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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5/5
okay, this book is GENIUS. like real REAL GENIUS.
babel is a dark academia book in which the students are majoring in linguistics. this book is about Robin Swift, a kid who was abruptly being shoved to England after being saved from the cholera outbreak in Canton by a white professor. he was taught to learn other languages as well as english so that he could be one of the undergraduated students of the most prestigious faculty, Royal Institute of Translation, or people usually called it Babel.
there, he met the friends he felt like he was in home, his true home. they spent their time together to survive every task, review, and test that's given to them. while his study time, he found himself caught between Babel and Hermes Society, a secret organization consisting of Babblers that dedicated to stop imperial expansion. but it's only the start. remember, this is the work of R.F. Kuang's.
___
while this book is a dark academia book, it also talks about many things besides elitism, injustice, and misogyny. this book also talks about (more likely, criticize) colonialism, politics, abolism, and racism. the characters, Robin, Ramy, and Victoire, who came from colonized countries, give us a representative point of view (i am from a colonized country as well). this book also shows us how people of color were not seen as whole human being at the time, how they were struggling and feeling that they did not belong in Oxford.
the book pace is kinda inconsistent, tbh. sometimes it's super slow but sometimes it's faster. but i think it's not a real big problem, i still enjoyed reading it. ALSO the half first book really reminds me of harry potter (the vibe, the studying class, the assignments, the test!!) but surprisingly, the other half reminds me of the dragon republic (yes, it is heart-wrenching). the few last chapters really screams tpw vibes (HAHAH
okay, this book is GENIUS. like real REAL GENIUS.
babel is a dark academia book in which the students are majoring in linguistics. this book is about Robin Swift, a kid who was abruptly being shoved to England after being saved from the cholera outbreak in Canton by a white professor. he was taught to learn other languages as well as english so that he could be one of the undergraduated students of the most prestigious faculty, Royal Institute of Translation, or people usually called it Babel.
there, he met the friends he felt like he was in home, his true home. they spent their time together to survive every task, review, and test that's given to them. while his study time, he found himself caught between Babel and Hermes Society, a secret organization consisting of Babblers that dedicated to stop imperial expansion. but it's only the start. remember, this is the work of R.F. Kuang's.
___
while this book is a dark academia book, it also talks about many things besides elitism, injustice, and misogyny. this book also talks about (more likely, criticize) colonialism, politics, abolism, and racism. the characters, Robin, Ramy, and Victoire, who came from colonized countries, give us a representative point of view (i am from a colonized country as well). this book also shows us how people of color were not seen as whole human being at the time, how they were struggling and feeling that they did not belong in Oxford.
the book pace is kinda inconsistent, tbh. sometimes it's super slow but sometimes it's faster. but i think it's not a real big problem, i still enjoyed reading it. ALSO the half first book really reminds me of harry potter (the vibe, the studying class, the assignments, the test!!) but surprisingly, the other half reminds me of the dragon republic (yes, it is heart-wrenching). the few last chapters really screams tpw vibes (HAHAH
adventurous
dark
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As a person very interested in language, linguistics and history this book was really appealing to me and for the most part I had a good time reading it, I do feel like it dragged slightly in places and that not everything had to be explained so in depth.
It is a very well researched book but I feel like that comes at the cost of developing characters and their relationships more. Robin by the end of this book felt quite inauthentic and some of the decisions he made I don't think aligned with his character, I know it's because he went through the worst losses but I don't think that would've turned him into such a spearhead for evil acts, I had the same problem with The Poppy War so clearly it's something that Kaung needs to work on.
Even though there are flaws I did end up really enjoying the book.
It is a very well researched book but I feel like that comes at the cost of developing characters and their relationships more. Robin by the end of this book felt quite inauthentic and some of the decisions he made I don't think aligned with his character, I know it's because he went through the worst losses but I don't think that would've turned him into such a spearhead for evil acts, I had the same problem with The Poppy War so clearly it's something that Kaung needs to work on.
Even though there are flaws I did end up really enjoying the book.
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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:
Yes
DNF at 7%. The audiobook is 22hrs long. Too long for a narration this monotonous.
This is the first book I read from RF Kuang, and I was interested to read it because of praises from friends and strangers alike, who say Kuang is an intelligent woman who writes good dark academia. I learned that she has Phd from Cambridge and Oxford. Neither doctoral degree is from creative writing though.
Right off the bat, the Author's note set a negative tone for the book. I don't usually read author notes, but because I listened to the audiobook while doing errands, I listened through this one. And it is an odd mix of defensiveness about the creative changes (aka purposeful historical inaccuracies) and a flex about how she intimately knew Oxford because she went there. If the author note has the same tone as the rest of the book, I knew the book would be pretentious, condescending, and probably dry.
Unfortunately I was right. The narration is bland and over describes things that don't move the plot or showcase the characters' personality. The descriptions, while detailed don't have emotional flavor that would bring the setting to life. Instead, it just reads like a list of things.
Action, dialog, and exposition are not balanced. The narration is heavy-handed, emotionally distant; and because there's more exposition than anything else, it removes the chance for characters to talk meaningfully or show them performing some action. Worse, it doesn't allow tension within the story.
Instead of a story, there's only exposition that involves the author name-dropping every person, event, location, etc. that are contemporary of the book's setting. None of it move the plot, or show character. It doesn't express the wonder or overwhelming feelings Robin might have had from being exposed to a different culture for the first time. The emotional flatness doesn't give a sense of character for either the setting or the protagonist.
The exposition is just there to show how much the author researched, and she lectures readers about it by adding annotations to an already long exposition.
Throwing in Plato's Form while Robin is eating bread felt out of place, if not downright cringey (look at me, i know Big Philosophical ideas). Why was Robin even studying Plato's From Theory when he was there to translate?
Then there was that comment about Mary Shelley's husband being overdramatic, which is framed as Robin's opinion but reads as Kuang's. Why would I believe this to be Robin's opinion when so far he has shown no personality.
And for a book that takes itself so seriously about academia and linguistics, the audiobook pronounced several latin words incorrectly, and often with an Italian accent (C being pronounced with a “sch” sound instead of the “k” sound), which is really not the same thing.
Then there are the annotations that rip you out of the little immersion this book has.
"Where was Antica? And why was Sir Thomas Bertrum always going there (Beacuse he owns slaves).
The annotations are unnecessary at best, distracting at worst.
Overall:
The dry over exposition drags and derails the plot.
Characters come off as flat.
Narration is pretentious and condescending.
Instead of the author using her research as a strong foundation for worldbuilding, she used it to paint every wall, floor, and ceiling with neon colours.
This is the first book I read from RF Kuang, and I was interested to read it because of praises from friends and strangers alike, who say Kuang is an intelligent woman who writes good dark academia. I learned that she has Phd from Cambridge and Oxford. Neither doctoral degree is from creative writing though.
Right off the bat, the Author's note set a negative tone for the book. I don't usually read author notes, but because I listened to the audiobook while doing errands, I listened through this one. And it is an odd mix of defensiveness about the creative changes (aka purposeful historical inaccuracies) and a flex about how she intimately knew Oxford because she went there. If the author note has the same tone as the rest of the book, I knew the book would be pretentious, condescending, and probably dry.
Unfortunately I was right. The narration is bland and over describes things that don't move the plot or showcase the characters' personality. The descriptions, while detailed don't have emotional flavor that would bring the setting to life. Instead, it just reads like a list of things.
Action, dialog, and exposition are not balanced. The narration is heavy-handed, emotionally distant; and because there's more exposition than anything else, it removes the chance for characters to talk meaningfully or show them performing some action. Worse, it doesn't allow tension within the story.
Instead of a story, there's only exposition that involves the author name-dropping every person, event, location, etc. that are contemporary of the book's setting. None of it move the plot, or show character. It doesn't express the wonder or overwhelming feelings Robin might have had from being exposed to a different culture for the first time. The emotional flatness doesn't give a sense of character for either the setting or the protagonist.
The exposition is just there to show how much the author researched, and she lectures readers about it by adding annotations to an already long exposition.
Throwing in Plato's Form while Robin is eating bread felt out of place, if not downright cringey (look at me, i know Big Philosophical ideas). Why was Robin even studying Plato's From Theory when he was there to translate?
Then there was that comment about Mary Shelley's husband being overdramatic, which is framed as Robin's opinion but reads as Kuang's. Why would I believe this to be Robin's opinion when so far he has shown no personality.
And for a book that takes itself so seriously about academia and linguistics, the audiobook pronounced several latin words incorrectly, and often with an Italian accent (C being pronounced with a “sch” sound instead of the “k” sound), which is really not the same thing.
Then there are the annotations that rip you out of the little immersion this book has.
"Where was Antica? And why was Sir Thomas Bertrum always going there (Beacuse he owns slaves).
The annotations are unnecessary at best, distracting at worst.
Overall:
The dry over exposition drags and derails the plot.
Characters come off as flat.
Narration is pretentious and condescending.
Instead of the author using her research as a strong foundation for worldbuilding, she used it to paint every wall, floor, and ceiling with neon colours.
Anti-Colonialist low fantasy that calls out European colonialism needs to become it's own fantasy sub genre