R.F. Kuang has a masterpiece with Babel. This familiar, but fantasy world will draw readers in - both those who typically are drawn to fantasy and even those who don't typically read it.

Masterful and a book everyone should read. This book is as much about magic and lush dark academia vibes and it is about the impact of colonialism. At times, it makes you feel uncomfortable, but that means its message is working.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Full review held until the resolution of the HPU strike.

This book is simply one of the best releases of the last year. R. F. Kuang writes an incredibly important story that explores the complex and dangerous ways that colonization and academia imbed themselves within each other. While this book is a fantasy novel, the fantasy element, a magic system involving silver working and translation, is is a vehicle for exploring "translation as an act of betrayal" and less a complex mystical character itself. The brilliance of her using the magic system as a vehicle of critique and story telling instead of the story is a masterful demonstration of her writing.

The primary weak spots are the stretches in the first half of the book that could be trimmed. While this book does follow a handful of characters, this book is plot driven and less character driven and occasionally the characters fall flat until the final quarter of the book.

I've recommended this book widely to friends and students and will continue to do so.

If you are someone who is against "wokeness" or you find yourself uncomfortable with "woke" agendas, then this is either the book you need to stay away from or the book you need to read right now.

This is a masterpiece that is not without it's flaws. I adored this alternate historical fantasy and how it allowed for the conversations about language, colonialism, race, power and what it means to have a family and do the right thing. This book is extremely long and honestly I feel like it could have been broken up into volume one and volume 2 and it would have been delicious. I sat at 50% for a very long time because it hits a bit of a rut in the middle and is just kind of mundane but I think that may have also been done on purpose to show that change doesn't always just hit you over the head with a hammer but it's incrementally there day in and day out.

Near the end in particular, there are a lot of conversations about race and colonialism that are much more in your face than in the rest of the book and I was getting aggravated because to me it was reducing the book to just being about race and the inequality of power during English imperialism. Which it was but it was also MORE than that. I am curious as to what happens after the ending, but also satisfied with the ending even though it was so bitter.

I received an ARC of Babel from Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.

Kuang’s follow-up to The Poppy War trilogy, Babel, is both like and unlike the series that catapulted her to fame: it chews on similar themes, and its characters occasionally evoke Rin and her companions, but its plot and setting bear only passing resemblances. The cruel countryside warfare of The Dragon Republic and The Burning God are exchanged for the academic opulence of an alternate history mid-1800s Oxford, at the heart of the British Empire. Babel is, in many ways, a more ambitious project than its predecessor—although smaller in scope, it strives for a higher bar of linguistic and structural sophistication, and it often falls short of those ambitions. But it’s nevertheless thrilling to watch Kuang again going for the throat of imperialism with a blunt-edged blade, and to witness the fire, blood, and shattered silver she leaves in her wake.

Robin Swift, an orphan from Canton, is brought by Professor Lovell to England, where he eventually enrolls in Oxford University’s Royal Institute of Translation, colloquially known as Babel. Within the hallowed halls of the tower of Babel, words are written on silver bars which capture the meaning lost in translation; that meaning then manifests as magic which powers the infrastructure of the Empire. (Gotta say—one of the coolest and most creative magic systems I’ve ever encountered.) Robin befriends fellow students Ramy, Letty, and Victoire, and they wrestle with their roles in maintaining the machinery of empire, which facilitates oppression while allowing them to live in comfort and have access to scones. This leads Robin to eventually join The Hermes Society, a shadowy organization devoted to opposing imperial expansion.

The protagonist of Babel and his three companions are the weakest part of the book. Kuang repeatedly tells us that Robin, Ramy, Letty, and Victoire are Very Good Friends™, but at no point did I register anything resembling real chemistry or camaraderie from their dynamics and interactions (a symptom of being told, rather than shown), and much of the emotional weight upon which this story hinges is lost as a result. Robin is too passive to be compelling, and Kuang makes the interesting-but-misguided choice to provide most of Ramy’s, Letty’s, and Victoire’s characterizations in brief interludes that function as narrative codas in the second half of the novel, presumably in an effort to deconstruct any assumptions you may have made about them prior to said interludes. It’s a clever idea, but it doesn’t pay off (except perhaps with Letty).

I was happy to discover, however, that Kuang’s prose—which improved significantly over the course of The Poppy War trilogy—has continued to get better. Her sentences are richer and more syntactically robust, remaining eminently readable even as they digress into lengthy meditations on etymology. Babel’s pacing is another matter. The middle section of the book sags and likely would have benefitted from a more rigid structure in relation to the time it covers; I sometimes felt like Mario, cape inflated, sailing over a level in Super Mario World, which is simultaneously convenient and disappointing. Was there anything interesting down there? Did I miss Yoshi?

Kuang is at her strongest when it comes to theme. If The Poppy War and its sequels frustrated you with their lack of nuance and subtlety (I count myself among those readers, although I have softened somewhat in this respect in response to Kuang’s defense of her didacticism), you won’t find anything different here. But as the vice tightens, the story skews ever closer to that of The Poppy War trilogy—Kuang finally finds her footing and delivers a thrilling finale that made me genuinely uncomfortable. This finale brings the alternate history and speculative worldbuilding elements of Babel into focus, and it is here where I feel most conflicted about Kuang’s choices.

Babel’s silver bars distill the oppression of empire into physical objects. I believe I understand why Kuang found this idea attractive. Imperialism and colonization are systems so immense that they resist the mechanics of storytelling and refuse to be dismantled by four characters in a few hundred pages; Kuang needed a way for her protagonists to physically interact with the engine of empire. I don’t have a problem with this. Speculative fiction has a long history of literalizing and making microcosms of ideas that feel impossible to wrap your mind around in the real world—that’s precisely what provides the genre with the transformative power of perspective. What I do have a problem with is her willingness to introduce a magic system into our own history without meaningfully changing the trajectory of that history. It is nothing more than a coat of paint, and that is neither plausible nor compelling. I crave a lot more “alt” in my alternate histories.

Babel is unapologetically Kuang, for better and for worse. It is big and bold and dense; it is drunk on righteous anger; it is an uncompromising academic flex complete with footnotes that rarely justify their inclusion. It does not exhibit the staggering scorched earth storytelling that made The Poppy War trilogy so memorable, and I confess it did not live up to the high hopes I had after that series. But Babel still does what most books don’t—it goes for the throat, and that’s good enough to keep me ready, eager, and waiting for Kuang to strike again.

Thanks to NetGalley & Harper Voyager for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, wow! RF Kuang never disappoints! A tantalizing story from beginning to end. Fans of the Poppy War and its bleak setting will also appreciate Babel's bleak setting--though this is definitely not as action packed as Poppy War, it's slower paced but the messages still hit pretty hard.

Can't wait to see what else RF Kuang has up her sleeve!

I read this during the HarperCollins strike & can finally give my review to netgalley/goodreads/all the places! This was good, but not a favorite for me. In my opinion, the characters should've carried this book, but they didn't. The writing of R.F. Kuang was absolutely stunning--the actual words on the page, the ideas, all of it felt so good to be immersed in. It definitely made me want to read more Kuang. However, characters should've been the backbone to carry out the ideas, and to me, they were all pretty flat. I think that if our main character had had more of a journey, this would've been more impactful.

The plot is a 5 point story arc, and depending on what part of the arc you are in, I think the plot is in turns great and in turns sloppy. But again, a lot of this comes back to the characters' mindstates during the plots and how they could not carry their own actions, for me.

I really liked the magic system and the world. I loved the exploration of Oxford as a place of paradox, like academia is today. I loved Babel's Dickensian vibes. These three things, put together with the ideas, are my favorite things about this book. However, I generally need plots and character to be as strong for me to love something.

So I gave this 4 stars. It was a good book--super ambitious. But it did not live up to the 5 stars I was hoping it would be.

This is my first time reading anything by Kuang, but I’m adding more books by this author to my list! I loved this. The plot, the intrigue, and the world building is fantastic.

I have followed R. F. Kuang since the release of The Poppy War trilogy. Kuang's ability to write and intertwine historical context into her story is to be applaud for. But Kuang's weakness as a writer are her characters. It is evident in The Poppy War trilogy as none of them have a clear trajectory and seems to not have a distinct personality from one another. And Babel seems to have the same problem with a variety of other issues that I can't seem to overlook.
I praise Kuang for writing such a history rich story that presents a lot of facts and context into colonialism and other related topics. Kuang also included a diverse cast of characters that give different perspectives and arguments about said topics. It is also apparent that Kuang loves the art of translation as there is so much research put in by Kuang included into the book. And yet.. the down fall of Babel are the characters. They do not feel fleshed out in a way that they do not have a clear set of motivation and train of thought. It is clear that Kuang inserts herself into the story through her characters and it is hard to separate the writers voice from her characters as it is heavy handed in this book. In the end when the big encounter happened it fell flat and unsatisfying. In my opinion, Kuang's plot work always falls short and filled with holes that aren't easily overlooked because of her characters.
For me Babel did not deliver what I expected from the hype it got but its good to see how Kuang has grown as a writer.

This is one that’s going to stay with me for a long time. The plot is a little dry until you get about ⅔ of the way through, but the first third is one of the best depictions of academic life that I’ve come across. Dark academia all the way. Big thoughts about colonialism and complicity.

As this title is published by HarperCollins Children's Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, I will be withholding my review of the title in support of the HarperCollins Union strike. I look forward to reviewing this title once HarperCollins has met the union at the bargaining table and agreed to a fair contract.

I've been pondering this review for the past week. And I still am at a loss.
When is it time to take up arms? When does the necessity for violence become justified?
This book is IMMENSE.
Robin, orphaned, is rescued by a British man. Taken to England to be educated - groomed into a translator. Finally he attends university - the much sought after scholarship to Babel. One among four students for that year - they form strong friendships, outcasts themselves for various reasons. Race. Gender.
A very intricate look at opposing forces, neutrality, the preference for lack of information, advantage vs disadvantage.

A masterpiece in every way--truly never thought a book could be written that captured my experiences of going to a PWI.

PHEWWWWWW. what a book. what an author. what a BRAIN.
i loved this from start to end and cried when there were no more pages to flip through. i want to eat rfk's brain. yes i would turn into a zombie for that woman because what she did in babel? INSANE.

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.
In the 1830s orphan Robin Swift is brought from Canton to London and taken under the wing of enigmatic Professor Lovell where he is trained in the study of languages all with the goal in mind of sending him to Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. Babel is where the magic happens, literally in fact, where silver working happens, embedding languages into silver bars which stands in for technology but this is not easy work and the words can’t just be any old word. Attending Babel is a dream come true for Robin but being in the heart of England, and as a Chinese boy raised in England Robin sees the dark side to the work Babel does and struggles within himself. While studying at Babel Robin meets a shadow society that opens his eyes even further to what Babel does and it’s cost, their goal is to stop Britain’s expansion and colonization of the world. Robin has to pick a side, does he dedicate himself to the studies he loves or the cause that calls to him? Can change happen from within the institution or will it take violence to make it happen?
***
Babel by R.F. Kuang was a lot of reader’s most anticipated book of 2022 and while I enjoyed it immensely I think maybe my expectations for it were too high. Regardless I really enjoyed the world, it was gritty, and the characters, Robin especially.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

I really wanted to love Babel. It starts out very interesting. Robin and his friends are well written, and I love that it is set at Oxford. However, I stopped reading after about 100 pages in. It felt like there were a lot of info dumps, and I just got bored.

Stayed up late because I couldn’t stop reading Babel. Then stayed up even later because I couldn’t stop thinking about Babel. Holy. Shit. !!!!!!!!!! This is the most powerful book I've ever read. Stunning from start to finish and absolutely packed with themes. I'll never stop thinking about or recommending this book.

What can I say about this book that hasn't been said already?
Delightful. Straight up perfection. Thanks for the ARC ! I am honored to have received it.

I realize that I am a bit of an outlier when it comes to RF Kuang. I read The Poppy War series and was not blown away. I didn't hate it at all, I just didn't fall in love with it like so many others. I purchased the series for my library and it has been a big hit. SO, the problem has to be me, which is totally fine. As such, I tried to begin reading Babel with a clear mind. I think, as with many authors, you can see growth in the writing of this book. The setting is great - the British Empire, who wouldn't like that? The characterization is done very nicely, at least for the major characters. But I finished this book much as I had her previous novels - with a sense of happiness that I was finally done. As with the Poppy Wars books, I purchased this for my library and it has circulated continuously. So, I led to the inescapable conclusion that something about Ms. Kuang's writing style just doesn't mesh with my reading style, which is perfectly ok. I will continue to recommend her titles to my patrons and I am sure they will be glad I did!

This was one of my highly-anticipated novels, because I do enjoy dark academia, and the magic involving silver and translation really intrigued me.

This was so dense and really took some time for me to get into the reading rhythm. But once I did, I loved it. I really enjoyed the academia, and showing how it isolated Robin and the others. All of the footnotes and etymology and discussion about translation were so interesting for me and I had fun just getting lost in the minutiae. I also appreciated the examination of colonialism and thought it was really well-done in terms of weaving it into Robin’s story without always explicitly discussing it, but still illustrating its impact (while at other times it is explicitly talked about).

The last couple of parts of the book went in a different direction and changed the tone and raised the stakes, and I had some difficulty adjusting at first. As for the ending, I can’t say I liked it but I understood it.

This was definitely a book that exceeded my expectations! If you like dark academia, this is a must-read!