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[Incandenza]

If you've been following fantasy book circles lately (namely /r/fantasy), you may have heard of The Books of Babel, a humble little self-published fantasy series by Josiah Bancroft. Though the first book, Senlin Ascends, was released in 2013, it wasn't until about a year ago that Pornokitsch and Broken Empire author Mark Lawrence brought it into the spotlight with their rave reviews. Ever since then they've been slowly growing in popularity, eventually snagging a publishing deal earlier this year. Anyway, as a big fantasy fan myself, I figured I'd give it a shot.

Holy shit. These books are outstanding.

What are they about? Basic premise: Thomas Senlin is a gawky, timid schoolteacher with a fear of intimacy and, against all odds, an ebullient wife Marya who he's not sure he deserves. They decide to splurge on their honeymoon and visit the unfathomably huge Tower of Babel, known the world over as a mecca of culture and technology. But upon arriving to the tower's outskirts, Thomas gets hopelessly separated from Marya in the crowd. Eventually he enters the tower in hopes of reuniting with her at their hotel, and from there, well... from there things get WEIRD.

Each floor of the tower is a separate "Ringdom," a bizarre and entirely unique world with its own rules and social structure. I don't want to spoil them because they're so damn cool, but the creativity on display here is staggering. This is not your typical sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Though there's some strong steampunk influence throughout, it's easier to draw parallels to Alice in Wonderland or The Dark Tower. Each new ringdom feels like stepping into a new genre, and they're all so clever and well-realized.

And gosh, this whole story is just executed so well. No matter what kind of fantasy fan you are, I think you'll find something to enjoy here. The cast is fantastic and diverse and Senlin in particular has real narrative growth. It's consistently tightly paced and balances gripping action with moments of quiet contemplation. It's funny and full of witty dialogue. It's rich with symbolism and literary weight, if you want to seek it out. Its prose is evocative and beautiful without being purple. Check it:

She played the piano beautifully but also brutally. She'd sing like a mad mermaid while banging out ballads and reels, leaving detuned pianos in her wake.

“Spring is gray and miserable and rainy for three or four weeks while the snow melts. The ditches turn into creeks and everything you own is clammy as a frog belly. Then one morning, you walk outside and the sun is out and the clover has grown over the ditches and the trees are pointed with leaves, like ten thousand green arrowheads, and the air smells like...” and here he had to fumble for a phrase, “like a roomful of stately ladies and one wet dog.”

"Do you know why the history of the Tower is in such turmoil? Because too many powerful men are fighting for the pen, fighting to write their story over our dead bodies. They know what is at stake: immortality, the character of civilization, and influence beyond the ages. They are fighting to see who gets to mislead our grandchildren."

Anyway I wanted to make a thread instead of just gushing in the "What Are You Reading" thread because I wanted to spotlight these criminally overlooked novels. By the end of the first novel it had rocketed up to my all-time favorite fantasy books, and the second has been just as good so far. Plus if you have a Kindle they're super cheap, so hopefully I can convince some of you to jump in.

 

[ClosingADoor]

Sounds pretty good. I was looking for something new to read. Will check it out.

 

[Switch Back 9]

I disagree. Couldn't even finish the first book. Cool setting and all but the plot and characters are a snooze. That whole trope of "he's almost there, but then THIS happened and set him back" got really tiresome.

 

[#sorrynotsorry]

Those quotes are quite good.

 

[waveuponwave]

Sounds interesting thanks

But I'm just now reading the last Dark Tower novel, maybe I'll settle for something towerless as next read

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

Senlin Ascends is one of the best books I've read in recent months. The prose and characters are fantastic, and the whole book emanates "adventure" like few others do.

In a weird way it reminds me a lot of BioShock in terms of atmosphere (that's a good thing!).

I'm excited to read the sequel after I'm done with my backlog.

Some passages I highlighted on my Kindle:

The world swam about him like a nursery about a cradle.

She had to rediscover fear and, tucked somewhere inside that fear, life.

That is the trick of good government. To make folk desire to live in such a way that there is no need for its intervention.

 

[Incandenza]

Senlin Ascends is one of the best books I've read in recent months. The prose and characters are fantastic, and the whole book emanates "adventure" like few others do.

In a weird way it reminds me a lot of BioShock in terms of atmosphere (that's a good thing!).

I'm excited to read the sequel after I'm done with my backlog.

Some passages I highlighted on my Kindle:

Definitely. It's got the same sense of being an outsider in a hostile and alien society. I haven't finished the sequel yet but it's fantastic so far. It feels notably different from the first which I think is a great thing. Even after one book there's a sense of real progression and change, unlike a lot of fantasy where you need to get two or three books deep before things really even kick off.

 

[JeffZero]

I don't know. I've only ever completed ASOIAF (such as it currently stands) and LOTR. I'd he willing to bet there are at least a couple of fellow nominees.

I'll add it to the queue, though.