64.8k reviews for:

Babel

R.F. Kuang

4.34 AVERAGE

johnsavageireland's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

First half was really enjoyable, loved all the linguistic details and set up. Felt like it was missing any tension or suspense but was enjoying the world. Once the later plot has started it's all a bit too convenient and I'm just not in the mood any more.
challenging emotional 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
dark emotional 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: N/A
adventurous dark informative sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really enjoyed this book! It starts off pretty slow in order to set up a lot of background and world building, which I understand is not everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed seeing the day to day life and interactions and the
small fractures in the characters' relationships before things really start going off the rails
. My main complaints are that it occasionally became a bit dense and academic and sometimes a bit much to read through. I also wasn't a huge fan of the interludes of the other character's pov/history, which I guess just kinda feel like cheating to me idk.

The magic system was
indeed very fleshed out in terms of the rules and materials for activation but felt somewhat random when it came to devising specific spells/results, which wasn't my favorite. I also feel like it became kind of hand wavy about how much they could use/reuse some bars


In terms of plot, I really liked the way it developed! It was definitely
not quite as hopeful as I would have liked
, and it became a little bit preachy in some cases (especially when it felt a little too real), but overall I enjoyed reading it. I was hoping for a bit more epilogue material to see
the public/parliament's reaction to the tower's collapse
. I am still thinking about the message it tells about revolution and tactics and the moral arguments, but as a book, I really enjoyed the writing, plot, and characters.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
challenging dark emotional informative tense 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: Complicated
challenging dark emotional tense 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
adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense 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: Yes
challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes