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A review by eesh25
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
4.0
4.5 Stars
This is a book I might never have come across if someone hadn't been looking for a reading buddy. I read the synopsis, it sounded interesting, and so I decided to join them. And it was a great decision because I loved this book.
The story follows Thomas Senlin. He's a mild-mannered man from a small town and the headmaster of the school. He's always been fascinated by the Tower of Babel. So for his honeymoon, he decides to go visit. Unfortunately, the trip goes to hell almost immediately as he loses his wife before they even get a chance to enter the tower. And he heads on a journey up the different levels of the tower to find her.
Now, the first thing you need to know is whatever idea you might have about how big the Tower of Babel is... it's bigger. Seriously, it's less a tower and more like several dozen small cities stacked on top of each other. And moving up the floors is not easy.
I found the Tower to be absolutely fascinating. Each level of the tower is like a different world. We only explore the first few in this book, but I thought that was a good choice because it gave us a chance to truly explore them. And the more we saw of the Tower, the more obvious it became that it's not this wonderful place to be visited for your honeymoon. It's actually quite fucked up, and you never know what's going to happen.
Another great thing was the protagonist. Senlin is an unassuming man with simple dignity and one goal. He's not someone you'd generally see as a protagonist. And as the book goes on and we see him go through all kinds of shit, we see what he's truly made of. The Tower tests his mettle, and we see him use his wits to learn and adapt.
The writing in the book is fantastic. I loved how each level of the Tower was described. The book is fast-paced and keeps you interested. I also loved getting to know Senlin and his wife's story better via small flashbacks. And the little snippets before chapters were fun. The world-building was mostly limited to the Tower, but there was enough to learn there that it didn't bother me.
If there's one (kinda) complaint, it's that I thought we'd be farther along in the story/quest at the end than we actually were, if that makes sense. And I just worry that the series might feel... meandering after a while.
Other than that, this was a great read. I don't usually pick up adventure books because when it comes to literal journies, they can get boring. But the pace, the characters, and the Tower itself kept the book interesting. The audiobook narrator did really good as well. And I highly recommend giving the book a try.
This is a book I might never have come across if someone hadn't been looking for a reading buddy. I read the synopsis, it sounded interesting, and so I decided to join them. And it was a great decision because I loved this book.
The story follows Thomas Senlin. He's a mild-mannered man from a small town and the headmaster of the school. He's always been fascinated by the Tower of Babel. So for his honeymoon, he decides to go visit. Unfortunately, the trip goes to hell almost immediately as he loses his wife before they even get a chance to enter the tower. And he heads on a journey up the different levels of the tower to find her.
Now, the first thing you need to know is whatever idea you might have about how big the Tower of Babel is... it's bigger. Seriously, it's less a tower and more like several dozen small cities stacked on top of each other. And moving up the floors is not easy.
I found the Tower to be absolutely fascinating. Each level of the tower is like a different world. We only explore the first few in this book, but I thought that was a good choice because it gave us a chance to truly explore them. And the more we saw of the Tower, the more obvious it became that it's not this wonderful place to be visited for your honeymoon. It's actually quite fucked up, and you never know what's going to happen.
Another great thing was the protagonist. Senlin is an unassuming man with simple dignity and one goal. He's not someone you'd generally see as a protagonist. And as the book goes on and we see him go through all kinds of shit, we see what he's truly made of. The Tower tests his mettle, and we see him use his wits to learn and adapt.
The writing in the book is fantastic. I loved how each level of the Tower was described. The book is fast-paced and keeps you interested. I also loved getting to know Senlin and his wife's story better via small flashbacks. And the little snippets before chapters were fun. The world-building was mostly limited to the Tower, but there was enough to learn there that it didn't bother me.
If there's one (kinda) complaint, it's that I thought we'd be farther along in the story/quest at the end than we actually were, if that makes sense. And I just worry that the series might feel... meandering after a while.
Other than that, this was a great read. I don't usually pick up adventure books because when it comes to literal journies, they can get boring. But the pace, the characters, and the Tower itself kept the book interesting. The audiobook narrator did really good as well. And I highly recommend giving the book a try.