...more

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Feb 21, 2017 My Tien rated it it was amazing

I read the comic and it's great ...more

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Oct 24, 2016 Rumbdeshkar rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: aventure, fantasy, action, drama

It takes place in the Republic of Korea. It is in the present day. The narrator is omniscient.

Lee Hyun, the main character, is a strong-willed person. He profits of every occasions he sees. This person has scratches all over his body due to working at a factory. He is really tall, frugal and ugly. The conflict is that the loan sharks had stolen them the majority of the $3 million dollars.

The protagonist and his family are indebted so they are pursuited by the sharks. After working at the factory ...more

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Aug 06, 2013 Abdulkareem Al-Abdulkareem rated it liked it

Shelves: light-novels

It's an MMORPG light novel, it's similar to Sword Art Online. Yet it's lighthearted and the hero is more selfish than the savior of the world Kirito. Moonlight Sculptor is funnier and have its moments.

If you played an MMORPG for a while you will relate more and enjoy it.

I read it in Royal Road Translation Group I found a couple of mobi versions there too. ...more

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Jun 14, 2015 Mike rated it it was amazing

Read the first 20 volumes last summer during a three week period and have to saw the light novel is just epic. Haven't gotten more laughs and "Oh S***" moments in a long time.

I have continued to follow any updated chapters and have gone back repeatedly and reread the first 20 as well. ...more

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Mar 19, 2016 John rated it it was amazing

Any thing lower than 5 stars will feel the wrath of Grass Porridge Cult!
Grass Porridge! Grass Porridge! Grass Porridge!
Grass Porridge! Grass Porridge! Grass Porridge!
Grass Porridge! Grass Porridge! Grass Porridge!

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Jul 24, 2016 Aireen Lim rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, litrpg

In no way are these books superbly written. I don't think it passes as a "good" literary work (or maybe it's just the fan translations?) but it is so strangely addicting and compelling. The later volumes sometimes even has a repetitive "grind" feel to it but I can't stop waiting for the updates! ...more

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