Death Note, Vol. 1
by Tsugumi Ohba
★ Top 25 book of 2005 · #15 on Best Books of 2005
Bored but brilliant student Light Yagami finds a notebook dropped by a death god that kills anyone whose name is written in it. He sets out to rid the world of evil while the detective L closes in.
Best for: Manga fans who like cat-and-mouse tension between a killer and a famed detective
Death Note, Vol. 1 is #15 on BookWard's Best Books of 2005, out of 52 2005 books that cleared our data bar.
What Death Note, Vol. 1 is about
Light Yagami is a brilliant student with a bright future and a deep boredom with it all. That changes when he finds a notebook dropped by a bored death god: anyone whose name is written inside will die. Convinced he can cleanse the world, Light starts with criminals, and soon they are falling dead one after another. The authorities respond by calling in L, a famed detective, and a duel of wits begins. This first volume sets up a dark, tense contest about justice, power, and how easily a noble aim can curdle. Readers who enjoy cunning, cerebral thrillers will find plenty to chew on.
Death Note, Vol. 1 on the Best Books of 2005
Death Note, Vol. 1 came out in 2005. Of the 52 books first published in 2005 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #15 on our Best Books of 2005 list.
Why it made the list: 258 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (44 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Reader favorite.
Nearby on the 2005 list
- A New Earth Eckhart Tolle, #13
- American Prometheus Kai Bird, #14
- The Game Neil Strauss, #16
- Old Man’s War John Scalzi, #17
See all Best Books of 2005 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2004 Best Books of 2006.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 194 want to read it, 13 are reading it now and 51 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.4 out of 5 from 44 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 54 | 55% |
| Reader love | 94 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 60 | 20% |
Questions about Death Note, Vol. 1
When was Death Note, Vol. 1 published?
Death Note, Vol. 1 by Tsugumi Ohba was first published in 2005.
Was Death Note, Vol. 1 one of the best books of 2005?
Death Note, Vol. 1 is #15 on BookWard's Best Books of 2005, out of 52 2005 books that cleared our data bar. 258 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (44 ratings).
Why is Death Note, Vol. 1 on the Best Books of 2005 list?
258 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (44 ratings).
More of the best books of 2005
- The Lightning Thief Rick Riordan, #1
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J. K. Rowling, #2
- The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls, #3
- Looking for Alaska John Green, #4
- Eldest Christopher Paolini, #5
- Freakonomics Steven D. Levitt, #6
See the full Best Books of 2005, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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