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4.3(155)

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

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

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).


Author:

  • R.F. Kuang

Narrators:

  • Chris Lew Kum Hoi
  • Billie Fulford-Brown

Format:

  • Audiobook

Duration:

  • 21 h 45 min

Language:

English

Categories:

  • Fiction
  • Contemporary fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Epic fantasy
  • Fantasy
  • Dark fantasy
  • Fantasy
  • Contemporary fantasy
  • Fantasy
  • Urban fantasy
  • Fantasy
  • Historical fantasy

4.3

155 ratings

Marie

4/21/2024

Det tok litt tid å komme inn i denne boken, men når jeg først ble oppslukt av fortellingen, klarte jeg ikke å legge den fra meg. Konseptet er en "dark academia"-roman satt i en alternativ historisk fantasiverden, med Oxford University og språkets kraft i sentrum. Akkurat som Hogwarts blir Babel fremstilt som en prestisjefylt læreinstitusjon, så på et tidspunkt føltes det som om jeg var midt i eksamensperioden på Hogwarts når Harry, Ronny og Hermine stresset som mest med eliksirer og å pugge trylleformler - men i denne boken var det språk og oversettelse som stod i sentrum. En ulempe med boken er at det tok for lang tid å forstå magikonseptet i denne boken. Jeg tror boken kunne vært enklere å lese og nyte hvis magisystemet ikke var så komplekst. Forfatteren har tydeligvis gjort svært grundig research for denne boken, og det er umulig å ikke legge merke til at boken gir en intellektuell følelse, ettersom forfatteren ønsker å skape et verk som fremstår smart og opplyst.

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    R.F. Kuang

    Rebecca F. Kuang is a Marshall Scholar, Chinese-English translator, and the Astounding Award-winning and the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award nominated author of the Poppy War trilogy and the forthcoming . Her work has won the Crawford Award and the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel. She has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford; she is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale.

    Read more

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Excellent4.3 out of 5