sil3nos's review against another edition
4.0
This series is becoming one of my favourites, but I can't figure why.
Or well, yes, I can, but it doesn't really add up.
Because structurally, this story shouldn't work. The story feels so long because the things don't really connect to each other as they should. The characters stumble from one adventure into the next. And at times this series is straight up frustrating to read.
But contrary to all of the above, this story is so full of heart and stupendously great ideas. I really enjoy the imaginativeness both inside the story and the prose (though the prose has some words that even wikipedia couldn't tell me what it was).
But this story just oozes charm and I think it's exactly what the author wanted to achieve.
I found this book to feel as long as a 1000 pages Sanderson novel which is why I'm kind of vary to head into the Hod King which is almost twice as long as this. But we'll see. I believe the author has it in him to make something great of it.
Or well, yes, I can, but it doesn't really add up.
Because structurally, this story shouldn't work. The story feels so long because the things don't really connect to each other as they should. The characters stumble from one adventure into the next. And at times this series is straight up frustrating to read.
But contrary to all of the above, this story is so full of heart and stupendously great ideas. I really enjoy the imaginativeness both inside the story and the prose (though the prose has some words that even wikipedia couldn't tell me what it was).
But this story just oozes charm and I think it's exactly what the author wanted to achieve.
I found this book to feel as long as a 1000 pages Sanderson novel which is why I'm kind of vary to head into the Hod King which is almost twice as long as this. But we'll see. I believe the author has it in him to make something great of it.
discerninggm's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
wolfmantula's review against another edition
4.75
It’s been over a year since I read Senlin Ascends, and without reading my review to refresh my memory, the first thing that came to mind when I started listening to this was Ewan McGregor, and funny enough, in my review of Senlin Ascends, I mention that the narrator’s voice reminded me of him. Speaking of narration, John Banks also has another voice that reminds me of something even more strange. If you’ve ever seen the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies from the 90’s, The Sphinx’s voice actually reminds me a bit of Kevin Clash who voices Master Splinter in those films. So I literally pictured Ewan McGregor and a rat lol, not really, but Senlin is 100% Ewan!
I also said it reminded me of The Lies of Locke Lamora and A Series of Unfortunate Events with how everything that can go wrong for Senlin seems to go wrong, and that’s what makes this so much fun to read. I actually caught a few other things that this started to remind me of as well, maybe it’s because of the Ewan thing, but I also feel like there is a little bit of Big Fish in this as well. The big one though, is Alice in Wonderland. The more I read this, the more it felt like that, especially after The Sphinx dropped a very famous line, but just a little different “We’re all strays here.” It instantly hit me, and from that moment, all I could think of was The Sphinx was the Cheshire Cat and Senlin was Alice.
“History is a love letter to tyrants written in the blood of the overrun, the forgotten, the expunged!”
Aside from all of that, this story was very fun to read, the tower continues to be this bizarre oddity that just kept getting stranger as I kept reading. What stood out the most about this story though, was how much Josiah worked on the development of the characters and their relationships with one another. He really got into the flaws of each character to let the reader see what they are going through mentally, and that was fascinating to read. While I did enjoy the entirety of the story, I do think that part 3 was where this really got strong. To the point that I finished about 35% of the book in one day because I wanted to know what happened next and how it would finish.
I’m really enjoying The Books of Babel, it is definitely one of those series that just feels good to read with its flawed but likable characters, a peculiar story with an absolutely bizarre setting in a very steampunk type of world, and a narrator with familiar voices. I really feel like this is one of those series that I’ll be able to continuously go back to and always enjoy the ride that Josiah takes me on.
smalefowles's review against another edition
3.0
I've been so busy lately I couldn't remember if I finished reading this book! But I did, and it was just as good as the first. (But now I can't remember whether I gave it three or four stars--the perils of an overly stuffed mind.)
The beginning was a little slow, and I still think the author is a little too pleased with his own cleverness. The plot is coming together, though, and it's honestly no small feat to have a multi-book arc that resolves in a satisfying fashion. That hasn't happened yet, though, so I guess I had better stop counting chickens.
In any case, a fun and entertaining read.
The beginning was a little slow, and I still think the author is a little too pleased with his own cleverness. The plot is coming together, though, and it's honestly no small feat to have a multi-book arc that resolves in a satisfying fashion. That hasn't happened yet, though, so I guess I had better stop counting chickens.
In any case, a fun and entertaining read.
sincerelymendacious's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
mundinova's review against another edition
5.0
"The man or woman who is rarely lost, rarely discovers anything new."
The adventure continues!
I don't think I paused between finishing Senlin Ascends and immediately starting Arm of the Sphinx; moving from last chapter to first. And I gotta say, Bancroft didn't skip a beat! The same writing quality, story pacing, and awesomeness in Senlin bleeds right over to Arm of the Sphinx. If anything, the quest gets darker and the characters more complicated (and the mechanical beasts more frightening). This isn't a sequel, it's The Empire Strikes Back.
In many series, I'll notice a drop in writing quality from the first book to second. Not here. Honestly, if both books were packaged as one, I don't think I'd notice.
The only negative is the third book isn't available until 2017.
I'll keep badgering all my friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family members to read these books.
Story: 5 stars
Character Development: 5 stars
Prose/Language: 4 stars
The adventure continues!
I don't think I paused between finishing Senlin Ascends and immediately starting Arm of the Sphinx; moving from last chapter to first. And I gotta say, Bancroft didn't skip a beat! The same writing quality, story pacing, and awesomeness in Senlin bleeds right over to Arm of the Sphinx. If anything, the quest gets darker and the characters more complicated (and the mechanical beasts more frightening). This isn't a sequel, it's The Empire Strikes Back.
In many series, I'll notice a drop in writing quality from the first book to second. Not here. Honestly, if both books were packaged as one, I don't think I'd notice.
The only negative is the third book isn't available until 2017.
I'll keep badgering all my friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family members to read these books.
Story: 5 stars
Character Development: 5 stars
Prose/Language: 4 stars
mundinova's review against another edition
5.0
Second reading: Still holds up! This time I noticed the details I missed the first time: added story layers and moments of awe.
Original review from September 2016:
"The man or woman who is rarely lost, rarely discovers anything new."
The adventure continues!
I don't think I paused between finishing Senlin Ascends and immediately starting Arm of the Sphinx; moving from last chapter to first. And I gotta say, Bancroft didn't skip a beat! The same writing quality, story pacing, and awesomeness in Senlin bleeds right over to Arm of the Sphinx. If anything, the quest gets darker and the characters more complicated (and the mechanical beasts more frightening). This isn't a sequel, it's The Empire Strikes Back.
In many series, I'll notice a drop in writing quality from the first book to second. Not here. Honestly, if both books were packaged as one, I don't think I'd notice.
The only negative is the third book isn't available until 2017. [which turned out to be 2019!!]
I'll keep badgering all my friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family members to read these books.
Story: 5 stars
Character Development: 5 stars
Prose/Language: 5 stars
Original review from September 2016:
"The man or woman who is rarely lost, rarely discovers anything new."
The adventure continues!
I don't think I paused between finishing Senlin Ascends and immediately starting Arm of the Sphinx; moving from last chapter to first. And I gotta say, Bancroft didn't skip a beat! The same writing quality, story pacing, and awesomeness in Senlin bleeds right over to Arm of the Sphinx. If anything, the quest gets darker and the characters more complicated (and the mechanical beasts more frightening). This isn't a sequel, it's The Empire Strikes Back.
In many series, I'll notice a drop in writing quality from the first book to second. Not here. Honestly, if both books were packaged as one, I don't think I'd notice.
The only negative is the third book isn't available until 2017. [which turned out to be 2019!!]
I'll keep badgering all my friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family members to read these books.
Story: 5 stars
Character Development: 5 stars
Prose/Language: 5 stars
dcampbell's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sara_evaney's review against another edition
3.0
The first two parts were very very slow and the narrating style just didn’t work for me at all. We were seeing things from third perspective but jumping from one characters point of view to the next. Sometimes this would happen in the middle of a sentence. This completely threw me out of the story and I kept rereading passages because I was reading them with the wrong character in mind. Also I didn’t like the parts with Senlin very much.
I did really love all the women in this story though! Voleta is lots of fun, Iren‘s scenes were making me so emotional and I’m totally rooting for Edith.
The men though.. I could do without them. Once we got to the Sphinx things picked up a little and gave this book the last push to three stars.
I really hope this is just a second book slump and the next books will pick up the pace again.
I did really love all the women in this story though! Voleta is lots of fun, Iren‘s scenes were making me so emotional and I’m totally rooting for Edith.
The men though.. I could do without them. Once we got to the Sphinx things picked up a little and gave this book the last push to three stars.
I really hope this is just a second book slump and the next books will pick up the pace again.