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jegaevi 's review for:
Senlin Ascends
by Josiah Bancroft
At the very beginning I was in love with the absurdity of the tower, the eloquent writing style and the naive, sheepish headmaster and his lovely, extroverted wife and I devoured page after page. I was sure this was going to be one of my favourite books.
However, this enthusiasm started to dwindle at the beginning of the New Babel arc. I felt it was boring and not fully realised, simply put.
Overall, I still enjoyed the majority of the book a lot and I don't regret reading it at all. I was just not a big fan of the last part. There were so many thought provoking and quotable parts, well-written characters and scenery that made this read truly amazing.
Edit: I realised what exactly bothered me at the end. I liked Senlin the way he was. I liked how naive, helpless, clueless and nerdy he was when we met him. I wasn't a big fan of the whole concept of him being toughened by the tower and becoming stoic.
Also a little side note: can men finally stop saving women? The concept is really annoying. It automatically establishes a hierarchy between the savior and the saved. Why can't women also be an active agent instead of just sitting around waiting for men? That would make for much more interesting stories where women are not just there as a mere device for the plot. I hope Marya will get a more active role in the next book(s).
However, this enthusiasm started to dwindle at the beginning of the New Babel arc. I felt it was boring and not fully realised, simply put.
Overall, I still enjoyed the majority of the book a lot and I don't regret reading it at all. I was just not a big fan of the last part. There were so many thought provoking and quotable parts, well-written characters and scenery that made this read truly amazing.
Edit: I realised what exactly bothered me at the end. I liked Senlin the way he was. I liked how naive, helpless, clueless and nerdy he was when we met him. I wasn't a big fan of the whole concept of him being toughened by the tower and becoming stoic.
Also a little side note: can men finally stop saving women? The concept is really annoying. It automatically establishes a hierarchy between the savior and the saved. Why can't women also be an active agent instead of just sitting around waiting for men? That would make for much more interesting stories where women are not just there as a mere device for the plot. I hope Marya will get a more active role in the next book(s).