Publication Date: 23rd August 2022
My Rating: ★★★★★
Blurb:
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.
Babel is the world's center of translation and, more importantly, of silver-working: the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation through enchanted silver bars, to magical effect. Silver-working has made the British Empire unparalleled in power, and Babel's research in foreign languages serves the Empire's quest to colonize everything it encounters.
Oxford, the city of dreaming spires, is a fairytale for Robin; a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge serves power, and for Robin, a Chinese boy raised in Britain, serving Babel inevitably means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to sabotaging the silver-working that supports imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide: Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence? What is he willing to sacrifice to bring Babel down?
**Spoiler-Free Review**
I received this book from Harper Collins via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This dark academia book has been compared to both The Secret History and Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, two books that I absolutely loved. Combine that with how much I adored Kuang's Poppy War trilogy and this was a must-read for me.
I am very happy to say that I adored every second of this book. The entire book embodies dark academia and the atmosphere captures it perfectly: the thrill of the overworked student aesthetic, the camaraderie between students, the addiction of knowledge, and the dark undertone throughout the novel of politics, deception, and colonialism that academia is built upon. It truly encompasses dark academia but it also challenges the whiteness of it all.
It's obvious just how much research went into this book's creation. I loved learning about the etymology of words and how it tied to a magic system. The friendships between Robin and his cohort were wonderful and they really embodied the bubble that people end up in while studying - especially at university. Of course, one of the most wonderful things about this book is how it challenges the racism and sexism happening at this time. Obviously, this is a historical fiction, but it sheds so much light and truth on how the British Empire exploited and harmed both other nations and their people. Showing a society that was built on the shoulders of oppression while it attempts to seem progressive is so realistic and important. The way white characters act as well is extremely realistic and hard to read because of that. I love that Kuang's characters are always challenging societal 'norms' and willing to do anything to make things right.
My only complaint about this book include wanting to see more of their time at the school in Oxford. I would've adored seeing multiple books of their years at the school so we could see the characters' friendships develop over time and also grow to love the city of university as much as Robin and his friends do. The ending was heart-breaking and I wish we'd seen just a little bit more in the Epilogue, but it was still the perfect ending for this book.
Overall, I loved this book. While reading it the atmosphere felt all encompassing and I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys dark academia with an alternate historical twist.
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