qyanacurry's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
The premise of this book was really interesting: neurological pathology to be blamed for violence around the world. This comes with the implication that violent behaviours can be medically treated and thus prevented. Mid investigation, one of the researchers is kidnapped. The title is of course in reference to the biblical tower of Babel, it should be no surprise there’s religious themes throughout: redemption, root of all evil, salvation etc.
Unfortunately, this book became less about a possible plague and more of a crime thriller, but also not very thrilling. It took me quite a while to finish this book, I’ve finished a few books between starting and finishing it. I almost shelved it at a few points because I wasn’t too fussed about seeing it to the end, I mainly finished it because I wanted to see the biomedical explanations but then it never came.
I’ve seen a few reviews talk about how it gets a bit too “scientific”. I’m by no means an expert but I am a second year university student and my minor is in biology. I’ve done biochemistry, molecular biology and microbiology papers. There’s quite a lot of biology jargon in this book that will disrupt the average reader’s experience, there’s plenty lists of biological processes throughout the book that those familiar will read through just fine but many will feel more comfortable skipping over. One thing I did enjoy about this book is it includes references to real events which I didn’t know about such as the Sin Nombre outbreak. This book could have been a really great speculative dystopian novel but it just fell flat, and the ending was average.
The content of the book was interesting but it was very hard to be wrapped up in the book with the … casual racism? fetishisation? weird line about autistic children? Nothing blatantly offensive but things that just absolutely rubbed me the wrong way, and then it kept happening, and all of the examples in one book just made it so much worse. I had to put the book down multiple times and just pause. For background, Ryan McCloud is Polish-Irish American and his wife is African American. I was getting the vibe that Ryan’s a weaboo except for black women. Even worse, most if not all examples had absolutely no bearing to the book or characters, they’re just kind of there. I’ve read plenty books with offensive content and the content, although often disturbing and much worse than the stuff in this book, it mostly actually makes sense within the context of the book or the character. Generally when writing something offensive even if it’s something the character might believe, it is somehow corrected within the text, but this never happens in The Babel Effect.
For example:
The … only Irish American character is a borderline alcoholic? So was his father.
Jess is wrapped in a towel after her shower: “ . . . Naked from the waist up, brows knit and breasts swaying, she looked like a Watusi warrior woman.” … Huh?
Ryan is in Africa, working within a refugee camp area: “Jess, they look a lot like you! You’ve often talked about the mystery of your ancestry — the great curtains that the relocations of slavery drew across the family histories of most African-Americans. Could you have Tutsi ancestors? Despite their exhaustion and demoralisation, I find these people quite attractive because of this resemblance to you.” Yes. You’ve cracked the great mystery Ryan McCloud.
Jess had an idea inspired by a trip to the zoo. Ryan asks their daughter about it, she said she told her mum the gorilla looked like grandpa: “Ryan could envision it: the big black face of the gorilla, the alert, deep-set eyes, the solemn regal, forbidding bearing, and yet only a kid, a grandchild would have the innocence and the insolence to make such a comparison.” Not only a child, Ryan, but the numerous people in the past centuries who compared black and brown people to apes.
Ryan and colleague Dagan talking about a nazi they just interviewed, wondering how he got his information: “Meaning, here’s a candidate for our enemies list. The scenario would be that Jess and Bates came here, and Richter altered his buddies in the U.S. that some uppity n*gger scientist was on to something they should know about.”
Ryan and Dagan talking about the theory of mind and being able to treat others as kin: “It’s the basis of our ability to impute a consciousness like our own to another person. Another built-in-faculty that’s localised in modules in the visual association cortex and the anterior temporal lobe. It’s how we differentiate between a person and, say, a piece of furniture. A person experiences things, believes things, a refrigerator doesn’t. Normal kids start differentiating between ideas and reality, and between their own mind of others, between the ages of three and four. Autistic kids don’t, which is why they’re os isolated, socially dysfunctional.” Reading this as a neurodivergent person is almost … comical.
Some other things:
Your wife is missing and you’re crushing on your 2-decades-younger colleague? Who you said you thought of as a daughter? DIVORCE.
Jess was rescued from the kidnapping, she’d just given birth about a week prior to her rescue. Tell me why there was even any “post-partum lovemaking” within the next week. You don’t have sex within the first 6 weeks after birth, and that’s just the recommended timeframe for a regular, no complications birth. Nevermind the fact she was kidnapped and stuck in a refugee camp for over a week malnourished. You’re telling me two respectable scientists did this?
I really wanted to enjoy this book, the premise was so promising. But my GOD.
Unfortunately, this book became less about a possible plague and more of a crime thriller, but also not very thrilling. It took me quite a while to finish this book, I’ve finished a few books between starting and finishing it. I almost shelved it at a few points because I wasn’t too fussed about seeing it to the end, I mainly finished it because I wanted to see the biomedical explanations but then it never came.
I’ve seen a few reviews talk about how it gets a bit too “scientific”. I’m by no means an expert but I am a second year university student and my minor is in biology. I’ve done biochemistry, molecular biology and microbiology papers. There’s quite a lot of biology jargon in this book that will disrupt the average reader’s experience, there’s plenty lists of biological processes throughout the book that those familiar will read through just fine but many will feel more comfortable skipping over. One thing I did enjoy about this book is it includes references to real events which I didn’t know about such as the Sin Nombre outbreak. This book could have been a really great speculative dystopian novel but it just fell flat, and the ending was average.
The content of the book was interesting but it was very hard to be wrapped up in the book with the … casual racism? fetishisation? weird line about autistic children? Nothing blatantly offensive but things that just absolutely rubbed me the wrong way, and then it kept happening, and all of the examples in one book just made it so much worse. I had to put the book down multiple times and just pause. For background, Ryan McCloud is Polish-Irish American and his wife is African American. I was getting the vibe that Ryan’s a weaboo except for black women. Even worse, most if not all examples had absolutely no bearing to the book or characters, they’re just kind of there. I’ve read plenty books with offensive content and the content, although often disturbing and much worse than the stuff in this book, it mostly actually makes sense within the context of the book or the character. Generally when writing something offensive even if it’s something the character might believe, it is somehow corrected within the text, but this never happens in The Babel Effect.
For example:
The … only Irish American character is a borderline alcoholic? So was his father.
Jess is wrapped in a towel after her shower: “ . . . Naked from the waist up, brows knit and breasts swaying, she looked like a Watusi warrior woman.” … Huh?
Ryan is in Africa, working within a refugee camp area: “Jess, they look a lot like you! You’ve often talked about the mystery of your ancestry — the great curtains that the relocations of slavery drew across the family histories of most African-Americans. Could you have Tutsi ancestors? Despite their exhaustion and demoralisation, I find these people quite attractive because of this resemblance to you.” Yes. You’ve cracked the great mystery Ryan McCloud.
Jess had an idea inspired by a trip to the zoo. Ryan asks their daughter about it, she said she told her mum the gorilla looked like grandpa: “Ryan could envision it: the big black face of the gorilla, the alert, deep-set eyes, the solemn regal, forbidding bearing, and yet only a kid, a grandchild would have the innocence and the insolence to make such a comparison.” Not only a child, Ryan, but the numerous people in the past centuries who compared black and brown people to apes.
Ryan and colleague Dagan talking about a nazi they just interviewed, wondering how he got his information: “Meaning, here’s a candidate for our enemies list. The scenario would be that Jess and Bates came here, and Richter altered his buddies in the U.S. that some uppity n*gger scientist was on to something they should know about.”
Ryan and Dagan talking about the theory of mind and being able to treat others as kin: “It’s the basis of our ability to impute a consciousness like our own to another person. Another built-in-faculty that’s localised in modules in the visual association cortex and the anterior temporal lobe. It’s how we differentiate between a person and, say, a piece of furniture. A person experiences things, believes things, a refrigerator doesn’t. Normal kids start differentiating between ideas and reality, and between their own mind of others, between the ages of three and four. Autistic kids don’t, which is why they’re os isolated, socially dysfunctional.” Reading this as a neurodivergent person is almost … comical.
Some other things:
Spoiler
Dagan, who was written as a very logical, put-together scientist suddenly becomes an emotional woman who just throws herself at Ryan. Of course there’s nothing wrong with being emotional and sappy but for this character it didn’t make sense, the entire chapter of her having a sulk over stud Ryan could have been omitted and nothing would have changed in the story. be okay with their intimacy. In a few chapters before, Ryan’s thoughts of Dagan explain he thinks of her as a daughter, and then in the next sentence he admits Jess’ absence has left a hole and he’s feeling attraction to Dagan.Jess was rescued from the kidnapping, she’d just given birth about a week prior to her rescue. Tell me why there was even any “post-partum lovemaking” within the next week. You don’t have sex within the first 6 weeks after birth, and that’s just the recommended timeframe for a regular, no complications birth. Nevermind the fact she was kidnapped and stuck in a refugee camp for over a week malnourished. You’re telling me two respectable scientists did this?
I really wanted to enjoy this book, the premise was so promising. But my GOD.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Antisemitism, and Ableism
floorvandalen's review
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
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