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    Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution
    Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution
    Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution
    Audiobook21 hours

    Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution

    Written by R. F. Kuang

    Narrated by Chris Lew Kum Hoi and Billie Fulford-Brown

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES AND #1 NYT BESTSELLER

    ‘One for Philip Pullman fans’

    THE TIMES

    ‘This one is an automatic buy’

    GLAMOUR

    ‘Ambitious, sweeping and epic’

    EVENING STANDARD

    ‘Razor-sharp’

    DAILY MAIL

    ‘An ingenious fantasy about empire’

    GUARDIAN

    'Literary super-stardom doesn't seem too far out of her reach now'

    THE HERALD

    Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

    Oxford, 1836.

    The city of dreaming spires.

    It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

    And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

    Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift.

    Until it became a prison…

    But can a student stand against an empire?

    An incendiary new novel from award-winning author R.F. Kuang about the power of language, the violence of colonialism, and the sacrifices of resistance.

    'A masterpiece that resonates with power and knowledge. BABEL is a stark picture of the cruelty of empire, a distillation of dark academia, and a riveting blend of fantasy and historical fiction – a monumental achievement’

    Samantha Shannon, author of THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE

    Delve into the heart of an alternative UK, where Babel reigns as a top entry among gaslamp fantasy books. It's a great, bestselling read, peppered with the essence of urban exploration and thrilling action, an adventure that will leave you breathless and wanting more. For fans of Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame), Leigh Bardungo (Six of Crows), Brandon Sanderson (The Way of Kings) and Olivie Blake (The Atlas Six) and Samantha Shannon (The Priory of the Orange Tree).

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateSep 1, 2022
    ISBN9780008501846
    Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution
    Author

    R. F. Kuang

    Rebecca F. Kuang is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy, Babel: An Arcane History, Yellowface, and Katabasis. Her work has won the Nebula, Locus, Crawford, and British Book Awards. A Marshall Scholar, she has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford. She is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale, where she studies diaspora, contemporary Sinophone literature, and Asian American literature.

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    4/5

    2,114 ratings66 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a must-read, well-written, and important. It captures nuance and complexity, with characters that are easy to love and hate. The book explores struggles and battles, and is thought-provoking while depicting family and friendship. The world-building is full and tantalizing, and the prose is exquisite. It touches on important topics and explores linguistics in a wonderful way. Although some readers found it less captivating and had issues with the narration, overall, it is a powerful and emotional book that deserves to be read.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5

      Jan 11, 2026

      I learnt so much, what a wonderful telling too. Loved the narration as well.
    • 5/5

      Sep 12, 2025

      One of the most powerful, intellectual, and exquisitely delicate works of art. The depiction of languages as a landscape is intriguing—also remind of how a large language model is constructed.
    • 1/5

      Aug 16, 2025

      Hated it. One of the longest, most boring books I've listened to. The audiobook narration is wonderful - no criticism there. But the story for me was such a waste. This book starts slow and I started checking out about half way through. I should have just cut my losses there but instead I listened all the way through hoping to be rewarded. No such luck.
    • 5/5

      Jul 6, 2025

      Babel was absolutely amazing. The audiobook experience completely drew me in — it felt like I was watching a movie. The narrator was brilliant; his voice brought every scene and emotion to life so vividly. Easily one of the best audiobook performances I’ve ever listened to.
    • 5/5

      Apr 25, 2024

      Absolutely Brilliant.! There are no other words to describe it.
    • 3/5

      Mar 6, 2024

      Interesting but I expected a different story. Narration was engaging so I was able to finish this nevertheless.
    • 5/5

      Jan 15, 2024

      This book is wonderful!
      Situated in 1800s Oxford under the veil of some magic, it was magical.
      Touches several important topics such as colonialism and all the problems and trauma that issue from it, such as racism, hate, sacrifice and all sorts of suffering from the conquered people.
      It also touches topics such as misogyny, abuse, friendships, betrayal and pride.
      All under the cover of magic. Wonderful!
    • 4/5

      Dec 20, 2023

      If I didn't spoil the ending for myself I would be shook to my core, all the hype this book got is not enough it needs more, it is a slow start but when the action starts you can't put it down
    • 5/5

      Sep 25, 2023

      This book hurt my heart. The character development is masterfully done but it's not a book for everyone so thread into this book carefully
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      Well-written and important. Captures nuance and complexity. Characters were so easy to love and so easy to hate, in the best way! Loved this world and loved the magic, but not just that, the real people inhabiting this world!
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      Stunning. I'm blown away and very emotional. The first half was stunningly academic and the second half was like a Guy Fawkes/Les Miserables vibe
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      Brilliant book, lovely narrator
      Best read of 2023 I suppose
      Read it!
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      I'm not even going to attempt to review this. Amazing story, well researched, I want to read this again and annotate.
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      What a thrillingly brilliant book! Deserves each of the five stars.
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      just wow this was a experience victoire my beloved love u
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      Really loved this. It's a great story with interesting characters, unexpected twists an turns, and it is very relevant to today. Highly recommend it to anyone, even if fantasy or alternate realities aren't usually your thing. This is a book that is thought-provoking whilst also depicting family and friendship in a way that makes you want to follow the characters on their journeys.
    • 3/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      Enjoyed the play with translation and the anti-colonial themes, but not a plot heavy reader, so elements of this didn't work for me. Which is more a me thing.
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      No words necessary other than 'wow'. A true literary feat.
    • 4/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      O livro é mto bom e a narração tb! O final pra mim deixou um pouco a desejar…
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      A brilliant and inimitable ode to the real struggles of power and privilege in our modern world, through the truly mesmering lens of 19th century England with a tarnished silver lining. The world building is full and tantalising, and the prose exquisite, every chapter offering a place to laugh and weep. A must read for anyone who enjoys, magic, universities, and righteous revolution!
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      This book is a most read. It’s so good on so many levels.
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      so so so good! R.F. Kuang's writing and storytelling are amazing
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      It's a wonderful and powerful book. Not only does it touch important topics but it also explores linguistics in a wonderful way.
    • 5/5

      Sep 15, 2023

      RF kuang, superb as always.
      All the characters were so well crafted. Masterpiece.
    • 5/5

      Oct 24, 2023

      I first went into this book not sure if I was going to like it, but a few chapters in I was invested in the story and the characters... a book I highly enjoyed and thought was brilliant ?.... the way this book explains what certain things mean and where they come from as well as how they have been translated was great. I learned so much reading this book and I also was on an emotional rollercoaster with each character.

      Everyone needs to read rhis book

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5

      Nov 12, 2023

      It wasn't very captivating, but I don't know if it was because the book is not good or because the reader lowers his voice in every important dialog in the book. I lost almost every important conversation because I was completely unable to listen to it, as they were such a low whisper that I couldn't understand anything. Very frustrating.
    • 4/5

      Feb 6, 2025

      An interesting premise, let down by a sanctimonious modification towards the last third of the book. It starts well and then flags for a bit before returning to quite good world building. Arguably one would state that the repeated attempts to ram down the injustice of the world that the main protagonists find themselves in becomes a little bit wearing at times. All of that said it’s still very good.
    • 4/5

      Aug 24, 2025

      After a couple false starts, I found myself swept into this story and the questions raised. Especially enjoyed the portrayal of the enticements that Empire offers, the temptation to look away from the violence it carries, and the reflections on resistance (what is most effective? what is ethical? why does blame always fall on the "whistleblowers" rather than the perpetrators?), as well as the reflections on language/translation/communication.
    • 5/5

      Mar 26, 2025

      This is a definite 5 star read. This may not be a book for everyone but the story flows so easily.

      The book focused heavily on character development, history and magic. All really good to become a heart wrenching climax.
    • 4/5

      May 25, 2025

      An imaginative and artful fictional device to tell the story of Britain's colonial brutality