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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Senlin Ascends is a very creative story with a unique setting—I was really hooked through the first third. The worldbuilding is fascinating, and the premise kept me curious. The middle third, though, really dragged for me. It started to feel like a slog to get through, though the last third picked back up and was easier to stay engaged with.
I liked it enough that I’m interested in seeing where the series goes, but I’m not in a rush to pick up the next books just yet. A good read for fans of imaginative fantasy, but be prepared for some pacing challenges along the way.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
At the beginning I was unsure if this book would be for me..before I knew it I couldn’t put it down. An action packed adventure in a truly unique world. Reminiscent of Snowpiercer, Senlin ascends is a fresh exciting story with some great characters and twists
adventurous
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:
Complicated
Had heard this book was very good and for some reason it surprises me that the book is actually very good. It begins as a bit of a tragicomic sequence of mishaps and blunders. Senlin falls into con artists and thieves and a system of governance and control that's so bizarre and constricting and opaque that Senlin just kind of shambles on ahead in search of his lost wife.
The Tower of Babel is the setting and it's a gigantic tower, modeled off the worst version of capitalism and, you know, the Tower described briefly in the bible. It's an interesting kind of setting. This is often lumped into the fantasy genre but I think it would be better to call it alternate history, since the world seems just like our world with a few different wrinkles--bit of steampunkishness--and then a world where Babylon and the nation of Ur still exists.
But, yeah, the book gets better as it goes on. By the third part of the novel, it's a fascinating and diabolical romp! The first two sections mostly involve Senlin bumbling through, shambling his way through a labyrinthine place where trust is a liability and everyone is out to con one another or take advantage of one another in a variety of ways.
Really though, the novel is just great. We watch Senlin transform from...well, I won't give it away, but the novel is an exceptional setup for further adventures. There are, apparently, four books in the series with the third coming out in January. Before reading the novel, I couldn't understand how such a simple story would take four books to tell, but I get it now. Excited for what's coming.
The Tower of Babel is the setting and it's a gigantic tower, modeled off the worst version of capitalism and, you know, the Tower described briefly in the bible. It's an interesting kind of setting. This is often lumped into the fantasy genre but I think it would be better to call it alternate history, since the world seems just like our world with a few different wrinkles--bit of steampunkishness--and then a world where Babylon and the nation of Ur still exists.
But, yeah, the book gets better as it goes on. By the third part of the novel, it's a fascinating and diabolical romp! The first two sections mostly involve Senlin bumbling through, shambling his way through a labyrinthine place where trust is a liability and everyone is out to con one another or take advantage of one another in a variety of ways.
Really though, the novel is just great. We watch Senlin transform from...well, I won't give it away, but the novel is an exceptional setup for further adventures. There are, apparently, four books in the series with the third coming out in January. Before reading the novel, I couldn't understand how such a simple story would take four books to tell, but I get it now. Excited for what's coming.
adventurous
funny
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:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked this book up because it seemed like /r/fantasy had the biggest fucking boner for it—and boy, do I have the biggest fucking boner for it right now. Senlin Ascends was an amazing read. It’s got just about everything you could want in a book—Amazing prose, fantastic worldbuilding, a captivating story and really good character development.
It’s a creative and innovative work—with a wonderful setting and new and interesting ideas. I won’t try to describe why this book is so amazing because I’d just end up repeating what so many have said before me (Mark Lawrence, Emily May, etc).
At the very least, it deserves hundreds of thousands of fans.
It’s a creative and innovative work—with a wonderful setting and new and interesting ideas. I won’t try to describe why this book is so amazing because I’d just end up repeating what so many have said before me (Mark Lawrence, Emily May, etc).
At the very least, it deserves hundreds of thousands of fans.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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