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The Great Cleric (Light Novel) #1

The Great Cleric (Light Novel): Volume 1

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One moment, a certain salaryman is on cloud nine, that promotion finally within his grasp, and the next, he’s keeled over pain, and that was all she wrote. Luckily for him, fate had a bit more to say. A world of magic, monsters, and other such life-shortening entities await his newly reincarnated self for a second shot at life. With nothing but his past-life experiences and sharp business skills to guide him in the foreign lands of Galdardia, he takes up the name Luciel and vows that his (next) demise will be from naught but old age. And what better way to avoid a(nother) gruesome death, than by taking up a nice, cushy job as a healer? But getting by in another world doesn’t come easy, or cheap. It’ll take a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to hone the skills he needs to make his way. But make it he will...or die (again) trying!

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First published August 30, 2016

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Broccoli Lion

46 books35 followers

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5 stars
653 (61%)
4 stars
280 (26%)
3 stars
111 (10%)
2 stars
18 (1%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
Profile Image for Jen.
3,439 reviews27 followers
May 13, 2025
I did NOT expect to love this one as much as I did.

Confession time: in D&D, I’m ALWAYS the cleric. If I could have stomached blood/guts/bodily fluids, I would have gone into the medical field (MAD props to those who are in that field. It’s necessary and not easy, RESPECT.)

I feel that helping others is one of the most basic, yet important things we can and should do on both an individual and societal level. Being a healer in D&D is how I play that role in my fantasy.

So the MC being a cleric, who believed in helping others, got my attention, and my 🤩🤩🤩🤩.

I love the writing style, the translation is one of the better ones I’ve come across and the world and plot MAKES SENSE. The characters are fun and while I wish there were more female characters, they are powerful in their own ways and while it’s hinted at a few times, no reverse harem in this volume at least, WOOT!

I highly recommend this one. It’s smart and fun. The running jokes may get old after a while, but the volume ends the main story arc, with the promise of one just as good in the next volume. SOLD!

5, I downloaded the next volume immediately and was late to work due to reading it, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Akshay.
805 reviews5 followers
August 14, 2025
The Great Cleric (Light Novel): Volume 1 – Review

The Great Cleric is an engaging blend of isekai reincarnation storytelling and slow-burn fantasy progression. Written by Broccoli Lion, this first volume lays the groundwork for Luciel’s journey from a diligent salaryman on Earth to a newly minted healer in an unfamiliar world. While it embraces many genre tropes, the author adds a refreshing focus on grit, patience, and the unglamorous aspects of survival in a foreign land.


a girl with white hair and purple eyes is holding a card that says ' a ' on it
What Works Well

Grounded World-Building: Instead of immediately granting Luciel overwhelming power, the novel emphasizes learning, training, and working within the world’s systems — making his growth believable and earned.
Slice-of-Life Charm: Much of the narrative captures everyday struggles — from negotiating prices to surviving harsh training — adding a realistic rhythm to the pacing.
Underdog Appeal: Luciel’s constant self-doubt and perseverance make him a relatable, if understated, hero.


Areas That Could Be Stronger

Pacing: At times, the story lingers too long on mundane tasks, which may test the patience of readers expecting high-stakes action early on.
Character Dynamism: Luciel’s personality remains overly passive for much of the book, which sometimes dulls dramatic tension.


“The Great Cleric isn’t about flashy battles — it’s about the grind, the patience, and the quiet victories.”


Luciel is far from the brash, headstrong archetype often found in isekai. Instead, he exhibits a meek and submissive disposition — a holdover from his Earthly life as a modest salaryman. He avoids confrontation, defers to authority, and focuses on doing what’s asked of him rather than pursuing grand ambitions from the start.



While this humility earns him allies and keeps him alive, it can also be a narrative handicap, slowing his agency in the plot’s early stages.




Final Verdict

The Great Cleric (Light Novel): Volume 1 is a slow yet rewarding start to a grounded isekai journey. It favors persistence over instant gratification and appeals to readers who appreciate character-driven progression more than constant spectacle.



Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰ (3/5 glowing stars)
Profile Image for Russell Gray.
672 reviews134 followers
December 2, 2022
I've been on a bit of a lite novel kick lately, and enjoying it since one culture's generic tropes are another's unique flavor. There does tend to be a bit of overlap since many American writers are derivative of anime and manga these days, but you can usually feel the author's influence.

The strongest influence for this story is in the form of the main character, an archetypal overworked salaryman who wants to be the best worker bee he can be and move up in his company. Tragically, he is shot and dies while leaving the office, but his tenacity and refusal to accept death quietly attracts the attention of a god of fate from a different realm looking for 10 souls to transplant on a world of magic and adventure.

The main character is legitimately pathetic in the early parts of this story, but I guess in a not totally unlikable way. Rather than disliking him as a character, you end up rooting for him to not break out into a sweat every time he converses with an adventurer wearing a weapon.

The god of fate gives our MC a certain amount of skill points to choose whatever skills he wishes to start with and decides to become a healer in the hopes of living a quiet life where he dies as an old man in his sleep rather than by violence. Of course, fate has other plans and that's where our story goes.

This series is one that I've enjoyed a lot so far and is one of my recent favorites among lite novels. I liked how the character started with no real cheat abilities and relied on the tenacity he acquired as a salaryman to grind his way through life.
Profile Image for DeeNeez.
2,000 reviews13 followers
February 14, 2025
You have to love Luciel for being an honest magic healer willing to heal anyone needing his help. Probably the only one in a world of corrupt healers.
Profile Image for Pablo García.
855 reviews22 followers
April 28, 2022
Author kills main character, Luciel, in the first chapter of this new light novel series by a gunshot. In Japan, one of the safest countries in the world from violence, there are only 76 gunshot deaths per year. Main character "wants a safe place to live like Japan" (I assume before his gunshot death) so the Gods that be, reincarnate him in Galdardia, an alternate world with magic and spirit-beast-other-folks.
This first volume has 200+ pages and 12 chapters with 2 side stories. It is a Role Playing Game (RPG) style of isekai (reincarnated/transported to another world) light novel series.
Although author makes Lucius, main character a cowardly wimp (by no means a role model to anyone), author fills story with contradictions like this one "It sounded strange when I put it like that. Never had I thought about needing to “survive” in my past life, but in this world any day could be my last." While Lucius was super serious about surviving in his second life, it was his first life that killed him in a super violent way.
My favorite quote of this first volume is this one: "Running away is addictive. Do it once and suddenly you can’t stop. The moment the going gets tough, you feel the urge to escape. But you kept me from running away from my training. You were my anchor.” To Luciel, Monica the almost killed receptionist, was Luciel "anchor", reason to improve, to overcome, to get stronger.
The good thing about this light novel series, is that the author wrote the web series first, then had to polish and rewrite this first volume a great many times. While the stats and game like settings are extra, the story has cohesion and everything makes sense. Time went by quickly and even though each day was repetitive and just training, for me this story was entertaining and true, because one can only get better, with practice and more practice.
The idea that doctors (healers) are all crooks, is a true one, it is hard to see a dedicated doctor in today's world. Their Hippocratic pledge is bogus and people die because of the medical industry's greed and ignorance. At least Luciel, applying the golden rule (treat others as you would like to be treated) did his best to help everyone out, because, in his past life, no one helped him and he died.
This is one of the best light novel series I have so far read, and I highly recommend it.
Profile Image for Blank.
127 reviews4 followers
April 22, 2022
a good light novel with...... unknown direction

The Great Cleric, awal mendengar soal serial ini itu rasanya ga begitu yakin, karena covernya yang cukup menimbulkan pertanyaan dengan orang yang pake kuping kelincinya, tapi setelah baca preview nya di google play books, hm.. ternyata ga buruk - buruk amat kok, dan malah bisa dikatakana cukup menarik

Kita mengikuti MC yang bernama Luciel, seorang healer yang bersumpah bahwa dia hanya akan mati karena umur, dan ga akan menerima penyebab kematian yang lainnya lagi. Secara story sih, cukup menarik dan berbeda, dan seperti kebanyakan light novel yang lain, ditulis dengan enteng dengan plot yang cukup simpel untuk diikuti

Karakternya, walaupun mungkin bisa dikatakan "predictable", ditulis dengan baik dan ga terlalu menekankan pada troupe karakter - karakternya. Di volume 1 ini, kita ga banyak dikasih lihat bagaimana dunia dan environmentnya, MC nya, seperti katanya seorang mata - mata di dalem buku, literally adalah hermit yang cuma keluar rumah sebanyak 4 kali dalam setahun

Salah satu hal yang menurutku merupakan kekurangannya dari novel ini adalah (kalo ini bisa disebut kekurangan sih) adalah story directionnya yang menurutku ga jelas, ga kayak cerita - cerita pada umumnya, goal si MC sejauh ini cuma ada 1 aja, yaitu bertahan hidup dan so far, kalo goalnya cuma itu, yaaa sukses - sukses aja sih

Anyway, menurutku buku ini menarik, story nya ditulis dengan baik dengan plot yang gampang buat diikuti, walaupun ada beberapa kekurangan seperti karakternya yang generic dan predictable, dan story direction yang kurang jelas, tapi buku ini masih bisa dinikmati sebagai escapist abis mikir yang berat - berat
Profile Image for Urhierefe .
159 reviews
October 20, 2025
A Brilliantly Phenomenal Read!

This here is how a healer MC is written, and a perfect world and set up is made to create enough intrigue to make a whole archetype I usually avoid due to the lackluster execution.

Shout out to Azarinth Healer as well, although both are two very different books.

This book had it cons as most things from Japan the cultural differences impact on behaviour always lead to very meek, female focused character obsessions, as if the males here are starved of female contact. This had that problem in the direction of the MC being too apologetic, which personally as a person I hate, and he is too easily flustered by women, which I find disgusting, yet, here I am rating this book so highly. I can only say I'm Amazed

But those facts did reduce by the end of the book, and the cons here were just too good, in the Light Novel sphere for me to ignore, Character development is too notch, Pacing is very well contained, events are organically occuring, and the power scaling isn't broken.

And finally what raised this book from four starts to five was the interludes, they shift of povs did wonderful jobs at painting just what the main character symbolised in this new world and I'm in love.
72 reviews
December 4, 2022
8/10. The beginning of the volume was written carelessly. Very fantastical in the sense that it made little sense. Well, for night novel standards, it was average I guess. But I guess I was hooked either way. I am interested in Luciel's growth. It is nice reading of a story about a character who is still lame even when working out for years. I like power fantasies. They are entertaining, but I love more that it is not dumb story just to entertain me. It has a good balance. Now that serious but not that fake. It's kind of The Wizard World were the MC trains for decades. When the MC gets stronger, you feel satisfied as the MC does as well. Sure, I imagine Luciel will get strong, but it feels better when it comes from hard work instead of being given power.

For light novel readers, and people accustomed, it will be a great volume. For all the other readers, it will be at least okay, so give it a try if who've got the time.
84 reviews1 follower
June 3, 2022
Surprisingly great story and an interesting start to the series. Not really sure where it is heading however.

Keep in mind when thinking about picking the series up that it takes a realistic view of reincarnation stories. The protagonist does not have any cheat skills. People die. Regularly. People are enslaved and disappear, never to be heard from again. And the antagonist wins in the end.

If you are okay with that, definitely recommend giving it a try. My only complaint is the identity of the mysterious slave, who I had assumed was one of the receptionists at the adventurers or healers guild. But despite leading a "cudetat" against the antagonist, they were never named.
Profile Image for Dustin.
1,176 reviews8 followers
February 6, 2023
This is not a great start for a series and if I hadn't already read the manga adaptation and didn't already know that it significantly picks up I wouldn't have bothered to finish this.

Mostly it's just dull. It's a slice of life story about someone who stays inside and works out all day while giving minimal word count to how they interact with the world or the other characters in the setting.

Honestly the handful of scenes in this volume of any real significance could easily have been flashback scenes in the next book in the series. Imagine a Jurassic Park prequel that was just Dr. Grant's plane ride from Montana to South America shown in real time.
265 reviews5 followers
May 12, 2021
A good start.

This is a good first volume in this serie. A lot of reuse ideas from this gender, but the author does a nice job narrating and introducing the characters, which is one of the strongest points of the novel. This volume is more like an introductory chapter, there isn’t action scenes, or plot twist, even the big problem at the end is solved quite peacefully. Not that is bad, on the contrary, is nice to see this kind of style for a change. Overall, an interesting an fun read to kill some time.
Profile Image for ReadToBreathe.
870 reviews32 followers
June 9, 2023
4.25 Stars
I love isikie animes but most of them have harem which is something I don't like, so I thought I should read a novel instead. I discovered this book by accident when I saw the anime will be released in 2024.

After reading so many manhwas I discovered that I like overpowered MC from the get go so I struggled with this novel a bit. The MC is not that special in the new world, he builds his power slowly but steadily by excruciating workouts. He is kind and considerate so it was nice seeing him overcome his fears and build a good reputation for himself.
Profile Image for Enzo.
927 reviews1 follower
November 8, 2025
After a tragic end the reincarnated Luciel decides he is going to stay alive longer in this new life and world. He makes it to a city and joins the Healers guild. Here he learns how to use his mana to heal. But he has an addiction to living. Not that I blame him. So he decides to learn self defense and for this joins the Adventurers guild. But they decide to train him up and ask him to heal the newbies and those he can. This really works out for Luciel as he grows as a healer and as an Adventurer.
62 reviews
February 21, 2021
Well told

Overall the story was well told with no major defects. While typical of the Japanese business man nice guy dies and reincates or transplants to a fantasy world, the author does not dilute the story with needless description or worse- explaining the obvious. I've become paranoid about jln series but this is the first in a long while that I've pre ordered the next rather than waiting for a sample.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
148 reviews1 follower
October 12, 2022
At first I wasn't sure about this series. However as I kept reading it I found myself more intrigued. Unlike some other isekai stories, the main character doesn't arrive OP, but he has to start as a complete novice and has to struggled hard for two years before he gets the attention of more powerful people. In the meantime he starts fostering better relations between healers and everyone else by proving that healers aren't necessarily greedy people. Curious to see what happens next to him.
Profile Image for Victor Sanchez.
322 reviews3 followers
October 27, 2025
DNF. I just can't stomach this series who flat out refuse to engage with their own world. Everythign is being presented with the caveat "as reincarnation stories famous in Japan". Its copy pasted. Its lazy and made it look like it was churned by the first draft.

Maybe it gets better in subsequent novels, but when you flat out state "there is no reason to waste time explaining. You have read thousands of works like this", is a flatout no for me.
1 review
March 14, 2022
Great RPG ADVENTURE STORY

Being more of a video game player then a reader I can honestly say this series so far has kept me hooked with it's story incorporating gaming aspects, it has guilds, monsters, skill trees and so on!
Overall the book was an awesome read even for someone who doesn't like to read.
Profile Image for Anatolii Morar.
32 reviews
August 23, 2022
Досить типовий ісекай. Ніяких особливих цікавинок немає, але й негативів небагато, тому й читати під кінець стало схоже на жування старої гумки, яка вже втратила будь-який смак. Судячи з відгуків, у майбутніх томах особливих змін не буде і формула залишиться та сама, тому продовжувати читати цю серію я не планую.
776 reviews4 followers
August 27, 2023
Fantastic!

Unfortunately for me I saw the anime first. This book is very closely aligned to the first 8 episodes. A tiny bit slow at the beginning but you also get a much deeper understanding of where Luciel comes from mentally and his actual past.

Fantastic read and quick, I finished the day I started, I could not put it down.
Profile Image for Kevin.
104 reviews1 follower
October 25, 2023
A technically boring book, but fun LitRPGish Light Nivel

It’s a growth story with a straightforward main character who just puts himself through training. There’s no big climax to this book. In a lot of ways, it’s a prologue. But if you enjoy watching a person learn in a new world and slowly grow, you’ll love this book anyway. Going to go for the second.
Profile Image for Jesus.
449 reviews
January 9, 2024
loved it

This novel will be very interesting to read. I have already seen the anime. But the novel had so much information that made be want to rewatch the anime again. Now that I read the first volume, I can’t wait to continue reading it. Luciel might become a saint for that world.
Profile Image for Megan.
Author 1 book22 followers
January 13, 2025
As a light novel, this has an amazing story. The MC is humble to a fault and keeps a clear head even after being reborn into a fantasy world. Considering that most of the story takes place in the adventurer's guild, it's amazing how fascinating the story is and how Luciel's every day habits become something to root for.
52 reviews
April 4, 2021
These are Manly Tears I Shed!

Such a well written, heart warming book. So happy they finally put out the light novel. I got nothing bad to say about the story. Buy the book and enjoy.
552 reviews2 followers
Read
May 4, 2021
Perseverance kindness

Book one, ex Japanese man now 15 year old with some magic potential. After bit of medical training swaps healing for martial fitness training at adventurers guild. Despite vicious reputation of healers, makes friends.
Profile Image for Knight.
371 reviews1 follower
October 12, 2021
A great start to a light novel

Really interesting read. For all those who like hard-working main characters this is the guy for you. He’s got a big heart and always willing to go the extra mile. I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to the next book in the series.
37 reviews1 follower
December 19, 2022
A solid read!

This light novel is an excellent one to pick up if you're looking for a strong storyline. The author does excellent world building and develops the characters and the storylines in perfect step. Can't wait to pick up the next volume!
Profile Image for Rebecca Whaley.
1,686 reviews32 followers
June 11, 2023
Really good! I like luciel. He's hardworking and kind. He just got reincarnated into this new world and is doing everything he can to make it there. Learning new skills and training. Interested to see what happens next.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews

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