Senlin Ascends: Book One of the Books of Babel

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I needed a few days to settle my thoughts on the ending. It’s definitely unexpected but quite fitting both character-wise and thematically. It wraps up the character arcs satisfactorily with some anticipated confrontations and conversations. And there are a multitude of revelations about the Tower, something speculated on by multiple characters over the series. I think I would have liked if there had been one more chapter at the end, but I am quite satisfied with how it all wrapped up.

The plot progression and the conclusion I thought was satisfying, both in the way the story played out and the interspersing of the PoV sections. It was steadily paced with a constant sense of story movement, though some of the action scenes I thought extended a tad too long. There are mysteries slowly being unravelled about the nature and function of the Tower after getting bits and pieces peppered throughout the previous books. One of my favourite aspects of any fantastical world is getting to know the lore, figuring out how all of it fits together logically. This series mostly delivers on that front, as there are awaited revelations about the various ringdoms and the Tower, as well as a deeper exploration of the workings of the mysterious red substance. All of this sounds as if I'm preparing you for disappointment. And I'm really not. It's a great book. An easy 5*. The Fall of Babel is not just a title; it is a state. A state where the quality of the series ends up. Aboard the State of Art, Edith and her crew adjust to the reality that Voleta has awoken from death changed. She seems to share more in common with the Red Hand now than her former self. While Edith wars for the soul of the young woman, a greater crisis looms: They will have to face Marat on unequal footing and with Senlin caught in the crossfire.But that’s not all. It actually took me another week to finish the rest of the novel; this makes The Fall of Babel the longest time I ever spent to finish a book. It’s insane, The Fall of Babel consists of 241k words but it felt like 600k words. For comparison, Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson (460k words) took me a week to start and finish, and The Stand Uncut Edition by Stephen King (468k words) took me ten days. I don’t know about you, but often I can measure how invested and enamored I am by a book through how fast—not intentionally, but I always feel like I WANT to continue reading—I can read through it. Yes, the immense pacing issues I had with the beginning of this book could’ve been fixed simply by having all the POV characters appearing interchangeably instead of doing it in a large chunk. It’s also true that this worked in The Hod King, but it didn’t in here, not for me anyway. But The Fall of Babel felt like four novellas combined into one book, and the only sections I loved from the book were the four long chapters titled “From the Belly of the Beast” and some of the chapters in the last part of the novel, at least until the ending happened. The Fall of Babel is a freight train of story threads finally coming to a head, but it is also a love letter, saying goodbye to this weird and endearing group of adventurers and castoffs, far removed from where they all started, now so much further along the journeys of their lives. Because, though fallen - the thing still stands! There are no easy ways out, and indeed sometimes there are none at all. Fantastic Drug: White Chrom, colloquially known as Crumb. So named because it "makes the real world seem like the sort of thing a mouse could eat in one bite and still be hungry". Senlin accidentally stumbles into a Crumb den and after partaking, hallucinates a giant version of Marya.

Reddleman & Byron were excellent supporting characters who each received some lovely stand-out moments. Plus, Ann was a sweet character in general. The problem was the decision to spend the entire first third of this book focused on one POV, that of Adam. Look, I don't dislike Adam's character, but he was maybe my least favorite of all the POVs. With the way the Hod King ended I really wanted to keep reading about the other characters, especially those who had such climatic endings in book 3. In Conclusion, despite some of the cons I have for this novel I still thought it was very good. Overall, I would recommend the series, it's imaginative, fun and at times philosophical just a great series as a whole. Objectively, this was a pretty great book (Bancroft is an artist, I will never say otherwise) but I was so personally invested in this series, there was so much riding on this book for me. Honestly, I’ve incorporated this series into my personality at this point given the amount I rave about it and recommend it to everyone and anyone. Of course, Marya had a few unusual habits of her own. She read books while she walked to town, and had many torn skirts and skinned knees to show for it. She was fearless of heights, and would sometimes get on the roof just to watch the sails of inbound ships rise over the horizon. 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. And even still, her oddness inspired admiration in most. The townsfolk thought she was charming and her playing was often requested at the local public houses. Not even the bitter gray of Isaugh’s winters could temper her vivacity. Everyone was a little baffled by her marriage to the Sturgeon.It's a great read, and together the four books are just a brilliant addition to the fantasy genre that everyone should read, and that will be enjoyed for years to come.

Senlin’s Arc ending with him teaching his new students was fitting. However, concerning Marya, I was more mixed about her reaction. I understand Marya needs some time, but man seriously after one kiss, ruining a marriage while he was just out of his drug addiction, lonely, probably thought his quest was in vain and depressed and so much more. The dude went through hell to reunite with her, honestly, I felt this decision by her was very selfish. I still think Bancroft should just give an extra chapter of Senlin and Marya properly reuniting. After spending 4 books of a series wanting them to reunite, keeping it semi-open-ended, I don’t think that should have been the route. However, the optimist in me, viewed the ending with a more hopeful perspective that their marriage isn’t completely screwed, they will be together, slowly but eventually. I do think it's understandable people are annoyed by this semi-ambiguity as it was the reason why many of us took this adventure to the tower. You know, this final book had been a tough read for me. It‘s very sort of a hit-and-miss for me, and not only for those reasons, mentioned above. Yes, Senlin gets relegated to a secondary character, but I could have dealt with it no problem. I even can deal no problem with not getting all the answers and even with THAT ending. But what really disappointed me the most, was the loss of narrative and even more – the manipulation by Bancroft. I mean, he created an impressive world with some peculiar, but logical and strict rules and thoroughly held to them, especially during the first two books. And here, in the final book, he started breaking these rules. His characters – both villains and protagonists – are suddenly able to do the things they couldn‘t before. Almost like whenever they want to do something, they are simply able to. Add some illogical action, lots of oddities, ever-changing natural laws and behavior... And I'm a bit unsure about this, but my gut feeling is that it seems at some point Josiah Bancroft decided to turn this book into some sort of psychedelic hallucination, mixed with a travelling freakshow. Why? Because it is The Tower, and in The Tower anything goes and anything is. So... WHY NOT? At least, that‘s my impression – overdoing the writing, oversaturating the colors and, it might be a strange thing to complain about as a reader, but the longer I think about this book, the more a shade of simply generally overtrying looms above it. It's a funny thing to look for realism in a fantasy book, but even fantasy books have to be "real" - have their inner logic, laws and rules. Unless, of course, one's willing to make himself a name in writing psychedelics, where anything can happen haphazardly and without any reason. Alas, we all know that "The books of Babel" is not this case. A gap in the awnings above them exposed the sky, and there, like a pillar holding up the heavens, stood the Tower of Babel. Thomas Senlin, the mild-mannered headmaster of a small village school, is drawn to the Tower by scientific curiosity and the grandiose promises of a guidebook. The luxurious Baths of the Tower seem an ideal destination for a honeymoon, but soon after arriving, Senlin loses Marya in the crowd. Senlin’s search for Marya carries him through madhouses, ballrooms, and burlesque theaters. He must survive betrayal, assassination, and the long guns of a flying fortress. Part 3 I thought was mostly excellent, especially at the beginning. There are some awesome reunions at the beginning, and everything was great until we head to the actual climax of the novel, which was underwhelming. It felt like a series that was built on imagination and clever wit, having such a generic climax was a big misstep.In the city under glass at the Tower's summit, Adam discovers a utopia where everyone inexplicably knows the details of his past. As Adam unravels the mystery of his fame, he soon discovers the crowning ringdom conceals a much darker secret. This is a tough review for me to write. I gave the first 3 books in this series 5* each as they were wonderful. Bancroft uses such fluid and descriptive writing and his story through the first 3 books is marvelously intriguing and well paced. However, the first ~35% of this book was very very tough for me to get through. I actually put this down for a month to read something else in-between which is something I never do and really highlights how unengaged I was. The incredible final book in the word of mouth phenomenon fantasy series that began with Senlin Ascends.