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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
Beautiful prose. Plodding plot (man must find wife, bumbles about doing so in the most forgetful and inneficient way possible), which is astonishing given the premise of the book, which is that the protagonist will explore the separate, fantastic and amazing floors of a giant tower. Dull and unrelatable protagonist. Oh and women basically don't exist, except as covetted, rare objects.
I don't understand why this has such a high rating. Really, the prose is beautiful. But if I don't care about the subject of the prose... What's the point?
I don't understand why this has such a high rating. Really, the prose is beautiful. But if I don't care about the subject of the prose... What's the point?
4.5/5 - I pretty much read all of Part III in one sitting.
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book while enjoyable, took a long time to really get off the ground (pun not intended). That being said, the slower pace of the middle of book definitely pays off in the end. I didn't think I wanted to read book two but I suppose , now I have too!
Honestly it wasn't the worst but
what a very man book (derogatory).
Guy I think Marya tossed her helmet and ran away from you. He's just very annoying. "Remember the rules Marya!" proceeds to forget them all himself.
I don't get why this is a place people go to and I don't really get what time period we might be adjacent to.
Also. Literally none of these women are characters. There's a man who's literal job it is to smack women on the butt as they're processed for work 💀 oh what kind of work? Only sex work will do! Unless they're mothers, get those sluts outta here.
At one point Tom is even like oh I must be careful not to think of my wife as an Object. Sir. That's all you do.
Unfortunately! I said I'd read the second one so I must!
what a very man book (derogatory).
Guy I think Marya tossed her helmet and ran away from you. He's just very annoying. "Remember the rules Marya!" proceeds to forget them all himself.
I don't get why this is a place people go to and I don't really get what time period we might be adjacent to.
Also. Literally none of these women are characters. There's a man who's literal job it is to smack women on the butt as they're processed for work 💀 oh what kind of work? Only sex work will do! Unless they're mothers, get those sluts outta here.
At one point Tom is even like oh I must be careful not to think of my wife as an Object. Sir. That's all you do.
Unfortunately! I said I'd read the second one so I must!
DNF @ 20%
Imagine a massive complicated allegory that isn't representative of anything: a symbol that doesn't actually symbolize anything. Sounds like an empty and pointless concept doesn't it? Maybe even a flowery waste of time and words?
That's why I can't make it past the first fifth of this book. Much like Area-X trillogy, the author has learned how to embed the trappings and hints of deeper meaning into a story that has none at it's core.
The tone and quality of the prose isn't abysmal. But the characters are empty of even the single-dimension amateur writing usually gives them. I just can't take more of it.
Josiah Bancroft goes onto my list of authors I won't touch again, no matter how compelling the blurb & cover combo.
Imagine a massive complicated allegory that isn't representative of anything: a symbol that doesn't actually symbolize anything. Sounds like an empty and pointless concept doesn't it? Maybe even a flowery waste of time and words?
That's why I can't make it past the first fifth of this book. Much like Area-X trillogy, the author has learned how to embed the trappings and hints of deeper meaning into a story that has none at it's core.
The tone and quality of the prose isn't abysmal. But the characters are empty of even the single-dimension amateur writing usually gives them. I just can't take more of it.
Josiah Bancroft goes onto my list of authors I won't touch again, no matter how compelling the blurb & cover combo.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm not entirely sure what I expected from this book. I'd heard a lot about it and thought the premise was interesting. It becomes clear fairly quickly that Bancroft has a slower, more "casual" writing style. There's a lot happening but not high drama.
I was surprised that this book didn't get as far along as I would've guessed. Though I didn't realize at the time there were 4 books in the series, so that's on me. I wasn't blown away by it
I was surprised that this book didn't get as far along as I would've guessed. Though I didn't realize at the time there were 4 books in the series, so that's on me. I wasn't blown away by it
Shout out to Mark Lawrence for putting this book on my radar! I don't have much of a track record writing reviews on here but it would be negligent of me not to say a few words of praise.
Unlike some reviews, I was not immediately sucked into the novel. I wasn't sure what to expect heading in and found myself as baffled as Senlin in the early chapters. But, just like our hero, I learned to quickly do away with my naivete as the story rose with the tower. Josiah Bancroft has delivered a wholly original, wholly engaging work of speculative fiction. It is charming, witty, sometimes hilarious, often terrifying, and I cannot wait to dive into the next book!
Unlike some reviews, I was not immediately sucked into the novel. I wasn't sure what to expect heading in and found myself as baffled as Senlin in the early chapters. But, just like our hero, I learned to quickly do away with my naivete as the story rose with the tower. Josiah Bancroft has delivered a wholly original, wholly engaging work of speculative fiction. It is charming, witty, sometimes hilarious, often terrifying, and I cannot wait to dive into the next book!
This book is about a man, Thomas Senlin, who goes to the mythical Tower of Babel with his new wife on their honeymoon but quickly gets seperated from her and must travel up through the tower to have any hope of finding her again. This book has many good qualities. It is very well-written and easy to read. It is also well paced and a book that it is very easy to fly through. The worldbuilding is excellent and I really loved the concept of the Tower of Babel. The characters are well-rounded and very believable. The main character, Senlin, is also particularly strong and a great character to follow on this journey. I just didn't care about anything that happened in this book. Objectively, this is a great book for all the reasons mentioned above but it just wasn't the book for me which is disappointing as I had high hopes for this book. I can see why many people love this book and I'm just sad that I'm not one of them. I would also still recommend this book as it's a good book it just didn't work for me.
What a fun read. There was so much mystery and intrigue scattered throughout, but it never felt like a mystery book which I appreciated. I also think Bancroft did a good job giving the reader enough info where I feel satiated and like I am meaningfully learning about the world but I am still eager to enjoy more. I liked the characters, although some definitely need some time to grow on you. The plot was good enough, the intricacies of it were a bit lost in the sauce at times, but I enjoyed the weirdness of the world so much I didn't really care. I am super eager to continue with this series and am very excited to see where Bancroft goes with the story and worldbuilding. It was also nice because the plot and the world felt genuinely new and refreshing, which can be hard to find.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wish I could give this book 3 different ratings. I loved the first half with the weirdness and the palpable hopelessness while still trying to hang onto hope. It was fantastic writing and just perfectly weird enough to keep me hooked. I wish the whole book was like that. It fell a little off the rails for me with the painting segment. I liked the connection made with marya and the painter and how it finally gave us some real hope and somewhere to go from here. The nude portrait was a great illustration of how close and yet so far away Senlin is from finding his wife, as well as how much the tower has changed both of them. But the heist and everything after that had me a bit bored. The story lost some of its charm and weirdness in exchange for character development (which is not a bad thing I just wish it would have held onto the same vibe a bit longer). By the very end it felt like a totally different book and took forever to finish. So my official rating is 5 stars for the first part, 4 stars for the middle, and 3 stars for the end. I have no doubt some people would have had the opposite opinion, where the beginning was difficult to get through but it picks up in the middle-end but as a lover of weird books and a firm believer of vibes >> plot it just left me a bit disappointed in the end