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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I bought this like 12 years ago, got a decent way through, and then set it down and never looked back. This book is so weird. I don’t even know if I really liked it, but this time I could not put it down and now I need to find the sequel. I legitimately never really knew what was coming next. Extensive and immersive world-building. It got real bleak at times, though, so I am not surprised that I had to be in the right mood to finish it.
For a book that takes place in the Tower of Babel, it's inexcusable that everyone speaks the same language.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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
I have read so many books this year and yet this one might be my favourite.
I don't understand why I let this sit on my shelf so long. I don't understand why I haven't heard of it before. I am elated that a chance encounter with some neat cover art allowed me to take this book home from my local Barnes and Noble.
I didn't realize this was exactly the book I needed to break up some minor repetitiveness and monotony in my reads until I read it. The prose is very unique. Bancroft writes metaphors that make complete sense while being utterly insane. His descriptions feel at times as though given by an alien onlooker. In this way, the whole world of Ur and Babel felt entirely foreign and disturbing.
Senlin was also a fun and unlikely hero with hero being defined quite loosely here. He is doltish and stiff with a myopic view of the world and how it should work as learned from the small fishing town he hails from. This characterization is staunchly upheld throughout the book. It made the moments of growth or triumph feel particularly satisfying. It also made the moments of naivete that much more frustrating.
The story follows Senlin on his honeymoon to the Tower of Babel, a mythical tower whose height is unknown. Each ring of the tower is its own little fiefdom (called "kingdoms") with its own rules and society. Senlin has read and studied all known documentation of the tower which paints it into a sort of paradisal escape only to find that nothing is as he expected. This takes quite a bit of time and foolish mistakes to really understand. The first of which is losing his wife, Marya. Like literally misplacing her. The plot continues with his quest to find her.
I honestly cannot recommend this book enough but specifically if you enjoy other bizarrist settings like that of China Mievilles New Crobazon or Ul'qoma/Beszel.
I have heard mixed reviews regarding the remainder of the 4 book series. I'm excited to form my own opinions.
I don't understand why I let this sit on my shelf so long. I don't understand why I haven't heard of it before. I am elated that a chance encounter with some neat cover art allowed me to take this book home from my local Barnes and Noble.
I didn't realize this was exactly the book I needed to break up some minor repetitiveness and monotony in my reads until I read it. The prose is very unique. Bancroft writes metaphors that make complete sense while being utterly insane. His descriptions feel at times as though given by an alien onlooker. In this way, the whole world of Ur and Babel felt entirely foreign and disturbing.
Senlin was also a fun and unlikely hero with hero being defined quite loosely here. He is doltish and stiff with a myopic view of the world and how it should work as learned from the small fishing town he hails from. This characterization is staunchly upheld throughout the book. It made the moments of growth or triumph feel particularly satisfying. It also made the moments of naivete that much more frustrating.
The story follows Senlin on his honeymoon to the Tower of Babel, a mythical tower whose height is unknown. Each ring of the tower is its own little fiefdom (called "kingdoms") with its own rules and society. Senlin has read and studied all known documentation of the tower which paints it into a sort of paradisal escape only to find that nothing is as he expected. This takes quite a bit of time and foolish mistakes to really understand. The first of which is losing his wife, Marya. Like literally misplacing her. The plot continues with his quest to find her.
I honestly cannot recommend this book enough but specifically if you enjoy other bizarrist settings like that of China Mievilles New Crobazon or Ul'qoma/Beszel.
I have heard mixed reviews regarding the remainder of the 4 book series. I'm excited to form my own opinions.
This... might be the best book I've ever read.
I didn't know what to expect, and I can't really remember where I read about it, I think it was on Reddit somewhere. And it just blew me away.
I usually read a lot of fantasy, which I guess this book is, kind-of, but it's so much more. It has steampunk elements, crime elements, romance and swashbucklery - but most of all it is itself.
I feels to me like a Terry Gilliam version of The Labyrinth for adults. The world is beautiful and terrifying, unbelievable but very real and it doesn't pull any punches. You never know what's going to happen next, but when you get there, it makes perfect sense. The story often skips a bit ahead, and then looks back on what previously happens, and all the time you're reading as fast as you can to find out what happened, and what happens next.
The prose is beautiful and clever, the narration is creative and original and I'm absolutely in love with this book. I really hope it holds its high rating and gets much more attention. It deserves it!
I didn't know what to expect, and I can't really remember where I read about it, I think it was on Reddit somewhere. And it just blew me away.
I usually read a lot of fantasy, which I guess this book is, kind-of, but it's so much more. It has steampunk elements, crime elements, romance and swashbucklery - but most of all it is itself.
I feels to me like a Terry Gilliam version of The Labyrinth for adults. The world is beautiful and terrifying, unbelievable but very real and it doesn't pull any punches. You never know what's going to happen next, but when you get there, it makes perfect sense. The story often skips a bit ahead, and then looks back on what previously happens, and all the time you're reading as fast as you can to find out what happened, and what happens next.
The prose is beautiful and clever, the narration is creative and original and I'm absolutely in love with this book. I really hope it holds its high rating and gets much more attention. It deserves it!
adventurous
funny
medium-paced