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A review by billblume
The Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick
5.0
Reading THE DRAGONS OF BABEL proved a strange journey for me, which is somewhat appropriate given the book itself is an incredibly bizarre tale. The book was lent to me by a friend who was curious to see what I'd think about it. Perhaps the best way to describe this novel would be to take every bit of mythology and folklore, a copy of "Alice in Wonderland" and enough pop culture to provoke a diabetic seizure, shake it all up, add a dash of Stephen King, spill the resulting brew out into a traditional fantasy world and then sprinkle the rim with a liberal amount of perversity. I've never read a book like this before, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
THE DRAGONS OF BABEL focuses on Will whose village is invaded by a metal dragon, which is something of a self-aware flying war machine. The dragon corrupts Will, turning him into a mortal vessel for dispensing his power and rage among the villagers, but that is simply where this book starts. From there, Will manages to turn the tables on the dragon but finds himself banished from his home. From there, he finds his way through the world, encountering all sorts of bizarre people and creatures. On one level, this book is about his journey to make himself into a more mature man, though I use "mature" rather loosely. In some ways, I think Will's maturity is more of accepting that life is something made perfect by all its imperfections. At the same time, the book is about his quest to destroy Babel, which he blames for the war that brought the dragon to his village and ruined his life.
The book itself comes across incredibly random, a series of short adventures thinly connected by Will as the main character. It's only at the end where Swanwick brings it all together.
Another layer to this book is the language. What Swanwick has written here is very literary. The world of Babel is revealed in a lyrical fashion, and even when he refers to things that make no sense, the beauty and flowing perfection of language itself is impossible to ignore.
I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there were many moments I doubted Swanwick could pull off a satisfying ending to this book. The story just felt too unconnected and cynical to provide any conclusion that wouldn't leave a reader wondering why they'd spent so much time taking this journey.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about my enjoying THE DRAGONS OF BABEL is that there was about a three-month period in which I had to stop reading. I'd made it halfway through this book, and then reading obligations for the James River Writers Conference forced me to put THE DRAGONS OF BABEL aside. This is where the seemingly random short story structure worked in the book's favor. Even with that huge gap in there, I was able to dive right back in without any problems, but this was also due to the strength of the setting and characters crafted by Swanwick.
For anyone who loves dark fantasy but wants something well off the beaten path, then you need to read this book. Don't try to over-analyze it. Just dip into its rapids and ride on the words.
THE DRAGONS OF BABEL focuses on Will whose village is invaded by a metal dragon, which is something of a self-aware flying war machine. The dragon corrupts Will, turning him into a mortal vessel for dispensing his power and rage among the villagers, but that is simply where this book starts. From there, Will manages to turn the tables on the dragon but finds himself banished from his home. From there, he finds his way through the world, encountering all sorts of bizarre people and creatures. On one level, this book is about his journey to make himself into a more mature man, though I use "mature" rather loosely. In some ways, I think Will's maturity is more of accepting that life is something made perfect by all its imperfections. At the same time, the book is about his quest to destroy Babel, which he blames for the war that brought the dragon to his village and ruined his life.
The book itself comes across incredibly random, a series of short adventures thinly connected by Will as the main character. It's only at the end where Swanwick brings it all together.
Another layer to this book is the language. What Swanwick has written here is very literary. The world of Babel is revealed in a lyrical fashion, and even when he refers to things that make no sense, the beauty and flowing perfection of language itself is impossible to ignore.
I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there were many moments I doubted Swanwick could pull off a satisfying ending to this book. The story just felt too unconnected and cynical to provide any conclusion that wouldn't leave a reader wondering why they'd spent so much time taking this journey.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about my enjoying THE DRAGONS OF BABEL is that there was about a three-month period in which I had to stop reading. I'd made it halfway through this book, and then reading obligations for the James River Writers Conference forced me to put THE DRAGONS OF BABEL aside. This is where the seemingly random short story structure worked in the book's favor. Even with that huge gap in there, I was able to dive right back in without any problems, but this was also due to the strength of the setting and characters crafted by Swanwick.
For anyone who loves dark fantasy but wants something well off the beaten path, then you need to read this book. Don't try to over-analyze it. Just dip into its rapids and ride on the words.