A review by its_literature
Babel by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

wildly intellectual and such a stunning conception of a historical fantasy lead-up to the opium wars. looking at how truly ugly the face of colonialism is and how the spectres of it haunt us even as its effects are still so essentially felt. simultaneous despair and grief and rage and hope. some of the characters were stronger than others, i think, but all of them were very real.