A review by taylorgarcia
Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Rebecca. Girlypop. Why.


In all seriousness, one of the best books I’ve read all year, and that ending. My god. My one qualm is
Spoiler it was really weird to me that basically every poc in this book was on the side of revolution? Like Kuang did an AMAZING job illustrating the ideological conflicts they had as they fought for justice, but the whole time I kept thinking it was a little bit absurd that no poc said “it’s not worth it,” or even “I believe helping the empire is the right thing to do.” The only poc shown to have any conflict with the cause itself is Robin, and while I really enjoyed reading his perspective, he still ultimately sides with the revolution. This is in stark contrast to the white characters, who actually do seem to have a more complex array of thoughts toward the prospect of empire, with one denying it wholesale and others being the architects of it. What would have made this book a 5 for me is one absolutely evil character of color loyal servant of the empire, whose ideology and motivations are coherent and prominently displayed.
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