This is a masterpiece. R.F. Kuang put so much love and research into this book, and it really shows. I loved diving into language and translation and the politics surrounding them. The different languages in the book were so fascinating to read about, and it was interesting to learn explore their etymology and history. The story depicts the reality of academia and explores colonialism, racism, sexism, oppression, and revolution. This is a very layered story with a gripping plot that forces you to think about the world and how you see it. The character work was phenomenal. They are nuanced, relatable, and wonderfully written. The world building was exquisite, and it was very easy for me to visualize everything as I read. The magic system is unique, creative, and clever. I am in awe of how Kuang constructed this profound novel and the work that she put into it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

One of my favorite books of the year. This book left me speechless. Babel is a historical fantasy that you can just get lost in, swept away with, for days. I learned so much about 1800s Oxford, along with the roots and origins of words. Dark academia at its finest 🖤.

Robin Swift was orphaned by cholera in Canton, and brought to England by Professor Lovell. Lovell forces Robin into the relentless study of Greek, Latin, and Chinese in preparation for Oxford’s translation institute, Babel. At Babel, scholars enhance silver with magical translations that help give Britain the power to colonize the world. Robin loves life as a scholar, but he begins to realize that he is a tool of the colonizer. Will he embrace his role as a translator and betray his motherland, or will he rise up and stand with the revolution?

Babel is a captivating commentary on colonialism, racism, ethnocentrism, imperialism, and the power of words. It also grapples with identity and belonging. The magical realism is seamlessly interwoven into the historical fiction. Definitely giving my silver jewelry some side-eye now 😆👀.

This book will shake you, change you, and leave you feeling smarter in the wake of its brilliance.

Absolutely stunning 🖤.

Thank you to @harpervoyagerus and @netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Babel - R.F. Kuang
5/5⭐️

I absolutely loved this book, while long, it was a total page turner that had me gasping a couple of times. Kuang has built a thoughtful and interesting world, giving her a fascinating new lens to explore colonialism, belonging, friendship, and academia. I loved that the academia in this dark academia was not just set dressing, Kuang truly reckons with the contradictions of the university, and the darkness it can contain.

An orphan from the Orient, raised by an English professor at an alternative Cambridge discovers his situation is not what he expected. The professor is his father, his purpose is to augment the power of the British Empire's magic system. The magic is enchanted silver engraved with words of different languages. The secret is the cognitive dissidence between languages when translated. Betrayal, murder, exploitation of persons and nation make for an intense, dense, well-written tale.

This is probably my favorite fantasy book of the year! While the beginning of the story does a lot of world-building and introduction to characters, the writing is very well done. This helped me stay invested and easily follow along with the plot of the book. R.F. Kuang is such an amazing writer and the way she intricately creates this lush world is astounding. If you want a fantastic fantasy read that will keep you hooked, then look no further. This is it!

Thank you Harper Voyager for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.


To be honest, I have no idea how to write this review because Babel took my breath away. Why can’t I rate a book six stars????? Seriously! A five-star scale feels insulting when talking about a masterpiece like Babel. It's the best book I have read in 2022 and that's saying a lot since The Sword of Kaigen crushed my soul a few months ago.

BABEL IS NOW REQUIRED READING IF YOU ARE TO BECOME MY FRIEND

August 28, 2022
I ate this book up, and for a literary fantasy, that's saying a LOT.

I think Babel asks a lot of the reader, but once you're in, you're IN. I'm hesitant to call this book a fantasy just because it's more of a literary historical fiction? The silver and the art of translation feels more sciencey, and part of me feels like it reads more like a literary type work.

Which isn't a bad thing! And obviously fantasy readers will still adore this book. But I do think it differs in that it reads very much like a nonfiction history--a format you tend to see more in historical fic, literary fic, etc. I liked how it was applied here.

I adored the story and I think it's such an important one to tell and champion. It certainly reads slower, but it's necessary and honestly, the more time I can spend with this story the better.

The discussions on empire, colonialism, and who profits off of the labor of the colonized are central to this story and extraordinarily important. I think for those who don't necessarily think about this, whether historically or in our current era, Babel is a good starting point for a depiction, and can hopefully lead to some personal reflection and research on the matter.

I'll be recommending Babel to basically everyone so this is definitely your sign to read it.

Babel is a devastating story, a scathing commentary, and a deeply intelligent alternate history. It is easy to care about these characters, and, in spite of not agreeing with all of their decisions, Kuang has written them in a way that makes their actions understandable. The system of magic is wonderfully unique, although I’ve never been to Oxford, I almost feel as though I’ve studied there via this literary surrogate.

Babel is a masterpiece of speculative fiction/alternative history. A masterpiece. RF Kuang poured her heart and soul into this novel, and her story, in turn, engraved itself on my heart and soul. On one level, the story's world-building is perfect. I could feel myself wandering the 8-floored Babel tower, exploring the books and workshops. How Kuang describes the silver bars, their inscriptions, and the manipulation of languages brought the magic to life. Each of Kuang's characters is wrought with layers of personality, and she gives them time and opportunity to evolve as the story unwinds. More deeply, Kuang's indictment of colonialization and the industrial revolution is searing.

If you are a nerd, love dark academics, or are interested in exploring the amorality of colonization, then I expect you'll enjoy this book. I predict this novel will be short-listed for multiple literary awards this year.

I received from NetGalley a free ebook version of this book in exchange for a review.

Good book and a fantastic story with great characters, wonderful worldbuilding, and an exciting plot.

It was a unique story which I was glad to read by R.F. Kuang

I found this book hard to read in the beginning as so much of the causal racism the main character deals with was too familiar. Even later much for the topics dealt with in the book are heavy and difficult topics. I found myself putting the book down to process many many times. At around the halfway point I suddenly reached a point in the story where I had a hard time putting the book down. I had to continue and see where it went. Overall this was a brilliant and difficult read.

This book was everything. Everything in its complexity, twists, details, world building, magic systems, writing style, and plot.
I didn't keep my heart safe even knowing how R.F. Kuang loves to torture us readers. I should've known better. My heart went through so many emotional rollercoaster, I finished the book with a heart full and shattered at the same time. Excellent storytelling, excellent story. I loved it a lot.

I had the honor of going to see R. F. Kuang at her New Haven talk, and I was blown away by her discussion on craft and industry, along with what makes a great novel. I devoured Babel in all of its glory. It’s rare to see BIPOC historical fiction novels, especially ones that tackle colonialism and empire and even the strength of languages. I loved the magic/silver working system and the steady, slow build that came from first seeing it in action to understanding its mechanics. The characters and settings really came to life, and I could see the echoes of Oxford’s history in Yale’s. R. F. Kuang discussed the difference between the aesthetic of dark academia and the reality of the tragic accounts that linger behind these famous institutions. Truly a wonderful read to dismantle everything you think you know about revolution, colonialism, and the impossibility of assimilation.

It’s taken me weeks to read this because I could only stand to read it in a few dozen pages at a time and I mean that in the best way possible. It’s dense, it’s ambitious, it’s exquisitely detailed. It’s a masterpiece. There’s not really much I can say about the plot other than what is in the summary because any detail given will ruin the experience. It delivers everything it promises and more. There’s a few moments where the story drags but that’s to be expected when you consider the layers of the magic system, story and depth of languages. At first, there’s little details and slivers of plot that seemingly have no connections to the greater story but once you get to the end, they all make sense. I can’t wait to read it again to see the little things I missed.

I will say, the characters (the core four if you will) are my favorite part of Babel. Robin is my favorite, by a lot, but the others are also so good and complex and wonderful.

You have to read this book. Trust me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Babel or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators Revolution is the newest fantasy novel from bestseller R.F. Kuang. Published by Harper Voyager and at a whopping 560 pages, Babel is a hefty feat that dives into what is lost to history, translation, and revolution. Chock full with the aesthetics of Dark Academia in a fictionalized Oxford, Kuang has created a novel that is necessary reading on anti-colonialization and power structures.

The novel follows Robin Swift, a Chinese boy that is picked up from sick and poverty-stricken Canton and swooped away to England by an Oxford professor. Immediately themes of otherness, micro-aggressions, and diaspora are explored as the reader experience Robin's confusion as to why the world around him treats him differently for being a "foreigner". This is something that threads the book together when Robin is quickly accepted into the affluent world of Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation at Oxford. It is here we meet our secondary characters named Letty, Victorie, and Ramy.

They all represent different aspects of British colonialism and power differentials whether its from assimilating from India, Haiti, or in Letty's case attempting to be a woman in a largely male-dominated space. It's dark academia to its full extent while expertly carving out how privilege is rarely discussed within the genre. Instantly, readers will explore college-level ideas of how disenfranchised academia is at the university level, despite the novel taking place during the early 19th century. Kuang is able to make it sound quite modern. Robin has to deal with class structure as a by-product of him being tokenized as an asset to not only the school but by extension the British Empire as well.

Seeped in magic, Kuang brings realistic historical fantasy to the pages of Babel by introducing silver translation bars that can be engraved by the students of Babel. It's a system that allows her to weave in her expertise in languages from her own personal academic journey. Riddled with Cantonese, Latin, Greek, and a few other languages, Babel will teach its readers it's information through our protagonists learning it. Babel explores academia as a gift to Robin and his friends as outsiders, consistently reminding us who is usually able to afford to go to prestigious schools and who is not. Kuang knew the scope that she was aiming for and hit it with precision. Babel is a deliberate exercise in commentating on not just genre but modern historical fantasy by choosing to engage and over-explain how dangerous, discriminatory, and predatory people in power are to minorities.

The narrative introduces villains as philosophical ideas. The villains are the corrupt and the powerful, but also the privileged. Kuang will make you fall in love with characters while revealing how terrible ties to an empire or dangerous ideologies can be. Despite the need for narratives like this, Kuang forgoes fleshed-out characters to have them be human chess pieces for a greater goal. Classmates quickly turn into mouthpieces, professors turn into stand-ins for war, and a secret society quickly becomes the only way to stop the perpetuation of these atrocities. With war on the loom with a plot from the Empire to smuggle opium into China to make them dependent on the British for natural resources, the narrative kicks into high gear. This allows for characters to begin their journeys into what path they choose to better the world. Do they stand up to a society that has only utilized them in order to manipulate their mother lands or does their assimilation into power make them turn their backs on their heritage? These are all ideas Kuang explored in The Poppy War trilogy, albeit through a different lens. While I prefer the meshing of ideology and characters in her first works over Babel, this novel is still a great meditation on how alienating, insidious, and cruel a world that allows for capitalist endeavors to outsource and abuse those less privileged for profit is.

The novel's pacing from here on out is a bit all over the place, at times feeling indulgent in Kuang's academia. There's a lot of repetition of the central themes of the novel and sentiments that are reiterated. There are vast footnotes to ensure readers understand the racism, misogyny, or classism being explored. There are chapters that feel like Socratic seminars on revolutionary texts despite it being presented as the aloof and mysterious Hermes Society. If true academia is what you seek within fiction, Babel delivers. Kuang, despite some writing blunders, has broken down how revolutions are formed, the lengths people will go to fight for what they believe in, and a great philosophical framework for who should choose violence for the greater good. While the novel can be slow and muddled, by the end Babel hones in on Robin and the choices he and his friends must take for their institution and empire.

Interesting, thought-provoking, and necessary, Babel is a novel that I firmly believe that everyone should read once. It's not the easiest novel to read but it'll be rewarding to open one's eyes to systems that need to be dismantled and rebuilt to allow for true equality and freedom. It won't be for everyone but that is precisely why Kuang's novel is needed. Challenging and beautifully written, you can pick up Babel at your local indie bookshop or anywhere books are sold.

review to be published on GateCrashers!

wow wow wow... I know that this review will be lost to the thousands that have and will come out because we all love R.F. Kuang so much after The Poppy War trilogy. It definitely had airs of it. An essence if you will. I enjoyed my time, though I do have to admit, that for a reader who is far removed from academia, at times it was a little beyond me, but that isn't the books fault and if this is the time that I get to dip my toe back into what academia is like then so be it.

And as I say with all my reviews, many nuanced things were explored with racism, white fragility, white lady fragility, sexism, misogyny, colorism, and colonialism, and if you want a book that is a big f u to the colonizers I think this is a good book for you. Also the audiobook was A1.

It was a smart, made you think, tickled the back of your brain with "huh, yeah, omg" and it will likely save the genre of dark academia because it was in desperate need of saving.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fans of dark academia, historical fiction, and fans of books about books (or books about ✨words✨) will love Babel! It’s described as a tonal response to The Secret History or Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read!

Robin, a young Chinese boy, is taken from his home in Canton to be raised in England and eventually attend Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation in Oxford University. We follow his cohort of fellow students learning the magic of translation and silver-working. However, an encounter with Hermes, a secret society trying to take down the British Empire, shakes his understanding of this powerful institution.

Babel tackles themes of colonialism, racism, micro-aggressions and white-guilt with such nuance and care. I related deeply to Robin’s struggles with his biracial identity and feelings of being displaced by both sides of his heritage. He has the privilege of passing as white and yet still being included in white colonial British society as the exception. The sense of relief he feels when he finally meets people with similar multi-racial backgrounds was so relatable!

Did I mention there’s CITATIONS!? Little Easter eggs of information that show just how much research and passion Kuang has put into this book! Babel reads like an academic text, a frank analysis on colonial Britain and an adventurous coming of age story all in one.

As a native French speaker and a learner of Japanese, it was SO fun to read about the theory and practice of translation for many different languages. The magic system, silver-working, is connected to words and the meaning that is lost in translation. I was already thinking of match-pairs from the languages I speak and how fun it would be to discover how they would work in this world.

I have so much more to talk about this book but if you’ve gotten to the end of this long review…just go read it!

This is honestly the best ARC I have ever read. Run, don't walk, to pre-order this book. It is absolutely amazing.

This is a spectacular and memorable novel and one I won’t forget. It interweaves themes about language and translation, colonialism, and racism in the academic world. R F Kuang has created a brilliant work part fantasy yet based in real world issues that elicit strong emotions. This book made me think about the gaps in translating, the way western countries have taken advantage of other countries in terms of language and knowledge specifically, and the ways the academic world makes students of color feel. It is deeply compelling and powerful and emotional at once-a book absolutely full of depth.

I received a copy of Babel by R.F. Kuang from HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review.

Magnificent. Extraordinary. Masterpiece. Hello everyone, your favourite read of 2022 has arrived. Alright, yes, it does seem a little overdramatic for a book review but Babel is truly the best book of 2022 for me. I was swept away into this literary, intellectual and political world of Oxford, languages, and silver-making. In a world where the currency is silver and the languages that power it, we follow the story of Robin as he is taken from his home in Canton to London where his new guardian offers him a future if he is willing to study languages to make it into the prestigious Royal Institute of Translation at Oxford - also known as Babel. His experience growing up in this foreign land promises everything he wants - as long as he is willing to pay the price. The prestige of going to Oxford does not protect him from the racism that he and his friends face. They will need to also decide where they stand on moral grounds in terms of exploiting their home countries. Languages and the process of translation plays a vital role in the expansion of the British empire and Robin and his friends must decide which side of the war they wish to be a part of.

Babel is a tome of revolution, linguistics, and history. As much as I was entertained by the plot and the characters that fill the story, I also felt like I was learning so much about the etymology of languages and the translations or near translations between languages. Babel is intellectual reading as much as it is entertaining. I was holding my breath for the last few chapters of the book - and even when it was all over, I was still reeling from it. Partly because of the masterpiece that is Babel. Partly because I knew that I had to put my thoughts down for this review and I honestly don't think that I can do it justice. Nothing I write about Babel will truly encapsulate the essence of Babel. And so I can only strongly urge you to pick up a copy and let R.F. Kuang draw you into this fantastic world of revolution, languages, history and power.