Rating: 4/5 stars

<b>"Did you ever finish reading a book, put it down, then realize some hours later that you were still inside it, still inhabiting that world, still entertaining those characters?"</b>

Phew! Was that a long book! I'll never forget that feeling where I first got approved for an ARC esp the finale and was shocked that I was even given this chance to review it but oh boy do I have a lot to say!

I finished this book a little over a week and a half ago and I'm still conflicted about the ending and how everything wrapped up. To be quite frank, I feel like I have more questions than answers especially regarding the last few chapters of the finale! Yes, there were answers about who the Brick Layer was and what exactly his plan is, and the mysterious figure of the Sphinx, but then I felt that there were too many big plot points that couldn't be wrapped up and it made it an odd finishing. Even though I had these conflicting feelings, I still enjoyed the book and was very touched at certain moments and then sad at other times, I even teared up a few times! I'm hoping that with the open-ended ending, we'll be getting a sequel? companion novel?

The book starts with Adam's POV and not going to lie, I wasn't the biggest fan at the start, but as the plot started to unravel, I felt myself being connected with him again and very intrigued about the expansive worldbuilding we were getting in the first 20% of the book! I remember reading a certain chapter and worried about Adam and then I got dragged to Senlin's POV, which I cannot complain about because I felt like he didn't have that many opportunities to shine, which is unfortunate because he is the main character after all! I was sick of worry about Adam and we didn't get to see the continuation until much later in the book!

There were many things that I love about this book and one of them was the character arcs that I found to be very true and promising to the characters. We got to read from our old favorites-Senlin, Edith, Voleta, Adam, Iren, BYRON (I love that cyborg stag so much!!), Reddleman-and then got new POVs such as Ann and Marya! I won't go too in-depth about each character as I want this to be a great reading experience for everyone, but it was very refreshing to finally read from Marya's POV. Marya is a character who we know nothing about because we've never got a glimpse into her head, as we are often told to think about her in a certain way. When we finally get to see who Marya is, she's not who you will originally think she is and for that, I found her arc to be very interesting and sad at certain moments, and the ending that she got made sense (however I was a little sad about). Marya's POV was not just the only one I was looking forward to reading from, but I enjoyed so many others such as Reddleman, Edith, and Voleta! I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading from and about Reddleman because I remember not trusting him too much, but as the book went on, the more intriguing and interesting he became! I very much enjoyed the camaraderie of Reddleman and Voleta, who are more alike than the other crewmates wanted, but due to their unfortunate situations, they bonded, and through that bond, we learned more about the mysterious Brick Layer and his granddaughter and the Sphinx.

Another thing that I loved about this book was the plot and the worldbuilding that the author has been hinting about since the beginning of the series; we have finally reached the mysterious top of the tower and what we find is interesting but questionable and confusing at the same time. I found the plot to be engaging but I did find myself bored at some parts, however, the last 20% was fast-paced that I found myself at the last chapter before I knew it! I felt that the book was so large was because the author was setting up for the grand finale and the final showdown with Luc Marat, which to be completely honest, I found a little underwhelming and I was sad about a certain plot point, but it made sense, however, I wasn't happy about it! I find that to be true for a lot of endings, especially for bigger fantasy series, and I've been reading for a long time now, so I should be used to it, but I'm not so I'm always left with a hollow feeling in my chest for who knows how long!

Although I was left at odds with the ending, I still believe it was one of the better endings that I hoped and I'm very fortunate to be given this chance to review this book early! I can't wait to read more from this author and anticipate maybe for a sequel or a companion novel??

There is nothing so satisfying as a well-written ending to a series, and in The Fall of Babel, Josiah Bancroft delivers. Everything about the book—the prose, the character relationships, and the satisfying conclusion all leave me feeling warm and satisfied, but also a tad melancholic that Babel has fallen.
Bancroft opens the book with an in-universe reminder of recent occurrences, which was as helpful as it was delightful, and instantly brought me back to his embrace of his prose stylings, one of my favorite aspects of his work. His voice as a writer is distinct, flowing, beautiful, and never overwrought. His metaphors are unique, vivid, and utterly delightful.
The story follows Tom and his merry band of followers as race to save the tower from Marat and his hods, and their dynamic relationships, which drive the plot as much as the need to stop Marat. Though over seven hundred pages, The Fall of Babel flies at a breathless pace that left me itching to pick the book up again.
Humor runs through the book, bringing a much needed levity to what is often a melancholic, deeply reflective book, and I find myself continuing to consider what Bancroft has to say about art, identity, and relationships now, long after I have read the final pages. It's hard to say much more without getting into spoilers, but despite the drama the characters experience, I find that a pervading sense of optimism in human beings and our capacity to love undergirds the characters mindsets and their resolutions.
And the characters! Bancroft crosses from head to head, showing us the different interior lives and voices of a large portion of the cast, and their vivacity is the highlight of the book to me. I feel as if I know Tom as an old friend by now, and the crew of the State of the Art is the most dynamic throughout the book, and their journeys through the wildly creative ringdoms was a delight. Every action, every word, is in service of developing the characters—even the fight scenes clarify the characters and their priorities.
The Fall of Babel is one of my favorite books of the year… and if you haven't read the first three, now's your chance before coming to the incredible conclusion.

With the final page turned and the curtain now closed, I’m happy to report that The Books of Babel is one of the greatest fantasy series I’ve ever read. Bancroft’s prose continues to possess a unique flavor with dashes of charm, wit, biting humor, and heart that are unmatched by others in the genre.

Throughout this final book, I cared about certain characters more than others, found some story threads more compelling than others, and preferred the quieter, more contemplative moments to the dizzying action sequences and set pieces. Despite my mileage varying on certain aspects of the novel itself, all of the elements coalesced into something wondrous and satisfying in the end.

We’ve been taken on a wild ride since Thomas Senlin first set foot in the magnificent and mysterious Tower of Babel. And while I’m sad to leave this world and cast of characters behind, I’m excited to see what else can be plumbed from the depths of Josiah Bancroft’s imagination. Frankly, I’d devour whatever he writes next – whether that's a shopping list, appliance manual, esoteric textbook, or (ideally) a new novel!

"I think it's perfectly all right to be frightened. Sometimes the fear of change is just an expression of love for the life you had. That's nothing to be ashamed of. I like who we were. And I like who you are, and I suspect I like who you will be, too."

This grand finale to the Tower of Babel series is broken down into three parts. The first third of the book primarily follows Adam, who was left at the top of the tower at the end of The Arm of the Sphinx and whose story was completely neglected in The Hod King. We learn Adam is a bit of a celebrity on the ringdom of Nebos... but how could that be when he'd never previously set foot there? While the first part deals primarily with Adam and his plight and ignores most of the rest of the crew Babel fans have grown to know and love, it provided some great insight into the inner-workings of the tippy top ringdom that readers hadn't been privy to previously. Plus we do get our first glimpses into Tom's comings and goings aboard the Hod King. Part two shifts gears back to the fan favorites - Edith, Iren, Voleta, Ann, Marya, Olivet, Byron, and Reddleman as they cruise around in the Sphinx's fancy pants ship, The State of the Art. They're out to snatch up a series of paintings from various ringdoms before the evil zealot Luc Marat can get to them first. Since Tom is aboard the Hod King alongside Marat, the POV in part two shifts back and forth between the two vessels. Part three is the culmination of All Of The Things where the reader finally learns the fate of the Tower and its various inhabitants we've spent hundreds of pages following.

Per reviews I've been perusing, it seems some readers weren't a fan of part one and its laser focus on Adam. I, however, found this section rather enjoyable. It felt a bit like a novella within the book as a whole, as the story was loosely related to the overall Babel epic, and yet it was still a bit of a standalone tale. I found this sidestep from the main event to be thoroughly creative and fun to read. Bancroft's imagination knows no bounds.

Part two fell back into the Babel storyline that we all know and love - EPIC QUESTING. Between The State of the Art and The Hod King, who will get to various ringdoms and acquire the paintings of the Brick Layer's granddaughter first? And subsequently, who will make it up to the Sphinx's lair first? But most importantly, will there be questing and fighting and battles and more close calls than you can count? I mean, I won't revel the spoilers that answer the first two questions I posed, but the answer to my last question is a resounding YES.

So far part three. Here's where my rating drops from five stars to four. I may need more time to process this, at which point my rating may be adjusted. But...

Since I'm writing this review ahead of the publication date, this means you can infer I received an ARC. Which I did - thanks, NetGalley! - and which means the actual page count of my e-copy was absent. And while various outlets are noting the page count to clock in at roughly 650, it felt longer to me. And that length seemed to be rooted solely in the third act. There were so. Many. Battles. I found myself skimming through page after page after PAGE of fighting, fighting, fighting. And no spoilers, but the ending didn't feel as final as I'd hoped. Bancroft definitely left the possibility wide open for spinoffs or even a Tower of Babel book #5, although in the afterward he noted this was the final installment of the series. Don't let the title of this book fool you - as it'll lead you to assume a conclusion to this series that's not quite accurate.

While Senlin Ascends is still my fave of the series, The Fall of Babel was still expertly written with killer prose and unfathomable imagination. I will solidly recommend this series to anyone who is a fan of fantasy.

*Actual rating - 4.75*

In all honesty, I have mixed feelings about this final book in the Books of Babel. About 75% of this book contained some of my favorite prose, character development, and storytelling in the entire series. But, the ending has left me slightly conflicted and there was a structural choice in the first section that wasn't my favorite.

All in all this is still one of my favorite fantasy series! Josiah Bancroft excels at developing emotional connections between his readers and fictional characters.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for the ARC.

Josiah Bancroft’s prior three installments in his Books of Babel series have been some of the most captivating and original fantasy books I’ve read in recent memory, and The Fall of Babel is no exception. The setting - a monumental tower composed of various ringdoms stacked on top of one another, each with its own customs and politics - is wildly imaginative, but the emphasis on worldbuilding never detracts from the commendable strength of Bancroft’s character writing or storytelling. Equal to the stature of the Tower is the monumental strength of Bancroft’s writing style, prose, and dialogue. Producing a satisfying ending to a trilogy, much less a tetralogy, can be difficult, but Bancroft absolutely sticks the landing, giving fans what might just be the best book in his series.

*[The rest of this review contains very minor spoilers for the first three books and is intended for individuals already familiar with the story so far. I don’t discuss major plot twists in any of the novels, but I do mention what characters are where and the directions that their storylines go in.]*

The story picks up immediately where The Hod King left off, with Adam being captured after arriving at Nebos, the city at the top of the Tower that, at least outwardly, looks like a paradise. Although the people of Nebos typically react to outsiders with brutal violence, they recognize Adam, and his celebrity-like status saves the thief’s life. Adam being recognized by the people of Nebos might set off some alarms that the story might be about to go off the rails, but thankfully Bancroft does not write anything cliche with this section, such as Adam being The Brick Layer with amnesia or something ridiculous. Instead, this section reveals the depravity and privilege of the people of Nebos while also serving as great character development for Adam. Adam’s storyline comprises the first third of the novel, and although it is filled with intrigue and interesting reveals regarding the Tower, it feels somewhat slightly disconnected from the storylines that come after.

The bulk of the other two-thirds of the novel is largely concerned with the crew aboard the State of Art - Captain Edith Winters, Violeta, Iren, Ann, Reddleman, Byron, Marya Senlin, and Marya’s newborn daughter. Their quest to retrieve the remaining copies of a painting called The Brick Layer’s Daughter to unlock the secrets of the Tower sends them to various ringdoms. This quest to the ringdoms of the Tower evokes an aspect that made the series originally so captivating which was somewhat missing from The Hod King - a journey that takes the characters to a wide range of unique settings, with some being strangely inventive and others being darkly ominous. While the stakes and tension surrounding their quest is high, it is consistently a joy to get small glimpses into these societies and Bancroft’s imagination.

While Adam is a captive in Nebos and the State of Art is making its journey to the higher ringdoms, Thomas Senlin, Finn Goll, and John Tarrou are captives working aboard Marat’s mechanical Hod King. As the machine begins it’s ascension of the tower from within, Senlin and his companions plot on how to sabotage Marat’s schemes. It’s an interesting decision to make Senlin take a backseat to the other characters, but the short, sporadic glimpses into his storyline build intrigue and make them all the more interesting when his POV does show up. The discussions between Senlin and Marat, as well as the explorations of Marat’s philosophies concerning the hods, the Sphinx, and the Tower itself standout as some of the best sections in a novel by an author who has masterfully perfected his craft.

And the Brick Layer’s true ambitions for his Tower? Brilliant. Like the best endings, the final chapters of The Fall of Babel recontextualize what came before without making any of what happened prior plot-wise or character-wise irrelevant. I look forward to rereading the series with the knowledge of what it all leads to.

The Fall of Babel is a wonderful conclusion to what has become one of my favorite fantasy series. I would hesitate to call Josiah Bancroft an underrated author, as it seems from looking at the general reception that most people who have been exposed to his work would agree that it’s great. I do, however, hope that his fan base grows to a size that matches the quality of his work.

I eagerly await the next book from Josiah Bancroft, whether it takes place in this setting or he decides to write something new entirely.

The Fall of Babel is book 4 - the final book - in the Books of Babel series by Josiah Bancroft. This is a spoiler free review for book 4, but there are spoilers for rest of series.

In The Fall of Babel, we get a hilarious summary of the events that happened in The Hod King (book 3) by Oren Robinson - Tower of Babel gossip columinst. Adam is off on his own adventure in the apparant utopia that is the top of the Tower. He learns a lot of things. Edith and crew are on their mission to retrieve the paintings from various ringdoms. Meanwhile, Senlin is on his own trying to take down the Hod King before it takes over the Tower.

There is adventure, suspense, humor. I laughed, cried, cheered... Bancroft's excellent character work development continues here. One thing that concerned me in previous books was the multiple POVs. We got multiple POVs but then they were just left until we returned to that character - here in The Fall of Babel they are all interwoven, and characters are mentioned throughtout.

Another concern I had in books 2 and 3 was that our main plot line sometimes felt forgotten, that's not the case in this book.

We have an excellent balance of character development and plot movement. And that ending - WOW!!!!

This is by far my favorite in the series. Josiah Bancroft created such memorable characters who will stay with me for a very long time. I can't wait to see where else he takes us.

5/5 stars for Fall of Babel and the Books of Babel series.

Check out my Booktube spoiler free review: https://youtu.be/oiV2AFULwGE.

I'm kind of just stunned by this whole book (and series) and am not sure what to say. I'm sure what follows will be very ramble-y as thoughts occur to me. Suffice to say, this was a truly enthralling and unexpected conclusion to what is one of my favorite fantasy series and deserves to go down as a future classic.

The book begins with a lengthy section where we finally get to see what Adam has been caught up in since the ending of book 2. His absence was certainly felt in book 3, but finally getting to read his story was worth the wait. I think holding off on his section until the final book worked in the story's favor, as now finally getting to see the top of the Tower is as strange and captivating as you'd expect it to be. Adam gets wrapped up in the city of Nebos's citizens and politics pretty quickly, and the situations he finds himself in straddle a great line between being very strange and exciting while also revealing fascinating new facets of the Tower and its creator, the Brick Layer. The smaller, interpersonal dramas unfolding with Adam are just as interesting as what we learn about the Tower and its creator's past.

Not to mention the further development of Adam as a character as well as the new ones introduced. Bancroft has always been a beautiful crafter of character, and he has certainly not lost his luster with this book. Everyone gets a chance to shine here: our main cast of returning characters, all the bizarre new ones introduced, and the Tower's retinue of villains. As well as the ringdoms, which are characters unto themselves (as cliche as that sentiment is, it is definitely true). I'm continually amazed by Bancroft's imagination when it comes to the settings of the Tower's sixty-four ringdoms, always diving deep into their culture and history which is never what I'm expecting. Despite how absurd some of them are, though, they always feel grounded and believable within the wider scope of this world.

And the scope certainly widens in this final book. I'm not going to say much and spoil it, but I was blown away by the winding paths Bancroft leads us down. While they were dizzying and I never knew where I was headed, never did it feel like Bancroft was unsure of himself. Everything is so intricately plotted, every clue and characterization leading to either a personal or plot-related revelation, it was a joy to be dragged through this maze, gawping with awe at every wonder I passed by.

With how intricately this series is plotted, as I just mentioned, I am highly interested in revisiting it from the beginning. Which is not to say that these characters and images are not going to stick with me--in fact, diving into this book 2.5 years after the previous volume released and without ever rereading any of it, I was amazed by how every previous detail was at the forefront of my mind. Usually I forget tons of details big and small even if there's only a month or two in between me reading volumes of a series.

But one of the driving factors of the Books of Babel is the mystery surrounding the Tower and the Brick Layer and what the point of any of this is. Now that I've seen the end, I would love to go back with that knowledge and see how exactly this conclusion was set up in earlier volumes. As well as taking into account a speech that a character gives near the end of the book--I would love to reread the series now taking that message into account, seeing how Bancroft might have ingrained it into his Tower's worldbuilding and the arcs of each character.

The Fall of Babel never went where I thought it was going. Not in regards to its plot, in regards to the Brick Layer's intention with the Tower, not to where all the characters ended up. But that's what made it all the more joyous to read. It was a story that was entirely unpredictable yet entirely perfect. And Bancroft's prose is always a delight, too. At its core, this has always been a story about the characters, and I'm thankful that it never lost its focus on them, even down to the final page. Senlin and co.'s ascent of the Tower was a harrowing journey (to put it extremely mildly), but I'm glad I went on it with them.

The limitation of this series with me is the fact that I like Senlin, but I don't find him particularly interesting, and Marya has never been much of a character in these books outside of how she is presented by Senlin and others, so I could never understand or connect with her. I really wonder if my entire experience of this book series would have been changed if there has just been like 30 pages up front in Book 1 really establishing these two and their relationship so that I would have been emotionally invested in it the rest of the series. I think that honestly would have made a world of difference to me because throughout the series, no part of my brain even conceived of an ending that didn't have them finding each other at the end. No matter how hard I wanted Edith and Senlin to be together, not for his sake, because he's so blah, but for hers. So it just becomes a challenge to meet expectations when you're not cheering for the outcome that has been set up the entire time.

So instead I read the book enjoying finding out how everyone else was going to wind up, because there was mystery and excitement and potential in that. The first third of the book, again, because we completely left Senlin and went and hung out with Adam instead, was great! I didn't even like Adam in the second book, but I really felt like I understood him much better. The books are the strongest when dealing with the side characters, and some weirdly insane nuanced part of the tower and the inhabitants of that section. So that part of the book did not disappoint in the least.

And then we had the rest of the book, which just had a lot of work to do to wrap up the outstanding plot threads in the book, get all of the side characters to their final destinations, and give everyone a satisfying ending. It's a lot of chesspieces to move around and plot to get through. But as with the rest of the series, the action scenes are exciting, the side characters are fun and you hope for the best with all of them. I think the ending was a little bizarre in where it ultimately went, but again, for how weird and twisting the world was, it was going to be really hard to bring this all together in a very satisfying way.

Overall, I've had a very strong fondness for this series over the last few years as it's rolled out. I think the books and the author grew at lot as they progressed, so I'm excited to see where Bancroft goes next and what world he creates and shares.

Wow. What a series and what a conclusion.

The Books of Babel hold a special place in my heart. I picked up Senlin Ascends in 2016 while it was still self published and absolutely fell in love. The self published paperbacks and hardcovers of Senlin Ascends and Arm of the Sphinx are two of my most prized pieces of my library. I was ecstatic when the series was picked up by Orbit and read through The Hod King in the week leading up to the birth of my son.

Suffice it to say, The Fall of Babel was one of my most anticipated releases, but also one I was quite apprehensive about. Could Josiah Bancroft really stick the landing to an absolutely incredible series?

Well, luckily for us, the answer is yes.

I received an ARC of The Fall of Babel a few weeks after my daughter was born. Time was not in abundance, but over the last month or so I snuck moments away here and there to read through the conclusion to Senlin's story. I'm going to avoid going deep on specifics here, as the book is the fourth in a series and if you're reading this you either a) are already committed to the books and want to know whether the quality continues or b) you're interested in the series and are checking out how the reviews are for the finale - but either way, you don't need me to spoil anything for you.

Instead, I'll focus on the one thing that stood out to me most about The Fall of Babel. Somehow, the book still manages to be a surprise - unexpected in its plot, creative in its worldbuilding, and surprising to the very end. To me, the allure of The Books of Babel was always in the uniqueness of its world and the emotional arcs of its characters. Often, final books in a series have a hard time living up to the promises set in the first installment - we often have a general idea of where the conclusion is heading - but in the same way Senlin Ascends consistently defied expectations and genre in the story's beginning, The Fall of Babel continues to do the same.

All in all - The Books of Babel are hands down one of the best series I've read in the last decade and are solidified into my favorite books of all time. I've recommended the series to many friends and all have come away in love with Josiah Bancroft's world. I hope you'll feel the same about this wonderful series.

You can trace Josiah Bancroft’s evolution through each book in his Books of Babel series. The pace picks up, the writing gets clearer and the world grows. But it reaches incredible new heights in the fourth and final book, The Fall of Babel, which while imperfect, crafts a truly stunning resolution to this much-talked-about series.

First, the imperfections: This series, while captivating and featuring incredible character work, dialogue and pacing, often struggled with a palpable sense of scale. Literally. The world of the Tower is fascinating and intricately crafted, but Bancroft sometimes fails to describe it in a way I could accurately imagine. Each ringdom truly is its own world, like a level in a video game, but placing that in the context of the Tower often proves difficult. Maybe this is a symptom of me imagining this building in a real-world context, but I often found myself forgetting that these expansive set pieces weren’t happening across vast provinces and distant locales, but rather a… big building. It sometimes left me a bit lost, not so much making the plot hard to follow as hard to envision. But while seeming a bit of a big burden on the reader, this might just be on me. And Bancroft’s ability to tell a story ultimately prevails.

Because as it has throughout the series, The Fall of Babel weaves from its influences an incredible sleeve. I rarely read books in a series back-to-back and after Senlin Ascends wasn’t entirely sure I’d even continue onto book 2. But before I knew it I was turning through the end of Arm of the Sphinx into The Hod King and, against expectations, managed to get an early read of The Fall of Babel on NetGalley. It’s not a perfect book, but it might be the perfect ending. And it’s one tailor-made to be read on the back of its predecessor. At times it feels like Book 3.5, and it takes a bit to get its motor running. But once it takes off, it rarely loosens its grip on the reader.

From the character arcs to each of their trials and tribulations, this is a story that’s incredibly well concocted. These characters are flawed and spectacular and worth rooting for (or against).


Without spoiling the end of this book — an ending I’ll way was truly not something I’d expected — I’ll say this: Bancroft has ensnared himself as a force in the fantasy canon, created a world begging to be further explored, and beyond that, he's done something truly unthinkable: make me enjoy steampunk.

A solid final volume for the series, though definetely not to be read separately.
The book looses some steam, which is enevitable (it's book 4). Still, this is a satisfactory resolution nd kudos to the author for not dragging the story for another 10 volumes, as some writers tend to do.

4.5/5

Trying to write a review for this feels like trying to say 'I love you' for the first time. There's so many roiling emotions pressing out from my chest, begging to be heard, that I can't find the exact words to relay them all, so instead, here are some of those:

- Holy shit, I WAS RIGHT. In the last third of the 2nd book, I started thinking of a far fetched theory, and I NAILED IT. All of the motifs in the book pointed to one plausible impossibility, and the madman did it.

- I feel empty inside, but in a good way

- Josiah Bancroft has Ascended into my personal Tower of Fantasy Greats, and I will absolutely read every word of his that I can get my hands on

- The man is one of the greatest amalgamations of carbon, eccentric hobbies, and beautiful words that I think may ever exist.



With those things out of the way, I adore these books. Everything that bothered me about book 3 was fixed in this book. I don't want to say too much directly about the content because it's not out yet but the pacing is better, the character viewpoints are interspersed so you don't get stuck with a thread you aren't interested in for too long (though all of them in this book were great), and the Tower as an entity is back in full force.

One minor 'thing' I kept thinking about was the first part of the book. It follows Adam since we last saw him. For me, this felt like a Novella stapled onto the start of a book. I simply couldn't connect it to the events that happened after because it was so drastically apart from it. Even now, when I go to think of the book as a whole, that entire first section isn't even included in my ruminations on it. For some reason, my brain has filed it under a separate novella - even though it is just as good as the shenanigans that follow after it.

The grace with which the man creates an open, yet tied up, ending was incredible. I'm sure some may be dissatisfied by it (as my partner partially was), but I am fond of the open-wound endings that leave you to desire more. It makes them far more difficult to forget.

Pros:
- Prose. I love this man's atmosphere he's able to create through choice words.
- Characters are incredibly well written
- The evasion of tropes he's able to pull off show skill of a true author. I can't wait to see what else he creates.
- The Open-ended nature of the ending is a big plus to me. It leave my heart to ache for more

Unsure:
- Final 'Costs' of the story felt a bit light. I'm honestly not sure if this is a con or not, since it really brings it back to the simple nature of Senlin in the first book. I like that it wasn't a devastating ending, but I also am not sure that the consequences of the four books were on the same scale as those of the threats. Its an odd balance that I think I'll vacillate between for a while.
- The 'Novella' stapled to the front of the book made for a weird separation of events in my mind, but for some it may work better, for some it may work worse.

Cons:
- His next books isn't out.


Thank you Josiah for this wonderful gift you have created

3.75 stars rounded up. The first 30% of the book rather annoyed me, as we focused entirely on what felt like a novella inside a book and on a completely different character than Senlin himself— a trend that definitely continued throughout the entire book. He just kind of disappeared in his own series towards the end.

So the start of the book was slow, and then also the painting hunt took a long time to resolve and felt a bit like a macguffin, but I wasn’t about to give up yet because I felt that after reading and enjoying the other books, the author deserved for me to finish the series. Also I still really liked most of the characters and writing.

Fortunately for me it finally started to pick up, and then there was a lot of fighting and the final reveal of the Brick Layer’s plan. Unexpected to say the least but interesting!

I’m still torn about the ending though. It felt complete and yet incomplete at the same time and definitely not anything I would have predicted going into the series.

Luc Marat’s hod rebellion wreaks havoc on the Tower of Babel as Marat closes in on his goal: to collect the copies of the Brick Layer’s Daughter and unlock whatever prize the Brick Layer has left behind. Senlin, half prisoner and half spy, seeks to undermine Marat’s mad dream from the inside. Meanwhile, Edith and her crew struggle to keep up with the chaos and destruction Marat leaves in his wake. The fate of the Tower rests on their shoulders – but is it even worth saving?

WHEEE WELCOME BACK TO STRESSVILLE, WHERE IT IS STILL STRESSFUL.

I thought I was prepared to say goodbye to this series, but as it turns out I was not. I can’t believe Senlin and company’s journey is over now.

<i>The Books of Babel</i> series was always one with an inherently messy plot that was never going to be resolved neatly. The Tower itself is both home to tens of thousands and also a deeply unfair, often dystopian society reliant on slavery and cruelty. How do you solve that? Our hero Senlin is in a lopsided love triangle, torn between the wife whose life he accidentally ruined and who he hasn’t seen in a year and the crewmate he has shared adventures and near-death experiences with. How do you resolve that?

Seriously, how do you resolve that?

The truth is, you can’t, and Bancroft doesn’t try to. He’s created problems that are too large to solve in one book, or even one quartet of books. And that’s ok. Senlin was never going to solve all the Tower’s problems. All he can do is try to make things a bit better.

At the core of <i>The Fall of Babel</i> is the enigma of the Brick Layer who built the Tower. Who was he? What was his intent, and how closely does the dystopian tower of the present match his original vision? So much of the Tower is wrapped in poisonous whimsy. Did the Tower develop its venomous side of its own accord, or did the Brick Layer plant it?

I GUESS YOU’LL HAVE TO READ AND FIND OUT HUH

Nevertheless, the truth remains that Senlin and his friends, and even Marat and his cohort, are straining to fulfill the creeds and commands of someone they don’t know and whose intentions, good or bad, they have no way of confirming. But it is no accident that the Tower draws people in, chews them up, and turns them into little cogs of its great machines (both literal and metaphorical).

ANYWAYS, thematic digressions aside: <i>The Fall of Babel</i> is a very stressful, action-packed book filled with even more creative worldbuilding (something Bancroft has really shone at in this series), cool fight scenes that would look <i>so</i> good if someone rich ever bought the rights and made a TV show out of this (hint hint, theoretical Hollywood producer who happens to be reading this review and is easily influenced by Internet randos), and beautiful character work. Bancroft has such empathy for his characters, and it is a pleasure to inhabit the same world as them.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for a fair review. It was very cool of you to give me this book for free AND early.

What begins as a search for a missing wife evolves into a quest to recover a land's lost humanity. This series explores everything: zealotry, tyranny, complacency, capitalistic greed, exploitation, infidelity, cowardice and courage, forgiveness and determination, and so much more. The Fall of Babel is its graceful and sharp conclusion.

The journey of this mismatched yet completely beloved team—Senlin, Edith, Iren, Voleta, Adam, Byron, Reddleman, Ann, Marya—has been a steady and incredibly mesmerizing experience, the prose nimbly toggling between comedy, corruption, redemption, treachery, hope, despair, love, and triumph. And in the midst, there are some amazing dramatic moments, which are as unexpected as they are stunning; you will be shouting for joy one minute and gasping in shock the next.

I do, however, have to knock off a point; the ending hurt a bit, though not in the way I anticipated. I'll probably have some epiphany about it later on that will make it sting less. But right now, I feel as if a fraction of my investment was manipulated, and I don't much appreciate that.

The Fall of Babel marks the conclusion of the Books of Babel series by Josiah Bancroft. This book not only continues the trend of excellent characterization, storytelling, and entertainment established by its predecessors but serves as a satisfying conclusion to the series.

Continuing by means of returning to a character completely absent from Book 3, Fall of Babel lays before you a string of mysteries that ultimately join up with the overall story in a way that surprised and pleased me. Saying more than that would be tantamount to spoilers, but suffice it to say that the way this book starts off has a satisfying payoff down the road.

If you are a fan of Senlin, Edith, Byron, Iren, Voleta, Adam or any of the other characters that have appeared in this series, you owe it to yourself to give its finale a read. While a meaty almost-700 pages, every page seems to serve a purpose and is filled to the brim with tantalizing descriptions. Josiah gives us an entertaining novel that I'm sad to be finished with.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes Josiah's writing, the Fall of Babel series, and good fantasy in general. If I had one criticism of the book it would be that it could have used more Byron, but I am wholly biased in saying so as he happens to be my favorite character.

This is the ending we needed for this great series! I don't want to spoil a word of this amazing series! Read it!!

4.5 stars!
A great conclusion to a beloved series. Mr. Bancroft created such an original and imaginative story that would undeniably leave a mark in the fantasy fiction genre for many years. I received an early advanced copy of this book from the publisher for review, and I’m so blessed to have read this book before it’s publication date. Thank you Orbit!

The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the beginning. The first part of the book was super slow, and although I understand that everything about it was necessary to the plot, I felt like it was too long and provided too many details that could’ve been shortened.

Finishing the first part, the second and third parts of the book were more exciting and thrilling. I was literally on edge, wondering how everything would end. The stakes were much higher as Senlin and the crew fight for the survival of the Tower. This book had me pondering and wanting for more, to the point where I have to try and digest everything that was happening. It was so imaginative and creative, I really wished it provided us illustrations to help with all the imagery. Edith, Voleta, Iren, and Byron definitely stole the plot, and I’m glad that we had more adventures with them on this final book.

Overall, the series was very well done! Never in my life have I highlighted so many words and sentences in books before, and I’ll definitely be using this one as my reference when I write my own book. The pacing and execution were great, the plot so well-organized, and the fighting scenes in the end were enthralling…I really worried about the characters’ fate. I didn’t want any of them to die!

The ending felt incomplete, but it was necessary, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It pushed the realness of human emotions and reminds us that the future can be so uncertain. I really did not expect the sci-fi elements to it, what happened to the zenith of the Tower, and provided us with more stories to ponder later on; I sense a hint of a sequel to this series in the future, but I could be wrong. To me, however, the ending provided a great conclusion to the characters and more growth for their future!

Very well done. I will read anything that Mr Josiah Bancroft will write in the future. Highly recommend this series.

An amazing conclusion to the brilliant Books of Babel series. The whole series is exciting, immersive and complex, and this is the best of the three. The ending threw me for a loop and left a few unanswered questions for me, but I still enjoyed it overall. I highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for a digital ARC for review.