Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution (Babel, #1)

by R.F. Kuang

'A masterpiece that resonates with power and knowledge. BABEL is a stark picture of the cruelty of empire, a distillation of dark academia, and a riveting blend of fantasy and historical fiction – a monumental achievement’

Samantha Shannon, author of THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE 

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

Oxford, 1836.

The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift.

Until it became a prison…

But can a student stand against an empire?

An incendiary new novel from award-winning author R.F. Kuang about the power of language, the violence of colonialism, and the sacrifices of resistance.

• Publish Date: August 2022 (first published 23 August 2022)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: HarperVoyager
• Edition: Illumicrate Exclusive
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 544
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk
• Special: Exclusive Design Signed Sprayed Edges

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Babel: An Arcane History is a dark bookish fantasy history by R.F. Kuang. Released 23rd Aug 2022 by HarperCollins on their Voyager imprint, it's 560 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This was *the* speculative fiction buzz book for 2022 and with good reason. It's brilliantly imagined, distinctive, and incredibly well written. Thematically, there's a heaping helping of anti-colonization rhetoric, so folks who hum Rule Britannia whenever they think about the sun never setting on the British Empire are in for an eyeful. There's also a strong undercurrent of dangerous racism, and some passages were painful to read, although realistically depicted.

The author is clearly more than passingly familiar with Oxford as well as with the time period (Regency England, 1828). I was enchanted with the writing and equally impressed with the verisimilitude of the settings and characterizations. Spelling and vernacular are period British English, but won't pose any problems for readers in context.

Five stars. Beautifully written and superlative world building and magic systems. Absolutely one for language nerds. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.