Reviews

The Fall of Babel by Josiah Bancroft

thecubspecial's review

3.5

I thought the action sequences were too long in this one, and they're not his strength. The best parts of these books to me are the world building on each individual level of the tower and as a result of having to wrap the story up in this one, we get a lot less of that. I also thought that

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the ending was a bit disappointing. We get endings that are a bit open ending for Senlin and Edith, and it didn't feel like either character deserved to not be happy after what we just read. Edith is indifferent about being the sphinx, and Senlin spends his life wondering if his wife will take him back just doesn't feel satisfying. It is also legitimately confusing who the bricklayer is- does the author even know? It's too unclear if he's an alien or some sort of divine being.

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mistwitch's review against another edition

4.0

I enjoyed this book and loved the entire series. This one is my least favourite out of them all and I probably would have liked it more if it wasn't the last one in the series,as it is there was to much left unanswered for my liking. Hopefully Josiah Bancroft will write another series that has some of the answers I was looking for in this book. Still was good and will still recommend these books to peeps

stone_cloud's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

3.0

tolu_odejide's review

adventurous challenging funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I did not know that Edith wasn’t white, lmao. That felt like an addition to the story. 

Also, I loved the book series the first time I read it. All the way to Book 3. However, rereading it, it didn’t charm me as much as it did first time round. 

I feel like a lot of new things were introduced in this last book which was a bit annoying. Like, the series took a hard shift towards real sci-fi. I wasn’t upset, just confused. 

hannahbanana1338's review against another edition

3.0

The ending to this series was so disappointing, but the strength of the characters and world that had been built up by the previous 3 books made this an overall enjoyable read.

laurenelisewitt's review

adventurous inspiring medium-paced

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

3.5

ugmug's review against another edition

3.0

The Fall of Babel is a mostly-satisfying finale to the Books of Babel series. It introduces a few important concepts, which are a bit jarring since they've have never been a part of the series. The book also leaves readers with as many questions as they had at the close of Senlin Ascends, but it's the journey... Overall The Fall of Babel is worth a read for fans of the series, but it doesn't quite hold up to its predecessors.

lazuli_73's review

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

olethered's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

4.25

katastrophicallywong's review

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

A satisfying end to the Tower of Babel series that wraps up everyone’s stories with nuance and care.

Josiah Bancroft has taken us on a journey of epic proportions filled with mystery, twists and turns, and action. His characters have always felt real and lived-in and, four books in, an ending that found a place for everyone seemed impossible.

But Bancroft has done it. Everyone ends up where they should, everything feels earnt, and the ending - while not necessarily happy - feels real.

While the book has some pacing issues, I didn’t love the parts with Senlin and Marat for example, it also has flashes of brilliance.

Adam’s adventure at the beginning was gripping and had me on the edge of my seat.

I also appreciated the way Bancroft has addressed Senlin and Marya’s relationship.

I think my main gripe is that the author has taken so much time to develop these characters who have great chemistry together, but keeps them apart for almost the entire book - which isn’t really something you want to see in a conclusion.

Nevertheless, every fantasy reader knows it is difficult and sometimes impossible to wrap up a complicated series. But Bancroft’s final book, while far from perfect, is still a triumph.