3.5 stars - Bancroft's writing is fantastic, and the ideas and storyline are super unique. I liked this second book in the series a bit better than the first, which was a pleasant surprise. I sometimes found it a little hard to stay engaged as there are a lot of characters and so much weirdness going on, but overall this series is pretty fun.

A wonderful sequel to Senlin Ascends with plenty of action and a further exploration of several of the characters' backgrounds and insights. To mention more would ruin the wonders and delights that lie ahead for the reader. Highly recommended.

Arm of the Sphinx is my favorite book in the whole series. It's very different from book 1, Senlin Ascends, where in that book Senlin is the central focus, in this book while he is still very prominent, we get to focus on some other characters who become an integral part of Senlins adventure.
Full review on my YouTube channel.

How delighted was I to find that after I finished reading this that I liked it better than the first one! That almost never happens in a series. But, in this one I really did end up enjoying the follow up even more. Not by a lot, but still. I really liked the characters and seeing them grow. Senlin is still my least favorite of all the characters but I found that I like him so much more when he has a cast around him to engage with. You start to see that the professor is much more cunning than even he expected himself to be. Bancroft has written some very strong female characters in Iren, Voleta, and Edith and I really found the three of them to be my favorite characters up to this point. The women are powerful and intelligent but also have emotions and aren’t afraid to care for people. Edith’s transition from book 1 to book 2 is a drastic one and you feel guilt right along with Senlin as you find out what’s happened to her after they met in The Parlor.

I think I ultimately enjoyed this more than first book because the whole adventure part of the story really takes off here and I was highly invested in their pirating and their meeting of the Sphinx, which ultimately sets up the trajectory for the rest of the story. The Sphinx was enigmatic and interesting, and I was super fascinated by the layout of his massive stronghold and the various characters within it. Byron and Ferdinand pulled at my heartstrings at once. And being that we don’t really understand the Sphinx at this point, I wondered if these two menagerie characters were happy with the circumstances they found themselves in. Byron definitely seems uppity and pretentious, but also seems to be lonely and misunderstood. Ferdinand with his music box was everything to me and I applaud Bancroft for taking a non-speaking character who couldn’t show emotion on its face and really brought him to life and made him feel like a thinking, feeling individual in his own right.

We also start to find out more about the Tower as a whole in this book. How all the ringdoms work together to provide various needs and resources for the tower but we still don’t see how they all add up and to what means? Plus, what exactly is going on in the tippy top of the tower? We don’t get to find out but consider my interest piqued.

Received via Netgalley

Arm of the Sphinx is even better paced and intriguing than its predecessor. Bancroft somehow increases the depth and width of the obstacle our characters have to surmount, the information they need to acquire, alliances that must be made, and secrets outed, in order to have a fighting chance and the deepening of the bonds of friendship and in a found family even as betrayals threaten to undo the threads they have sown.

The higher our heroes ascend in the tower, the more intricate webs of power, wealth, and oppression are revealed. As Tom works out just what roles each level and the unfortunate souls within then play in propping up the decadence and wealth of the upper levels, he is drawn into a balancing act to restore what is seen as order by a master machinist.

With interesting animals, structures, steam engines and thinking automatons, Arm of the Sphinx continues the exploratory adventure and focused mission of Tom and company.

Link to review: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/arm-sphinx-continues-surreal-climb-tower-babel/

First off, thanks to Orbit Books for my review copy of this book. Secondly, thanks to author Josiah Bancroft for completing the seemingly insurmountable task of writing a better book than his first. Kudos, claps, & congrats!

Also quick disclaimer: this review contains SPOILERS for SENLIN ASCENDS, but NO SPOILERS for ARM OF THE SPHINX. I’m assuming, gentle reader, that you have at this point read and completed Senlin Ascends and are trying to decide to read Arm of the Sphinx, which should really be the next natural move, or are perhaps curious about another’s thoughts after having read Arm of the Sphinx.

“Despite the evidence of my chosen profession, I am far from comfortable with violence. Unfortunately, the consequence of practice is mastery.”
–The Stone Cloud’s Logbook, Captain Tom Mudd

Arm of the Sphinx begins very near where Senlin Ascends left off, with Thomas Senlin (now under nom de plume Tom Mudd) the newly-minted captain of The Stone Cloud, a rugged commandeered airship.

Senlin is very much unwelcome at the port of New Babel, after having upset the order in the Port of Goll quite a bit. Senlin knows that his wife, Marya, was most recently seen in Pelphia, but the port doesn’t take kindly to Senlin’s pirating and makes landing there impossible.

Senlin tries to keep his crew alive on the aerial outskirts of the tower, and he struggles to retain his civility so that he can return to Marya as the same man she married. This leads, invariably, to some very courteous pirating. This is all complicated somewhat by the fact that a hallucination of Marya haunts Senlin at inconvenient intervals.

Can Senlin stay true to himself as a pirate captain? Can he find a way into Pelphia? Will he find Marya, and will she even recognize him if he does? The Tower of Babel, and its mysterious Sphinx, could perhaps hold the answers.

So? How was it? Did Senlin get to the top of the tower already?

He sure did, then he just hopped off with Marya and they flew back home to live in peace and quiet happily ever after.

Really, though.

A pleasing amount of Arm of the Sphinx is from the perspectives of Senlin’s crew – Edith (who perhaps has a secret), Iren (who is much more than muscle), Adam (who begins to have aspirations for his future), and Voleta (who has more guile than she lets on). These POVs are an absolute enrichment to the book and are great foils for Senlin in many ways.

The best authors, I think, are ones who can dance around an emotion without being heavy-handed in expressing it. Josiah Bancroft accomplishes this feat in spades. Reading Arm of the Sphinx, I felt a multitude of emotions not only for Senlin, but for every member of the crew. I felt a sweet and subtle friendship with Edith and Senlin’s door-knocking, I felt proud of Iren’s blossoming, previously-smothered motherly instincts. I loved Voleta’s curiosity and disregard for rules, and, having a sister, I connected with Adam’s love for his sister and his desire to dream for himself.

“We are, each of us, a multitude. I am not the man I was this morning, nor the man of yesterday. I am a throng of myself queued through time. We are, gentle reader, each a crowd within a crowd.”

Arm of the Sphinx is full of character, which absolutely worked for me. But Arm of the Sphinx does have less alarming and strange spectacles than Senlin Ascends does. That’s not to say it’s devoid of spectacle, it’s just not the point of this book. There are new venues just as amazing as the first few ringdoms, but I won’t get into details. Suffice it to say, the stuff you love is still there.

Spoilery Tidbits That I Loved (highlight to reveal)
Number 1: FERDINAND AND HIS SONGS
Number 2: EDITH AND SENLIN’S MOMENT (surely I’m not the only one cheering for this)
Number 3: THE SPHINX, JUST IN GENERAL. WOW.

There’s a lot more I loved, but it’s getting late. 10/10, will read again.

You can pick up Arm of the Sphinx at your local bookstore or on Amazon.

Be on the lookout for The Hod King, Book 3 of The Books of Babel. It’s supposed to drop on December 8, 2018.

This is the second book in the Tower of Babel fantasy series. "The very heart of the Tower is a machine, a dynamo that leeches energy from men and women, turns it to lightning, and funnels it to his workshop to make more masters, more machines." It wouldn't work as a standalone, you should read "Senlin Ascends" (which is wonderful) first, and since each of the first two books ends on a cliffhanger you need to commit to the series. Some of this review might be considered a spoiler of the first book.

In this book Thomas Senlin continues his quest for his wife from whom he became separated at the very beginning of the last book. He and his friends Edith, Adam, Iren and Voleta have become pirates, on the run from crimes committed in New Babel and still working their way up the immense Tower. Part of their adventure includes escaping from a zoo through a deluge of spiders and boldly going to the home of the Sphinx who created Edith's mechanical arm. When they finally reach the Sphinx they encounter more of his mechanical marvels but they also find that he's very dangerous and manipulative.

While I liked this book it didn't hold the same charm and magic for me that I found in the first book. At least this book did advance the story and did not just act as a placeholder, which is often the fate of book number two of a series. The focus here was divided among more characters and I missed Senlin at times. He's an interestingly flawed character. "You might not be the smartest or bravest person I have ever met, but you are astute, and you have a knack for getting out of trouble. You're quite the slippery fellow, Tom. And I think you'll make an excellent spy." He did go an extended trip with a cat/librarian, but unfortunately it bored me. Also, a little of the irresponsible, self centered Voleta goes a long way. Near the end of the book we learn a lot more about the origin and purpose of the Tower and about the mission of the Sphinx, which will probably be continued in book three. I'm looking forward to it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Thomas Senlin and his ragtag crew have been forced into a life of piracy. They are struggling to survive on the stolen airship they now call home and they're doing everything they can to rescue Marya, Senlin's lost wife. As it is, though, the Tower of Babel is proving just as hard to get back into as it was to escape. They have no other choice but to find the Sphinx, a legendary figure of the Tower. Asking the Sphinx for help always comes with a price and Senlin knows that debts are never quite what they seem at the Tower of Babel. Time is running out and Senlin must choose between his wife, his friends, and his freedom.

I'm so glad NetGalley approved me for Arm of the Sphinx since I absolutely adored Senlin Ascends. In my opinion, this sequel is actually better than book one - that doesn't usually happen, but Bancroft totally pulls it off. Arm of the Sphinx is just as unique and imaginative as Senlin Ascends. The author's world building blew me away. Not that I'd really want to (considering other more pleasant alternatives), but after reading the first two books in this series I feel like I could travel to the Tower and get sucked into its world (and perhaps never find my way out again). We get to learn quite a bit more of the Tower, the Ringdoms, and their inhabitants in this installment. By the way, my favorite set pieces are the Golden Zoo and the Bottomless Library (the librarian is a cat, how awesome is that!).

As masterful as Bancroft's skill at world building is, he also does a marvelous job of further fleshing out or cast of characters. Thomas Senlin has had one of the best personal journey's I've read in quite some time and that certainly holds true in the sequel. However, here we get to delve into the lives of Senlin's crew - I particularly liked Edith who now has a mechanical arm (Senlin originally met her in the Parlor in the previous book) and Iren who was once a bouncer in a shady Ringdom criminal underworld. I don't want to spoil the Sphinx (the supplier of Edith's new arm), but I will say that the story really begins to move from fantasy steampunk to a little more sci-fi when we meet that mysterious living legend.

Finally, I want to mention a couple of my issues with the previous book - Marya and the pacing. In book one, we don't know much about Marya aside from what Senlin tells us -and that's largely the same here. However, we do get to see his hallucinations of her, a side effect that still hasn't worn off from getting gassed. We see how hard these are on him, since her behavior and attitude are nothing like he he knows her to be (at times I couldn't help but think of Sam's visions of Lucifer in Supernatural after he was got out of the Cage). I'm looking forward to getting to know more about Marya on a personal level. In regards to the pacing, the issues that I had with the previous installment have been resolved. The book is still just as big, but pacing wise everything flows very well from scene to scene. I didn't want to take my eyes of the page, just in case I would accidentally miss something brilliant.

Overall, Arm of the Sphinx (The Books of Babel #2) by Josiah Bancroft is an absolutely brilliant work of steampunk fantasy sci-fi. This series just keeps getting better and I'm pretty convinced that the author must be a genius. His world building and character development is topnotch and his storytelling skills are absolutely riveting. If you haven't already started in on this series, I can't recommend it enough - I think Arm of the Sphinx is easily going to be one my favorite reads of 2018. Like The Great Library series by Rachel Caine, High-Rise by J.G. Ballard, and An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors by Curtis Craddock, then you absolutely need to pick up The Books of Babel by Josiah Bancroft. I'm dying to see where Senlin's story will take us in book three, The Hod King!

In my reading life, I want to get sucked into stories, invested in characters, enraptured by action, and delighted by prose. If only one or two of those boxes can be checked by any given book, I’m perfectly satisfied. Josiah Bancroft’s books check a fifth box — all of the above. Every page of Arm of the Sphinx is a delectable treat, with countless delightful passages, characters, and a story that gets more intriguing as mysteries build and questions are answered.

The Tower of Babel and its surrounding airspace feels pulled from a fairy tale. Bancroft has created a fantastical setting that remains beguiling and limitless in terms of storytelling possibilities. I’m enjoying learning more about the Tower and the direction that the story seems to be going in that regard.

This book expands upon the backstories of each character, doles out meaningful motivations, and pairs the characters up in fun and refreshing ways. The story hits a few lulls leading up to the sections involving the Sphinx, but things pick up again and finish with a satisfying flourish.

Like Senlin Ascends before it, Arm of the Sphinx is inventive, clever, and imbued with a sense of virtuousness and humanity. Bancroft is weaving together a wonderful series that has all the makings of a modern fantasy classic. I cannot wait to get my hands on The Hod King later this year.

An exceptional Book 2 of a series. After reading Senlin Ascends, I was not even sure I would read more books within this series. I was a bit underwhelmed. I felt that the rich world that Josiah Bancroft was creating was limited by the narrow focus on Thomas Senlin. It is understandable to focus on the main character, but I felt the character development was limited outside of Senlin.

All my concerns are put to the wayside with the Arm of the Sphinx. I am so happy that I read this book (thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy). The world of the Tower of Babel explodes, and the characters around Thomas Senlin become fully formed. There is so much to this book, new allies (or are they?), new villains (but are they the true villains?). This book has many things the first book did not have including incredible pacing, and an amazing aerial fight scene.

The Hod King cannot come soon enough.

Great continuation of the series

I enjoyed this book. Indeed, I liked it more than the first book of the series as I came to terms with the more far-fetched elements of the story. It took a lot of suspension of disbelief but after that the story was great. I liked the characters and the story was well paced. I found the book hard to put down. I recommend this book, along with the first one of the series, for fans of the genre.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.

The first book in this series, Senlin Ascends, was one of my favorite reads last year. Senlin, now an aerial pirate captain of sorts, continues to search for his lost wife in the Kafkaesque “ringdoms” of the Tower of Babel. His mechanical-armed first mate, Edith Winters (a major secondary character from the first book), becomes at least as much of a main character as Senlin, and the other three members of his crew are sympathetically fleshed out as well.

As in the first book, the plot is a bit episodic, but builds toward a better understanding of the characters, the Tower, and, most importantly, the mysterious Sphinx whose name appears on most of the mechanical devices found in the tower. The narration continues to be light (but not farcical), and the worldbuilding and developing plot are fascinating.

Unfortunately for my personal enjoyment, some elements of the plot seem to be turning in directions that I really don’t like.

*BEGIN MILDLY SPOILER-Y SPECULATION*:

I can’t stand “I’m on a quest to rescue/return to my wife/lover but am going to go ahead and commit adultery along the way” stories, and we’re definitely headed that direction if nothing changes. Also, I’m not a fan of taking biblical stories/concepts and flipping them around to make God (or his analog) the evil tyrant and we might be heading in that direction.

*END MILDLY SPOILER-Y SPECULATION*

I’m more than willing to keep going with the series once the next book comes out, but I really hope it doesn’t go the direction I think it will.

A while back we read Senlin Ascends, by Josiah Bancroft, for our book club (review here). It was a very divisive book for us, which is rare, with ratings all over the place (though still mostly high). I personally came in at the highest impression of the book (giving it a 9/10), but some of my fellow editors more tepid reactions resulted in me delaying my continuation of the series with book two, The Arm of the Sphinx. Well, I have finally gotten around to reading the second book in this incredible series and I can definitely say that my co-contributors can suck it because these books are absolutely incredible.

For those unfamiliar with the first book, you should probably stop reading this and go check it out. However, as a refresher Senlin Ascends follows the story of an obscenely optimistic and naive school teacher who loses his wife in a more or less infinitely tall labyrinth of a tower. He must then take on the tower in search of her, growing into a very different man as he progresses through it. When we had last left our intrepid group from book one, they had stolen an airship and taken to the skies to evade pursuit. Arm of the Sphinx picks up relatively where the first book leaves off; with Senlin assembling a crew (Edith, Iren, Adam, and Voleta) on the stolen ship, the Stone Cloud, consisting of people who have mostly betrayed and been horrible to him and still planning ways to rescue his wife.

Senlin Ascends was our introduction to the tower and its inhabitants. The cast of Senlin Ascends could sometimes be difficult and unpleasant to read about (a cause of several of the mixed reviews in our book club) because those characters were difficult and unpleasant people. However this is a series about growth and change, and the crew each just began to grow and change by the end of book one. Now in Arm of the Sphinx is where these individuals really start to evolve into new more lovable people. Weirdly the thing that Arm of the Sphinx reminded me of most was Mass Effect 2, which is a game hopefully most of you are familiar with. The game is a favorite of people everywhere despite the fact that it did relatively little to progress the overarching story in a series about story. This is because instead of focusing on the plot of the world and larger events, Mass Effect 2 focused on its characters and had you spend the game building and connecting with a crew of people to tackle huge world ending threats in its third installment. This was exactly what I felt was happening in Sphinx as well. Sphinx spends a lot less time showcasing the tower and progressing Senlin’s rescue of his wife than the first book did, and instead focuses on five wonderful character arcs that are told in tandem. The two focal plot points of the book are journeying to meet the Sphinx and meeting the Sphinx, and not much else happens. Instead you get to understand more about each of the battered and broken Stone Cloud crew and watch them slowly change into better and stronger people.

I love the characters of this book. I am not sure how he did it but Josiah has managed to make a set of truly unique and interesting people that I have never come across in books so far. I have fallen in love with each of the crew one at a time, and I found myself constantly surprised at how they changed and who they became as the book progressed. I really just can’t get enough of them, I have not felt this attached to characters since I read Malazan - which is probably the highest compliment I can give a book. On top of all of this, Josiah uses the character arcs to introduce you to the Sphinx, an enigmatic and fascinating overlord of the Tower of Babel. He is a brilliant engineer and an architect of thousands of marvels and seeing the inside of his workshops felt like coming down to Christmas morning as a child - pure joy. The new characters Josiah introduces in this book are just as wonderful as the crew of the Stone Cloud, and just as unique. Through these new characters you learn several new things about the tower and its goings on, and he foreshadows enough plot to fill at least five more novels. So as I said in the review title, this better not be a trilogy because I am not ready to let all of this go after one more book.

The Books of Babel are one of those unfortunate series that lose a handful of initial readers because it is a story about unlikable strangers growing into lovable friends, and some do not have the patience to stick with these characters through the bad times. There is nothing wrong with that, but those that don’t keep reading don’t get to experience the beautiful and soul warming end result of who these people become, and that makes me sad. We are only a few weeks into January and I have already read one of the best books of the year, The Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft.

Rating: The Arm of the Sphinx - 10/10

A fantastic sequel! Just as awesome as the first, with even more daring adventure, brilliant character development and a wonderful, sensational story! I am loving this series!

Five Stars. A positively magnificent explosion of imagination and adventure. Just as much fun and excitement as the first book in the series, but boldly going places not even dreamed of in the first book. Arm of the Sphinx is the second of four planned books in the series, although i would really like a dozen more books in this series.

The first book dared to imagine a world where the biblical Tower of Babel existed as one of the - if not the best one -- great wonders of the ancient world. But it's a world where there are air ships and steam trains and mechanical arms. It took our antihero Senlin for a journey from his life as a schoolteacher to the great swirling marketplace at the base of the tower and through the dizzying lower levels of the great tower which revealed a mad sinister world of basements and betrayals and cathouses and ports and Senlin's development.

Book two picks up Senlin's adventures as he and his intrepid crew consisting of a one-armed first mate, a flying acrobat, a giantess warrior, and a backstabber -- become the most feared pirates ringing the great tower, great aerial battles, adventures in a seemingly deserted level. Of course, all the adventures are great but ultimately they lead him to the lair of the Sphinx and those who serve the Sphinx and the mad crazy world of the Sphinx. It is well-written, filled with excitement and surprises, and simply put great fun. As Senlin and his merry crew - go from one amazing adventure to the next. Sort of Hitchhiker's Guide meets the Hobbit. Tell me when the next one is coming out.

“Civilization is like sunshine. Spread it about, and the world blooms with culture, innovation, and fraternity. But focus it all upon one spot, and mankind scorches the earth like a ray from a magnifying glass.”

A year has passed since the events that have lead Senlin into the tower. Marya is still missing, but Senlin is still in relentless pursuit to find his missing new bride, but to also find out even more mysteries that lie in every level of the tower.

This review will have minor spoilers from Senlin Ascends! Please do not continue if you have not read the first book in this series. Also, please go pick Senlin Ascends up, because it is unlike anything you've ever read before and will most likely blow your ever loving mind! Seriously, it's good, one of the best books I've read in 2017, and totally worth picking up and giving a try!

“At first I felt as if we had escaped a prison. Now, I feel like we've been locked out of our housThis book starts out with Senlin, or should I say Captain Mudd, and his new air pirate crew! Yes, him, Iren, Edith, Voleta, and Adam have still taken to the skies and are trying to outsmart the tower (an impossible task, by the way) to let them into the level of Pelphia, where Senlin believes his wife has been taken to.

In Senlin Ascends we were able to see in great detail and explore the Market, the Basement, the Parlor, and, my personal favorite, the Baths. Well, in Arm of the Sphinx we only get to explore the Silk Gardens, but not nearly to the degree of the other levels.

We are then thrown into the meat of the actual story! Yes, this tale is much, much bigger than just a missing wife and Senlin's obsession with finding her! And the main story involves a person that makes the word mystery look too shallow to describe them: the Sphinx.

“The Sphinx has seduced many, many men and women with his pretty machines that are full of terrible screams.”

As we learned in Senlin Ascends, Edith was forced to lose her arm, but was given a new one, a better one, a mechanical one. But who gave her this gift and allowed her to keep her life?

I also really enjoyed all the talk about social classes in the Tower. Obviously the Hods are going to play a much bigger role, but I just thought it was a nice touch talking about what many desperate and forgotten souls can do when they have nothing to lose. How the rich get rich off of the lower classes, but that can all change in a matter of moments with a few chain reactions. (Don't talk about politics in your reviews, Melanie! Stop!)

“Just because you don’t recognize mercy doesn’t mean you haven’t been shown it.”

Again, this is a hidden indie gem! This story is mystery after mystery. The world is one of the most unique reading experiences I've ever had. The Tower is nothing short of magnificent. The characters are ones that I'm actually growing to completely love and want to protect at all costs. And the messages are something of pure beauty. This story is amazing and unlike anything else I've ever read.

This is such a fun steampunk story about love and loss, about becoming who you need to be in the face of death, and about how sometimes unexpected friendships can make the very best family. I cannot wait for The Hod King, and I have nothing but high expectations for this series and for Josiah Bancroft.

Also, do I have any artist friends that I can commission this stolen painting of a girl, in the water, with a paper boat? It's actually haunting my nightmares and I need to see it in real life. Also, I have more theories on this panting if anyone would like to contact me and we can put on our tinfoil hats and talk for hours over tea!

“When humanity ceases to aspire, it begins to decline”