Thank you to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for an advance copy of this book! I put the request in without much hope and was absolutely thrilled when I was approved. Babel was my most anticipated release of the year, and it did not disappoint.

RF Kuang's self-described love and breakup letter to Oxford is full of beauty and joy, heartbreak and destruction. It's both an affectionate image of the best parts of academia and a damning call to recognize the worst parts of academia, and the reader is forced, along with the characters, to hold both truths in hand as we examine what happens to Robin and his friends in 1830s England.

Let's start with my absolute favorite parts:
-Robin. I really loved that, at his core, he's a sensitive, shy bookworm. He struggles with passivity and takes a long time to come to terms with the reality of his situation, and once he does, you're right there with him. His entire character arc, right up until the end, is chef's-kiss-perfection.

-EVERYTHING about the translation magic system. It's simultaneously imaginative and deeply academic, as is the rest of the book. Kuang does an excellent job including the magic of the world in the time period's actual history, staying true to a lot of real-world historical events and finding creative ways to realistically mix the magic in.

-As someone who spent almost my entire childhood in Taiwan and, like Robin, speaks both Mandarin and English, the plethora of Chinese words and allusions particularly spoke to my soul. It's rare for me to come across media that uses both my languages, especially books. Also, while I am not a person of color and so do not experience the racism and discrimination Robin was subject to, I was able to relate to some of his struggles -- the grief of moving away from your childhood home, struggling to fit in to both worlds, the terror as you realize a language that was once ingrained in you starts slipping away from lack of use.

--Again niche, but there were so many allusions to classic literature (and new-to-me info about it!) that made my nerdy English degree heart soar.

--The writing. Dear God, the WRITING. Kuang has my eternal respect.

Now, there were a couple of things that didn't work for me. Honestly, they didn't bother me enough to knock any points off my rating, but they were there.

--The themes of this book are so important. However, while some books deliver their messages subtly, slipping them in so that you really have to consider the work to understand them, Babel more or less throws a molotov cocktail at your door, sprints in, and beats you over the head with its theme. That may have been intentional on Kuang's part; I can see an argument for really trying to shock you into confronting some of the horrors of colonialism, imperialism, and racism. I just felt, at times, the delivery was a little ham-fisted.

--Robin and Ramy are very well-developed, but I didn't feel like I had a good sense of Letty and Victoire's characters until the last 30% of the book. They fall flat in comparison. I also really could have done with more Griffin, but maybe that's just a personal preference.

Overall, this book is probably going to end up in one of my top 3 reads of the year. The ending is beautifully devastating and rounds out the whole story so well, even though it broke my heart. I had to sit in silence on my couch for a few minutes before I could do anything once I turned the last page.

Babel releases 8/23, and you do not want to miss it. (Even though I have the ARC downloaded to my Kindle...I pre-ordered a hard copy. My home library would not be complete without it.)

This was decent. I was hoping for more, but it kinda disappointed me. I’m not sure if it’s just because I’ve been reading different genres recently or what but ehh. I did like the mix of dark acedemia, historical fiction and fantasy this had going on. So that was a plus, but it just didn’t do it for me.

A small diverse group of students enter an Oxford department which studies languages. They will be working as translators for a technology that combines words with a magical technology to create silver bars used to stimulate various aspects of the British economy. They are enthused by their work until they begin to see how this technology impacts the world. What and who they will sacrifice to save their native lands? How far will their loyalties to each other go? These are the driving questions of this fascinating alternative history. An immersive and heart-breaking read.

Since finishing Babel my reviews to my friends who have also read this book have been incoherent ALL CAPS and DMs with a flood of emojis. The bookseller in me cannot wait to write the shelf talker, the booklover has no idea what to say except HOLY CRAP, KUANG HAS DONE IT AGAIN.

Ok, so yes, this is dark academia. But it is also historical fiction, fantasy, and, dare I say it, a crime novel? There is murder, mystery, revolution, lies, deceit, all the good things you want including interrogating the generational wealth, privilege, and whiteness of academia. Babel is smart, cunning, and cutting all at once and doesn't shy away from shining a spotlight on academia's faults. And, from this reader's perspective--a reader who gets confused when books delve too deeply into topics that skate way over my head--Babel is entirely accessible. Kuang's voice I a breath of fresh air in what could've been an incredibly stuffy book. Frankly, between you and me, I could've used more footnotes.

Honestly. More footnotes please.

The characters are lovable and so intelligent it contributes to their naivety about the dangers of the world they've signed up for, especially the main character Robin Swift. Brought over from Canton at a young age by a professor and raised to be a translator who can manipulate the magical silver only those at Babel at Oxford University can (ok, there's more to this but it'll be a really long sentence so you'll just have to read the book), I fell for Robin immediately. Soon after, the book's themes grabbed me by the collar and kept me thirsty: Empire demands sacrifice, takes what it wants, uses and thieves, unapologetically so, and in the case of Babel, goes so far as to steal our voices. How simple it is, to recognize that words are violence, they also heal and bring us together; how cultures differ; how Empire seeks to homogenize, to flatten and assimilate; how language can have multiple meanings. I could go on and on about this, but I also want to talk about the found family, the deep, emotional friendships that I would liken to queerplatonic, the love Robin had for his friends. I suppose, without writing an essay, I can sum up my love of this book by saying Babel is next-level Kuang. Fans of The Poppy War aren't ready.

Maybe that's how I start my shelf talker. We'll see! Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to the eARC.

"They obeyed. It was wonderful to have someone to tell them what to do."

This quote encapsulates what plagues a huge portion of this story. Robin, the main character, does very little of his own accord. He often gets swept up in events, following whatever course others set out for him. There are some key moments he makes his own decisions, but they are few and far between. Even when the action picks up in the final act, it's distant and passive.

Scene on fidelity of translations. "Either you situate the text in its time and place, or you bring it to where you are, here and now." Reads as a defense of using modern talking points in terminology in 1830s Oxford. Self-aware.

Lecturing. Especially since this is rooted in real world events, I'd rather learn the actual history than have it filtered through a fantasy book. I think not being knowledgeable about the era is both better and worse. You don't recognize any inconsistencies so they don't bother you, but you can separate the fantasy from the reality.

Telling. So much telling, with very little plot tying it together. Robin moves from Canton to London. He studies. He moves from London to Oxford. He studies. A plot emerges, and is given two brief scenes and a handful of lines. At 25% not a whole lot has happened. The school isn't a backdrop, but exists to educate the reader.

We are told multiple times things that will happen. "He didn't know at the time," "looking back, he would realize," and things like that.

The magic system is inventive, capturing the frustration of language learners everywhere: not being able to quite say what you mean. I find it strange that fluency is required, since the things lost in translation are there whether you're fluent or not.

I'm not into school settings or dark academia, the magic school thing is super common. Here, it's kind of a mundane, regular college experience. The magic work they eventually do is more academic than practical, requiring a lot of research and some basic facility with engraving. It's not exciting.

Griffin's economic manipulations remind me of Baru Cormorant, but here it's all very far away.

Their exam anxiety was really drawn out and excessive to me. I've been in grad school twice and never experienced the same debilitation as these kids. Maybe I've had it easy, who knows.

For most of the story I felt like a tourist, taken through a place the author clearly loves, shown all the sights. I never felt drawn in by the plot, nor the characters and their plights. This feeling is strongest when we follow the characters on their jaunts and vacations. I found myself checking how much was left frequently. Especially during their many collective freak out scenes.

The footnotes are annoying

The writing itself is much improved from the Poppy War.

Overall, I thought this was an interesting and well crafted book, if a little slow and informative.

Babel……………. HOLY………………!

R.F. Kuang is the G.O.A.T!

I Really tried, (I mean I tried hard) to write an actual review for this “MASTERPIECE” and was babbling instead.

Kuang leaves your “MIND BLOWN”

No words left. only thing left to do…

“BOW DOWN TO THE QUEEN OF WRITING”

Thank you NetGalley/ R.F. Kuang/ Avon and Harper Voyager for this eARC. In exchange for my honest review.

This was a GORGEOUS world and I loved every second of it. I believe that this will be my most favorite read of 2022 and for many years to come something to behold.

I don't know that I can adequately capture the brilliance of this book, but I'll try. In short, and as expected, BABEL is a literary masterpiece. It is a testament to R.F. Kuang's talent that she was able to pull a book of this magnitude off. There were so many times while I was reading that I felt like this book was way smarter than I was. Capturing elements of literature, history, and language so intricately is an impressive feat by itself, but incorporating those into a coherent story is a triumph. I adored the dark academia feel of this book so much. Robin, our main character, was brilliantly written. His story is one that exposes the complexities and ugly nature of colonialism both in society and in academia. As his character arc plunges forward, a sense of rage at how imperialism affects marginalized people grows and grows, making BABEL a scathing indictment of the system and powers that keep it going. Sometimes, it's hard to read, and there are so many wonderful things I read in this book that made me think and feel, and some things I can't really speak to because it isn't my place, but I walked away so impressed with this book's power. Kuang's prose pulls no punches and shows the reader no mercy, and I was here for every glorious minute of it.

I’ve been hearing about R.F. Kuang’s books for years, and for some reason or another never made time for them until now. From jump Babel sounds exactly like something I’d be interested in: a dark academia novel set in Victorian era England, a twist of magic, but with a focus on colonialism. I became so invested in Robin’s story and through following him we can see not only the microaggressions he encounters but the overt racism. But because Robin has lighter skin than some of his friends, there are times he can pass. This allows him a bit more freedom to move through the world. Yet we see how quickly that facade is shattered when he begins to learn and question the systems at play. Where most dark academia novels fail is in their sole focus on the European ideal and Greco-Roman historical canon. There is so much typically left out in the genre and here is where Kuang excels. She forces the reader not be be uncomfortable in the reality of the time (and the values that people still hold today), but squarely face it. Using silver and its affects as a metaphor, and the constant justification of empire makes the reader see that there really isn’t much difference between historical fiction and fantasy. I personally was a bit dissatisfied in the ending, but don’t know how else things could have played out. Also I felt like the first half of the novel was a series of montages, yet I understand that all that is just building up to the apex of the story.

Reading Rebecca Kuang's books are watching a master at work.

Babel is exceptional. An absolutely terrific, sprawling novel of academia, of home, of found family, of colonialism and of resistance. Orphan Robin Swift, late of Canton, sent to London's mysterious academy of Babel. Robin must choose between resistance and betraying his home nation, or serving the land that exploits his own.

This book drips education. Rebecca Kuang's knowledge of history, literature and Academia in general permeates the novel in an excellent manner. Themes of racism and colonialism are heavily present when Britain starts an unjust and brutal war with China. Kuang shies away from nothing in demonstrating the prejudice in academia, nor in high society.

Robin and his friends must fight to keep their culture, but also their souls. The book explores whether one can keep their humanity through participation in an unjust system or if the only way out is to resist. Each character is expertly drawn, realistic and human. Everyone feels distinct and compelling.

This novel is a triumph.

5/5 stars

“Violence is the only language they understand, because their system of extraction is inherently violent. Violence shocks the system. And the system cannot survive the shock.”

R.F. Kuang magnifies themes from The Poppy War and examines them from all angles like a true Babel scholar in this extraordinary book. The characters are vivid, emotional, and lifelike; It feels like they belong in a history book and not a work of fiction. Babel tackles the hypocrisies of the academic world, layers of injustice and discrimination that have been woven into ways of life, and a compelling hypothesis about how true change comes to pass. The dark academia genre continues a trend of decoloniality with a POC-centric narrative that shows empire for what it is: Violent, all-consuming, and infinitely unjust. The writing and story are both as cruel as they need to be for the themes to shine through. Be amazed at the level of detail. Be prepared to get angry.

Everyone, especially fans of dark academia, should read this book. Its messages and themes are important and it is absolutely brilliant.

I’m not sure there’s a more anticipated release in my corners of sci-fi/fantasy spaces than R. F. Kuang’s Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution. Fresh off her win of the Astounding Award for Best New Writer on the strength of her Poppy War trilogy, Kuang’s next project involved visiting a magical 19th-century Oxford. And between how much I enjoyed her previous work and my affinity for academic settings, asking for an ARC was an extremely easy decision. To my surprise, I was approved, so here we are, talking about what I expect to be one of my favorite books of the year.

The vast majority of Babel is written from the perspective of Robin Swift, a Chinese youth brought to England after the death of his mother and trained under a famed Oxford linguist before his matriculation to study in the Royal Institute of Translation. There he learns about the translation-based magic that has enabled the global dominance of the British Empire, and that he is just one of many foreigners recruited to use his native tongue in service of the Crown.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, given the subtitle, but I was struck by how quickly it became obvious that the British were the villains of this story. I expected initial ambiguity accompanied by a growing realization that the friendly facade was just that, but this wasn’t this sort of book. Robin understands from the outset that he’s being used, and his journey is one of discovering the depth of that use, squaring it with the material benefits he’s been given, and figuring out what to do about it. And, as it turns out, that’s enough material to support a pretty robust, multi-year character arc.

Of course, it is a long novel, and it’s an academia novel, and not every element exists to send Robin forward on his personal journey. We learn a lot about life at this fantastical Oxford, as well as about the delightfully clever language-based magic system that uses what is lost in translation to power its effects. Included are copious footnotes about languages and bits of actual history brought to bear in the meticulous construction of a stunningly detailed magical British Empire. Fans of careful worldbuilding and hard magic systems will have a lot to like here, and the rhythm of the story will appeal to readers who enjoy school settings.

But ultimately, it’s a tale about revolution, and—as the title suggests—the necessity of violence. And the character work that brings Robin from comfortably enjoying his study despite an awareness of not being fully accepted to entangling himself with revolutionaries is excellent. What was less satisfying was the resolution of some of the intramural disputes among his fellows. Kuang does a good job presenting various attitudes, from gratitude for the Empire’s gifts, to non-violent resistance, to outright violence, all leading to a thunderous climax. But while the culmination of plot feels nearly perfect, the character threads don’t all tie together as neatly. And as a vocal partisan of messy endings, perhaps I have little room to complain. But there’s one side character whose balance between insight and recklessness didn’t feel quite right, and there’s another character whose backstory was relegated to an epilogue after finishing the main plot on an incomplete note.

To be clear: Babel is the best book I’ve read so far this year. It’s engaging, with excellent worldbuilding and character arcs and a setting that feels 19th century without prose that feels 19th century. It may be a miss for readers who dislike school settings or revolutions, but it’s undoubtedly one of the best fantasy books released this year. My complaints come into play as I mentally suss out the difference between an annual favorite and an all-time favorite. And if you’ve made it to that conversation, you’ve done a whole lot right.

Recommended if you like: school settings, worldbuilding, magic systems, anticolonialism, languages.

Overall rating: 18 of Tar Vol’s 20. Five stars on Goodreads.

First of all, I want to say a big thanks to Netgalley for this e-arc! I appreciate this so much!
Now onto my review.
I could not finish this. I don’t know what happened and I’m super disappointed.
Everyone on tiktok who has read it is obsessed with it and I was expecting to enjoy it as well…. but I got to 10% and it felt like a chore to get that far and I started to dread opening my Kindle app to read it and that’s when I knew I couldn’t continue.
I really don’t know what it is about the book, I’m almost positive that I am just the absolute opposite of the right audience for this book.
R.F. Kuang’s writing is absolutely beautiful and I have no doubt that I will love the Poppy War trilogy, but this is so extremely not for me. Everything I read just bored me. The only thing that actually interested me was the whole thing with silver.
Maybe I will pick this back up one day and try again, but that time is not now.
I also feel like I shouldn’t even rate this because I didn’t finish it but I’m just giving it 1 star because I DNFd it.

How do I even put into words how much I loved this book? I honestly don't think I can do it justice. However, I'll start by saying that the title tells you everything you need to know about the book and whether you might like it. You can tell it was written by an academic (LOL, IYKYK), and the rest of the writing in the book has a similar quality to it, which makes the story read almost like an academic annal from years past. There's tons of really cool footnotes, which I loved, and it was obvious the author did a great deal of homework in preparing this manuscript.

In many ways, this book felt like a love letter to language. The magic system was based on translation, and almost all of the characters were scholars devoted to the study of language. They used the act of translation, and the power it created, to do fascinating things. There was so much knowledge about language and its history buried within this text, and I ate it up. Back in the day (think boarding school and undergrad), I loved studying language, including Latin, French, Spanish, and some classical Greek, and etymology. I've unfortunately lost most of my proficiency over time due to disuse, but it was still so much fun reading about the origins of different English words and all the information about the Chinese language/characters scattered throughout this story. In short, if you love learning about language, you will probably enjoy this book.

The story and writing were also incredibly immersive. I was surprised by how alive this version of Oxford felt, as if I was there roaming the campus and halls myself alongside the characters. Kuang also captured the feelings of the journey through academia better than anyone else I've ever read. The progression of the characters brought to life the excitement of being one of a few chosen people selected as the next experts in your field, the intensity of bonding with one's cohort, the inevitable disillusionment once the shine wears off and the workload becomes unmanageable, and the surprising feelings of loss that accompany having achieved one's goal. I was surprised by how much I related to these characters despite our many differences.

Speaking of the characters, I loved them so much. The first half of the book delves deep into their characterization and the building of their relationships, which made the tragedies of the second half all the more bitter and gut-wrenchingly heartbreaking. However, I'm not going to say any more about that because I don't want to spoil all the pain. Just know it is coming. :) Back to the characters... Robin's journey in this book was quite astounding. He was plucked from nothing, literally the edge of death, and he went on to accomplish truly incredible things. The boy at the beginning of the story was so different from the man at the end. The rest of Robin's cohort and the other supporting characters all felt just as three-dimensional as Robin. There's so much I'd like to talk about each of them, but I don't want to spoil the story. So, I'll just say that these characters allowed for the exploration of so many topics and themes, especially as it relates to group dynamics and cohesiveness of individuals from wildly different backgrounds with various amounts of privilege and clashing worldviews.

There were so many powerful themes explored in this book that I could probably write an entire book about them. It tackled the inherent classism, sexism, and racism prevalent within academia, as well as the tokenism that goes along with it. It also highlighted the destructive nature of colonialism and capitalist systems and proposed a timely and important question: can oppressive systems be changed from the inside or must the system be destroyed outright before meaningful change can occur? This led to another interesting ethical quandary. Is violence justified when the cause is just? The characters also provided a fascinating window into the allure of proxy privilege and how it can be used to keep the oppressed in line and uphold the status quo. Ultimately, I don't know how anyone could come away from this book without questioning who is paying the price for our largely comfortable, overly consumptive modern lifestyle. After all, the resources to maintain it have to come from somewhere, and, if history has taught us anything, someone, somewhere is likely being exploited to obtain them.

Ultimately, I felt a lot of things while reading this book. I was nostalgic at times. I was enraged and enlightened at others. Then there were the times I was heartbroken, so deeply sad at how unfair life can be. This book was truly a masterpiece. I cannot recommend it enough, and it has become my favorite book of ALL TIME. It is rare that I want to read a book again immediately after finishing it, but I'm ready for a re-read and will definitely be adding this one to my shelves to read over and over for years to come.

Intricate, well thought out, and gripping with complex characters and an immersive setting steeped in dark academia. Kuang's passion for translation and language practically drips off the page, and the amount of research and care she put into writing this book is incredible. I could not put it down, and read it all in one sitting. Robin and his fellow peers went through a journey of struggles, experienced and lived through atrocities that Kuang did not hold back on describing such as racism, colonialism, and misogyny, yet I got to see the glimmers of their wonderful friendships along the way. Although the book is primarily told through Robin's point of view, all of the major characters had their own arcs and felt so real. The ending left me emotional and reeling and I am so grateful I got an early look at the book, as it is easily my top read of 2022 so far. R. F. Kuang has done it again! 5/5 stars

As is always the case with a highly anticipated book, I went into this scared of being let down. Those fears were unfounded. Babel is an immersive book about Oxford and linguistics, as well as an expertly crafted commentary on colonialism.

Kuang begins by painting a charming picture of Robin Swift's life at Oxford. But as time progresses slowly shatters the illusion both for her characters and the reader. The building sense of rage and dread was incredibly well done as Robin and his friends fully realize the truth of their peers and professors. The story really utilizes characterization to do the world building and I thought it was done incredibly well.

In short: Babel is a masterpiece.

I am utterly enthralled with this lush, dark, silver lining of a book. R.F. Kuang has now brought me my favorite Dark Academia of all time and to be quiet frank, she has created a beautiful master piece that will be enjoyed for centuries to come.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

My full review will be posted on Goodreads soon...

This book is genius and so insightful. Honestly at times the language and the descriptions were too far over the top for me. But I would totally recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy.

If you need another human babbling about this book, I am your person. I feel like RF Kuang knows how to write stories in a school setting so turning her sights to Dark Academia was absolutely genius.

It's astounding. There really aren't words for how ambitious this book is - it spans years, continents, languages, and cultures. I'm normally not a historical fantasy fan, but I would read this over and over again. For fans of the Poppy War, it reads like an R. F. Kuang book and features similar themes. But for fans of historical fiction who want to get into fantasy books, this is a great starting point.

It's full of moral conflicts, racial aggressions, and dialogues on industry. It's a dark academia epic spanning Robin's life, full of passionate characters and foes that will make you feel a visceral rage. There really aren't enough words to describe it, but beautiful sums it up pretty nicely.

*Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*