Reviews with content warning for Violence - Babel: An Arcane History

i fear my brain chemistry has been changed forever. there was so much love and effort put into this book and u can feel it on every page... i cannot stop crying thinking about all of it.
the only "criticism" i have is that i would have enjoyed more dialogue over the narration sometimes but. honestly the book is perfect to me regardless

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deannahall14's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Im so sick omg

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alica2's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ough....this book was So...

I love a book that makes me think and feel, and boy howdy did I. I really liked the premise because not only does it provide an interesting angle on colonization (with the idea of plumbing a foreign language for its differences compared to English in the same way countries are currently and have historically been plumbed for natural resources) but also about the impacts colonization has on culture (and individuals themselves) through language. As a language learner with an interest in translation as well, I really appreciated the more philosophical discussions about translation theories too. There was also the theme of academia serving as a weapon of empire, which isn't something I've seen explored often in fantasy settings.

Speaking of setting, I loved the twist this book took with adding language-based magic to a historical era. It was easy for me to see how Britain, even in a world with magical elements, could construct an empire in the same way it historically did due to violence, coercion, and a monopoly of resources, all of which the book took great care to explain.

The beginning and the latter third were a lot stronger to me than the middle, which felt like it dragged at parts. I also felt like most of the relationship development between the four main characters was told rather than shown, and what parts were shown through dialogue seemed to contradict what we were being told, especially regarding Letty. While I do think Letty was a good demonstration of

Spoiler

the failures of white feminism and the danger of whiteness as a social construct in general

, it also didn't feel

Spoiler

as much of a betrayal as it had been built up to be

because I didn't get the sense that

Spoiler

Robin ever truly saw Letty as anything more than a nuisance, despite being told over and over that he (and the others) really did love her

. I also would have liked more development between Robin and Victoire given that

Spoiler

they become foils for each other by the end with their different perspectives of how to proceed with the strike, and how they as individuals want to proceed when the army comes to forcibly end the strike

. A lot more time was dedicated to developing Robin and Ramy's relationship versus Robin with the girls, so I think even one or two more scenes dedicated to those relationships specifically would have made for a more powerful impact.

With that said though, there was never any point in the book that I didn't understand Robin himself as a character. There were many times along the way where I found myself thinking that I might have acted similarly as him, and it made me reflect on my own morals. Also, the part where

Spoiler

Robin kills Lovell

in particular still sticks with me, because even though it was never really stated I had such a vivid image of the part from the beginning of the book when

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Lovell beats Robin

, and I felt like I knew exactly where Robin was coming from in that moment. I also really liked seeing the ways that

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grief impacts Robin

in the last part of the book, especially in how it changes the decisions that he makes. I thought that Lovell also made an excellent villain because of the few moments of humanity we see in him. He was unequivocally detestable in his racism, but the fact that he had those small moments (I think all of which were nostalgia about Oxford, which is certainly commentary in and of itself LOLOL) made him feel more real and therefore more dangerous.

Overall I think the book did an amazing job at tackling so many difficult themes, and doing so in a way that balanced character development against dense academic explanations of its magic system. It challenged my own understanding of myself, my morals, and my privileges - often in uncomfortable ways - and left me with a haunting ending that asks hard questions with no easy answers.

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anais201717's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't think I have the words to describe the masterpiece I've just read.
Like it feels so real. Ofc magic doesn't exist in the real world but everything else does. And it is so wrong. The amount of thinking about the world brought by this book is just impossible to describe!
It feels like Poppy war but seen by the people of colonised country living in England. To me the books complete themselves perfectly (and are amazing)
I highly recommend reading Babel and Poppy war !!

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aristarcodisamo's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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moss_wood's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was a masterful piece, I was so immersed in the world and lives of the characters. The experience of chosen family is probably the best I’ve ever read. It is magical, inspiring, gripping and sweet. A big commitment of a book for me but it was constructed in a way I couldn’t stop being obsessed with it.

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rhogosch's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Selten war ich mir so unsicher im Bezug auf die Bewertung eines Buches.
Kuang schafft in diesem Buch ein unfassbar gutes Worldbuilding. Die Idee der Silbermagie ist super und sie schafft es diese so natürlich wie möglich in die Zeit eines industrialisierten Englands einzubauen. Ja es ist Fantasy, aber es fühlt sich zu keiner Sekunde abstrakt an, sondern einfach nur passend. Die Charaktere sind gut durchdacht und authentisch.
Jede Ausführung zum Übersetzten war spannen, begeisternd und hat meinen Horizont erweitert und um viele kleine Anekdoten bereichert.
Das alles tröstet jedoch nicht darüber hinweg das ich mich über weite Teile des Buchs gequält habe. War die anfängliche Begeisterung über die Erkundung der Welt, der Figuren und ihrer Spielregeln erstmal verflogen, lass es sich lange Zeit wie ein Erlebnisbericht. Und auch die vielen kleinen vorrausdeutenden Anspielungen konnten keinen wirklichen Spannungsbogen aufbauen. Es tat nicht weh das Buch ohne Probleme für Tage beiseite zu legen. Zwar kam zum Ende nochmal Fahrt auf und das Buch schließt mit einem absolut würdigen und gutem Ende, aber das lässt mich die 500 Seiten zuvor nicht verzeihen.

Ist dieses Buch schlecht, Nein. Es zeichnet eine wunderschöne Welt die nur so vor Liebe zum Detail strotzt und wenig Platz für Kritik lässt. Und hat man einmal den Mittelteil überwunden wächst das Buch nochmal über sich hinaus. Aber bis dahin hieß es, zumindest für mich, Durchhalten.

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sohva's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book is approximately as subtle as a brick about its themes. Apart from the main character, the characters are rather one-dimensional and work to provide the message of the story. Despite taking place in a world where languages are the source of magic, the world is built like there are only about 10 languages in the world, and the effects the existence of the other languages would presumably have in the world, its economy and politics appears to be ignored.

All the flaws aside, I really enjoyed the book. Robin's internal struggles and conflicts were a constant source of tension, and I was interested in seeing how they would be resolved. I loved the magical system built on languages, and enjoyed the tangents on translation and descriptions on what was lost in translation. The atmosphere of the university was immersive too.

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