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Babel

Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution

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Babel

By: R.F. Kuang
Narrated by: Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Billie Fulford-Brown
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THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES AND #1 NYT BESTSELLER

‘One for Philip Pullman fans’

THE TIMES

‘This one is an automatic buy’

GLAMOUR

‘Ambitious, sweeping and epic’

EVENING STANDARD

‘Razor-sharp’

DAILY MAIL

‘An ingenious fantasy about empire’

GUARDIAN

'Literary super-stardom doesn't seem too far out of her reach now'

THE HERALD

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

Oxford, 1836.

The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift.

Until it became a prison…

But can a student stand against an empire?

An incendiary new novel from award-winning author R.F. Kuang about the power of language, the violence of colonialism, and the sacrifices of resistance.

'A masterpiece that resonates with power and knowledge. BABEL is a stark picture of the cruelty of empire, a distillation of dark academia, and a riveting blend of fantasy and historical fiction – a monumental achievement’

Samantha Shannon, author of THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE

Delve into the heart of an alternative UK, where Babel reigns as a top entry among gaslamp fantasy books. It's a great, bestselling read, peppered with the essence of urban exploration and thrilling action, an adventure that will leave you breathless and wanting more. For fans of Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame), Leigh Bardungo (Six of Crows), Brandon Sanderson (The Way of Kings) and Olivie Blake (The Atlas Six) and Samantha Shannon (The Priory of the Orange Tree).

©2022 R.F. Kuang Action & Adventure Dark Fantasy Fantasy Historical Fiction Thought-Provoking Funny Paranormal Royalty Colonial Period
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Critic reviews

BLACKWELL’S BOOK OF THE YEAR
A WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR FINALIST
DAILY MAIL BEST BOOK OF 2022
‘Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial history and the Industrial Revolution, turns it over, and shakes it out’
Shannon Chakraborty, bestselling author of THE EMPIRE OF GOLD
‘A masterpiece that resonates with power and knowledge. BABEL is a stark picture of the cruelty of empire, a distillation of dark academia, and a riveting blend of fantasy and historical fiction – a monumental achievement’
Samantha Shannon, bestselling author of THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE
‘A masterpiece. Through a meticulously researched and a wholly impressive deep dive into linguistics and the politics of language and translation, Kuang weaves a story that is part love-hate letter to academia, part scathing indictment of the colonial enterprise, and all fiery revolution’
Rebecca Roanhorse, NYT bestselling author of BLACK SUN
‘Kuang has outdone herself. BABEL is brilliant, vicious, sensitive, epic, and intimate; it's both a love letter and a declaration of war. It's a perfect book’
Alix E. Harrow, bestselling author of A THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY
‘A book that confirms Kuang as a major talent’
SFX
‘Brainy, brilliant, and fuelled by righteous anger, Babel is a towering tour-de-force of fantasy’
DAILY MAIL
‘BABEL has earned tremendous praise and deserves all of it. It’s Philip Pullman’s THE GOLDEN COMPASS by way of N.K. Jemisin’s THE FIFTH SEASON: inventive and engaging, passionate and precise’
NEW YORK TIMES
All stars
Most relevant
I would recommend the book to read, but felt the recording was poorly done and not up to today’s standards. Voice pitch, volume and pace of main reader was inconsistent throughout. Word translations were often done by a different reader and broke the flow, as did the footnotes (another voice) dotted throughout.

Compelling story, but very poor recording

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This is an excellent fantastical retelling of an overlooked, from a western point of view, part of our modern-day history, the emotions, and the themes that stem from it.

But it's so much more than that. It's a story that pulls you in and makes you think on the dark nature of truth. It shows the brokenness of Academia. How one can love education and all that comes with it while at the same time hate its guts. Seeing the different lenses that are used to portray the truth. How this cutthroat, cruel system exploits and oppresses. Entertaining, yet so poignant.

I love this author! R.F. Kuang well done!

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I enjoyed the first ½ or so of the book but the final half failed to deliver on the initial promise. Instead, it almost became a heavy-handed and unconvincing political manifesto.

Great concept but ultimately disappointing

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The production is full of production mistakes, different audio levels and poor quality insertions of corrections and additions.

Great story, shame about the audio production

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I feel the tone changed part way through. Too much like a YA novel for me

Enjoyed to a point

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