i thought the themes covered were absolutely fantastic and done in such a brutally honest way that made their discussion really powerful. all of the characters were really well developed, and unique in their own right meaning they all contributed a different element to the story.

this isn’t a book that i was able to binge, it requires a lot of concentration!

I don’t read fantasy but was drawn to this book thanks to its literary and Oxford connections. I loved it! I found myself absorbed in the alternate historical world built by R F Kuang, and it certainly didn’t feel like it dragged on considering it’s length. While I’m not a total convert to fantasy, this has definitely made me more likely to dip back into the genre again and it’s been great to be able to recommend it to customers.

Babel is an incredible book so much so that I don’t know how do it justice in a review. The way language is used throughout this book is brilliant, the magic system which uses the evolution of language to create affect is so obviously well researched, that it is a pleasure to read. This story with its overarching themes of oppression and revolution has a diverse range of well written characters each with a different prospective and response to the issues around them. Many of these characters have well established personal relationships and well constructed character arcs. These characters are written in such a way that from the start to the end of the book they become completely different people but the changes are so subtle that you hardly notice it happening. I do not doubt that every person, while reading this book, can find aspects of one or more characters that they can identify as a reflection themselves, whether that be positive or negative. Overall this book has had a large impact on me and I strongly recommend reading many diverse reviews and opinions on this book.

Thank you to the publishers Harper Collins Audio for providing me with a copy of this audio book to read and review.

Babel was an incredible and gripping book that I could not put down. I bought a physical copy the second it came out. This book is brilliant, beautifully written and clearly thoroughly researched. It was one of the best books I read in 2022.

The narration by Chris Lew Kum Hoi and Billie Fulford-Brown was absolutely fantastic. I really appreciated having the foot notes included in the audiobook and thought the narration of these by Billie Fulford-Brown worked really well alongside the story and the main narration by Chris Lew Kum Hoi.

This was one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to. I would love to see what happens next and read more books set in this world.

R.F. Kuang is a brilliant writer and I love her work..

I haven’t listened to many audio books but this was so interesting. I was worried I would get confused by it but I didn’t.
I also haven’t ever listened to any fantasy before either.
I can see why people love this author

Where to begin with Babel, one of my most anticipated reads of 2023? I had extremely high hopes for this book; having loved The Poppy War, but I knew it would be quite different so my main question was: “Can Rebecca Kuang deliver?”. Thankfully I can quite confidently say that answer is yes. She can most definitely write successfully in more than one fantasy sub-genre and if anything I’d say Babel is a demonstration of just how far she has already come as a writer.

Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution is a Dark Academia Fantasy novel set in Oxford, England, and its alternative title gives you a good idea of the premise of this book. However our introduction to the main part of the story is actually borderline quaint; after being taken from his homeland, Robin was raised in England by Professor Lovell, and provided with an education many at the time would’ve been envious of. He is expected to use that education to then go on to study translation at the beautiful Oxford University, where his every need will be provided for, and eventually he will use his translation skills and studies to make himself “useful” to the British Empire. It is this theme of Babblers being used, and valued at the University for their language skills but not necessarily accepted, that preempts the later tonal shift of the book; from the quaint academic setting to the high-stakes revolution in which the protagonist, and hopefully the reader, begin to question British reliance on colonialism and the labour of people from across the empire.

The magic system is centered around silver bars and the language; specifically translation. Every modern engineering technique – steam trains, foundations of buildings – relies on silver bars enchanted with these “match pairs” which are words in two different languages that mean similar things. The key being that there is some gap between their meanings, it is the gap that the magic then creates the effect of, for example one particular match pair can make someone forget information they’ve learned due to the slight difference between the English word “idiot” and it’s Greek origin “idiōtēs”. I wanted to devour this book as fast as possible but the vast amount of information and knowledge contained within the pages meant I had to hold back and really savour the reading experience; I’ve no doubt that if I were to re-read this I would pick up on a whole lot of detail I missed the first time around.

Magic comes from that sublime, unnameable place where meaning [is] created.

– R.F. KUANG
It becomes clear that the profiteers of these silver bars and translation magic are the rich, specifically those ruling the British Empire, and Robin’s early hope that translation could be a way to bring people together turns into the realisation that under the current structure “an act of translation is an act of betrayal”. The interesting dynamic created here is that Robin himself, since coming to England, has been provided for and has moved within these upper class circles, and despite not finding home with many of his fellow Oxfordians, he is very out of touch with the working class and hardships of the poor as he simply does not remember the reality of his life in China. The further into the book and the rebellion we go, the more this disconnect becomes clear because the question of using violence to fight the institution becomes a question of is it worth it? – and this is likely to be answered very differently by the poor and working class than by someone like Robin who admits he would not know where to start if he were to run away from Oxford and his life of Academia.

As readers, Babel makes us confront our own failings as individuals, and as a society. It is a unique balance between the fantasy stories we all love, and those that really make us reflect on our actions, and how we conduct ourselves and voice our opinions and this really hits home in the second half of the book when the protagonists are more familiar with each other and rising tensions cause certain walls to breakdown and years of bottled up emotion come pouring out. However the prose itself is delightful; I haven’t spent much time in Oxford, and I know some things have been adjusted for the purposes of the story anyway, but this narrative really makes you feel like you’ve stepped onto those cobbled streets surrounded by the wonderful university buildings. It’s very much a rewarding read in terms of both entertainment, and the thought provoking nature of the story.

One downside for me was the ending, and the way our protagonist starts to change towards the end of the book; whilst I understand what causes this change, it is obviously a big adjustment for him and, perhaps quite accurately, he does not handle it that well. The ending seemed somewhat chaotic compared to the first 75% of the novel, and that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it but I actually might’ve enjoyed more of the story for emotions and character development to be more deeply explored. But overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I’m thrilled that it lived up to my expectations (perhaps even surpassing them). I’d highly recommend this book to both fantasy readers and non-fantasy readers alike, it’s a book that should be read by everyone at least once in their life if only for the important messages conveyed, bonus if they find Robin’s story as a Babbler entertaining too! Overall I’m awarding this book 8.5/10.

Babel is a college in Oxford - the Royal Institute of Translation - where all of the languages in the world are spoken and learnt about. It’s also where all the power of the British Empire originates from. But not in the way that you would think.

Robin Swift is brought to England by a mysterious Englishman after he is orphaned in Canton. The Englishman educates him, and then sends Robin to Babel to continue his studies. But is Babel everything that Robin wants or expects it to be?

This truly imaginative novel looks at colonialism, the power of language, resistance and sacrifice.

I loved the narration as well, it really added to the story, I felt, particularly the footnotes that were inserted into the rest of the dialogue explaining pronunciation and etymology (I really liked these parts, more than is normal or socially acceptable, probably! 🤭). I’ll admit that there were some mispronunciations of the Oxford colleges which would have been easy to avoid (I have to admit to mainly learning how to pronounce them by watching University Challenge 😆).

If you love language, languages (I do!), fantasy and an alternative history, then this will really appeal to you.

I do feel that I should have finished the book having learnt at least one more language though. Ah well 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thankyou for letting me have a copy of this book. Ive loved everything this author has released and i loved this also. The characters, the plot, the writing. RF Kuang can do no wrong.

The descriptions in this book of Oxford are breathtaking. The author is clearly extremely educated and knows a lot about different cultures.

I really enjoyed this book, however in my opinion it was a little long and wordy. I started to wonder where the story was headed. (Maybe that was the point though, getting the reader to stick with it). I did enjoy the element of fantasy. The characters were well developed.

Would I read it again? No BUT I did enjoy it.

Thank you to the author for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love Babel but after an intriguing start I just somehow couldn’t stay connected to it….it was so dense and gave me slight twee old man vibes.

There was a lot to like tho. The detailed descriptions of Oxford were wonderful giving a deep sense of place,
the narration was great and the prose stylish and haunting.

The idea of translation, silver and revolution was intriguing but somehow fell totally flat for me.

Babel by R F Kuang is a fantasy where language can be used to enchant silver bars.

R F Kuang is a great grimdark author, and this is a dark academic fantasy story, set in a different Oxford. 

I found the cast of characters to be interesting, with lots going on.  

This is a big book, and has a lot of detail, characters that you might not empathise with, and other grimdark element, but I did enjoy the story and the adventure it took me on!

I really enjoyed listening to this storm. The voice acting added to the story.

I was given access to this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to HarperCollins.

I'll premise by saying that this is not the usual genre I read. I enjoyed the descriptive and atmospheric writing. As far as fantasy goes, this was perfect for me as I found it boarded more on the magical realism side, which I prefer. I feel that it dragged on a bit, and could have been heavily edited down. That said, I'm glad I chose to read it it and was quite entertaining.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

I both read and listened to Babel.
The first half read like one of my university textbooks with a bit of a story line thrown in with a light hint of fantasy. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this and I couldn't shake my feeling of being let down with a slow plot progression.
I found the narration on the audio book helped a little with the bits I was struggling with, and it was enjoyable to listen to.

I did slowly begin to emotionally conect with the characters somewhere around the middle - especially Rammy - but still not as much as I would have liked.

The book raised awareness of relevant issues such as race, gender and class etc, in a way that is appealing to both young and adult readers alike.
This book has taught me some historical facts I didn't know, and was set in an area I'm familiar with, making it all that more real.
It also had a couple of shocking twists and turns that I didn't necessarily predict making the slow reading worth it in the end.

For me Babel is standing strong at ⭐⭐⭐

One of my best books of 2022.

I loved this book and the narration was just perfect..

One of the reasons I loved this book so much is that I love words and language so that side of the story fascinated me. I can see why people might not like it if words aren't their thing, if it had been mathematics instead of language I most certainly would have bounced off it within a few pages.

The other thing that will divide people is the lens (and reality) of colonialism, personally, I think it's important to address this in all types of fiction regardless, or perhaps because of how uncomfortable it makes people.

I was so excited to start this but unfortunately it didn't go as I had hoped and become a new favourite. I loved setting and discussions about language and colonialism. I found those parts incredibly interesting, For me where it missed the mark was the characters and plot. I repeatedly felt that the characters actions jarred with their thoughts or feelings, as if them doing certain things was just a way to move the plot forward. I also felt as if the pacing and plot itself felt jumbled. It is a long book and by the halfway point I was losing interest. I continued in the hopes I would connect with the characters more but ultimately I was left feeling unsatisfied. I can completely understand the hype behind this and others loving it. There was just something the pacing that wasn't for me.

What a fabulous book. Kuang has created a fantasy world that is brilliantly original and a magic system both unique and insightful. While traditional fantasy often had questionable attitudes to empire and race, Kuang uses her alternative Oxford to skewer and interrogate colonialism and the history of the British Empire. Hey characters are wonderful, flawed and complex and convincing. The story is tightly plotted and the discussions of linguistic theory fascinating.

The audiobook is very well produced and the narrators skillfully bring their characters to life. The vital footnotes in the book are clearly distinguished without upsetting the flow of the main narrative. Am extremely enjoyable listen.

A fantastic dark academia book that I think will go down as a classic within the genre. It’s hard to write a worthy review without spoilers, and this is one book you do not want spoilers of!
Written as a dark academia fantasy, but with a very clear sense of realism this book will have you questioning everything, the world and characters are sublime, the storyline shocking right till the very last page and the writing style an absolute delight to enjoy.
I suggest this as essential reading for anyone, take it slow, savour it, and really see it as an experience.

How to describe this book? It’s part-historical fiction, part-fantasy, it’s part-dark academia and part-anti-colonial diatribe. It’s epic and ambitious. It’s a book about language, about empire, about the evils of colonialism, it does so so much, it’s hard to think where to start.

Despite it being a long read (or listen, in my case), I really enjoyed this one. Having a background in languages and post-colonial studies definitely helped keep my interest sparked. It’s dark, it’s sad, it took me by surprise with various twists and turns. So if you’re ready to commit to a big one and learn something in the process, this is a good choice to make.

The narration of this book was fabulous, with excellent pronunciation and real care taken to represent the languages authentically. In hindsight, would I choose the audio version again? Perhaps not. I personally would have probably enjoyed a solid read of this over a distracted listen, but then that's just me.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Babel is definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read! It is up there with Harry Potter for me. I absolutely loved the fantasy element, the magic and the mystery. I adored Robin and his gang and I will miss them terribly now I’ve finished it. The book is long but not long enough for me, I could carry on reading Babel forever ! It will stay with me for a long time and is one book that I will re read many times. I highly recommend everyone should read Babel. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!

This book was very well written and the audiobook performance was amazing but it dragged on and seemed to have lost me half way through maybe it was above me