What a clever exploration of language and political power. An epic fantasy that is a real celebration of translation.

I felt the novel was more plot driven than character based. I didn't ever feel I could visualise the characters although there were the most beautiful setting descriptions of Oxford. I was reading some of this novel while on a trip to Oxford Museam and the stunning Pitts Rivers Museum.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. I was so excited t9 be approved and think all Kuang fans will absolutely LOVE this!

Absolutely fantastic and well written. It is very obvious just flipping through the pages that this is a well researched book. The characters are extremely well written and their personalities shine in each and every scene. The setting and the magic system’s effect on it felt so real, and I can’t imagine how amplified that feeling must be for those who’ve attended Oxford. This book is a reforming of the dark academia genre.

Five stars are not enough for this book!!

Anti-colonialist historical fiction + Dark Academia, with a sprinkling of fantasy = an absolute masterpiece.

The book follows Robin as he is taken from a life of poverty in Canton by a wealthy white man, who teaches him the art of translation. He is enrolled at Oxford University in The Translation Institute (Babel), and he must decide whether to assist his oppressors, or tear the empire down from the inside.

I am blown away. I enjoyed every second of reading this, and really savoured it. I was laughing, smiling, gasping at Kuang’s savage take downs and digs at the British empire, and crying pretty constantly for the last 150 pages of the book.

I am sad there won’t be a sequel just because I enjoyed it so much, but I do think it was finished off perfectly.

This is a triumph, and it needs to win awards.

*I received an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This was an absolutely incredible masterpiece!

I adored The Poppy War series because of the incorporation of themes of imperialism so I was incredibly excited to read this.

The way Kuang is able to weave an intricate story on colonialism and linguistics was amazing. I was very impressed with the level of detail there was in the magic system.

As expected, this story broke my heart and I was left sobbing at the end. I highly recommend!

The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

I actually finished Babel a week ago, but it has taken this long to work out how I feel about it. A fantasy set in an alternate 1800s Oxford, it charts the story of a young Chinese boy learning translation (and therefore magic) at the World's most prestigious facility - Babel.

The first half of this book meanders along fairly easily, with very little of consequence happening but a huge amount of clever and absorbing world building. The etymology is fascinating and the magic system a work of pure brilliance.

It's the second half that takes a turn - delving into the realities of the British Empire and its abuse of those around it. A gripping but nauseating insight into the overarching racism and oppression, it was at times quite difficult to read. However, I'm so glad I did. The ending was incredible and important and this book will stay with me for a very long time.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I start? Firstly, this book has nothing but five star reviews on NetGalley at the time of my writing. It has over 91% four and five star reviews on Goodreads (leaning more towards five star). I know numbers are not everything, but I think it says a lot for a book that is so hefty a read, it makes one heck of an impact.

Now, what are we reading? It is 1828. Robin Swift is orphaned by cholera in Canton, China. He is brought to London by Professor Lovell and trained in Latin, Ancient Greek and Chinese to prepare him for enrollment in Oxford University’s prestigious Babel programme. Babel is the world's translation hub, and most importantly the epicentre of silver working. This is the magic and technique of using language to imbue silver bars with power. Silver working has given the British empire their power to sweep across the world, and is supporting its efforts to colonise every country it comes across.

Robin and his friends on the Babel programme soon come to realise what their true roles are in Oxford and the Babel programme. They have to decide if they want to keep living in the comfort they have become accustomed to, or if they want to change the world. I am not saying any more than the author's blurb because you absolutely have to read the book to really and truly understand it.

The description does the story no justice. Babel is one of the most thoroughly researched, developed, creative and engrossing books I have read in a very long time. I felt like I was reading an academic paper, a biography, a history book, and a coming of age story all in one. The character development in this book is incredible. The time taken to set the scene is long, slow and in depth - and I loved it. Chapter after chapter was merely bringing you through the life of the main characters, yet it was done so skillfully that you were happy to simply grow with them, explore with them, and learn with them. When things finally started to get gritty and the pace increased there was no sacrifice in detail.

This is not a happy read. This is a book that lays dark academia and magic over history, the dark nature of British colonisation and the impact it had on many different countries at the time. It explores racism, delves deep into linguistics, and requires you to very much pay attention as you read. It is filled with footnotes, and imparts knowledge as well as emotion. I loved every moment of it. I am not ashamed to say I wept at the end. I was mentally exhausted when I finished. I did not regret reading this book however. It is a masterpiece. The author has said it is the most ambitious thing she has ever written. In my eyes, she absolutely nailed it, and I can’t wait to see where she goes from here!

*I received this book from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

Quality Rating: Five Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Writing this review is hard, for a number of reasons. One of them is that I'd need an essay to fully explain how great and clever and thoughtful and dreadful and magical it is. Another is that I want to shove you in the direction of other people's reviews and thoughts (reading reviews from different people with a variety of backgrounds, preferences and specialisms is a good thing, kids). And, really, it can all be summed up by saying R.F. Kuang is an exceptional writer, storyteller and academic.

Babel, at its heart, is a love letter to Oxford, to etymology and language and things lost in translation. It marvels at technology, at communication, at friendship, at culture. And it exposes its cracks and its shadows and the selfish people who control it, and the people who go along with it, and the people who very quietly say no. It is so well-balanced and articulated; how do you communicate the endlessly dreadful conflict of dearly loving something that comes from terrible, ignorant, colonial roots. What is our responsibility in acknowledging these things, and what is our responsibility for changing them? This isn't what Babel is wholly about - it is about so much more - but it is the thing that many people reading it may not have been confronted with before, even though we all should have been a long time ago.

Aside from all that, it's also a gripping and enchanting thriller. The characters are lovable and fantastically rounded and flawed (what else do we expect from Kuang?). I'm endlessly impressed by the author's ability to write and execute her stories just as brilliantly in different genres. The Poppy War was astounding, the complexity and fantasy and scope that was so readable that you just got absolutely lost. She's done it again with a historical thriller, a setting worlds apart and yet so close. She's writing a rom-com? I cannot wait. If she published her college thesis I would devour it. I will read everything she ever writes at this point.

Kuang also knows how to write endings that fit the stories she's telling. I don't think it's unfair to say that the majority of stories we process have endings that might be pleasing, or nice - bittersweet even - but few of them align the themes of their story so perfectly that it is seamlessly right for the story being told. Often because, as human are fallible and flawed and problematic, these endings aren't necessarily perfectly happy, or they might even in some way seem hopeless. The dragon isn't slain, never to return; he lives on. But Kuang hangs her endings perfectly in the balance of reality and resolution, and they are so endlessly satisfying as a result. And somehow, by acknowledging the hopelessness, it can, just maybe, feel hopeful. The dragon wasn't slain - but now maybe we know that it can't always kill us either.

loved a lot of the thoughts & ideas in this. i knew where it was heading (where it had to head!) but i wish it hadn’t.

what can I even say? it's absolutely phenomenal.

babel is by far the most ambitious historical fantasy book on colonialism and resistance that i've ever read, and it surpassed all my expectations. i loved how the themes of colonial oppression, revolutions, worker revolts, violent resistance, and the power of language were tackled - and the way rf kuang managed to weave in an original magic system throughout all these themes is honestly brilliant.

i’m numb with emotions right now. I really can’t think of a straight sentence about this book without wanting to scream into my pillow.. Babel and Rebecca Kuang didn’t come to play, because this was a fucking masterpiece and I will die on this hill.

My first RF Kuang novel is a 19th century-set dark academia fantasy where silver bars can be imbued with fantastical purpose, colonialism is alive and well, and a

Following a young orphan who is taken in by a mysterious benefactor and instructed in all things linguistic, the book follows Robin, said orphan, as he eventually joins a cohort of other linguists in Oxford. To say anything more would spoil the novel which I heartily recommend to all who are remotely interested.

It is dazzling and emotive, full of heart and darkness, cruelty and kindness, and bittersweet longing from front to back. As someone who never read Kuang's POPPY trilogy at the height of its popularity on social media, this is a masterful display of writing and one of the best books of the year.

I almost didn't request a copy of Babel but I am SO GLAD that I did.

The novel follows Robin Swift, a young boy in Canton who is transported to England by a mysterious guardian following the sudden death of his family in Canton. He is taught Latin and Greek to accompany his native tongue and then shipped off to Oxford University to use his language skills in aid of the British Empire.

You can just tell how much meticulous research has gone into the worldbuilding. The magic system in Babel is conceptually brilliant and fits perfectly in the Victorian English setting. The characters felt real - the novel never shys away from showing their flaws - and their motivations made sense (even when I HATED everything about what *certain characters* were doing).

The blurb mentions that Babel is a tonal response to Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and I cannot agree more - with the caveat that in actuality I think Babel has gone above and beyond its predecessor in every way.

I will definitely be buying a copy of this book when it releases officially.

I really don’t know how to start because wow this was such a complex book. R.F Kuang is extremely intelligent and I think I would have to be born again and start studying straight away to even reach half her level.

This book goes through everything from racism, sexism, classism and injustice. It’s about fighting for what’s right and the ways many people can go overboard in their opinions and actions.

So why didn’t I give it 5 stars? Well I blame the fact I was reading this with a cold (that made it hard to concentrate) but this feels like a very academic book (no duhhh this is dark acedemia). There was large paragraphs and paragraphs of text just talking about language and while the history and evolution of language was fascinating, I needed something else to grip me and force me to not just skip over the chunk of writing. There are even footnotes that expand the story even more with additional history and facts (which I also admittedly skimmed over) but that was just me and possibly my cold affecting it.

It took me a while but eventually I got absorbed into the story and the characters. Everything kicks off at around book 4 and this was where I finally sunk into the war and their tactics. How they react and go overboard with their opinions and actions. Robin really changed throughout the course of this book- for better or for worse, I’ll let you decide when you read it. There were a few twists that were shocking and no stone was left unturned.

I could see the author thoroughly researched this and enjoyed it a lot and I couldn’t help getting a little excited by it too. However, I am not a non-fiction gal and this book felt like it was 70% non-fiction. Personal taste really, I still admire the author a lot and do think she deserves 10 stars for effort alone.

R.F Kuang is a genius and I truly admire this book.

A skillful fantasy that critiques and unravels empire, class and race through the power of words. Would have liked to see an epilogue a few years after the ending perhaps but overall it was enjoyable.

A simply incredible book, and the best I've read so far this year. It's fantasy, but only barely, following the "one big lie" principle of sci-fi writers. In this case, it's the idea that words in different languages with similar, but not identical, meanings create a form of magic. This powers an alternate 19th century Britain, where colonialism and the exploitation of other cultures is crucial to keeping the magic going. Kuang's research is excellent, her satire biting and her characters heartbreaking. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

I knew I was going to enjoy BABEL ever since the first artwork was revealed over a year ago. Fast forward to today, I can proudly say that this is hands down THE BEST Dark Academia book that I’ve ever read in my life. R.F Kuang wrote a masterpiece and I am forever grateful to her for this. I did not think it was possible to be consumed by a book but BABEL proved me wrong. This book has consumed my soul and I am not the same person I was before reading it.

This is the first time that I am reading a book by this author and I fell absolutely in love with her writing. Everything she writes is so purposeful and so accurate. I really enjoyed the academic writing style of this book, with the footnotes giving us even more insights into the complex, rich world that she so magically crafted. I cannot even imagine the amount of research that must have gone into writing this book. Everything was so well described and there was a lot of factual information in this book despite it being a fantasy novel.

The representation in this book is so impressive! As a Muslim in the Dark Academia community, I love how represented I felt reading this book! This is probably the first time that I have seen such accurate and exceptionally good Muslim representation in any Dark Academia book and it makes me really happy. As a Mauritian, I also love how she mentioned about the Mauritian Kreol and talked about Mauritius. These made me connect with the book even more!

I love the characters so much. The story is told from our main character Robin Swift
and he is not the typical MC that you find in most Dark Academia books. The characters are complex and have so many layers to them. They all have such marvelous back stories and I got to learn so much about their cultures. The diversity in BABEL is another praiseworthy element that ought to be mentioned.

The reason why lots of people do not enjoy Dark Academia books is because they feel like there is not much going on in terms of plot. But dearest friends, this is not at all the case with BABEL. This book has the most exquisite plot and the way the events unfold is simply mind blowing. I also love the way the author tackled sensitive topics like racism, colonialism and issues in academia amongst others in this book.

Lastly, I have a little advice for you all. Be prepared to have your heart broken several times while reading this book. I genuinely felt all the pain that those characters experienced. Prepare yourself mentally before picking this book because you will feel a fair share of raw pain. Get ready to feel the loss, the betrayal, the anger and the hatred that those characters felt in this book! This book is a must-read for everyone! See you in September, Bablers! 🐦🖤

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book!🖤

First of all, I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book, in return for an honest review.

The book is probably best described as an alternative history, taking place in the 1830s, where silver magic (activated via linguistics - it's more exciting than it sounds actually!) is overlaid on top of real historical events. At the centre of the story is an Oxford University institution focusing on teaching Silver magic, the group of students admitted to it, and ... the terrifying and exploitative impact of the British Empire on its colonies and the psyche of the colonised peoples (yup... quite serious this).

Overall, I loved the book, and actually found it even better than the Poppy trilogy. There are lots of things to like here. First and foremost, the writing style has matured and become more complex. The narrative evolves gradually, at exactly the right pace for the reader to really get the full flavour of the world the characters occupy. This pace also allows the reader to get to know the psychology of the characters and really become intimate with the motivations that will shape the story as the narrative continues to flow.

I also loved the linguistics angle that the author took. It's quite innovative and something I've not yet seen in this genre, and it really helped strengthen the main story (more on this below). The only downside is its Deus Ex Machina role, which basically was able to plug any gap in the story where nothing else could help.

The character development is absolutely superb. It's a pleasure to see them grow and mature, and it's fascinating to see how the traumas they suffer shapes their personalities. There are a lot of gems spread around the story related to this, but I was particularly captivated by what it takes to radicalise disaffected youth (and give birth to "a terrorist"), how the tension between multiple cultural identities does to a person, how cultural acceptance (or lack thereof) affects identity, and the (potential) root causes of sacrifice. While these are heavy and serious topics, they are dealt with subtly, and with a lot of nuance, by the author. One never loses track of the actual youths at the centre of the story, and it's all about how they grow as individuals and as friends.

The main topic in the book, and to some extent one of the protagonists, however, is British colonialism. I've been torn about its role in the book, as the narrative around it felt preachy at times, and the picture shown was so extremely black-and-white that it almost felt like a caricature. However, as the story grew around itself, and as it made me think more and more about the actual history that inspired the narrative, the more I was impressed by the author's ability to talk about it with such sensitivity and accuracy, making it almost personal and very visceral. The villains in this book are the British elites, whose disregard of others' suffering is almost comical - and that's what is so uncomfortable about this book. As someone who lives in the UK (albeit as an immigrant myself), it is a grim reminder of what this country has perpetrated to achieve its current state of wellbeing. I honestly did not expect an urban fantasy / alternative history novel to take on such serious topics, and deal with them so well. It's perhaps this contrast between my expectations from this genre and the reality of what the author achieved, together with the discomfort the reminders of what British Imperial history was actually like (and the Opium War is just one example...), is the source of this dissonance, which eventually was a truly illuminating experience.

Overall - I highly recommend it. It's better or at least as good as other brilliant books in this space (the ones that comes most to mind is A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by HG Parry, and perhaps, though to a lesser extent, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke). The one thing that I think will still improve in this series (and the the author's work more broadly) is the writing itself (which at times came across a bit young-adult-like; and this by the way was already much better than in the Poppy trilogy), and some of the minor discontinuities (the less said about them the better; they don't affect the enjoyment at all - but can and should be dealt with).

I will be counting the days until the next instalment in this series comes out! (2023, it sounds like)

I will require at least 7-10 business days to fully gather my thoughts but here are my initial impressions: this book is phenomenal. I fully believe it will change the landscape. I cannot wait for the conversations this book will generate. Beautifully written, and so powerful. One word: wow.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eArc of this book.

I'll post a fuller review nearer the publication date but this book was breathtaking. Simply breathtaking.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for gifting this book to me! I read it instantly, I was so excited to start it. And I absolutely devoured it.
I haven’t read a book in a while that just punched me in the gut over and over again in such a way that this did. Robin is the perfect tragic hero for this story as he struggles with his identity and sense of belonging with his friends and within Babel despite being treated as other outside of his bubble. R.F. Kuang constantly reminds you that colonialism destroys everything it touches, that it’s foundations and the role you might play in it, however removed, can never be just or justified. However, the book does lull you into a false sense of security until suddenly, things come to a head. The side characters were complex and utterly human, and I particularly loved the interludes narrated by Ramy, Letty, and Victoire. I enjoyed seeing snippets of their history and their minds. While I may have wished for the book to end differently than it did, I ultimately believe it was the perfect conclusion for this story. It really couldn’t have ended any other way and be as satisfying. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone because while it’s fantasy, so much of it is rooted in reality.