Listen, I’m the last one to talk about storytelling, but this is just way too fast with too many characters at once! The basic premise was set up fine before the influx of characters. The Webtoon format works well with this type of fast pacing (because you're waiting from week to week. the reader nor the author really waste time on filler or backstory), but it's jarring in book form.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Tower of God. At first glance, it seems like a death game (Squid Games, Hunger Games, Alice in Wonderland manga, etc). Having to solve a test on each floor as you ascend higher and higher immediately piqued my interest. Bam, however, did not.

I'm not against 'the chosen one' stories or the main character being gifted. But very often I don't seem to enjoy the Korean comics with male leads that have gotten English adaptations recently (at least from the ones I've read). They tend to fall into a Gary-stu power fantasy, a sad-sack boy abused and bullied by everyone, or a jerk with powers.

Bam is rather dull as of now. He's even-tempered and will do anything to reach his friend Rachael. Okay. I've seen gentle characters before and liked them. But he's not giving me anything.

Still, I'd (and I am) read(ing) book two.

SN: I've read other Webtoon graphic novels, but this is the first I've seen that tells what chapters it compiles. Yes, keep including this! ( )

Bam's best friend leaves him behind to climb a mysterious tower out of their dark underworld, so he decides to follow after her, only to find that the tower is a battle manga and each level is a new competition that alternately allies him with or pits him against a mix of one-dimensional characters. Just to be totally cliche, Bam turns out to be an outsider with special abilities that surprise him and others.

The writing is amateurish and the art often left me puzzling out what exactly I'm supposed to be looking at.

It almost starts building some momentum toward the end thanks to the number and speed of the competitions, but I'm going to jump off here and let future installments pass me by. ( )

Now this was a surprise. I don't usually read webcomics, and I don't think I had read a Korean webtoon ever, but I heard about Tower of God from a friend and its premise seemed interesting enough. It was that - and much more. A great story, with great characters, very intelligently written. I am off to binge read the second season now. Can't imagine I'll take long to catch up!

Merged review:

Now this was a surprise. I don't usually read webcomics, and I don't think I had read a Korean webtoon ever, but I heard about Tower of God from a friend and its premise seemed interesting enough. It was that - and much more. A great story, with great characters, very intelligently written. I am off to binge read the second season now. Can't imagine I'll take long to catch up! ( )

FINALLY