Hot damn, this was a great book. Everyone should read it. I don’t know what else to say. It’s so many intricate things, and yet it’s also a pretty straightforward story. It certainly doesn’t pull any punches. The characters are well-crafted, the pacing is perfect...just great.

Took me longer to read than most fiction, but it’s because the language and the writing is so good that you can’t help but savor it as you read.

And if you like learning languages, you are going to be absolutely thrilled by this book.

Read it. Lisez-le.

This book. Lemme tell you. This book is a masterpiece. It’s sweeping and gorgeous and ambitious. It is dark, intellectual, and mysterious. I saw someone else state that it’s a history lesson and a therapy lesson in one book, and I think that’s the perfect way to describe it.

I’m still super mixed in how I feel about this one. On one hand, I can acknowledge it’s a literary masterpiece in how it was written and comprised. Using etymology as a baseline for everything & the intricate Magic systems complexity + the level of research Kuang needed JUST for that hurts my head thinking about it. It’s a big-brain book for sure.

The themes of colonialism and problems therein were done so well imo. As a reader, I was deeply unsettled about the institution of Babel and what they were doing to Victorie, Robin, and Ramy and students like them. Each of the characters was developed well, even if I found Robin himself a little boring and too passive for my tastes as a main character.

All that said, I don’t know that I “enjoyed” this as much as other books. It was so dense to read all the way through and at times read like a thesis or nonfictional text over the history of language and Babel during this time period and less like a fictional story. It felt like research or work to read it at times, and since I didn’t LOVE Robin as our main character, sometimes I got bored or irritated with him.

Other notes: I didn't LOVE how it ended, though I did LOVE how the author wasn't scared to make some choices.... vague to prevent spoilers haha!

Entertainment wise: 3 ⭐️
But, bc of the brilliance of the story as a whole and all the impressive things it accomplishes: 5 ⭐️

So I guess I’ll settle my official rating as 4 ⭐️

I'm a fan of Rebecca Kuang's other work, so I was excited to start this standalone. Dark Academia is a subgenre I've gravitated towards more and more in recent years, so this one looked to be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I tried starting this twice and did not make it very far. The world-building was interesting, but that seemed to be the main focus before the cast became interesting. I DNF'd it twice so I'm moving on. Giving it 3 stars because nothing is inherently wrong with the book, it's just not my taste at the moment. Your results may vary.

Truly one of the best books I've read. This story was so full and captivating and heartbreaking. I loved following the MC and his journey through Oxford. I really grew to love Robin. While this story obviously has fantastical elements, it is also obviously rooted in a lot of factual history re: colonialism and racism. After this, I will read everything RF Kuang writes.

I was so bored. I was expecting thiuis to be more excitment and fantasy but i got was a college lecture painted in a boring book.

Babel, the eagerly awaited continuation of The Poppy War trilogy by R. F. Kuang, surpasses all expectations and solidifies the author's place as a masterful storyteller in the fantasy genre. This book takes readers on an unforgettable journey filled with heart-wrenching emotions, intricate world-building, and compelling character development.

Kuang's writing style is nothing short of captivating, seamlessly weaving a complex narrative that keeps readers riveted from the very first page. The world of Nikan is vividly brought to life, with its rich history, diverse cultures, and a deeply immersive magic system. Each scene is painted with such intricate detail that it feels like being transported directly into the heart of the story.

One of the most outstanding aspects of Babel is its characters. The depth and complexity of the protagonists and antagonists are beyond commendable. Kuang masterfully explores the complexities of human nature, delving into their struggles, motivations, and inner conflicts. The protagonist, Rin, continues to evolve in unexpected ways, making her a truly multidimensional and relatable character.

The emotional journey in Babel is simply awe-inspiring. Kuang doesn't shy away from tackling heavy themes, exploring the consequences of war, power, and sacrifice. The raw and intense emotions conveyed throughout the story are sure to resonate with readers, leaving them deeply moved by the characters' experiences.

The plot of Babel is meticulously crafted, maintaining a perfect balance of action, intrigue, and political maneuvering. The pacing is well-balanced, seamlessly transitioning between moments of heart-stopping tension and quieter introspective moments. Each chapter holds surprises that will leave readers on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting the next twist in the tale.

In Babel, Kuang doesn't shy away from challenging her readers with moral complexities and thought-provoking dilemmas. This elevates the novel beyond a typical fantasy adventure and turns it into a profound exploration of human nature and society.

Ultimately, Babel is an epic masterpiece that will leave a lasting impression on readers. R. F. Kuang's exceptional storytelling, vivid world-building, and deeply emotional exploration of characters make this book an absolute must-read for fantasy enthusiasts. It's a journey that will stay with you long after the final page, and I can't wait to see where the series goes next.

3ish stars.

An impressive and thought-provoking lecture framed, unnecessarily, as fiction (let alone fantasy fiction), with characters who only serve as sounding boards for the author’s research. Good, but not entirely enjoyable.

This book is a fantastic progression of RF Kuang's writing. This book felt a lot more personal than their prior series, and felt very relatable even though it was more of a historic setting to a lot of contemporary themes. Reading this book the week that the Queen of England died was an interesting mental discord in my brain and added a strange edge to reading this book. Overall, so glad to see a younger writer improving and bringing very different and new types of writing out in their next books.

R. F. Kuang is my all time favorite author, I will read and buy whatever she puts out into this world and this book might be one of the best she has written yet. The world building is the best I have ever read. The character development is also the best I have ever read. She takes these huge hard topics and writes it so easily and it inspires me and also makes me feel sick to the stomach. I am blown away buy this book and I honestly think everyone should read it.

I don’t know if I have the words to do this book justice, but I can say without a doubt that R.F. Kuang is a master of prose and plot. Babel is an exploration of British colonialism while also exploring the ties of found family and the ties that individuals have to their countries and history. It is a novel that weaves the historical truths we must face with the fantasy that words can truly hold power (in this case, magic). It is dark academia, historical fiction, and overall just a captivating blend of fiction and non-fiction. Babel is intricate and is far from a cozy fantasy. It features violence, revolution, betrayal, and pain. While we are given an ending, it is in some ways left open for the reader’s interpretation. As with the reality of colonialism and revolution, readers are not left with a true happy ending, but with a bittersweet ending. Babel forced me to truly think about the power of words and made my heart hurt. I strongly recommend this novel!

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There is so much that has been said about Babel it's feels a little needless to say more - but here we go. Babel is the story of Robin Swift as he's lifted from his home in China by his 'guardian' and raised to be sent to Babel, the premiere translation institute in Britain that allows the country to have seemingly almost complete control of the world.

My thoughts are a little mixed on this. I think it's a solid book, by no means perfect. The first half is engaging in a day by day of Robin and his cohort's work in Oxford. Slowly Robin starts to see the cracks and flaws of the university. The destruction of languages, the slow conquest that Britain is enacting across the globe and you see how easy it seems for him to turn a blind eye even as his own homeland is targeted. Then on the half way mark the book takes a sharp turn, moving into a revolution, a revolt. Things speed up and the world crumbles around Robin.

This book is angry, and it is vocal in it's message. There is little subtlety here, and while I whole-heartedly agree with the core messages Kuang is sharing, I wish there had been more subtlety. We are told the message, over and over to the determinant of our characters and world building. Characters that are set up to be engaging and nuanced fall flat and eventually even are killed off in some cases as the plot drives towards it's ultimate grim conclusion. That ending is also another big problem I had with the book, in that I think death is the ultimate loss. A conversation is had in the book about martyrdom, about sacrificing yourself and how it isn't the answer but in the end the book contradicts that.

Overall it's a book I enjoyed, and I'll definitely continue to read Kuang's work. I think she has a lot of skill and talent and she has amazing space to grow. This wasn't perfect, but it was very good. If it seems like something you're interested in and you are one of the five other people besides myself who hasn't read this, it's worth reading!

4 out of 5 silver bars

4 stars

R.F. Kuang is officially my number one heartbreaker. First the Poppy War trilogy and now this?? I simply cannot handle this kind of heartbreak. Let me tell you, I cried so damn hard when I was finishing this book.
It was a really sad ending but also I loved every moment of it. Okay, well not every moment because A CERTAIN SOMETHING SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. No spoilers obviously.

I have seen countless reviews for this book calling it boring and I am sorry, did we read the same book? Because there is no way this was boring. I was invested from the first page. Kuang knows how to tell a damn good story. Sweet Robin Swift is officially one of my all time favorite characters.

I will say I loved this book but I also felt like I knew exactly how the book was going to end. It was very similar The Poppy War. And while I don't mind the similarities, I do wish it was a bit different. Just a tiny bit different you know? But the writing was fantastic, I truly felt I was there at Babel studying along with this crew of outsiders. And that is how you know the writing is fantastic, when you feel like you are there.

I need everyone to read this book and while they are at it, to read the Poppy War as well. Just add R.F. Kuang to your auto buy list at this point.

INCREDIBLE.

i took the concept of savouring to a new level with this book but WOW was it worth it. rf kuang is a genius and this is potentially one of the best books i've ever read?? i think this is one i will return to again and again, especially as i embark on a masters and career in translation.

savouring babel meant that i spent several months with these characters, getting to know and love them. and so, as the novel reached its climax and the characters their breaking point, i felt the devastation keenly. i loved the time spent with robin as he grew up and fell in love with languages and oxford; those early pages worked perfectly to make the emotional blows later on all that more powerful. i'll miss these characters tremendously.

rf kuang is undoubtedly an incredible writer. this is apparent in the characters, the slow building yet enthralling plot, the themes explored and the fact that the book was unfalteringly engaging, despite much of it comprising of etymology, philosophy and history lectures. babel touches on much of my own studies: namely language, translation and colonialism, which perhaps explains why i enjoyed its themes so much. language and translation as tools of colonial oppression particularly interest me and i adored what rf kuang did with this theme in babel. it honestly has me thinking about my masters dissertation two years before i'll even write it.

i had worried before starting that i would find babel dense and difficult to read, especially as rf kuang spoke about emulating a dickensian narrative. but rest assured, babel is sharp and engaging, and at no point did it ever feel like a slog. it is not a book to race through, however, rather to slowly savour (though perhaps not quite as slowly as me!)

i could not more highly recommend babel. it is worth every single glowing review and award it has received. rf kuang is a talent forever on my favourite authors list (yellowface is also spectacular! i'm excited to read the poppy war trilogy soon!).

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I am so unbelievably mad that it took me so long to read this book, given that it is about so many of my interests. Having read this immediately after reading Yellowface, I was hit face-first with the fact that R.F. Kuang really, really has range. Sure, it's dense and a bit full of academia, but once you get into it, Babel is such a wild ride. A truly incredible exploration of British colonialism and the ways in which language takes part in it.

BABEL was one of the most popular/hyped books of 2022 but since I’m perpetually late to the game, I’ve only just gotten to it. This a historical urban fantasy novel set in an alternate 1800s Britain, as it traces the experiences of four students from various parts of the world as they come to study at Babel, Oxford University’s Royal Institute of Translation.

I know this book is really well loved (and R.F. Kuang in general), but there were a few things that held me back from loving BABEL. I think part of this is the uneven pacing (it took me over a month to get through this since I lost a lot of momentum 3/4th of the way through), and at times I felt like the themes and characterizations were a bit… on the nose? Perhaps it’s this lack of subtlety that made BABEL feel more young-adult in tone than what I thought the themes (race, colonialism, capitalism) would suggest. Overall I respect the ideas behind Babel, but I almost think a piece of nonfiction with similar commentary/themes might have worked better for me.

I got a free e-ARC of this book from Netgalley and Penguin Books!

This was extremely slow and I got bored very fast. I've been trying to read this for months and had to force myself through the book but truly it felt like I was attending one of my university lectures and had to read a textbook... it's a very sad thought considering I've ADORED this author's previous works for The Poppy War, but sadly this book is just not for me :(

Believe the hype!!! I have read all of Kuang's bills up to this point and they never disappoint. You've probably seen Babel all over TikTok and other places and for good reason. It's an epic read that introduces a world you'll never want to leave!

Where do I even start...

Rarely do I start a book I loved with such a phrase, but Babel has left me at a loss for words. Not to mention that far more insightful and eloquent reviewers than I have read this book a lot faster and given it all the praise it deserves, so it's hard to know where to begin. I intended to be among them, as Babel was my most anticipated read of last year and the twelve (yes, twelve) copies I own can attest to that. But all that aside, I finally vanquished this novel- or rather, it completely conquered me and I will never be the same.

Set in the early 1800s alongside our own history, Babel follows Robin Swift, an orphan who is taken from his home in Canton to London by Professor Lovell, who appears mysteriously and suddenly and just as suddenly begins to train him in Latin, Greek, and Chinese to prepare him for Oxford University, home of Babel, which is in turn the home of the Royal Institute of Translation and the heart of the British Empire, where enchanted silver bars powered by loss in translation keep everything moving. The fairytale of a gleaming city and a bright cohort begins to crumble as Robin tangles with the Hermes Society, which wants to sabotage Babel's work, and neither he, his past, nor his future are what they seem.

Babel is exactly what comes to mind when I think of a tour de force. The care and research R.F. Kuang brings to each novel she works on has never been more evident, down to the sentence structure. I was amazed but not surprised to learn Kuang had done "vocal training" while drafting. The way Babel reads is much like a novel of the era it's set in, something I found delightful in the midst of being emotionally devastated.

I don't think this is a book everyone will love. For some, it will be difficult to challenge what they think they know about the world, and for others, they might just not enjoy the old-timey cadence or pacing, which happens. But I absolutely think this is a book everyone needs to try to read at least once. Babel is, I truly believe, one of the best books that has ever been written, and living in the same time period as R.F. Kuang is truly a gift.