diff --git a/ui/package-lock.json b/ui/package-lock.json
index 2ae568b..af9008e 100644
--- a/ui/package-lock.json
+++ b/ui/package-lock.json
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 			"name": "ui",
 			"version": "0.0.1",
 			"dependencies": {
+				"marked": "^17.0.3",
 				"pocketbase": "^0.26.8"
 			},
 			"devDependencies": {
@@ -1979,6 +1980,18 @@
 				"@jridgewell/sourcemap-codec": "^1.5.5"
 			}
 		},
+		"node_modules/marked": {
+			"version": "17.0.3",
+			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/marked/-/marked-17.0.3.tgz",
+			"integrity": "sha512-jt1v2ObpyOKR8p4XaUJVk3YWRJ5n+i4+rjQopxvV32rSndTJXvIzuUdWWIy/1pFQMkQmvTXawzDNqOH/CUmx6A==",
+			"license": "MIT",
+			"bin": {
+				"marked": "bin/marked.js"
+			},
+			"engines": {
+				"node": ">= 20"
+			}
+		},
 		"node_modules/mri": {
 			"version": "1.2.0",
 			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/mri/-/mri-1.2.0.tgz",
diff --git a/ui/package.json b/ui/package.json
index bb5ab5b..01bca59 100644
--- a/ui/package.json
+++ b/ui/package.json
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 		"vite": "^7.3.1"
 	},
 	"dependencies": {
+		"marked": "^17.0.3",
 		"pocketbase": "^0.26.8"
 	}
 }
diff --git a/ui/src/app.css b/ui/src/app.css
index 7bc294a..e7bc911 100644
--- a/ui/src/app.css
+++ b/ui/src/app.css
@@ -14,3 +14,42 @@ html {
 	background-color: var(--color-surface);
 	color: var(--color-text);
 }
+
+/* ── Chapter prose ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+.prose-chapter {
+	max-width: 72ch;
+	line-height: 1.85;
+	font-size: 1.05rem;
+	color: #d4d4d8; /* zinc-300 */
+}
+
+.prose-chapter h1,
+.prose-chapter h2,
+.prose-chapter h3 {
+	color: #f4f4f5;
+	font-weight: 700;
+	margin-top: 1.5em;
+	margin-bottom: 0.5em;
+}
+
+.prose-chapter h1 { font-size: 1.4rem; }
+.prose-chapter h2 { font-size: 1.2rem; }
+.prose-chapter h3 { font-size: 1.05rem; }
+
+.prose-chapter p {
+	margin-bottom: 1.2em;
+}
+
+.prose-chapter em {
+	color: #a1a1aa;
+}
+
+.prose-chapter strong {
+	color: #f4f4f5;
+}
+
+.prose-chapter hr {
+	border-color: #3f3f46;
+	margin: 2em 0;
+}
+
diff --git a/ui/src/routes/books/[slug]/chapters/[n]/+page.server.ts b/ui/src/routes/books/[slug]/chapters/[n]/+page.server.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3df478b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/src/routes/books/[slug]/chapters/[n]/+page.server.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import { error } from '@sveltejs/kit';
+import { marked } from 'marked';
+import type { PageServerLoad } from './$types';
+import { getBook, listChapterIdx } from '$lib/server/pocketbase';
+import { presignChapter } from '$lib/server/minio';
+
+export const load: PageServerLoad = async ({ params, locals }) => {
+	const { slug } = params;
+	const n = parseInt(params.n, 10);
+
+	if (!n || n < 1) error(400, 'Invalid chapter number');
+
+	// Fetch book metadata and chapter index in parallel
+	const [book, chapters] = await Promise.all([getBook(slug), listChapterIdx(slug)]);
+
+	if (!book) error(404, `Book "${slug}" not found`);
+
+	const chapterIdx = chapters.find((c) => c.number === n);
+	if (!chapterIdx) error(404, `Chapter ${n} not found`);
+
+	// Get presigned URL and fetch chapter markdown server-side
+	let html = '';
+	try {
+		const url = await presignChapter(slug, n);
+		const res = await fetch(url);
+		if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`MinIO returned ${res.status}`);
+		const markdown = await res.text();
+		html = await marked(markdown, { async: true });
+	} catch (e) {
+		// Don't hard-fail — show empty content with error message
+		console.error('Failed to fetch chapter content:', e);
+	}
+
+	const prevChapter = chapters.find((c) => c.number === n - 1) ?? null;
+	const nextChapter = chapters.find((c) => c.number === n + 1) ?? null;
+
+	return {
+		book: { slug: book.slug, title: book.title },
+		chapter: chapterIdx,
+		html,
+		prev: prevChapter ? prevChapter.number : null,
+		next: nextChapter ? nextChapter.number : null,
+		sessionId: locals.sessionId
+	};
+};
diff --git a/ui/src/routes/books/[slug]/chapters/[n]/+page.svelte b/ui/src/routes/books/[slug]/chapters/[n]/+page.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4706fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/src/routes/books/[slug]/chapters/[n]/+page.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+<script lang="ts">
+	import type { PageData } from './$types';
+
+	let { data }: { data: PageData } = $props();
+</script>
+
+<svelte:head>
+	<title>{data.chapter.title || `Chapter ${data.chapter.number}`} — {data.book.title} — libnovel</title>
+</svelte:head>
+
+<!-- Top nav -->
+<div class="flex items-center justify-between mb-6 gap-4">
+	<a
+		href="/books/{data.book.slug}"
+		class="text-zinc-400 hover:text-zinc-100 text-sm flex items-center gap-1 transition-colors"
+	>
+		<svg class="w-4 h-4" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
+			<path stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" d="M15 19l-7-7 7-7" />
+		</svg>
+		{data.book.title}
+	</a>
+
+	<div class="flex gap-2">
+		{#if data.prev}
+			<a
+				href="/books/{data.book.slug}/chapters/{data.prev}"
+				class="px-3 py-1.5 rounded bg-zinc-700 text-zinc-300 text-sm hover:bg-zinc-600 transition-colors"
+			>
+				&larr; Ch.{data.prev}
+			</a>
+		{/if}
+		{#if data.next}
+			<a
+				href="/books/{data.book.slug}/chapters/{data.next}"
+				class="px-3 py-1.5 rounded bg-amber-400 text-zinc-900 text-sm font-semibold hover:bg-amber-300 transition-colors"
+			>
+				Ch.{data.next} &rarr;
+			</a>
+		{/if}
+	</div>
+</div>
+
+<!-- Chapter heading -->
+<div class="mb-8">
+	<p class="text-zinc-500 text-sm mb-1">Chapter {data.chapter.number}</p>
+	<h1 class="text-xl font-bold text-zinc-100">
+		{data.chapter.title || `Chapter ${data.chapter.number}`}
+	</h1>
+	{#if data.chapter.date_label}
+		<p class="text-zinc-600 text-xs mt-1">{data.chapter.date_label}</p>
+	{/if}
+</div>
+
+<!-- Chapter content -->
+{#if !data.html}
+	<div class="text-zinc-500 text-center py-16">
+		<p>Chapter content not available.</p>
+	</div>
+{:else}
+	<div class="prose-chapter">
+		{@html data.html}
+	</div>
+{/if}
+
+<!-- Bottom nav -->
+<div class="flex justify-between mt-12 pt-6 border-t border-zinc-800 gap-4">
+	{#if data.prev}
+		<a
+			href="/books/{data.book.slug}/chapters/{data.prev}"
+			class="px-4 py-2 rounded bg-zinc-700 text-zinc-300 text-sm hover:bg-zinc-600 transition-colors"
+		>
+			&larr; Previous chapter
+		</a>
+	{:else}
+		<div></div>
+	{/if}
+	{#if data.next}
+		<a
+			href="/books/{data.book.slug}/chapters/{data.next}"
+			class="px-4 py-2 rounded bg-amber-400 text-zinc-900 text-sm font-semibold hover:bg-amber-300 transition-colors"
+		>
+			Next chapter &rarr;
+		</a>
+	{/if}
+</div>