RFK has grown a lot as an author. i’m so relieved to see how well-executed this book was. i usually avoid mentioning other books when reviewing, but seeing as this is from the same author anyway i thought i’d make an exception. anyway, the writing in TPW honestly gave me doubts whether RFK could rlly pull this off. babel is an ambitious book with important themes that could only either be a total bop or a flop. idk abt everybody else but when reading TPW you could tell that RFK was still grasping at words and plot, and while TPW had solid themes, it’s not as sophisticatedly executed as in babel. so i’m very happy to find that babel is an absolutely brilliant bop.

the themes are straightforward and presented in an authentic manner. it is dark academia, after all. i have always held an interest in linguistics and philology, and this tickled my brain in just the right way without being too overwhelming. you simply can’t compare this to other dark academia books. this is on another level of the genre. RFK has redefined dark academia and set a new standard for the entire genre. we sit through enlightening lectures (very nerdy!), go through rigorous exam season (miserable), and ofc— we experience whatever makes dark academia dark (but it’s darker, because the true horror of dark academia lies in the foundations of the institution themselves). RFK’s writing has grown to be more refined and mature too; the sentences flow better and paragraphs are smoother than before. the atmosphere, the tension, the setting of every scene is thick and palpable and (idk if it’s the coffee but) i thought my heart would burst out of my chest (haha). with babel, the author has proven herself capable of executing her ambitious ideas. it’s chock full of 19th century British vocabulary, footnotes, historical events, and philology and linguistics texts while still maintaining appropriate humor and a compelling storyline. it sounds intimidating and heavy, and you might be expecting an academic textbook by this— but RFK makes them accessible without dumbing it down too much. i reckon it’s appealing even to people who aren’t interested in philology, because the discussions grip you from the start and you could feel the passion of the author through the pages (in my case, the screen). it's sobering to reflect on the themes presented, because language is something people don't think much enough every day, and one doesn't realize how deeply connected it is to colonialism. it's excellently done.

but it’s not perfect ofc. the author's presence in the text is quite large; i could feel the sincerity and passion from RFK, but also her plan with certain characters and her train of thought. i found that RFK has a tendency to write specific traits into her main characters and she’s quite heavy-handed with it; it’s like she cannot help but write these kinds of personalities, which is okay, ofc, given the themes and context, but i wonder what type of characters the author could create without these fundamental traits and qualities to their personalities. i mostly enjoyed the characters though i still hope to see her write different types of characters next time.

anyway, despite the little stumbling, this is still an excellent book. i loved reading it! i love learning alongside the characters, experiencing campus life again, and having the story unfold so slowly. the gradual progression of the story felt SO GOOD, idk how else to describe it. i loved the first half better than the second half, and the last part of the book was my least favorite, but i still love the whole book.

TLDR ; this is not your usual dark academia, and i feel like it deserves its own category in the genre. this was absolutely fucking brilliant, what else can i say? just read it on your own and see for yourself.

I feel lucky to be alive at the same time as R.F. Kuang.

There are very few words to describe what Babel is, but masterpiece is definitely one of them. I was consumed, and my mind will remain with this book for a long time. A deconstruction of colonialism and empire, a revelation of what hides behind the golden sheen of promises. It's truth in the form of fiction, and holds every single brutality that comes with truth.

I am breathless. Be excited to be destroyed on every level, because it will destroy you down to your bones.

Thank you so much to Harper Voyager for sending me a copy of Babel in exchange for an honest review. I’m still blown away that I actually got an arc.

I enjoyed this story immensely and had to read it slowly so I could truly enjoy RF Kuang’s writing. the story tackles so many important issues that still impact society today that I ended up looking up each historical event that was mentioned as I read. I loved the characters too and understood why they did certain things even if they were considered “terrible”. Kuang’s writing has a way of making you think deeply about the world despite her books being fiction.

I loved Babel immensely and couldn’t put this down. If you’re looking for a dark academia fantasy read, this is definitely for you.

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution is R. F. Kuang’s standalone adult fantasy novel that centers on the story of Babel—a prestigious institute of translation in University of Oxford and its four students, as they uncover the sinister truths that surround the institution they’ve entered. Babel is an ambitious exploration of several ideas that tightly interweave colonialism, language, academia and paths to decolonization.

As a matter of personal preference, I generally don’t gravitate towards books labeled ‘dark academia’, but in case of Babel, being a fan of Kuang’s work and knowing the premise I was immensely excited to read it. And boy, it did not disappoint. Babel is an incredible book. It is bold, impressive and uncompromising. I can confidently say this is my new favorite Kuang novel.

Babel is obviously a passion project for R. F. Kuang; Almost every page is packed with her expertise and her interest in the subjects she tackles and as a result the reading experience is so rich and enthralling. Babel is definitely heavy on the academics, and as a scholar herself, the author presents a thorough coverage of translation and etymology, while keeping it entertaining and, honestly, addicting to read about. One of my favorite parts of the novel was the insanely interesting magic system which is based on the art of translation and its nuance—it was new and unexpected, I had never read anything quite like it and exploring this completely new idea of a magic system based on language was so intriguing.

The more academic aspects of the novel worked wonderfully. While I was hesitant about the idea of footnotes, I absolutely loved the ones in Babel—they were informative, interesting and to the point. In fact, at some point I was looking forward to the historical tidbits that were mostly given to the reader through footnotes. I was ridiculously invested in the actual studying process of the characters, I was as excited to learn about the exam paper they were about to take as some of the twists — it was Insanely Entertaining.

In terms of the plot, Babel is slow in development, as it takes quite some time to set up the scene and for the main events to get going. The slow pace in the first half of the novel, however, doesn’t feel heavy or boring; the setup itself is super fun to read about. The ambience of Oxford, its architecture, its academic practices and customs is described so vividly; it successfully immerses the reader into the Royal Institute of Translation. In typical Kuang fashion, the second half of the novel is filled with twists and reveals that make it hard to put the book down. Kuang takes her time to establish the chilling realities of colonization and just how the colonizers view the territories and the people they’ve taken. The ending of Babel is one of the strongest endings I’ve read. This story is so complete and fulfilling to finish; the ending definitely left some unanswered questions but it was still very satisfying and bittersweet.

Undoubtedly, the themes of Babel and how Kuang manages to tackle them are my favorite aspects of the novel. Kuang’s commentary on language and colonialism is nuanced and incredibly sharp. The themes are expertly woven into the narrative: the discussion of colonialism, the supposed ‘gratitude’ the colonies owe to the British empire, as well as the pivotal point — the necessity of violence to overcome the oppressor — feel deeply personal and well explored, as each character presents a new lens to view these issues and ideas through. The characters’ experiences, their insight into just how inventive Colonialism can be, their stories and their pain feel real and tangible. The value of a language, the importance of the mother tongue is also explored in Babel, as it becomes the sole link that connects our characters to their respective motherlands they’ve been taken from. There is also a generational quality to the discussion of these ideas —we see families of people reflect upon their legacy and their destiny as children of colonies forced into the world of the colonizers. The richness of the themes is what dominates the novel, and while it could be argued that they are tackled in a somewhat heavy-handed manner, in my opinion that’s part of the charm of this novel; Kuang doesn’t shy away from the difficult questions and the difficult answers that revolve around colonialism and its cataclysmic impacts.

While I really liked the characters of the novel, it definitely took some time for me to warm up to them (Ramiz is my absolute favorite, I Love him, he is everything to me). And to be honest, this is where most of my issues with the novel lie. Themes are the central part of the narrative, which sometimes pushes the characters to the side, there are certain moments that don’t have quite the emotional impact they were supposed to have. This doesn’t necessarily mean that these moments fall flat, but they come off as too fast and too abrupt in the narrative. Specifically I was most frustrated with how Letty’s and Ramy’s character arcs were handled. I wish Victoire had more page time, because when she’s the center of the attention she shines so brightly. And though I was frustrated because of how some character work was handled, ultimately, it didn’t ruin the experience since everything else was fantastic.

Kuang has grown so much as a writer. While I enjoyed The Poppy War trilogy, I think Babel takes it all to the next level: the prose, the themes, the pacing—it all feels so well handled and satisfying to go through. The prose is incredible, it manages to convey the themes effectively, create a bond between the reader and some of the characters and advance the plot at an appropriate pace.

I went into this book with really high expectations, yet I still found myself surprised because I enjoyed it immensely. I love this book. This is what dark academia books should be. This book is meticulous in detail, comprehensive and well-written in all regards. Of course, there are still things that frustrate me, that I wish were done differently (hence my rating not being a full 5 stars), but I’m willing to overlook those, since as a whole this was a Great read. Babel is magnificent; flawed in certain ways, but absolutely magnificent.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution.

Babel is dark academia doing what dark academia should do, and it was pretty amazing.

The very first thing you’ll really notice when reading Babel is how full it is. it is overflowing with meaning and sickening history it is incredibly difficult to digest at points. fans of The Poppy War will surely notice some thematic overlaps, but through creatively refreshing methods: what the poppy war showed about colonization on the battlefield from a girl who rises through the military ranks, Babel does through the perspective of a student blinded by privilege given to him by an empire that turns around and acts the most violent towards him, both physically and psychologically.

(side note: rf kuang has a way to hook you completely from the very first chapter its really very impressive. i found myself shutting off my phone and taking a quick pace around my room very early on due to rage. this did not subside a single time throughout)

When it gets gritty, and it does get gritty, the attention to detail is fantastic. Everything just feels very real the whole way through, despite the very obvious fact (which I somehow did not know before i started it) that the story relies on magic. There is so much thought and research and intention poured into every minuscule idea and event and consequence and political entity in this novel that once you get around the halfway mark, you will be so immersed you will not be able to stop reading. (that’s a promise) The “magic,” by the way, is cool as fuck. Silver-working is one of those concepts in a fantasy/ contemporary fantasy esque novel that i can’t help but sit and wonder how on earth the author came up with it. I’m almost jealous at how brilliant Kuang is. It’s such a genius way to bring language as a resource of imperialism to life and seamlessly holds its place as the essence of the novel.

Babel nestles right in the middle of character driven/plot driven and, again, It works the way it’s supposed to. I don’t want to babble (hahaha) on about the characters too much, as i think you will find much more reward in it to meet them for the first time and follow their journey knowing as little as possible beforehand, but phew! The woman knows how to write a character arc, I tell ya. Watch your backs, people.

There’s so much I want to talk about but can’t both because spoilers, and I definitely do not want to co-opt and risk watering down many of the messages in Babel from a perspective that is not intimately familiar with it’s experiences, but this book will betray you in all the best and all the worst ways you can think of. R.F. Kuang has a way of slowly suffocating you but then allowing one, final, wonderful gasp of air before delivering that earth shattering blow. (and of course, you’ll be sitting there asking for more as usual)

pre-order this now. consume everything you can that relates to the subject matter before you read it. and enjoy it!!

expected this one to hurt. spoiler alert, it hurt! and now i can’t stop thinking about it.

babel follows 4 scholars who are brought to oxford to study a variety of languages and enhance/expand the magical capabilities of silver through translation. this is extremely simplified, as i could not do explaining the intricacies of this book justice. throughout the course of the novel, we see the 4 characters grow in unexpected ways, as they embark on a revolution to dismantle imperialistic expansion one bar of silver at a time.

this book is one that will stick with me for some time. dark academia is something i do not typically read a lot of; however, for me, this was an exceptional read. while the pacing of the first half of the book was slow and i wanted to see more fantasy elements, once it picked up around the halfway mark, i couldn’t put it down. there are certain scenes in my head that i just can’t stop thinking about. and the plot twists …. just wow. kuang is so masterful with her word choices & intended messages; i will be recommending this to everyone as a must read upon its release in august (especially those who love linguistics and translation). please make sure to check the trigger warnings before reading.

thank you to netgalley & avon and harper voyager for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m trying to write a really calm and professional review here but after reading this book I don’t think there’s a possibility. I am honestly astonished by what Kuang achieved in this book.
This story is masterful and powerful and immersive in a way i can’t even begin to describe. Characters are so captivating, they had me wholeheartedly invested immediately especially Robin. All i'm going to say is, if you loved Kuang’s Kitay, you will adore Robin.
Overall Babel is fantastic read and R. F. Kuang is remarkable at breaking my heart while at the same time making me want to read and re-read her books.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to RF Kuang and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

When I first read The Poppy War, I was immediately blown away not only by Kuang’s talent, but by her ability to craft a good story. I devoured the series like it was oxygen and quickly turned to her other content, listening to podcasts, scrolling through her twitter, and reading reviews, but I eventually discovered that she wouldn’t have another book out for several months — and even then, the only thing I knew about it was that it was set at Oxford. I was dying to read more of her work, especially if it could be as genuinely breathtaking as her first series.

But make no mistake: this book is not The Poppy War. Kuang has previously said it is her most ambitious story to date, and that is truly the only way I can accurately describe it. Kuang took the dark academia genre and made it her bitch with Babel, because not only have I never read anything like this, but I doubt I will ever read anything quite on its level again. I knew going into Babel that RF Kuang was probably going to write my favorite book of the year, because she’s just that talented. But I in no way expected her to blow every single expectation I had out of the water the way she did. I hesitate to compare it to her previous books, because they a) belong to different genres and b) exist in different universes. But Babel is a literal masterpiece and I need to scream about it. (ALSO, THE COVER!!! I could write a whole review to talk about it, but I am not going to because I need to keep my dignity. Know that I love it and I shrieked when I saw it.)

The characters — There is so much amazing content in this book, and honestly, craft-wise, it feels leagues ahead of The Poppy War, despite that book being one of my favorites of all time purely from a writing standpoint. But what made The Poppy War stand out to me so much was the incredibly characterization of each and every cast member. And, similarly to that book, one of Babel’s strongest and most compelling features is its characters. Robin is a banger of a main character. Like, I canNOT stress this enough, I love him to the moon and back. He is so well-rounded, thoughtful, interesting, etc etc (I COULD GO ON), and he stood out to me while reading as one of the best characters I’ve ever read in a story. His character development is beyond immaculate and after finishing the story I had to sit back and wonder just how RF Kuang managed to pull his storyline out her ass because DAMN!!! His struggles with his upbringing, with his mother, with Lovell, with Britain — all of it is not only handled beautifully, but treated with such care and time that other authors should buy copies and start taking notes as soon as possible. She continues to set the standard for what characters can be and all I can say is Robin Swift superiority!!! He is the best boy. I love him so much.

It isn’t only Robin that’s amazing. Babel has a diverse, well-rounded cast full of unique and interesting characters that genuinely feel like real people. From the beginning of the story, Kuang takes care to make you invested in each and every one of them. Even hateable characters are well-characterized and thought out, and the villains in this story are just beyond. The inner circle of Robin, Ramy, Letty, and Victoire was so complex and full of different dynamics and I always felt like I was kept on my toes while reading about them. Not once did anyone get boring, nor did I feel like I wanted to skip a scene. Kuang created these characters and they feel real enough that I could swear they live and breathe somewhere in real life.

Ramy (and Ramy and Robin’s relationship) was funny and captivating to read. I wanted the world for him and when we got to read his POV I was thrilled because RAMY!!!! Ugh. Him! He is the best. I want to give him a hug. Same for Victoire — I really loved her, and more than that, I loved how she represents a “strong female character” that isn’t necessarily sarcastic or the typical, SJM-style badass: she’s soft, kind, but incredibly strong. She doesn’t take anyone’s shit and I loved that. Letty, too, was complicated and well-characterized; her arc is truly amazing and her interlude in the story is so well written. I won’t go into too much detail here because I’m hesitant to spoil any of the story, but she reflects society today in a way that is impossible to ignore. Her final scenes with the rest of the group might be fictional, but the script feels rooted in truth. Real people like her exist, and on the page, this fact feels like it’s punching you in the face. Kuang did an amazing job with all of these characters, and having finished the story I feel slightly empty. How can she keep doing this to me? Give me more content, I beg you :((

The plot — How RF Kuang came up with this mindfuckery of a plot I’ll never know, but god am I grateful she did. It’s unique, somehow both fast and slow at the same time, and never boring; it takes the dark academia genre that people know and love and made it into something entirely new. Not once did the book lag for me; not once did I feel like it was moving slow or I was bored. I was hooked from the start, first on the thrill of reading one of her books after so long, but within two pages, on Robin and his story.

It’s definitely a hard story, and it earns its place in the adult fiction category. While I did feel heavy many times while reading, the plot never stands too still for long, and even when bombshell after bombshell was being dropped, the plot was picking up speed, moving at a breakneck pace. There is never a dull moment in Robin’s life, even when it seems like there isn’t much going on on a superficial level. Kuang takes care to make each page worthy of the reader’s attention, and it pays off. Her pacing has always been spectacular, but Babel felt like a category of its own to me.

One thing I loved about this book was how the pacing worked in relation to the years. The book (somewhat like Naomi Novik’s Scholomance books) skips large chunks of time in favor of recapping them in a few paragraphs, keeping the reader invested in the meat of the story. Babel doesn’t bother slogging through boring information that isn’t necessary to the reading experience; instead, it throws it out and sticks to what’s important. I found this to be one of the best reading experiences I’ve ever had because at any time, I could open the book and fall right back into the plot without issues.

The history — This story feels like a love letter to academia in many ways, and you can definitely tell that Kuang is a scholar while reading. The writing is beautiful without being pretentious, and while reading I was reminded of how much I love her writing; it’s one of my favorite styles of all time. Babel combines Kuang’s gorgeous prose with real history (this is lame but seeing bits of information I learned in AP world was such a rush) and I feel lucky to have gotten to read it. The amount of research it must have taken to write this story is insane.

Also, I’m surprised that it was as accessible as it was — I’m not a big fan of classics, and I was nervous going into this book that I wouldn’t like the writing style if it had to do so much with academia and a classic-y time period (there was Charles Dickens, okay?). But Babel is incredibly well-written, not in a pretentious sense, but in a thorough, explained way. Unlike many authors who have had similar education, Kuang’s writing is in no way pretentious or condescending, and it never gets boring. There are no metaphors upon metaphors upon metaphors, and nothing about the story is hard to believe. It feels as though Babel belongs at Oxford, and everything that occurs is just part of a history we were never taught in our classrooms.

To be honest, I can’t believe I got to read this story for free. It feels like it should be in a museum somewhere. This has become my favorite book of the year by far; I love it beyond words. The characters, the story, the history, the writing, all of it — I’ve never read anything like it, and now I feel just as starved for similar content as I did the moment I finished The Poppy War. Kuang is a master at what she does, and I am literally at her feet begging for any morsel of content she’ll give me. This book was beyond good, and I can’t wait to see what she does next!!!!