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

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

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

By: R.F. Kuang
Narrated by: Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Billie Fulford-Brown
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About this listen

 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).

 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
Loved the idea of linguistics based magic, this book had really interesting world building but was let down by cut and paste characters with minimal identity beyond their race and a heavy-handed White People Are All Evil Charicatures plot. Toward the end we're introduced to new groups of characters repeatedly without time to get to know them which really reduces emotional impact. I almost DNFed repeatedly but don't regret ploughing through as the pace picks up at the end. Narration was brilliant and really gave the characters and languages life.

Brilliant narration brings life to a disappointing story

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I really wanted to like this book because the premise sounds so appealing. But it feels like the story fell flat. The rare musings about the philosophy of translation and the magic of language kept me going for about 1/3 of the book but the story isn’t engaging nor deep enough. Overall it feels like a decent young adult book but bit boring for an adult

Overpromised and underdelivered

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one if the best r audio books, it brought a difficult story alive for me.

brilliant

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Kuang’s understanding of languages, vital to the magic based concepts she has created, is quite remarkable. The reinvention of Oxford as the centre of Imperialism to prod on the multi faceted brutality of its power is well delivered, and it equally draws on the barbarism of racism and the struggle of woman’s suffrage - issues that are far from resolved today. The audiobook was by far the best I’ve listened to so far; the narrator’s eclectic voice worked on most characters for me. Weaving through the story was the sense of revolution, a sense of Les Miserables, however it did not impact upon me with the same depth or compassion as Victor Hugo did. The main character arc drove the themes well, I just didn’t feel for the character. Perhaps the similarities to Les Mis, gave it a mountain to climb as Jean Valjean is one of the greatest characters ever written.

Imaginative. Remarkably well researched. Plot just good for me

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I fell in love with these characters, they became real people who I laughed and cried with. Skipping between fantasy and the real world, this story took me on a journey that was equal parts striking and terrifyingly close to home. Genuinely surprising twists and turns left me rapt. With a fantastic performance that made it a pleasure to listen to.

Inventive and thought provoking

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