Reviews

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

lindsayaunderwood's review against another edition

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5.0

This was an incredible high fantasy novel. Loved the concept and the magic system. Definitely more dense and less action than other fantasy novels, but very very cool.

kevincoleslaw's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

reez's review against another edition

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dark sad 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

4.5

apothecarum's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

the greatest book of all time to me. my favorite probably forever. R.F. Kuang i’m sorry i was not familiar with your game at All but now i will hold this in my heart forever

fedsmoker's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

saintdoormatius's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

crissy4ee's review against another edition

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This book was not very captivating for me. I was so excited to read this after Yellowface, as that is one of my favorite books of the year. However, Babel is quite dense and after the first 180 pages a lot of time has passed, yet nothing much of significance has occurred. It’s less about attending a magical school and detailing the daily life of school adventures and more about thoughtful discussions regarding words and some history of language. It is an interesting concept, but not one that I want to continue to explore for another 350 pages. 

akmahoney92's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense 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

5.0

sorinahiggins's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow. This is tough. The first third or so is gorgeous, heart-warming, an intellectual feast for translators, linguists, literary scholars, polyglots, and lovers of learning of all kinds. But it gets dark. My oh my does it get dark. It's too painful. It's too much of an ethical challenge for my weak self. Like I said elsewhere: It's HARRY POTTER with racism; it's 1984 with teenagers. It's rough, and it's genius, and it must be read, but it will wound you.

sweetcooper's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5