Senlin Ascends (The Books of Babel, #1)
Josiah Bancroft
The Tower of Babel is the greatest marvel in the world. Immense as a mountain, the ancient Tower holds unnumbered ringdoms, warring and peaceful, stacked one on the other like the layers of a cake. It is a world of geniuses and tyrants, of airships and steam engines, of unusual animals and mysterious machines.Soon after arriving for his honeymoon at the Tower, the mild-mannered headmaster of a small village school, Thomas Senlin, gets separated from his wife, Marya, in the overwhelming swarm of tourists, residents, and miscreants.Senlin is determined to find Marya, but to do so he'll have to navigate madhouses, ballrooms, and burlesque theaters. He must survive betrayal, assassins, and the long guns of a flying fortress. But if he hopes to find his wife, he will have to do more than just endure.This quiet man of letters must become a man of action. The first book in the stunning and strange debut fantasy series that's receiving major praise from some of fantasy's biggest authors such as Mark Lawrence and Django Wexler.
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0 03.75 Stars
At first I wasn’t sure I would like this book. I didn’t vibe with the main character, I thought the world was incoherent (not in a fun way) and the main plot to be lacking.
But I continued through the book because of the excellent writing. I’m glad I finished it, as the majority of my issues with plot, world and character improved as the story unfolded. The arc the main character underwent was engaging, and the story surrounding the main plot became much more interesting. The steampunk parts of the world became more explicit and fun, and some of the other parts I didn’t vibe with were given (at least some) explanation.
I ended up really enjoying this, and am now excited to move onto the second book which can hopefully start with more Oompfh. This is a book which the reader has to stick with, with the knowledge it is the set up for a longer series.
Now, despite my enjoyment, I still had some issues and complaints. The main one for me really is how the main female character, Mayra, is written initially. Through flashbacks we are presented with a pretty one-note character filtered through a male gaze. This improves later in the book somewhat, when we see a different side to Mayra, although this is still heavily filtered by the male character’s perspectives of the situation. The later addition of more female characters also improves this, although of these three, only Edith really receives any depth.
I’m hoping the second book of the series resolves this hang up, and can do something with the characters and world it set up. Overall it’s nice when an author can keep your attention with good writing alone, and reward that faith with an engaging story.
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