Log Horizon, Vol. 1 (Novel): The Beginning of Another World Paperback – 21 Apr 2015

It is the start of a great series. I love the way the format fantasy and a world of video game mechanics.

Great!

I'm addressing these reviews primarily for those who watched the anime. If you haven't watched the anime, you should watch it. Know that this series differs from most other fantasy-based stories in that main character Shiroe is using a support magic class that has very little offensive power. Because he can't fight very well, Shiroe must use his mind to solve the problems of the world that used to be a computer game. In battles, he devises battle strategies that exploit enemies' weaknesses and maximize the power of his friends and allies, who are able to fight effectively. In non-battles, he uses his mind to deal with making this world a better place for all.

Taylor Engel provides the English translation of this light novel, and the translation is very competent, keeping Japanese honorifics and translating sound effects in tiny font. Since the manga and light novel are translated by the same person, it's no surprise that some words are different from the anime. Anybody coming from the anime should not have much trouble adapting, however. For example:

My liege (light novel) <-> My lord (anime)
Crescent Moon League (light novel) <-> Crescent Moon Alliance (anime)
Catastrophe (light novel) <-> Apocalypse (anime)
Great Temple (light novel) <-> Cathedral (anime)
Captain (light novel) <-> Chief (anime)
Sewn-Bind Hostage (light novel) <-> Thorn Bind Hostage (anime)
Briganteers (light novel) <-> Brigandia (anime)
Machiavelli in Glasses (light novel) <-> Villain in Glasses (anime)

The last three are probably the biggest changes. I actually like "Thorn-Bind Hostage" better, because that is actually accurate to what the spell looks like in the manga and anime, but "Sewn-Bind" is a valid translation after looking up the word "sewn." "Briganteers" sounds weird compared to "Brigandia" and at first I didn't realize it was the name of the guild. However, "Machiavelli in Glasses" is probably more accurate than "Villain in Glasses" given the way Shiroe's planning is able to manipulate people to take specific actions that he can exploit.

In particular, I am very glad the translated light novel kept the name of Elder Tale expansion as "Homesteading the Noosphere" as this expansion title is also the title of an essay written by Eric S. Raymond about open-source software development. And, Elder Tale is software that the Adventurers modify in certain ways to adapt to the new world order.

Unlike the manga, the light novel is a written story, with lots of words, paragraphs, and sentences. Taylor Engel's localization prowess is shown in full force here while it might not be as apparent in the English manga. While it might be "easy" to translate a sentence or two at at time in the manga, translating sentence after sentence and making sure the whole work reads well in the light novel is a challenging endeavor. The light novel reads smoothly without any notable signs of awkward grammar or diction.

Warning: Some spoilers ahead.

In terms of the contents of the light novel, Mamare Touno provides more details about the world of Elder Tale and the characters. It has a slightly darker tone than the anime. Mamare Touno covers topics such as player killing, robbery, slavery, being a female in game, and sexual assault. (Sexual assault is talked about as something that could happen to players, but no actual incident occurs in this novel.) Touno covers these somber topics just enough to get you to think about how society would function in this state, but he doesn't delve too deeply into the topics (at least not in this novel).

In addition, Touno covers how Adventurers must adjust to the world's weird game-like mechanics. For example, to invoke the menu, you have to concentrate and let the menu appear in your mind (i.e. the mind's eye). The anime depicts the menu as an overlay system outside of the body, but in the light novel, this menu is not an external object. In another example, because of the amount of concentration required to "see" the menu, it's actually hard to fight monsters while trying to keep track of your stats, let alone someone else's stats. Therefore, somebody in the rear lines has to serve as the tactician if the party wants to be able to win a battle. The anime glosses over these details, so it gives the impression the Adventurers have some sort of superpower.

Lastly, some events are different in the light novel than in the anime.

Some differences:
* In the light novel, Naotsugu and Shiroe are talking about something serious when male Akatsuki tries to get their attention. In the anime, they are talking something frivolous.
* Male Akatsuki only tosses one pebble to get Naotsugu and Shiroe's attention. In the anime, three pebbles are thrown in a comedic gesture, one bigger than the next.
* After the first fight with PKers, Shiroe is actually gives permission to Akatsuki to "kill" the leader. In the anime, the leader pleads for mercy before trying to backstab the group (and subsequently getting "killed" by Akatsuki). This minute difference makes light novel Shiroe a little colder/calculated than anime Shiroe.
* In the Depths of Palm, Shiroe and company do not fall into a body of water in the light novel. In addition, there is no boss fight in the Depths of Palm; the group exits without incident.

In addition to different events from the anime, the light novel simply describes more "stuff." The anime (in the Crunchyroll English translation) sometimes described a person or thing in one line that felt out of place. After reading this light novel, I believe the anime's original audience was the light novel readers and not new viewers, so that the anime could skip a few details to advance the story. Unfortunately, not going into more details about those "little things" leaves the sophisticated viewer asking some more questions, which are answered in this light novel. So, if you felt the same as I did while watching the anime, you need to read this book!

If you enjoyed the anime; i think you'll enjoy the book. I like how this book goes into more detail with how the main character, shiroe, feels compared to the anime, which took the "shiroe is awesome and invincible" root--though that way was great as well. The book will also be a fun read for those that like online game or role playing games.
If your looking for a read similar to SAO (sword art online) or .hack// I would NOT recommend this book, Log horizon is a smart book, while SAO is a 'dumb action story' (i loved this show, but its completely unoriginal, just another mainstream anime--which i love [im a otaku, i love many anime types]) and .hack is weird (.hack//sign) or just some fun (.hack//twilight).
Log Horizon is like Death note, but with Light Yagami having morals and a different personality (loved death note as well, very intelligent) but Log horizon isn't nearly as dramatic. I found the Log Horizon anime more funny than the novel, but the novel is still good. There is not allot of technobabble, so its easy to understand for people who don't play mmorpgs, like me, to understand.

P.S.
The author seems to have a good sense of humor. you know how in most books on the last page their is a blurb about the aurther? well, iv aded a picture of it

Log Horizon: The Beginning of Another World is the first in the wildly popular light novel series that spawned a manga and anime adaptation by Author Mamare Touno and Illustrator Kazuhiro Hara, translated for the first time in English from its native Japanese.

Shiroe is a normal college student who has been playing an insanely popular online RPG titled Elder Tales for the last eight years. On the day of a new expansion's release, over thirty thousand players are sucked into the world of their beloved video game, assuming the roles and identities of their characters. Shiroe, once a normal college student, finds himself a level 90 Enchanter in a world where everything is a mix of the two. Attempting to learn the new rules set for them, Shiroe and his teammates, Noatsugo and Akatsuki, venture out into the world to discover the great adventure they've been placed in.

For a short while, I'd been thinking this novel would turn out to be a simple four out of five star read, but by the time the final battle came along and the characters had been established I knew this deserved nothing less than five full stars. It takes some time for you to get a handle on everything that's going on, and I'm certain there's still more to be revealed, but once you get the hang of it its smooth sailing.

This is a read for gamers and fantasy lovers only. Without at least some prior knowledge you won't be able to fathom the depth of this story. It does a great job of explaining everything in terms non-gamers could understand, but there's still quite a bit you'd miss if you haven't been immersed in that world. This is a complex story meant for the hardcore lovers of games and fantasy. Non-believers need not apply.

On top of the story, we're given one page manga extracts of certain scenes from exceptional artist Kazuhiro Hara. The perfect added spice to the story, giving the reader a clear mental image of what's happening in the book.

By the end of this book, I knew I was hooked on the whole thing. I plan on reading the manga and watching the anime as soon as possible, and you can bet I'll be right there for the release of book two!