Babel by R.F. Kuang is a stand-alone dark academia fantasy novel.
 
We follow Robin, who is an orphaned boy, and he is brought from China to England  to live with his new guardian. There he gets the best education focused on languages, so he can attend Babel. Some people think he is just a student who can be easily influenced, but they forget that he has a mind of his own and starts to see the world as it really is and sympathizes more with resistance. He is a stunning protagonist and I loved to follow his journey. His fellow students Ramy, Letty and Victoire are by his side through all of it and they are amazing as well.
 
The setting in Oxford was stunning and Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation, is the center of it all. It was so atmospheric and truly a resounding setting. Next to translation, Babel is also the place for silver working. This magical craft deals with meanings lost through translation. I was in awe of that and Oxford at first stemmed like this utopian place. But the more you get to see behind this façade, the more in conflict you get as a lot is also connected to greed and colonialization. The book is called an arcane history and the historical aspects were done very well.
 
As a language student myself, I’m fascinated with all aspects of language, and I could see that the author has a background in that as well. This made the book even more powerful, and it felt so mesmerizing and gave a new perspective on it. The combination of language and knowledge and the power it comes with is just so fascinating.
 
Overall, Babel is an all-embracing book and I wish everyone would read it. 4,5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

Wow, just wow. I am so thoroughly impressed by the writing of this story and this author. I can’t imagine how much research went into this book! This is THE book to read this Fall.

This was such a thought provoking book. It's my first dark academia book so I'm not sure if I just don't like the genre or if it was overhyped but this book did not live up to my expectations. Maybe I just feel like the main character was a little too whiny. As the daughter of immigrants, I understand how colonialism still pervades in our society today. I honestly related to a lot of the students. However, I just didn't feel as emotionally attached to anyone as I was when I read Kuang's Poppy War Trilogy. That entire series was a 5 star read for me so I also wonder if I am biased because I read those books pretty recently.

I did love the mix of historical fiction, dark academia, and fantasy. I thought it was a really creative book and I think maybe i just wasn't in the right mindset for this book.

If you like dark academic, historical fiction, fantasy, bringing down the man... then you'll love this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the gifted copy!

Babel explores how linguistics and translation relate to colonialism by experiencing the magical school of translation at an alternate Oxford through the eyes of four students with disparate backgrounds. This version of Britain has used the magical resource of translation to grow the gap between it and it's competitors. This progress comes at the cost of their colonies, whose languages are leveraged to improve the empire's technology but only on British soil. In order for the translation magic to work, users must be fluent in multiple languages . The best resource being people from the subjugated colonies. Despite all their love of translation and Oxford is it possible for Robin's cohort to ignore the cost of the privilege they now enjoy?

I know it sounds like there's a lot going on here, but the vision of Babel is singular, and by the end, fully realized. It has stayed with me long after finishing and I have no doubt it will be one of my favorite books of 2022.

Beautifully written. A must-read for fans of Dark Academia and Historical Fantasy. The book weaves an amazing fantasy landscape around Oxford University, creating a a world that feels just under the surface of our own.. It is certainly no accident that the book explores colonization and power dynamics at this particular University. Fans of many different genres will enjoy this intelligent story.

Thank you Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing me with a physical arc and an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I think I’m between 4.5 and 5 stars for this book.

The former half took way too long for me to get into. There were so many intricate details on this world, that I just wanted things to happen faster and was waiting for it to occur.

The latter half was just so immersive and I could not put the book down. In typical R.F. Kuang style, it ripped you apart and was just a great ending. It was well-thought and I just really appreciated the cast of characters with their own internal struggles that we were able to explore to varying degrees.

I cannot wait for you all to read this next week.

I loved this book. Great world-setting, character development, and sense of place. I got really sucked in by this story, and didn't feel it was too long.

This is an absolute triumph. I love everything about it- the characters, the setting, the discussions, the way it gave me anxiety, and made me so angry.

One of the best books I have ever read. Certainly the best book of this year. It is so intelligent and thoughtful and really lets you escape. So many important themes and motifs too. This book has everything a great story requires and then some. Highly recommend it to everyone.

This book is a magnificent example of dark academia and complex fantasy book. The writing is amazing and I'm pretty sure I would read anything written by this author. I loved this book even though it was a little hard to get into at first. I will definitely get a physical copy and recommend this to people. I fell in love with these characters and was amazed by how their struggles were portrayed and by how real they were. The ending and basically the whole book broke my heart

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Wow wow. I knew to brace myself based on reviews for this author’s previous works- The Poppy Wars trilogy (which, full disclosure, I own but have not read yet), but this book was such a heavy trip. In a good way!

The “magic” system was absolutely fascinating to me, and I loved the explanations behind how it worked.

The characters at first seemed a little unfleshed out, but they definitely gained dimension as the book went on, and I managed to feel a lot of different emotions about them.

The anti colonialism theme was certainly obvious and present, but absolutely necessary, because so many people still aren’t getting it.

This is certainly a book that’s going to sit with me for quite awhile, judging by the sheer amount of highlights in my ecopy alone.

Wow, where do I even start talking about one of the biggest fantasy releases of the year? Babel is truly a masterpiece and Kuang has really outdone herself with this incredible novel. I have been dying for more work from Kaung ever since finishing her Poppy War trilogy. Babel has a very epic scope and tackles some difficult, important topics in a head-on and compelling manner while also introducing a complex and fascinating magic system. All that being said, I also have a lot of mixed feelings about it. The research, the writing, the magic system, the many different important issues touched on–all of that was amazingly done and I have to laud Kuang for her feat–however, the characters, the heavy-handedness of some of the writing, and a few other minor issues made me struggle to get through this book at times.

Before diving in, I want to put a little preface that this is going to be a long review. I have a lot of thoughts about this book, and because of that, I've tried to sort of separate this review into two sections, the first focusing on my praises and the positives, and the second portion focusing on my more critical comments and issues with the book. This book is a five star read in some ways and a two star read in others, which has left me feeling all kinds of confused and unsure how to feel or rate this book that was supposed to be a new favorite. So as to not make this even longer... let's dive into the review.

Babel follows Robin Swift as he is taken from his cholera-stricken home of Canton where his entire family has succumbed to the illness and brought to Oxford by Professor Richard Lovell. While under the care of Professor Lovell, he is educated in Ancient Greek, Latin, and Chinese in order to maintain his native fluency in preparation for his future as an Oxford scholar and student of the Royal Institute of Translation there. The intent is for Robin to become a student of silver-working, an act of magic that has allowed the British Empire to continuously colonize and take power throughout the world, and it is while Robin undertakes this training that he has to come to terms with the fact that is he becomes a silver-worker with his fellow students, he will have to betray his own ties and loyalties to his origins.

I really enjoyed the first portion of this book when we first meet Robin and embark on a new journey with him to Oxford to begin a new life. Kuang does a good job of introducing readers to new characters and sharing backstories and insights into their personalities. ALong with Robin, we meet his schoolmates: Ramy, from Calcutta; Victoire, from Haiti; and Letty from England, all of whom have very distinct backgrounds and circumstances that caused them to end up at Oxford with Robin. I appreciated Kuang’s effort into creating such unique characters and spending so much time on making sure each one had something important to bring to the story and contribute to the diversity of this cohort.

The magic system of silver-working is genuinely fascinating and I liked the puzzle-like aspect of making it work. I personally love the intricacies of language and translation, so the very nuanced way in which it works was really neat to explore and watch in action as we learned along the students. There were certain minor aspects of it that didn’t make complete sense to me, such as how exactly it works and came to be, but nothing that took me out of the story too much. I won’t try to explain the intricacies of silver-working, either, but if you’re looking for a fresh magic system to explore that has a lot of fine elements to it, then this is going to be one for you to check out.

I think one of the biggest and most prominent parts of this book, as I’m sure most people are aware of, is the heavy focus on racism, colonialism, and many other injustices, prejudices, and difficulties that were prevalent in both 1830s London and even today that many minority groups faced. Kuang absolutely nails these topics, and I think this alone makes Babel a worthwhile read and one that I wholeheartedly recommend. I have a lot of problems with how some of these issues are incorporated into the story and/or the style in which they are included, but it doesn’t take away from how absolutely vital the conversations are about them and how fruitful they are for our own takeaways from this book. Kuang really captures the struggle it was to be a non-white non-London native person in this period in ways that transcend to today, from blatantly racist acts to more subtle attacks and struggles that are often overlooked by those who are not affected by them. I also think the inclusion and discussions of colonialism and its nuances and impacts on both past and present day life of people around the world was explored thoroughly and had a lot of sobering insight on how big these topics are, and also how easy it is for people in the colonizing country to overlook the impacts and effects (and how easy it is for them to not care).

This positive that I have next is equally going to be in the critical portion of this review as well because it contributed to some major pacing issues, but the content itself was something I personally enjoyed, and that’s the many, many (many) lectures, discussions, and explanations about language we got to be a part of in this book. I should preface this by saying I love talking about translating almost as much as I love translation itself, so this could not have been a more topic/focus of Babel for me. Questions such as whether there is such a thing as a perfect translation or how to translate a work and maintain it's culture–if possible– are all explored in great depth and with great interest. I’ve studied Ancient Greek and Latin for a number of years (in all honesty, I vastly prefer Greek and think it’s one of my favorite languages to learn; Latin… is not my favorite), so I found the negative attitudes toward Classics and Greek and Latin both accurate for the time period and a little unfortunate (but I won’t hold that against the book! I am pleased with) and I found some of the conversations around the nuances of translation so familiar and relevant. I can absolutely see where someone who doesn’t really find that much interest in translation, however, will find these sections to be a slog, and we’ll touch on that a bit more later, but if you find language and culture and everything in between the slighted bit interesting, these lectures will definitely still grab your interest.

Now, moving on to the critical portion of this review… I had a lot of problems. A lot were minor in scale, but added up to the point where I started debating whether or not I should DNF it. I again want to preface this by saying that I am not critiquing the actual content of any of the important issues discussed, but the manner in which they are sometimes presented.

The first thing I’d like to talk about is the lack of character development. We had character arcs and Robin definitely undergoes some big changes throughout this book, but my problem is that we really don’t get to see much of his evolution in personality and goals. We are told about his changes and then we get random scenes where he says or does something, and then by the end of the book he has just majorly changed in ways that didn’t feel fluid. I’m fine with how things turned out and actually really love how Kuang ended this book and Robin’s arc, but it just happened in such a clunky manner. And since this is R.F. Kuang writing this book, there are some character deaths (I won’t say who, don’t worry!), and I’m sorry to say that I didn’t really care about them that much because I never felt like I really got to know or connect with the characters in questions when I really think it was supposed to mean more to me. I was sad, of course, but not heartbroken in the way a book with really well developed and complex stories should. I think this is also partly because we don’t get a chance to really bond with this group of friends in any impactful way. We are constantly told about their friendship and how they’ve become a family to one another, but rarely do we actually get to see this on the page, which left everything feeling very distant. I also felt that the way these characters treat each other at times does not at all scream "family" to me.

As mentioned, this book tackles a lot of really important issues and for that alone it’s worth the read. She tackles these topics with nuance and care and does a great job of conveying her ideas. What I didn’t like, however, has how heavily it was hammered home at every possible moment in the most overt ways. It’s not that I need things to be done in super subtle ways that you can barely tell, but I don’t need to be told “this is racist!” so obviously on every other page. I think some things should really be left for the reader to read, judge, and understand on their own–sort of their own learning experience, if you will.

In a similar vein was my problem with Kuang’s choice of language at times. Using phrases such as “white people” and having one non-white character refer to another non-white character as “my brown friend” are just not really how people talked about race in 1830s London. I wouldn’t really have a big issue with anachronisms like this if it weren’t for the fact Kuang has clearly put a lot of effort into research and historical accuracy in this book–so why does that not extend to the language and way the characters speak? I understand if you want this to feel relatable, but it took me right out of the setting and into the present day. I felt that there was just a bit too much modern language and sentiments that you'd find on Twitter thrown into this book in ways that didn't match the setting and felt quite jarring.

I love R.F. Kuang. I respect her so much and think she’s an incredible woman with some really amazing academic accomplishments, but something about this book just felt like it was really trying to show all that to the readers in really excessive ways. The amount of “fun facts” littered throughout the story about Oxford were interesting, but entirely useless in conjunction with the story itself (not that the plot was that strong, but we’ll get to that) and it just made me want to say, “yes, I know, you went to Oxford” a million times. Since she included footnotes in this story, I feel like a lot of this information could have gone into those footnotes.

I also found a lot of the characters hypocritical. I understand people are human and will be hypocritical or change over the course of a story, but there were definitely inconsistencies in actions over the arc of the story that didn't feel consistent with development. This also happened with a character who was typecast as the ignorant racist friend and the characters that were deemed the good ones by Kuang. I’m not excusing the ignorant racist friend’s choices and inability to empathize at times, but her reactions were treated much harsher than very similar reactions had by other characters. One person was allowed to be hurt and extremely upset by another friend’s secrets, but when the Problematic friend is hurt and upset, her reactions are considered overdone and not allowed. It was just frustrating to see this and I felt genuinely confused at times. I understand that context and nuance are important in how we treat other peoples’ reactions and if someone has a history of ignorance it can be more difficult, but this was a repetitive issue that didn't actually work or feel like an appropriate response.

The pacing of Babel is very slow. I’m a little torn because I really enjoy nonfiction and history and translation and etymology, so I didn’t particularly mind the excessive tangents into lectures and fun factions about words and the history of Oxford and so on, but it really did sort of wreck the pacing. I completely understand why I’ve seen a number of DNFs for this book because to even get to the meat of the plot itself, you have to get at least 50% of the way through. This book even has a secret society of revolutionaries, but it’s done in such a slow, drawn out way that I never felt that enticed by it. There is a lot to get through in this book and it’s just not written in a way that makes it all that enticing to get through at times. It’s definitely more for a certain type of reader, and I am that reader sometimes so I did enjoy some aspects, but it’s still a slow going time due to the density of the content.

Lastly, my unpopular opinion would be that I don’t see this as being overly in conversation with other dark academia classics–especially The Secret History–because it didn’t really feel like a dark academia novel at times. There is a Big Climactic Event that occurs and I think is supposed to be the big clincher of making this dark academia, but it felt very anticlimactic in reality and really felt like it was trying a bit too much. We are told a lot about their academic lives and journey, but I never really felt as though the reader got to be a part of it.

Overall, Babel was a truly fascinating read and one that I know people will adore, but that I think some may find a bit on the slower side. Babel is a really well-written book by a very talented author and it has so many strengths that will make it a well-loved fantasy. I was disappointed by many of the issues I had with it and honestly surprised by many components that didn't quite work, but this was by absolutely no means a bad book. I would still absolutely recommend it to everyone because I think this will be a very individual story that reaches everyone in different ways. I've given Babel three stars and I can't wait to see more reviews from everyone once it is released!

*I received a copy of Babel courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

"She learned revolution is, in fact, always unimaginable. It shatters the world you know. The future is unwritten, brimming with potential. The colonizers have no idea what's coming, and that makes them panic. It terrifies them.
Good. It should."

It's an alternate 1830s Oxford where Babel, the University's Royal Institute of Translation, is the ‘pioneering’ centre of translation and 'silver-working', an act that catches what is lost in translation and manifests it into being. After cholera kills his family, Robin is whisked away from China to London by renowned Professor Lovell where, upon arriving at Babel, Robin has no choice but to follow and obey Professor Lovell’s strict study regimens

“Languages aren’t just made of words. They’re modes of looking at the world. They’re the keys to civilization. And that’s knowledge worth killing for.”

“They’d been chosen for privileges they couldn’t have ever imagined, funded by powerful and wealthy men whose motives they did not fully understand, and they were acutely aware these could be lost at any moment. That precariousness made them simultaneously bold and terrified. They had the keys to the kingdom; they did not want to give them”.

This story will give you all the emotions.

When a popular author writes a new book there is usually some hype but it doesn't always quite match up to with is written. In this case for me it was of course o well written book but some things about the story and what happens doesn't really connect with me. I think people will really like this book though. Those that really love language will like this story. It tries to explore and show the love of language and where the words we use come from. I enjoyed this as well and it was so fun read about. The love of learning is clear in this but for it seems at times that those who are trying to learn don't really care about anything except learning and don't care about the real world and live in their own reality most of the time. One thing I did not care for was the continual hating on the colonial system of the British. It was mostly true but just got tired of it being repeated throughout the book. The British did terrible things, but most governments or people have done terrible things in history. I don't think there is one country that is not is guilty of doing something that would not be considered reprehensible by modern standards. The points that she is trying to make though should have the reader questioning many things about the reality of what has gone into making our current world now. Still so much that could be said about this book but i was a very good read and happy to have to read it. Thanks to the publishers and netgalley,

Okay, wow, where do I even start? This was the first work of Kuang's that I've read, and wow.

Babel focuses on Robin, a young Chinese boy who is taken from his home in Canton to live with an Oxford professor, who's had a hand in his upbringing since birth, leaving a servant with him to teach him English. In London, Robin is trained in Latin and Greek, and eventually sent on to the Royal Institute of Translation, and from there becomes embroiled in the politics of the translation services that Babel provides, and the secret society trying to fight against colonialism.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. It felt a tad long, and there were some points when the prose felt really drawn out and repetitive, but the cumulative effect is a story of Robin's journey through naivety into the reality of the world around him, and the reckoning of his personal experiences with racism into the larger narrative of the world. I thought all of the characters were well fleshed out, and particularly enjoyed Robin's cohort. The intricacies of these relationships was well defined as well, and the effect they had on Robin, and therefore the narrative, was believable and relatable in some ways.

I'm excited to see more of Kuang's work, and am now looking even more forward to reading The Poppy War for my book club.

There are no words to express how fucking phenomenal Babel truly is! This was my first book by Kuang and I am forever grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an arc because I am not obsessed.

Okay friends, if you are up for a challenge look for Babel by R. F. Kuang on August 23rd. Dark academia that tackles hard subjects like colonialism, racism, and sexism while giving you a thorough lesson in semantics and history. R. F. Kuang absolutely blew me away. The sheer amount of research and thought that has gone into this book is astonishing.

Thank you @harpervoyagerus for the eARC, you've made this author an instant buy for me.

This book is a love letter to words and to language as well as a battle cry against systemic racism and colonialism. And how RF Kuang crafted such a nuanced, beautiful, and tragic story into something so readable, smart, and utterly incredible I’ll never know.

Our main character, Robin, was stolen from his home in china and raised by an English professor for one purpose, to go to Oxford and study at Babel. Babel is the home of language and using silver to wield the magic of language which is what’s powering the great British empire. We watch Robin grow up and grapple with his race and identity, what it means to be apart of two worlds, and more.

This story is more than magic and dark academia, although it is a triumph in those areas. But more than that, it’s a call to arms and a harsh but necessary look at the violence of racism and the pain and darkness of colonialism. Although this takes place in early 1800’s (and in a world where magic is real) so many of the moments and themes ring through to today. I felt uncomfortable, sad, in awe, angry, devastated, and more while I read.

I’m absolutely blown away but the scope of this book and how utterly masterful it was handled. This is one of my favorite reads of the year, if not all time and should be on required reading lists.

RF Kuang cements herself even further in my must-read author list and I will be recommending this as much as I have recommended The Poppy War.

CW: racism, colonialism, racial slurs, suicide, violence, slavery, Chile abuse, suicidal thoughts, violence

Everything I wanted it to be and more. The dark academia book of my dreams. Kuang has cemented herself as one of my favorite modern authors. Her character progression is completely unmatched. I will be recommending this book to anyone who will listen.