Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
adventurous
Interesting end to the series. The end really threw me for a loop and I struggled with the believability. The number of characters also ballooned a lot by the end, especially since they were split into several groups. It’s a shame that the most interesting arcs to me got the least time
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
I don’t think I’ve read a science fiction series that feels so much like a fantasy as this one. I’ve read plenty that aren’t too interested in the actual hard science, but instead on the personal and societal impact of such technology — Le Guin is the perfect example of this — but even those place the technology front and centre, noting its unusualness to the reader even if the characters don’t recognise it as such.
In particular the series compares to epic fantasy: a large sprawling world to discover — though in this case it is vertical rather than horizontal; a gradually expanding ensemble cast whose roles within the story are allowed to shift and morph; lots of different peoples with their own customs and creatures with unique attributes.
The question now is: is a sci-fi story written like epic fantasy good? And as always the answer is entirely subjective; each reader can come up with their own opinion. In the case of Bancroft’s The Books of Babel I’d largely say it is. It makes use of these more fantastical tropes to build a strange world and force both its characters and readers into unusual, even unsettling situations, allowing them to truly get to know each other and themselves.
The series largely follows Thomas Senlin, teacher and recent newlywed, on his honeymoon at the wondrous and world renowned Tower of Babel. It takes him all of 10 minutes to lose track of his wife and all he has is the tentative plan to enjoy their time there at the third of its many many city-sized floors: The Baths.
Senlin quickly proves himself as intelligent and resourceful as he is naive and idiotic. What he expected the Tower to be like comes entirely from the series of books he has read and even taught. With each day, each step a little farther into the Tower, his preconceived notions are met with frustrations even outright apathy from those who laugh at his plight and innocence. It slowly becomes clear to him: those authors just needed more grains for the mill to grind.
As the series continues, the “friends” Senlin makes along the way are given the time and point of view necessary to dive into the rest of the world. We get to meet a range of characters, some from other countries like Senlin, while some were born in the Tower and know little else. At one point Senlin has to describe the concept of Spring to another.
At its best The Towers of Babel tells a truly unique story on the interactions of people and peoples. Its exploration of massive floors and the differing views the people have on one another is fascinating, but even moreso, Bancroft manages to weave a world of almost tangible surreality. My favourite part of book 1, Senlin Ascends, is definitely The Parlour, an entire city devoted to the act of playing your part and to make it to the next floor you must play the role that is given to you.
At its worst it becomes simultaneously overbearing and slapdash in its attempts to explain the story of the Tower. For the most part this only becomes an issue in the final volume, The Fall of Babel, in which Bancroft attempts to explain a number of the mysteries of the Tower and its inhabitants, whilst also leaving room for the imagination of his readership. In part this works and we get a good mixture of fun, silly and even well thought answers to questions laid before us. In part this fails completely and offers questions as to whether Bancroft was just trying to rush an ending to a series that was to spiral out of his control.
Overall I believe Bancroft sticks the landing — it’s a messy landing and he probably hurt his ankle, but he certainly didn’t fall flat on his face. While the fourth and final book has a somewhat controversial ending, a controversy I believe is blown out of proportion, the three books that lead up to it and even the rest of that last volume are all a lot of fun. Bancroft’s prose is easy enough to dig into and versatile enough to carry the voices of his expanding cast. The world he’s constructed is clearly one he loves and wants to spend a lot of time exploring with his reader and he’s found a wonderful ensemble with which he can do so.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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
adventurous
funny
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
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
The Tower will continue to Tower with or without my opinions. Frankly, the Tower doesn't care what I feel. The Tower will always be there, being all consuming in every way.
It doesn't much care that I'm not super engaged with how Bancroft writes fight scenes, or that I wish Senlin was still the main character, or that the resolution with Marya played out a bit differently (). It doesn't think much of my opinions on how distant the book feels, how isolating and disconnected characters feel.
It doesn't care that I adore the new ringdoms. It doesn't care that I think Edith has the most beautiful character arc ever. It doesn't care that I want Byron to come to my house and make me tea. It's the Tower, it doesn't care how much I love phrases and lines and thoughts and opening notes from poems and guidebooks and philosophical musings. That I think the time travel stuff is super neat and offers tons of really cool revelations. That I love Senlin to the ends of the earth for picking up a pair of embroidery scissors to help fight Wakemen.
It doesn't matter what I think about the ending, if I like it or I don't, because it's going to keep on being there, consuming everything and demanding from the Sphynx.
I read the entire series again leading up to finally getting my grubby hands on this tome, after tons of delays and uncertainty if it would ever come out, and while I think Bancroft has a serious gift for invention and creativity and beautiful huge impossible sparkling ideas, I sense the struggles this book had in coming to be. The lead up to this book was like a warm bubble bath of brilliant ideas, but alas, by this book, the warm water's gone a bit tepid and most of the bubbles have popped--but I still sit here thinking of what it was before, and I'm still happy.
I will always recommend this series, always, always. Senlin has a special place in my heart, as does all of his crew, no matter where the story takes us. And there will always be more stories in the tower, more parties and more trash and more worms and more mystery.
And it made me yell out loud like four times, so like, awesome.
It doesn't much care that I'm not super engaged with how Bancroft writes fight scenes, or that I wish Senlin was still the main character, or that the resolution with Marya played out a bit differently (
Spoiler
honestly i think after she reclaimed her maiden name she should have rejected senlin entirely, marya don't need no man after the nightmare the duke put her through, and the weird half-stage she's in at the end feels unfair to her specificallyIt doesn't care that I adore the new ringdoms. It doesn't care that I think Edith has the most beautiful character arc ever. It doesn't care that I want Byron to come to my house and make me tea. It's the Tower, it doesn't care how much I love phrases and lines and thoughts and opening notes from poems and guidebooks and philosophical musings. That I think the time travel stuff is super neat and offers tons of really cool revelations. That I love Senlin to the ends of the earth for picking up a pair of embroidery scissors to help fight Wakemen.
It doesn't matter what I think about the ending, if I like it or I don't, because it's going to keep on being there, consuming everything and demanding from the Sphynx.
I read the entire series again leading up to finally getting my grubby hands on this tome, after tons of delays and uncertainty if it would ever come out, and while I think Bancroft has a serious gift for invention and creativity and beautiful huge impossible sparkling ideas, I sense the struggles this book had in coming to be. The lead up to this book was like a warm bubble bath of brilliant ideas, but alas, by this book, the warm water's gone a bit tepid and most of the bubbles have popped--but I still sit here thinking of what it was before, and I'm still happy.
I will always recommend this series, always, always. Senlin has a special place in my heart, as does all of his crew, no matter where the story takes us. And there will always be more stories in the tower, more parties and more trash and more worms and more mystery.
And it made me yell out loud like four times, so like, awesome.
Maybe I’m grading this tomorrow harshly. I guess it’s more like a 2.5, but I was disappointed by this last book in the series. I’m not sure what exactly was the problem but right from the start this volume lacked a lot of the light tone of the prior books. Also a huge portion of the final half just seemed like one endless fight scene, which got pretty tedious. The first three books felt like a fun adventure story, but I just didn’t get that feeling from this one. Oh well.