Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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:
No
There’s no other rating to give a Kuang book than five stars.
The magic system and environment that Kuang creates is unmatched - completely transformative, no stone left unturned, no detail spared.
The way Kuang breaches racism, colonialism, sexism, and exploitation is horrifyingly accurate. And this book is devastating.
The magic system and environment that Kuang creates is unmatched - completely transformative, no stone left unturned, no detail spared.
The way Kuang breaches racism, colonialism, sexism, and exploitation is horrifyingly accurate. And this book is devastating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Classism
adventurous
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
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
This should be required reading for everyone! It is fantastic!
And R.F. Kuang’s thoughts on and approaches to the power of language and translation, the difficulties and responsibilities of revolutions, and the contradictions and similarities between life and death feel brand new!
There were moments where it got a smidge slow but it never felt like a struggle to get through. It was always super engaging and thought provoking, whether that was because of a new plot obstacles or because she presented a brand new way of thinking about something.
And R.F. Kuang’s thoughts on and approaches to the power of language and translation, the difficulties and responsibilities of revolutions, and the contradictions and similarities between life and death feel brand new!
There were moments where it got a smidge slow but it never felt like a struggle to get through. It was always super engaging and thought provoking, whether that was because of a new plot obstacles or because she presented a brand new way of thinking about something.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Suicide, Blood
This book is an exploration and discussion about dismantling a colonial empire that does not shy away from describing the horrors that colonization wrecks on the oppressed people. It is for a mature reader who understands/is ready to confront their biases about colonization and European/white influenced history.
challenging
dark
informative
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
as a linguistics student who hates the british empire - this is my niche!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Classism
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
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
Honestly, I wanted to love this book a lot more. There were portions where the author philosophized about race that I very much felt I could relate to, but it was just SO REPETITIVE. Like, I understand why a revolution was necessary. I didn’t feel truly engrossed in the book until about 3/4 of the way through.
I also found that the intense attention to detail regarding translation took me out of the story a bit. As stated in some previous reviews, it read almost like a textbook. A couple of examples of translations and linguistics would have sufficed; the entire middle portion of the book felt like it was about the translation words and there was no addition to the plot or characters.
Overall, I enjoyed the ending and am glad I read it. I am looking forward to reading more of R.F. Kuang’s books.
I also found that the intense attention to detail regarding translation took me out of the story a bit. As stated in some previous reviews, it read almost like a textbook. A couple of examples of translations and linguistics would have sufficed; the entire middle portion of the book felt like it was about the translation words and there was no addition to the plot or characters.
Overall, I enjoyed the ending and am glad I read it. I am looking forward to reading more of R.F. Kuang’s books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Death of parent
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Violence
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
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 have so many thoughts, and I'm not sure how to articulate them.
First of all, R.F. Kuang is an incredible writer. I have loved everything I've read by her. I've seen a lot of reviews that say she's rubbing our faces in the hard topics too much, but I definitely disagree. She just doesn't shy away from them in order to make people more comfortable. Babel took place in a fantasy world, but the themes throughout are very real.
As someone currently in the world of academia, I appreciate Robin's struggle. It's so easy to isolate yourself in your studies and ignore the world around you. Honestly, for the first part of the book, I loved the idea of Babel. Being holed up in a magic tower, researching all day, and not worrying about anything outside of those walls sounded like a dream. And for Robin, it was. Watching the tower walls metaphorically (at first) crumble around him was painful but necessary.
I LOVED the linguistics in this book. The whole magic system and all of the languages were endlessly fascinating.
I would have liked to know more about the other members of Robin's cohort. We got a very necessary chapter from Letty's perspective, and a few scattered chapters from Ramy and Victoire, but they all seemed to be such rich characters and I would have loved to know more about their inner thoughts.
As in the Poppy Wars, this book ended in the only way it could have. It's realistic and brutal and almost hopeless.
I'm going to be chewing on this one for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, War
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Colonisation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation
Moderate: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts