Fantasy

Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

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  • Create Date：2022-08-25 04:19:42
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：R.F. Kuang
  • ISBN：B09MV827NK
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Summary

Traduttore， traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal。

1828。 Robin Swift， orphaned by cholera in Canton， is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell。 There， he trains for years in Latin， Ancient Greek， and Chinese， all in preparation for the day he'll enroll in Oxford University's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation — also known as Babel。

Babel is the world's center of translation and， more importantly， of silver-working: the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation through enchanted silver bars， to magical effect。 Silver-working has made the British Empire unparalleled in power， and Babel's research in foreign languages serves the Empire's quest to colonize everything it encounters。

Oxford， the city of dreaming spires， is a fairytale for Robin; a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge。 But knowledge serves power， and for Robin， a Chinese boy raised in Britain， serving Babel inevitably means betraying his motherland。 As his studies progress Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society， an organization dedicated to sabotaging the silver-working that supports imperial expansion。 When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium， Robin must decide: Can powerful institutions be changed from within， or does revolution always require violence？ What is he willing to sacrifice to bring Babel down？

Babel — a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal response to Jonathan Strange & Mr。 Norrell — grapples with student revolutions， colonial resistance， and the use of translation as a tool of empire。

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Reviews

Michelle ，

This book is incredible！ It truly is a masterpiece of fantasy fiction。 Kuang has crafted a book for adults who grew up wanting to be a part of a magical school and shows us all the good and evil parts of that experience。 At first， I felt it was moving along too slowly and was anxious for the real action to begin。 But then once the action began， I had a true moment of Ah！ That was why we had to see them all develop this incredibly close and fond friendship that made them a family。 We are shown al This book is incredible！ It truly is a masterpiece of fantasy fiction。 Kuang has crafted a book for adults who grew up wanting to be a part of a magical school and shows us all the good and evil parts of that experience。 At first， I felt it was moving along too slowly and was anxious for the real action to begin。 But then once the action began， I had a true moment of Ah！ That was why we had to see them all develop this incredibly close and fond friendship that made them a family。 We are shown all the ways they hurt through overt racism and discrimination， as well as the microaggressions they have to endure by those closest to them。 We watch them go from innocent， people-pleasing children to brilliant and disillusioned adults who know that world cannot continue forever as it is。 Babel is a glorious mix of dark academia， found family， magical realism， and historical fiction。 Kuang has created a brilliant world and I cannot wait to see what comes next。 Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title。 All opinions and mistakes are my own。 。。。more

Tia ，

DNF @ 56% - Plot was non-existent - Side characters were lacking， didn’t have much of a personality - Read like a history textbook I’d have to study for uni - Doesn’t work well as a fantasy for me personally - MC got tedious after a while

Bella Reed ，

This was my most anticipated book of 2022 （maybe ever？） so going in I had pretty high expectations， but still it blew me away and exceeded said expectations in every way possible。 Now excuse me while I go cry for the next 10-15 business days。 RF Kuang please pay for my therapy （I mean this with the greatest of compliments）

Katie Bell ，

4。5/5！！ what a gorgeous book。

Summer ，

I have to process

Barbara （The Bibliophage） ，

Originally published on my book blog， TheBibliophage。com。4。5 stars rounded upBabel， or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution， is precisely what I expect from writer and historian R。 F。 Kuang。 It’s complex and highly literate。 Plus， the struggle between colonizers and those they oppress is at its core。 The characters are well-developed， flawed， and fascinating。 And Kuang skewers academia， capitalism， and industry。 Most importantly， she builds an altern Originally published on my book blog， TheBibliophage。com。4。5 stars rounded upBabel， or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution， is precisely what I expect from writer and historian R。 F。 Kuang。 It’s complex and highly literate。 Plus， the struggle between colonizers and those they oppress is at its core。 The characters are well-developed， flawed， and fascinating。 And Kuang skewers academia， capitalism， and industry。 Most importantly， she builds an alternate reality worthy of the dozens of footnotes。Our main character is born in Canton， China， in the early 1800s。 His family perishes in a cholera outbreak， but an Englishman， Professor Lovell， fortuitously offers to take him in as a ward。 In the process， this young boy chooses an English name， Robin Swift。 He’s already gifted with languages， and Professor Lovell starts schooling him on their voyage to England。 Once there， Robin is tutored in multiple languages and subjects。 The goal is University College at Oxford University， specifically the institution called Babel， where translators learn their trade。Robin is a quick study and soon becomes close to the other cohort members at Babel。 There’s Letty， born to privilege in England。 The second woman is Victoire， a formerly enslaved person from Haiti by way of France。 And last is Ramy， a young man born in Calcutta and brought to England， similarly to Robin’s own experience。 The four form tight bonds。Combining Social Commentary with an Alternate RealityKuang traces their path through four years of college， detailing the slights from other students due to their outsider status as women and people of color。 We learn along with them how things work in this alternate reality。 The English Empire depends on silver engraved with pairs of magically combined words from different languages。 I’ll let Kuang explain this complex idea， which she does expertly。 As the cohort gets deeper in their studies， they learn that the Empire depends on and exploits people from countries with non-Romantic languages。 The characters in Chinese， for example， are a wealth of nuanced words with multiple and complicated meanings。 And there are few Mandarin or Cantonese speakers in England， so Robin’s knowledge is highly valued。But Robin also begins to see a huge divide in how the upper and lower classes use silver。 It’s used to make life easier for the wealthy。 And conversely， it helps automate various industries to push the underclass out of work。 As a Chinese man， Robin sees this for what it is and decides to work for the oppressed。 And while he’d like to work inside the system， he finds another option that proves more dangerous。My ConclusionsI appreciate Kuang’s ability to make the world of Babel come fully alive in the book。 As a result of her words， I imagine the tower where the library， workspaces， and classrooms exist。 I feel the darkening claustrophobia of Oxford academia and the excitement the young scholars have about their burgeoning knowledge。 And Kuang also makes the global power imbalance eminently clear， even taking us on a journey with the young students to Canton。 I cringed at the old， white men’s racist attitudes and cheered whenever they got a bit of comeuppance。 But nothing is simple in this world， and that’s part of its appeal。 Kuang kept me guessing until the very end。Babel isn’t all history and social policy。 It’s also a story of maturation and the bonds of shared experience。 Kuang expertly develops the character of each student and a few other vital members of her cast。 Each one experiences snobbery， whether based on financial status， gender， intelligence level， or race。 How they deal with this is an essential element of the story。Kuang’s writing style is unique。 Be prepared for lots of detail， including footnotes with information from Kuang’s built world and our reality。 After closing the last page， I immediately realized that I could read this book multiple times and continually find plenty of nuances。I recommend Babel if you enjoy dense storytelling with history and social policy at its core。 And if you appreciate vital fantasy elements。 This was one of my favorite 2022 books！Pair with the books from Kuang’s Poppy War series。 They offer an alternate reality based in a country much like China。AcknowledgmentsThanks to NetGalley， Avon， Harper Voyager， and the author for a digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for this honest review。 Babel’s publication date is today， September 23， 2022。 。。。more

LaShawn Wiltz ，

Ok， so confession: I wasn't going to read this book， but I kept hearing the buzz surrounding it and decided to give it a try。 To recap， Robin Swift， who is orphaned by cholera in Canton， is brought to London by Professor Lovel where he trains for years in Latin， Ancient Greek， and Chinese， all in preparation for the day he'll enroll in Oxford University's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel。So this is dark academia。 Normally not my wheelhouse。 I expected the book to be Ok， so confession: I wasn't going to read this book， but I kept hearing the buzz surrounding it and decided to give it a try。 To recap， Robin Swift， who is orphaned by cholera in Canton， is brought to London by Professor Lovel where he trains for years in Latin， Ancient Greek， and Chinese， all in preparation for the day he'll enroll in Oxford University's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel。So this is dark academia。 Normally not my wheelhouse。 I expected the book to be dense。 And I was right。 But the gift of the author is that it didn't feel like it was dragging。 Except a few places midway that drag a bit for those of us who are not scholars of linguistics， but it lays the groundwork for the rest of the book。But even though much of the linguistics and etymology in Babel was above my head， it still managed to be interesting to me。 All this to say that this feels more like academic fiction rather than fantasy。 It was well written， well researched and I actually cared about what happened。 But it wasn't my cup of tea。 Thanks for the Arc NetGalley。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more

Eric ，

TL;DRBabel by R。F。 Kuang tells the story of Robin Swift， a boy caught up in the games of empire。 His journey is a moving tale of complicity。 Does he continue to take the luxuries empire provides him – though it will never accept as fully human – or does he attempt to change the empire？ Kuang’s story still haunts me。 Highly recommended。 Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone。 Review: Babel b TL;DRBabel by R。F。 Kuang tells the story of Robin Swift， a boy caught up in the games of empire。 His journey is a moving tale of complicity。 Does he continue to take the luxuries empire provides him – though it will never accept as fully human – or does he attempt to change the empire？ Kuang’s story still haunts me。 Highly recommended。 Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone。 Review: Babel by R。F。 KuangLanguage is what makes us human。 Words， sentences， paragraphs， etc。 contain so much power to heal， to hurt， to change the world， to end a life， to start wars， to create peace。 Language is a construct that we take for granted until it fails us or until we are confronted by a language not our own。 The power of being able to make ourselves known by another human being is immense。 It’s tough enough to do this in the language of our birth， but to convey meaning across two different languages is an incredible skill on its own。 Words are symbols; they represent ideas。 While we take for granted the definitions， it becomes apparent how fluid definitions are when learning another language。 Finding the right word to convey meaning isn’t as simple as opening up a dictionary。 There’s context and intent that can change meaning。 Translation is an act that brings us together at the same time as it separates us。 It conveys ideas in a manner to make one person understood by another， and in this conveyance， the translator chooses what is often the closest but not exact word（s）。 Something is always lost in translation。 R。F。 Kuang’s latest book， Babel， uses this loss as the basis for a magic system。 Kuang writes elegantly of complex ideas regarding language while at the same commenting on the history of racism upon which the engine of Imperial Britain ran。 At the end of reading this， you’ll be wondering about the history of the words you speak and of the privilege that builds empires。Robin Swift is saved from death by cholera in Canton， China by a white man， who turns out to be his father。 Saving Robin isn’t an act of generosity – the white man would never acknowledge Robin as a son – it as act that places Robin in the white man’s debt。 It turns out that Robin’s father is a professor at the Institute of Translation at Oxford in Britain。 Professor Lovell gives Robin a choice: come back to London and become a translator or be turned out as an orphan on the cholera stricken streets of Canton。 Robin， a child， has no choice。 He joins the professor back in London where six years of lessons in Latin and ancient Greek begin。 Robin is afforded a luxury he couldn’t have imagined in Canton by a man for whom is simply a tool。 At the end of his tutelage， he enrolls in Oxford。 Specifically， Robin becomes a student of the Institute for Translation。 He meets the cohort with whom he’ll be learning。 There’s Ramy， Victoire， and Letty。 Ramy is an Indian muslim， and Victoire is from Haiti。 They’re the first people of color that Robin’s encountered in England。 Letty is British born and bred， but she lacks the outright racism that the others find on British shores and in the very town of Oxford herself。 If Letty were alive today， she’d consider herself ‘woke，’ which means for her racism is a personal not systemic reality。 One she can’t understand and maybe won’t。 The four become tight， the bestest of buds。 They learn that not only will they be aiding the empire as translators， they’ll be magicians as well。 Potentially， they’ll scribe silver bars， which creates magical effects based on the words and translations scribed into the metal。 Silver magic is the most lucrative part of Oxford。 It occupies the highest floor of the tower that houses the Institute of Translation。 The tower， known as Babel， contains the knowledge of language， of magic， and of diplomacy。 Robin and his cohort will study Latin， their birth language （except for Hetty who will study French）， and a secondary language， in addition to the theory of translation。 To remain at Babel， the cohort must study as if their lives depend upon it。 For Robin， Ramy， and Victoire， it might。 Failing could lead to banishment。 Graduating could mean entrance into the highest tiers of British society。 Well， not white society， but still up there。 For ‘foreigners。’ One night， while walking alone， Robin sees a group of people running from the tower。 One drops a bar of silver， and when Robin goes to pick it up， he finds himself staring into the eyes of a brother he didn’t know he had， a brother with ties to a subversive group whose goal is to counteract the harm that Babel perpetrates upon the world。 This chance meeting awakens Robin to how intricately involved Babel is in the exploitation of other kids and of other nations。 Babel may very well be the heart of the British Empire’s economy。 Will Robin perpetuate Babel’s harms？ Or will he follow in the footsteps of a brother he didn’t even know he had？Babel is a third person novel with a couple of first person interludes。 Also， footnotes pepper the narrative。 The pacing is uneven; I read the second 50% of the book in less than half the time I read the first portion。 The first half focuses on the intellectual journey that Robin is on， and the prose aims mostly to stay in the realm of the mind。 It’s slow， interesting， and shows how capitalism can entrap anyone into a comfort based on the suffering of others。 The second half deals with the messy emotional side of Robin， and it’s wonderful。 It’s fast-paced without losing the anger that fuels the first half of the narrative。 The second half is brutal and has a high ‘attrition’ rate。 Put together， the two halves make a moving， eloquent tale about resistance， its costs， and trying to be seen as fully human。 RobinRobin is an interesting character。 He was largely passive for most of the novel in a build up to being a hero， of a sort。 He was plucked from the doors of death to be a tool by a man who didn’t care for him。 He was given zero choices。 （Though， of course， libertarians would disagree – as contrariness is their natural state – that Robin had a choice to die or go to England。 Though rational people would say that’s no choice， libertarians would say it’s still his free will。） Professor Lovell surrounded Robin with luxury but not comfort。 It was expected that Robin learn， that he stay on task， and if he dared have a thought of his own， Robin would be placed on the first ship back to Canton to fend for himself。 Even when he finds his brother， he goes along with his brother’s ideology。 But， to be clear， he’s not totally passive。 It’s the moments that he tries， that he goes against the wishes of the professor or his brother， that Robin shines。 He is passive， but he has his limits。It’s an accident that brings out the leader in Robin。 Whether he’s a good leader or not is a conversation for a different time， but we do see Robin come into his own。 And it’s heartbreaking。 He’s a talented， smart kid。 He’s found friendship and kindred spirits at Babel。 He has a purpose， and he’s good at it。 Life is sweet for all too brief a moment。 This is what college is for many of us。 It’s a place to find ourselves， our crowds， and to live momentarily without the realities of adulthood crashing down。 Yet even in higher education， not everyone has this privilege。 But Robin finds it。 He finds happiness and fulfillment for a brief shining moment。 It’s all the more bittersweet for when the reality of his existence as Cantonese among the rabidly racist shows him that he would be and never was anything more than a tool。 Those moments of happiness were built upon the suffering of people who look like him and his friends。For these reasons and others， Robin is a character I will be thinking about for a while。 He is flawed， yes。 He is passive， yes。 He is brilliant， yes。 He is tragic。 FootnotesThe footnotes in Babel didn’t work for me。 They were interesting， and some imparted worldbuilding explanation。 Taken on their own， I liked them。 However， they slow the pace down too much for me。 Kuang has written a very tight story that reads like a novel， not a history。 The subtitle says an arcane history， but it doesn’t read like a novel。 The footnotes work in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell because the story is winding and prone to digressions。 The footnotes in Babel are digressions， but no other part of the text are digressions。 Kuang uses the main text of the novel to focus tightly on Robin’s story。 So pursuing the footnote takes me out of the story。Maybe the footnotes would have worked if I knew who they were for。 Who， in world， was writing this history？ I think I have an answer to this story， but it comes so late in the novel， I can’t be sure。The footnotes do add to the story。 I found many of them fascinating。 Some， Kuang uses to provide the reader with a translation。 As a person who struggles with one language and fumbles trying to learn a second， I have to say thank you。 The Horrors of EmpireBabel had a profound effect on me。 I had to confront my own internal reactions to the text。 Fantasy is a genre that I use to get away from the horrors of the world， but， here， Kuang put those horrors right in front of my face and dared me to look away。 Sadly， I did turn my head on occasion， but on others， I didn’t。 The following personal introspection is beyond the scope of this review。 However， the fact that it made me reexamine my own reactions reminded me that fantasy， at least my reading list， has not pushed my experiences in the way my nonfiction reading has。 It’s good to see a fantasy bring those historical issues to bear in an unflinching light。 Kuang goes right to the heart of historical British attitudes。 She doesn’t soften it; the ‘good’ white person still makes racist statements。 Reading Babel was shocking to me， and that tells me that I need to look at my reading list。 It was a reminder That good literature can also be good activism。 ConclusionR。F。 Kuang’s Babel blends intellectual interrogation of language with an unflinching display of the horrors of empire。 This is a book I very much needed to read。 The ending was perfect， emotionally resonant， and a reminder that our lives mean what we make them mean。 Robin Swift got caught up in the games of empire， and when he tried to play， Babel was born。 Kuang built a multi-layered book that I’ll have to return to。 Highly recommended。 。。。more

Camille Butera ，

I wish I could coherently gather my thoughts but WOW the ending of this is exactly the kind of thing that I just end up mulling over for ages。 so glad I read this book and am also glad that I managed to read it while in Oxford。 It's a fitting send off I wish I could coherently gather my thoughts but WOW the ending of this is exactly the kind of thing that I just end up mulling over for ages。 so glad I read this book and am also glad that I managed to read it while in Oxford。 It's a fitting send off 。。。more

Lisa of Troy ，

Earlier this year， I came up with my dream author panel: RF Kuang， Patrick Rothfuss， Neil Gaiman， and Philip Pullman。 When thinking through this， I wanted to know if anyone has ever had a fantasy author panel before， and I discovered that， indeed， Comic-Con has had fantasy author panels in the past。 Because I have learned that the worst people can say is no， I contacted Comic-Con， asking if I could host this fantasy author panel。 They said sure but would give me no budget， so it was a non-starte Earlier this year， I came up with my dream author panel: RF Kuang， Patrick Rothfuss， Neil Gaiman， and Philip Pullman。 When thinking through this， I wanted to know if anyone has ever had a fantasy author panel before， and I discovered that， indeed， Comic-Con has had fantasy author panels in the past。 Because I have learned that the worst people can say is no， I contacted Comic-Con， asking if I could host this fantasy author panel。 They said sure but would give me no budget， so it was a non-starter。 However， my dreams never die。 Eventually， I will either invite all of the authors to visit when I am properly book famous or I will team up with someone to do a Kickstarter。 All that to say， I really think that RF Kuang is the future of fantasy。 The Poppy War is an incredible book that I simply loved， and I have mad respect for her。Now about Babel……。The first 5% and the last 40% were very strong。 However， from about the 5% mark to the 60% mark need some revision。Recently， I have been reading Daemon Voices by Philip Pullman。 It is a book about storytelling （which I highly， HIGHLY recommend）。 I’m going to paraphrase the gist of one of his thoughts， but Pullman is simply a master of writing。 Authors or would-be authors need to practice the art of storytelling。 Think of storytelling as a marketplace of sorts。 Readers come into the marketplace with storytellers on every corner。 Readers who are intrigued will linger， staying a few more minutes， but if they get bored， they will just pop on over to another corner to discover another storyteller。Alright so what does this have to do with Babel or am I just delusional？ Well I’ll let you be the judge of that。What Didn’t WorkThe storytelling needed improvement。 First， way too much time was covered in this book。 Even in Harry Potter， they only cover one year in each book。 This book covers way too many years。 It would have been better if RK Kuang just focused on the first year at Oxford or broke up Babel into several different books。 Second， this book is too far in the weeds about language and etymology， the origin and history of English words。 Certain sections of Babel were so technical that they reminded me of my tax classes （but I found those much more interesting because literally the rules save you real money or keep you out of prison）。 Third， the story arc wasn’t clear until much， much later in the book。 For a good portion of the time， I was like， “Um， where is this heading？” Fourth， the ending is incredibly weak。 Back to Pullman for a minute。 In The Golden Compass， he has one of the best endings that I have ever read。 I have never wanted to read the next book so badly。 However， the ending in Babel is forgettable and lackluster。 Fifth， the sections on the characters need to be rewritten。 The sections on Ramy， Victoire， and Letty were not as strong as they should have been。 If I was editor of this book， I would have focused on one key moment in that character’s life and really focused on “showing， not telling”， really going through one moment which would move my readers’ very soul。 Telling these characters’ life stories in one chapter is just too much to take in。Sixth， I didn’t find Robin’s first day at Oxford very believable。 Why would anyone risk everything without a safety net for a cause and a person that they only met 5 seconds ago？Seventh， there is one death that had too much foreshadowing。 Dune is one of my favorite books， and one of the reasons is that a character was killed off that I never saw coming。 In Babel， I would have been really surprised when this character was killed off， but I wasn’t surprised when we were warned right before it happened。 What WorkedFirst， the beginning is really strong and interesting。 Second， RF Kuang has a very good grasp of readability。 For example， she doesn’t have massive paragraphs and massive sentences。 She has also modernized the language for 1828。 There are no thees or thous。 Third， the fantasy is easy to understand and isn’t overwhelming。 Fourth， Babel addresses some important topics。 Especially in today’s political climate， we have a choice: we can either work to change the system or we can refuse to engage。 It really reminded me of all of the heat that Sheryl Sandberg received for writing Lean In， a book with tips about how women can succeed in the workforce。 The criticism is that Sandberg offers how to succeed in the current atmosphere instead of advocating for changing the system。 However， is it easier to change yourself or the entire system？ That will be a question for your book club。 ConclusionOverall， this book did turn around at the end， but it took too long to get there。 However， I’m not giving up on RF Kuang just yet。 If anything， it just proves that I definitely need to put together this fantasy author panel。 *Thanks， NetGalley， for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and unbiased opinion。Connect With Me！Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta 。。。more

Madalyn Woodward ，

Absolutely Incredible！ I have been dying to read Babel and it fully lived up to all my expectations。 I will forever read anything R。 F。 Kuang writes。 I wouldn't really expect a book about linguistics set in the 1800s at Oxford to be so captivating， but it was。 There was never a moment I wasn't fully invested in the story。 The characters were complex， their stories heartbreaking。 The writing， of course， was amazing。 I just really loved every single thing about this book and will recommend it to e Absolutely Incredible！ I have been dying to read Babel and it fully lived up to all my expectations。 I will forever read anything R。 F。 Kuang writes。 I wouldn't really expect a book about linguistics set in the 1800s at Oxford to be so captivating， but it was。 There was never a moment I wasn't fully invested in the story。 The characters were complex， their stories heartbreaking。 The writing， of course， was amazing。 I just really loved every single thing about this book and will recommend it to everyone。 Just be warned， it will break your heart。Thank you Harper Voyager and Netgalley for providing and ARC of this book。 。。。more

Trish Honch ，

You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth （Hardcover）Greetings and hello！I am an interstellar talent scout of the Castor MovingGroup Network。 You may call me Glorbalorbl。 Myhome is in the Zubenelgenubi system， a multi-starneighborhood which lies conveniently close to yourhome system's ecliptic plane。 As a result of thisgeometric convenience， us Zubenelgenubians havelong been capable of analyzing your home planetusing techniques like the TTV method familiar toyou， and we are You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth （Hardcover）Greetings and hello！I am an interstellar talent scout of the Castor MovingGroup Network。 You may call me Glorbalorbl。 Myhome is in the Zubenelgenubi system， a multi-starneighborhood which lies conveniently close to yourhome system's ecliptic plane。 As a result of thisgeometric convenience， us Zubenelgenubians havelong been capable of analyzing your home planetusing techniques like the TTV method familiar toyou， and we are even fully capable of directspectroscopic analysis of your atmosphere， but evenif we were limited to your primitive methods， orlimited to one star system， we would still haveknown about your biosphere since long before yourparticular species showed up on the scene， becausewe are a much older civilization that has migratedinto the area from elsewhere in the galaxy。We have occasionally glanced your way in curiositysince before the first campfires began dotting thedark side of your planet。 Upon observing yourbehaviors as you developed your unique identityamong the lifeforms of your world， we quickly knewthat you showed a lot of promise， but alsopossessed many problematic qualities。 As for thesetroublesome characteristics， you seemed apparentlyunable or unwilling to recognize and remedy them inas timely of a manner as we have come to expectfrom most species that we consider to be developingtoward true intelligence。We have long wanted to give you the benefit of thedoubt， noting that your home planet is as dynamicas it is beautiful。 The challenges faced by theevolution of life on your world presented you withmany harsh realities and many long threads ofintergenerational trauma。 We get it， you grew up in atough neighborhood。 You did not have the benefit ofgrowing up slowly on a fully-stable paradise planetorbiting neatly in a flare-free band of space around afully-convective star with an extremely long main-sequence lifespan， like my species originally did。。。 or，in fact， like most of the intelligent species in thegalaxy did。Nonetheless， it was frustrating enough watching theconstant setbacks that resulted from yourstubbornly persistent myopia that we decided tostop paying much attention to what was going onover here。 The last time anyone in our network took aserious peek must have been a few hundred Earthorbits ago。 Upon reflection， I must say this appearsto have been a significant oversight on our behalf，as you have experienced a surprising amount ofchange in that time interval。During a normal shift break on a routine researchmission through the local void， my colleagues and Iwere recreationally surfing the plasma veil on theedge of your Sun's magnetic field when wehappened upon a small craft of yours containingsome cute cartoons and a record that appears to betitled "THE SOUNDS OF EARTH THE UNITED STATESOF AMERICA PLANET EARTH" - as lovers of musicand recording arts ourselves， we immediately threwthat shit onto the decks and put the needle down。While the sound was a little bit primitive and mostlycontained what seemed to our sensibilities like under-produced source material captured from a singlelinear timeline， we had to admit it had some prettygood tracks on it。 Even Greglorbalor the Horrible wasdelightedly clapping his digits at times。As the resident talent scout on our mission， it wasincumbent upon me to reach out to you。 Our teamquickly analyzed the current state of your commonlanguages and colloquialisms， as well as the stateof your science。 Using that information I was able towrite you this message， and even select a fewanthems of my alien nation to share with you， whichI hope you will enjoy。 My home system， after all， isrenowned for pumping out the phattest beats in theOrion Arm。Now， to get more serious。 Some of the things I saymay feel to you like harsh criticisms， but I want youto keep in mind that if I didn't see potential in you， Iwould not bother to send you this message。 Withthat in mind， there are some things I would like youto consider。 In order to apply for galactic citizenshipand be liberated from your current state ofquarantined containment， you are going to need tomeet the following requirements:1） You must cease your habitual engagement inavoidable conflict。 This includes conflict within yourown species as well as conflict between yourcivilization and its environment。 Amongst nearly allenlightened interstellar civilizations， this is theprimary measure by which the relative intelligence ofa life form is established。 Any civilization with atendency toward violence， duplicity， sabotage， and ill-will is simply not considered mature enough topopulate beyond their native star system。 As long asyou avoid making the breathtakingly obviousdecision to work in harmony with the world you are apart of， then I must woefully inform you that you andyour music will not be welcome at any of our publicparks， or on any of our relativistic highways， or inany of our universally-acclaimed utopian garden-metropolis sanctuaries， or at any of our GalacticMusic Awards ceremonies。2） You must eliminate poverty。 Mismanagement ofresources is generally considered a bad sign whenanalyzing the inhabitants of any world。 By ourstandards， as long as any one member of yourcivilization is involuntarily unable to meet their basicneeds， including access to food， shelter， information，and care， the title of "intelligent" will continue toelude your species。3） You must transmit a new collection of your bestmusic in the direction of my home system， the starsystem you know as Alpha Librae， from between thelongitude you call 100°W and 110°W， at the time youcall 12:08 AM， on the date you call June 21， 2038。 Irepeat: new mixtape， right ascension 14h 52m 07。6s，declination 16°08'06。0"， at the moment of thesolstice closest to your aphelion， sixteen orbits fromthe time of this message， and from the part of yourplanet facing most directly away from your Sun atthe time。 This isn't an intelligence test like the othertwo items I have listed， I simply want a more up-to-date demo from you。 We will have areceiver/transmitter in position to then distributeyour message rapidly to the Zubenelgenubi systemand， from there， to my colleagues in the CastorMoving Group Network。To put it lightly， a good demo is a great first steptoward building your rapport with the rest of us， andwould make your application for galactic citizenshipmuch more likely to be approved。 If your demo isgood， and you've met the other two requirements Imentioned， then we might be able to finally inviteyou to the party。 If your application is indeedapproved， you will then have access to the collectiveknowledge of the various networks tangling theirway around the Milky Way。 That includes anabundance of helpful information about travel，communication， computation， longevity， andspacetime itself， to name a few points of interest。Good luck， Earth People。Kindest regards，Glorbalorblorlbrrgkjegrlkust6;l9[-t67/0 。。。more

⚔️Nada⚔️ ，

Can i read this first， or i have to read the poppy war first ？？

Mahmutcan6 ，

https://www。ustankapida。com https://www。ustankapida。com 。。。more

Jem ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 4。5/5 - RTC as soon as I process that ending + （view spoiler）[ the absolutely RUDE killing off of Ramy （hide spoiler）] 4。5/5 - RTC as soon as I process that ending + （view spoiler）[ the absolutely RUDE killing off of Ramy （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Katherine ，

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review。 I’m glad that I stuck with this book until the end， because I often wanted to stop reading it for the first 60% or so。 RF Kuang has created a dazzling magic system in Babel。 In this version of 19th century England， there is an industrial revolution built not with electricity and steam， but with magic silver bars that derive their power from linguistic genius instead of engineering prowess。 Translators ar Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review。 I’m glad that I stuck with this book until the end， because I often wanted to stop reading it for the first 60% or so。 RF Kuang has created a dazzling magic system in Babel。 In this version of 19th century England， there is an industrial revolution built not with electricity and steam， but with magic silver bars that derive their power from linguistic genius instead of engineering prowess。 Translators are the hidden backbone of the empire， and the story follows the brilliant and diverse scholars of Babel as they come to realize that they’ve been trained to help England systematically pillage and destroy their homelands。 Kuang is clearly a genius herself — the breadth and depth of her linguistic and literary knowledge is on full display here， and it’s very impressive。 The problem is that more than half the book is painfully boring and so， so didactic。I requested this book because it was advertised as a “tonal response” to Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr。 Norrell， which may be my favorite book of all time。 I *have* to read any book that is compared to it。 Unfortunately， the comparison made this book fall extremely short for me。 While the blend of magic and language is fascinating， there is none of the transporting imagery or sheer creativity with magic that captivated me so much about JS&MN。 I would classify the magic here as “hard” or at least harder compared to that of Clarke’s work。 I prefer softer magic， but that doesn’t mean others won’t love what Kuang had created。 Where the book really shines is the blend of Kuang’s magic system with her skill in depicting political and military intrigue — once a crucial murder occurs， revealing in the process a conspiracy to incite war for profit， the plot FINALLY gets going。 Revolution and violence comes for the scholars of Babel。 They lose beloved friends， gain new allies， and are forced to make agonizing choices to realize their goals。 This last section of the book riveted me and left me with no easy answers。 It also gave me a clue as to why Kuang’s Poppy War trilogy， which I haven’t read， is so popular。 I wish the first part of the book had been as good！The reason the first half of the book dragged so much for me was the characters。 The beginning of the book gives us a wonderful promise — a group of four friends who we will get to see grow up together; a found family with all sorts of interesting dynamics to observe and delight in as readers。 However， that promise isn’t kept。 While we DO spend hundreds upon hundreds of pages with Robin， Ramy， Victoire， and Letty， we somehow learn almost nothing about them and their relationships。 Ramy’s the most social and friendly， though he has a mean streak; Robin is sweeter and more reserved; Letty is annoying; and Victoire is nice and smart， I guess。 These characterizations are repeated over and over again， yet there are no specifics， no scenes that take us deeper and reveal more layers to their personalities and interactions。 Instead we get about one million descriptions of what they’re studying and many paragraphs glossing over long periods of time。 It baffles me that so many pages of a massive book passed in this way， and yet it happened！I felt Victoire was the character worst served in this book。 The main quad group of the book is diverse in race and gender — Ramy is Indian， Robin is mixed Chinese and white， Letty is white， and Victoire is Black。 Victoire is pretty much the perfect character throughout the book， to the point where we know almost nothing about her。 She is frequently the victim of racism， though which we see Letty’s negligent indifference — deepening Letty’s character for the reader， but not Victoire’s。 We barely see Victoire’s reaction to the racism she experiences， beyond that she occasionally gets quiet or cries。 She is a foil to Robin in the last part of the book， answering his growing fatalism with hope and calls for mercy — again， we see her more as way to shade Robin’s character than as a character in her own right。 I wanted her to have a flaw at some point， just to see something interesting about her。 But it never really came。My last issue is the didacticism。 We are TOLD so much in this book。 Issues like white women’s tears， micro aggressions， dehumanization， etc are VERY explicitly explained and spelled out， to the point where it feels like the reader doesn’t have to do any work on their own。 This made even worse by the footnotes， another way this book can be compared to JS&MN。 Clarke’s footnotes were a way to add depth and history to her world though additional stories， but Kuang’s seem like a way to show off how smart she is and hammer her points home way more than they need to be。 The few genuinely good footnotes are few and far between。I think this book will be beloved by a certain kind of reader。 The world is a fascinating mirror of our own， and the political and moral questions at the end of the book are well posed。 It never gave me the sense of wonder that my favorite fantasy books do， but I don’t think that was its aim。 I hope you like it more than I did。 。。。more

a lil’ problem ，

wow

Hannah Sage ，

5/5 glorious， astounding starsA big big thank you to Harper Voyager & Netgalley for providing me with this ARC！！ "Language was just difference。 A thousand different ways of seeing， of moving through the world。 No; a thousand worlds within one。"R。F。 Kuang's Babel follows the life of Robin Swift and his friends as they become translation scholars at the historic， revered， infamous Babel Institute at Oxford University。 The more Robin and company dive into the complexities of translation， of lang 5/5 glorious， astounding starsA big big thank you to Harper Voyager & Netgalley for providing me with this ARC！！ "Language was just difference。 A thousand different ways of seeing， of moving through the world。 No; a thousand worlds within one。"R。F。 Kuang's Babel follows the life of Robin Swift and his friends as they become translation scholars at the historic， revered， infamous Babel Institute at Oxford University。 The more Robin and company dive into the complexities of translation， of language， of the world， the more their eyes are opened to the injustices the British Empire is committing in the name of colonialism， capitalism， and expansionism。 Babel is a critique of not only the history of the British Empire， but a critique of the way first world countries use others for their own gain。 Through dense and academic prose， she paints a world where the English （and therefore， white people） only gain and grow by the exploitation of the very countries they are conquering and stealing from。 Through the lens of language and translation， Kuang delves into the complexities that allow capitalism and colonialism to flourish while also paving the way for how to disrupt and change the course of history。 "But realize this， brother。 You fly no one's flag。 You're free to seek your own harbor。 And you can do so much more than tread water。"This story blew my mind again and again。 Kuang's prose and sheer intellect is at its peak performance in this novel。 The writing is dense and academic， definitely not for the faint of heart。 The depth， research， time， and effort put into Babel cannot be overlooked。 The topics Kuang explores are at times obvious and at others， very nuanced。 She tackles capitalism， racism， colonialism， white privilege， internalized racism， the history of language， the necessity of translation， the necessity （when it comes down to it） of violence。 It's the story of despair and hope， of slavery and freedom， of what is safe and comfortable versus what is dangerous and revolutionary。 Kuang， again and again， forces home the point that no one can truly be free while others are in shackles， metaphorically or physically。 。。。more

Fran ，

Whew。 Where do I start？ I already had high expectations with Babel， but it was MORE than I expected。 When I say MORE is MORE。 I can't even explain how much I enjoyed this book。 Definitely my favorite read of this year。In Babel， we follow the story of Robin Swift， orphaned by a cholera epidemic， is brought to London by Professor Lovell， where he trains in different languages such as Chinese， Latin， Ancient Greek， and Chinese with the purpose to prepare for the day he'll enroll in Oxford Universit Whew。 Where do I start？ I already had high expectations with Babel， but it was MORE than I expected。 When I say MORE is MORE。 I can't even explain how much I enjoyed this book。 Definitely my favorite read of this year。In Babel， we follow the story of Robin Swift， orphaned by a cholera epidemic， is brought to London by Professor Lovell， where he trains in different languages such as Chinese， Latin， Ancient Greek， and Chinese with the purpose to prepare for the day he'll enroll in Oxford University's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation aka Babel。 There， Robin finds himself between Babel and the Hermes Society， who dedicates to sabotaging the silver-working that supports imperial expansion， when Britain pursues war with China， Robin's motherland。 Which side Robin will choose？ The institution dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge or the revolution that will bring it down？There's a lot to unpack in this book。 It deserved to be discussed and if you read it， just take your time because it got me hooked since the dedication of the author （R。F。 Kuang， you did an amazing job）。 The world-building is fascinating， the magic system is exquisite， and the characters， oh， the characters， the translations， and footnotes， everything is so GOOD， and I can't wait to have my physical copy and the audiobook to read it again。 Huge thank you to Avon， Harper Voyager， and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this masterpiece before it hit the shelves tomorrow August， 23rd。 。。。more

Camille ，

I have no words。 Best book of the year （and all time for me）。 RTC

marisa ，

r。 f。 kuang is paying for my therapy but also please read this

Sophie ，

3。5

Nyanasoundari Lourdsamy ，

I… have no words。 Nobody could have reimagined dark academia like this。 R。F Kuang， you are a mastermind。*Full Review to come*

Elizabeth ，

BABEL is brilliant， devastating， and revolutionary on every level。 Kuang has created an incredibly compelling alternative history of the British empire in the 1820s and 30s， enriched with a translation-based magical system and populated with characters and relationships that will stay with me for a long， long time。 It’s both utterly original and a searing response to the white-dominated genre of dark academia， a love letter to the joys of learning in general and Oxford in particular and an evisc BABEL is brilliant， devastating， and revolutionary on every level。 Kuang has created an incredibly compelling alternative history of the British empire in the 1820s and 30s， enriched with a translation-based magical system and populated with characters and relationships that will stay with me for a long， long time。 It’s both utterly original and a searing response to the white-dominated genre of dark academia， a love letter to the joys of learning in general and Oxford in particular and an evisceration of the vicious tangle of extractive colonialism， ruthless imperialism， and all-encompassing white supremacy that academia is built upon and perpetuates， an ingenious fantasy novel with fascinating magic and an intimate， tender， gut-wrenching story of four college friends。 BABEL tackles questions of revolution， complicity， and the use of violence with nuance and unflinching honesty。 Kuang’s narrative traverses the pathways from global to personal seamlessly， immersing us in alliances and betrayals both overwhelmingly large and achingly small。 I still have not recovered from [redacted] and I sobbed though the last handful of chapters。 Also， the footnotes！ An absolute master class in writing。 Truly an honor just to be alive in a time when this novel exists; please， read it。 Thanks to Harper Voyager for the eARC; this book is out 8/23。Content warnings: child abuse， loss of a family member/loved one， racism， xenophobia， colonialism， sexism/misogyny， slurs， bullying， attempted assault， illness， torture， imprisonment， murder， slavery， suicidal thoughts， martyrdom 。。。more

Becs ，

They say do not judge a book by its cover but this one is stunning！！！

Ada Robinson ，

i think i last felt like this when i read les miserables for the first time

Amanda ，

I have never been so grateful that I got an arc and that I bought 3 special editions。 RF Kuang blew this out of the water。 Mark my words。。 this is going to be a literature classic

priyanka ，

the subtlety of an anvil

Siobhan ，

Babel is a historical fantasy novel exploring the importance of translation in colonialism and the ways in which power manifests both in academia and in the world。 Robin Swift was taken from his home in Canton to England by a mysterious guardian after his mother's death， learning Latin and Greek in preparation for the future his guardian has planned for him at Oxford's Royal Institution of Translation， Babel。 It seems a haven， a place where Robin makes a group of close friends and despite the hu Babel is a historical fantasy novel exploring the importance of translation in colonialism and the ways in which power manifests both in academia and in the world。 Robin Swift was taken from his home in Canton to England by a mysterious guardian after his mother's death， learning Latin and Greek in preparation for the future his guardian has planned for him at Oxford's Royal Institution of Translation， Babel。 It seems a haven， a place where Robin makes a group of close friends and despite the huge workload， finds happiness。 However， it starts to become clear that Babel may not be such a haven after all， and the implications of the translation work and the silver-working magic that translation allows have dark and far-reaching consequences。The concept of this novel is fantastic， centred around ideas of translation and how they could both evoke magic （by having translations that have slightly different meanings， bringing in something extra） and be used as tools of power and colonisation。 The dark academia type setting （being set in the nineteenth century makes it different to most of the popular dark academia books， but it definitely tries to expose the dark side of academia） will bring it a lot of appeal， and the narrative centres around four main characters， with Robin the protagonist but his friends Ramy， Victoire and Letty being crucial to the story， which makes it engaging despite the huge amount of heavy academic linguistic content。Reading the book on Kindle I wasn't quite aware how long it is， and I will say that you really feel the length。 For me， it did drag at times， and though the length is partly due to the writing style and use of footnotes to elaborate， maybe the pacing didn't quite work for me。 In terms of the style， I really liked the third person removed narrative style， which matched the academic nature and allowed for a lot of context （it's clearly a heavily researched novel）。 The footnotes I was less keen on， as a lot of them served to make obvious points and took you away from the story。 It was clever， though， that they were used to explain the racist attitudes of people cited/mentioned as a sharp commentary on the people in the novel who believed in translation， but still saw the languages they needed for silver-working or trade as lesser and the people who spoke them very much so。The language used to discuss race， class， and gender was at times strangely modern for a novel that was so placed in a historical setting， which occasionally felt too notable to be ignored， but in general the book engaged interestingly with the historical setting。 It's quite different to something like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell， which integrates magic fully into its historical setting， as in Babel the silver-working element， which is the only fantasy part， is more of a structure that impacts the workings of the country， but not in ways that make it particularly different than in real life。 Personally， as someone who isn't really a fantasy fan， I enjoyed this， and I was pleasantly surprised that the book was much more about translation and academia than magic。The depiction of Oxford is an interesting one， with some brilliant commentary and satirical jibes atthe attitudes of different kinds of people within the University and an accurate depiction through the Babel institute of the kinds of workloads and the ways in which people end up cocooned from the outside world。 Even though Babel is fictional， and Kuang's opening author's note explains a range of inaccuracies with the Oxford depiction specifically， it did feel pretty true to life。 Occasionally there was too much day to day university stuff which slowed the pace down， but at the same time that is what people are probably looking for from something marketed as dark academia。 What was perhaps strangest was that the changes to the realities of Oxford （like having a somewhat anachronistic commemoration ball with oysters served at it） were only explained in the author's note， and not made a feature based on being an alternative history with the silver-working magic integrated into it。There's a lot to say about Babel， as it has a lot to say both in terms of length and content。 Generally， it's an engaging and insightful read that， as a fan of dark academia and not so much fantasy， I enjoyed。 There's plenty of other things I've not even gone into in this review in the book （like arguments about models of resistance and protest， violence and non-violence） and it combines the academic and conceptual concepts like ideas of translation， languages， and power with a good story about a group of friends finding their way at Oxford。 。。。more

omi ，

just pre-ordered the hardcover ive heard nothing but praise about this book

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0