Scan barcode
ae_coughlin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Overall a great book and worth reading. Beautiful and heartbreaking. Giving it a 4 since the pacing was a little odd and the content was repetitive at times.
spatterson12's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not the audience for this.
Two separate people asked this weekend what I was reading, and even trying to describe this book was an obstacle.
There should also be a rule of how long footnotes should be and what purpose they serve. If a footnote takes 1/3 of the page, it shouldn't be allowed. That's not a footnote, that's a separate book summary. There were several times with the footnotes where I felt removed from the story, felt like I was getting a history lesson about something not necessary to the plot, or was given character background that either should've been in the actual story or eliminated.
I got about 30 pages into this book and had to stop. I was so bored that I read two other books that were much more my speed and I'm still thinking about those characters and storylines. These Babel characters...what was there to like about any of them? I think I read in a review how passive Robin was, and it's true. He didn't really do anything? It all just sort of happened to him. There wasn't much intention.
Why two stars and not one? One star for the end of each "book" trying to be interesting through action, one star to me for finishing it.
Robin is brought to England as a child to prepare for school at Oxford where he would join Babel as a translation student. He's taught by one of the school's professors...who might also be his dad and who also has another family on the side he only sees a few times a year.
When he gets to school, we go through three or four years of his education, which is spent also helping his potential half brother who suddenly appears. The brother works for the rebellion underground group that wants to dismantle the work Babel is doing.
At the end of one book, Robin's "father" beats him because he was lost in a fun fiction book and was late to a lesson. At the end of another, Robin is attacked at school because he steals from Babel for his "brother" and a bullet grazes him. At some point he accidentally kills his "father" using silver while they're on a boat voyage. At another, he discovers his "father's" written plans to start war with China. In another, one of his three friends is revealed to be working against him and kills their friend Ramy, which reminds me that Ramy and Victoire were keeping a secret from Robin, but were mad that Robin kept a similar secret for three years, but then they all kept their secrets from Letty? What is this book.
There is just too much happening. Too many pages. Too many descriptions for things that don't matter. Too many footnotes.
At least I now know the origin of the word stagecoach and a few others. But Google could've also told me.
Two separate people asked this weekend what I was reading, and even trying to describe this book was an obstacle.
There should also be a rule of how long footnotes should be and what purpose they serve. If a footnote takes 1/3 of the page, it shouldn't be allowed. That's not a footnote, that's a separate book summary. There were several times with the footnotes where I felt removed from the story, felt like I was getting a history lesson about something not necessary to the plot, or was given character background that either should've been in the actual story or eliminated.
I got about 30 pages into this book and had to stop. I was so bored that I read two other books that were much more my speed and I'm still thinking about those characters and storylines. These Babel characters...what was there to like about any of them? I think I read in a review how passive Robin was, and it's true. He didn't really do anything? It all just sort of happened to him. There wasn't much intention.
Why two stars and not one? One star for the end of each "book" trying to be interesting through action, one star to me for finishing it.
Robin is brought to England as a child to prepare for school at Oxford where he would join Babel as a translation student. He's taught by one of the school's professors...who might also be his dad and who also has another family on the side he only sees a few times a year.
When he gets to school, we go through three or four years of his education, which is spent also helping his potential half brother who suddenly appears. The brother works for the rebellion underground group that wants to dismantle the work Babel is doing.
At the end of one book, Robin's "father" beats him because he was lost in a fun fiction book and was late to a lesson. At the end of another, Robin is attacked at school because he steals from Babel for his "brother" and a bullet grazes him. At some point he accidentally kills his "father" using silver while they're on a boat voyage. At another, he discovers his "father's" written plans to start war with China. In another, one of his three friends is revealed to be working against him and kills their friend Ramy, which reminds me that Ramy and Victoire were keeping a secret from Robin, but were mad that Robin kept a similar secret for three years, but then they all kept their secrets from Letty? What is this book.
There is just too much happening. Too many pages. Too many descriptions for things that don't matter. Too many footnotes.
At least I now know the origin of the word stagecoach and a few others. But Google could've also told me.
quentins_consequences's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
saraverwilst's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
aimeeec's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
5.0
yars_reading_corner's review against another edition
5.0
Can't say anything at the moment under the weight of pure shock