Synopsis
1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world’s center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.
For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…
Rating
★★★★½
Introduction
This book’s premise sounded intriguing and the author’s note sang to me. As a person who studied Latin and spent much of my undergrad time wandering through neighboring Cornell University, I have a lot of education-based nostalgia. And as a crystal collector, I couldn’t help but see a connection between Kuang’s silver bars and Lemuria’s crystals. Pictured here is such a crystal, said to be etched with the knowledge of ancient Lemuria.
Thoughts
Written by a true scholar, this book is very much a celebration of knowledge. But, as Kuang reminds us, there is a complex history behind language and education. Politics, class, race, and gender are a few of the notable gatekeepers highlighted in this story. And magic plays its own significant role, too.
While Babel has a wonderful story arc, I think it could have used a bit more vibrance. Weighed down by the book’s length, I would have enjoyed more personality and a faster cadence. That said, this is a book that will be on my mind and in my heart for some time.
Edition
This stunning book comes from FairyLoot.