God’s Song

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It is said that humans only reveal 5% of their DNA. The person you perceive yourself to be and the person others judge you for is determined by this 5%. No one can know what is in the hidden 95%.

Put simply, it would be as if our parents gave us a total of 100 cards when they gave us life – of which only 5 can be used. They don’t know which cards they’ll be handing down, but that’s not the real issue. The bigger problem is that of the 100 random cards, we can’t even choose which of the 5 we get to use. We have to pick them with our eyes closed.

Now imagine each of these cards represents a different trait – maybe an attractive face, an intelligent mind, a great body, a handicap. A lucky person who might have been fated with a prized card would be able to use it as a weapon to speed through life with considerable ease. And then there are also the ill-fated who end up with a torn or useless card. Maybe all five cards are duds. But that is what we have to use to our advantage or disadvantage until we die.

This is a story about a boy, the “cards” he is dealt, and how he uses them to build a music empire.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Song of God
신의 노래
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Top Management (5)
God of Music (4)
God of Cooking (3)
Big Life (2)
Game Market 1983 (2)
I’m in Hollywood (2)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Authors/ Artists
  2. Novels that I have read 2
  3. [KR] Showbiz
  4. Showbiz/ Actors/ Idols Novels
  5. Slice of life

Latest Release

Date Group Release
11/23/17 Myoniyoni Translations c282
11/22/17 Myoniyoni Translations c281
11/20/17 Myoniyoni Translations c280
11/19/17 Myoniyoni Translations c279
11/13/17 Myoniyoni Translations c278
11/12/17 Myoniyoni Translations c277
11/06/17 Myoniyoni Translations c276
11/05/17 Myoniyoni Translations c275
11/01/17 Myoniyoni Translations c274
10/28/17 Myoniyoni Translations c273
10/22/17 Myoniyoni Translations c272
10/17/17 Myoniyoni Translations c271
10/14/17 Myoniyoni Translations c270
10/10/17 Myoniyoni Translations c269
10/06/17 Myoniyoni Translations c268
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57 Reviews sorted by


rdawv
rdawv rated it
October 7, 2016
Status: v2c6 part7
Don't let the huge number of releases fool you, each chapter is relatively short, sometimes just a few paragraphs. Each volume has several chapters and each chapter is then divided into multiple sections.

I did not have much expectations of the novel, it had been in my To Read Later list for ages and I finally got around to read it. A few hours later, I think I had read a hundred or more at the translator's site.

To be brutally frank, the story is somewhat bland. We have a MC who... more>> has a tragic background (which remains unexplored at the time of this review) and musically gifted, but everything else about him is like a blank canvas. He is blunt and caustic, freely admits his ignorance when asked, it's like reading a non-autistic Forest Gump. Unlike the MC of the novel Zither Emperor, Jun Hyuk of God's Song is thankfully not dense nor completely naive.

What we do get to read about is a lot of info about the Korean entertainment industry, or even showbiz in general. Not cut and dry factual information, but presented in a form that is accessible for the casual reader. We see the cutthroat, backroom dealing and wheeling behind the scenes of a musical reality tv show, where people with vested interests had already pre-determined the general outcome. The MC is depicted as a genius who confounds them with his musical abilities, tempting them with his untapped potential.

Unfortunately, the supporting cast is more towards the backroom producers and less on the actual competitors of the show. Imagine the Korean web-novel 'God of Cooking', but we don't get to read too much about MC's relationship with his fellow competitors Kaya, Chloe or Anderson but instead more about the producers of that cooking show. The person closest to the MC is his foster father, yet he remained a background figure most of the time. Much of the exposition and dialogue is about established musicians trying and testing the MC due to their curiosity.

It is decent and I can say what I read flows easily and quickly, perhaps due to the large number of releases already available when I started reading. I'm not sure I would be as interested if I had started from Day 1 of the translations.

Good, if somewhat aimless. <<less
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Xyn
Xyn rated it
June 6, 2016
Status: v3c2
Pretty good. Fresh and realistic. I got scared for the MC a few times in the story, because realism means he's bound to suffer quite a bit. No ultra smooth path for him. But up 'till now, it doesn't look like the author intends to torture him too much. No overly tragic and dramatic event in sight. Just a bit of hardship.
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nj
nj rated it
July 16, 2016
Status: --
This is not an action novel, all you will get is DRAMA and SLICE OF LIFE from this and I honestly feel like 3/5 is streching it.

One fact that bothers me about this novel is that the chapters are too short, I mean like 2-3 paragraphs at most

The next thing is it feels like the novel is too bland. Dont know why there is action and comedy as tag for this novel. Well I can say there are some situations that are funny but overall it always maintains a constant... more>> rhythm, there wont be any ups and downs. From this novel all you will get is a constant flat tone.

Yes I get it. The MC, he is a genius and a talented musician/ composer/ pianist/ drummer/ guitarist etc. Every chapter it is the same old thing. Honestly I will quit this novel pretty soon if it keeps going in this pace. <<less
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Kagami Ren
Kagami Ren rated it
June 2, 2016
Status: v1c5 part5
This novel revolves Music. Not the Modern Music with lyric but real classic music! This novel shows the charms and scams of TV shows

Good read with laughters
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Kzhckz.
Kzhckz. rated it
January 28, 2018
Status: Completed
This is a great novel in my opinion, with good turns up and down in MC life, his story began in the form of Zero to Hero. He give the world a heavenly sounds that is likely to be played again and again for millennium.

A part where he is able to create a harem but he did not is the best of it.

I'm really really recommend it for those who enjoying mid paced storym
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yugmodnar
yugmodnar rated it
July 26, 2021
Status: c70
Really incredibly boring. 'Godly musician child is really godly at music so let’s put him on low level entertainment shows so that he can do low level drama for 70 chapters' kind of incredibly boring. Maybe the emotional depth is lost in translation but this just isn’t good to me.
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trippy-chan
trippy-chan rated it
December 13, 2017
Status: c281
I only regret deeply that I can't hear the music that Jun is composing in reality, haha. This story is a bildungsroman and then some; spanning across 15 years (though honestly the focus is on the first 5 anyway), it not only details Jun's rise to preeminence on the international music stage but also his personal growth as a person. While these two progressions are intertwined, I do think that it's important to distinguish them--it has deep impact on the way one can read the text. Long story short, your... more>> enjoyment depends on which you place more importance. I think these kind of "genius" narratives are incredibly compelling; there's absolutely a real-world premium on the idea of "genius." In regards to fiction, some may turn away from a character that can conquer any mountain with ease. While it's alright to be wary of the Mary Sue/Gary Stu, one must remember that those are badly written archetypes that defy reason. By defy reason, I mean that their meteoric success doesn't make any sense in-universe. Where is the work that is put in? Why do they succeed, beyond a ban*l description of "awesomeness?" God's Song handles that really well: Jun's effort and the efforts of the people around him are acknowledged and described. Not to mention you can tell that the author did their research (or is incredibly good at bullshitting) when it comes to music and the music industry. So this where I would rate this series to a 5/5 stars.

But gotta tell you, I would rate some other aspects a lot lower. Let's take Jun's personal growth, aka "character development." Perhaps this is an effect of the writing style (taking into account that it is translated), which happens to be very "tell" not "show." It falls flat sometimes, honestly. It's difficult, though not impossible mind you, to connect emotionally with any of the characters. I am of the opinion that for strong characterization, their tears must be the readers' tears. Ok, maybe not that dramatic, but reading God's Song was like reading words on a paper. That's it. No visualization, just flat. And that brings me to a big problem I have with the author's decisions. Good god, author, you have such a good chance with Amelia and Jina to really make them into characters in their own right, if only simply due to the integral roles they play in Jun's life. Instead what happens? They don't even get to live, they die before they're born---whatever you want to call it. Jina is a plot device, though a really adorable one, that can neatly bring Jun's story full circle. This one is a little less regrettable because she doesn't get much screen time anyway; the author is clear about her purpose. BUT AMELIA It frustrates me when I think of what Amelia could have been. She's pretty much forever the "passionate Latina lover." Let's tack on "loyal" since she stayed with Jun for 15 years. What is she there for? To show that Jun is not a total hermit? That he can live a "normal" life? She gets so much screen time but is not even afforded the decency of character development. The Amelia you see in Clayton for the first time is the Amelia you get by the end of the epilogue. This my emotional outpouring haha. Sighhh actually this criticism could really apply to all of the characters, damn. Jun, the protagonist, doesn't even get that much development, but at least he gets some. If character development is what you want, this is not the place. 2/5 stars. I can't even bring myself to cover this with the spoiler tag because what is there to spoil when there's no anticipation in the first place?

Sidenote: The author has some 'eh' views when it comes to race and gender. I personally don't agree with the "colorblind" stance that the author has some of the characters take. If you read carefully, Isaac's groping of women and various male characters' objectifying comments about Amelia are definitely played for laughs. It's small, I don't know if you care, but it's there.

In the end, I can't bring myself to rate it to 3 because I did enjoy the journey but I'm also dissatisfied with many aspects. Just throwing this review out into the void, in case anyone finds it helpful. <<less
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Haruko
Haruko rated it
May 19, 2017
Status: c276
What a great journey this has been :)

I decided to upgrade my review of this novel now since it is aproaching it's finale.

At first I rated this 3* but now i'll give it 4*, and the reason for that is simple, this novel has interesting plot and it doesn't stagnate much. Of course there are moments when plot is not moving that smoothly and all the tecnical tems are hard to understand for people like myself who don't understand anything about music theory. It is hard to novel to... more>> be perfect 5* and no doubtly for some others this just might be it and others might find this novel boring since after all everyones tastes are difrent and to me this novel is a solid 4*.

When I first rated this novel, I did rant about how corrupted image of korean showbiz this novel showed me and how anoyed it made me while reading it while keeping me hooked to read more of it. I also did compare how I still found it much better than majority of chinese novels wich rub me in wrong way after I tried to read many of them and finally decided to give up of them since they just dont suit my tastes. This novel is also the first korean novel I decided to read and it totally got me hooked on them and now korean novels are the ones I like to read the most ^.^

Of course there individual difrences between novels, im not saying that everything china makes is bad since there is even 1 chinese novel in my reading list, but overall I dont like them and one of the reasons is their stagnation when plot isnt really moving anywhere and only chapter count increases to ridiculous amounts. I like it when novel has an ending, clear ending is a nice wrap up for a good novel. Even though I havent yet read the ending of this novel, I am expecting it to be a good one, because we have already whitnessed around 15 years of the mc's life, it's ups and downs, meetings and partings.

So if you are reading this long review and are hesitating of reading this novel, I will encourage you to give it a chance. You might like it very much or not at all, but that is just up to you ^_^ <<less
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Nana (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧
I came here after being swooned by tang feng (true star). I expect to find another likeable MC with wit and charm on showbiz, instead I found a realistic portrait about showbiz in Korea. MC is orphan, he grew up in institution, when he's 5 y.o. He got adopted for 1 day then went missing. He live at the street for 10 years, but how the duck a 5 y.o. Kid can survive on his own? A side of novel is trying to show realism, but there's something that didn't... more>> fit the logic!

Initially I want to give it 3 star, but I thought I'm being biased because of the awesomeness of tang feng.. Sigh <<less
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Lao
Lao rated it
May 3, 2016
Status: --
This novel is quite amazing, whether you like Xianxia, Wuxia, Xuanhuan, Western novels, etc, you will have a 90% chance of liking/loving this novel. It’s a refreshing Slice of Life novel where an orphan with a tragic past is homeless, and struggles day to day just to have food for dinner, but once you get pass the time-skip, you’ll become intrigued over how this kid possibly takes over the music industry. The MC’s talent is OP to the point of possessing little to few weaknesses, but you don’t notice that... more>> because the MC’s skill is still being tested to which lengths it can reach. He’s a god-sent genius lacking experience, but he never shines too much, nor too little in whatever he does that pertains to music. This novel might be a little simplistic and under-rated, but the plot captures you and has you wishing for more chapters. <<less
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Mmand1
Mmand1
September 23, 2022
Status: c282
A really high 4 or low 5 stars.

I really enjoyed reading it. Minor misses on the translation and some chapters got repeated (not sure if it's just an error with the link) but overall this is a surprisingly solid novel.

I love Jun's relationship with his father and especially liked that the author didn't delve too deep on his biological parents. Truly a protagonist-centric novel because even if there are a lot of characters, all that's really narrated is their relationship to Jun. Cant help but notice there are bits and... more>> pieces of fillers but kudos to the author for the vivid descriptions. Not much romance, which I like in this sort of novel. <<less
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axl-NU
axl-NU rated it
October 25, 2020
Status: Completed
A beautiful, feel-good story about a boy in the world of classical music. It's about conducting, composing, and connecting with others through music. You can tell the sincerity and love that the author has for music by the author's view on, e.g., performance as a means to reveal one's inner self and lyrics' role on empathy when paired with melodies' role on emotions. Not to mention, the descriptions of the orchestra and conducting are dynamic and unique to this novel. All of this is tied together with heartwarming (tear-jerking) scenes... more>> that necessarily exist in a story about an orphan adopted by a self-less and loving father figure.

* * *

Note: in some places, the chapters linked on NU are not in proper order, and there are a few instances where passages are repeated. Also, there is at least one obvious missing chapter in the first talent-show arc, as we unfortunately don't get to experience the resolution to the mess involving the Korean press that a later chapter references. The issues with the chapters sort themselves out after the first few school-arc chapters. <<less
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oblueknighto
oblueknighto rated it
December 14, 2017
Status: c281
It's just a great novel about music. The main character is a music genius overall. He can do anything with practice and he really loves music. I personally think the novel gets better and better towards the end so chew through the short chapters at the beginning and keep at it. The characters develop throughout the story and can sometimes even surprise you. The story advances through stages of his life as he develops his music and how he expresses it to the world. The ending is fantastic and I... more>> can recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good read. <<less
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cjayr369
cjayr369
February 1, 2017
Status: c212
When the first time I picked up this novel, I only blindly choosing what to read just to past some time waiting. But didn't expect that this story would comes with a surprise--No its more like this story itself is a bomb. It was quite enjoyable reading it and I also found something that would relate to an anime I had watch. Though the the the MC and the heroin were a Pianist and a Violist, and in here they are both Pianist. Even so, to those that had a... more>> great imagination they would able to "feel" and "hear" the music. <<less
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niallronen
niallronen rated it
June 15, 2016
Status: v3c4
I find the plot to be really interesting. Similar in some ways to the construction of the other popular "star" novels that are being translated.. But in many ways much more relatable than I'm really a superstar or the like.

Definitely bears the mark of a korean novel.

Protagonist is supposed to be ignorant.. Given he is an orphan.. But like many other korean works (melodramas) the orphan seems to always quickly overcome poor education via plot-armor/ determination (haha no matter what asian internet novel you read one cant escape the plot... more>> armor!!) <<less
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kedar080340119014
kedar080340119014 rated it
June 14, 2016
Status: --
This one is a pleasant surprise. This LN is much more grounded in reality than usual showbiz LNs like I'm really a superstar or True Star. The MC does not become popular overnight and does suffer from setbacks and has likeable personality. I personally like much more fast paced novel such as the ones mentioned above but I have to admit that because this LN is much more grounded in reality with slow and well developed story with solid foundations, the reader will be able to relate and vest more... more>> in to the MC and the story than other LNs. It is somewhat slower, I admit that but If you are patient, I assure you that there are some good payoffs in the LN which you will enjoy reading. <<less
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AnimeFan9001
AnimeFan9001 rated it
May 6, 2016
Status: --
The book is pretty good, the main character is a child from an orphanage who is gifted with a talent in music, being able to hear the beats and compose music based on what he hears. The book gets off to a slow start, and while we do see what the main character is capable of, he doesn't really seem to shine. I'm waiting for more of the book, but from what I've read so far, i'd give it a 3.5/5
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Mahesvara_
Mahesvara_ rated it
July 14, 2023
Status: c101
I've read a hundred chapters already but no comedy, zero, nay, nothing. I find more cringe moments than comedy itself. It's a flat boring story, the characters aren't fleshed out and they're hardly memorable. In fact I already forgotten more than half of the characters as I was writing this review.

It's not a bad novel. It's just bland and average. I got hooked from the synopsis of the story, it's one of the most interesting and clever synopsis but unfortunately the content isn't as deep and interesting. Story: 3/5
Concept:... more>> 3/5
Characters: 3/5 <<less
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fangyuan
fangyuan rated it
May 2, 2022
Status: Completed
A good novel without a doubt. I find the early to middle part of the novel best as Jun slowly integrates with society and understands his musical talent. Not that the rest of the novel are uninteresting but I find the progression too smooth-sailing. One of the biggest gripes I had was probably the arc where ... more>>
Spoiler

MC took up a project to produce an Italian opera in Italy and off all things, decided to turn The Godfather into an opera. It's like whipping up a Hawaiian pizza for an Italian dinner

[collapse]
. Otherwise, the novel is interesting and I would recommend it. <<less
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Little Ice
Little Ice rated it
December 4, 2021
Status: Completed
Breathtaking. That's the only word to describe this.

While the writing style is tasteful and just to my taste, the beginning is undeniably aren't so exciting. But I assure and promise you that the real story starts when the protagonist truly take a step out into the world. And at that time, it will be the start when the story truly flew off and hit my expectations.

The moments when the author describe the protagonist's music make me feel as if I'm hearing the music itself. And it's so good that I... more>> wish I could hear it all by myself.

And although I'm in great risk, since I need to submit my missing assignments tonorrow. I'll say confidently that this novel is good enough for me to bear the risk.

And furthermore the ending? It's just so perfect. To be honest, I wish I could read more of this, and 282 chapters are way too short for me. But the ending have manage to curb my hunger and it's the perfect one last touch for this novel.

So the final review is, 1000000000000/10 from me. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. <<less
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