chewybuddy 's review for:

Babel by R.F. Kuang

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

This is an all-time great work. Very clearly a labor of love and passion, heavily researched with a magic system that seamlessly works in as a stand-in for any resource that a society demands. At the same time, this book feels like an effortless coming of age story about growing in a system that wants and needs you while telling you you’re nothing without it. This is a story about the rawest form of radicalization where everything can be taken from you if the right people call for it. As bleak as this premise is, this book has immense heart and respect for the characters trying to survive in this brutal world and champions their hope like nothing else.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, Pandemic/Epidemic