Senlin Ascends

, #1

by

eBook, 432 pages

English language

Published Aug. 20, 2017 by Orbit.

ISBN:
978-0-356-51080-4
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3 stars (1 review)

Mild-mannered headmaster, Thomas Senlin prefers his adventures to be safely contained within the pages of a book. So when he loses his new bride shortly after embarking on the honeymoon of their dreams, he is ill-prepared for the trouble that follows.

To find her, Senlin must enter the Tower of Babel – a world of geniuses and tyrants, of menace and wonder, of unusual animals and mysterious machines. And if he hopes to ever see his wife again, he will have to do more than just survive … this quiet man of letters must become a man of action.

5 editions

reviewed Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft (The Books of Babel, #1)

Interesting ideas, defeated by the writing style

3 stars

I can't put the finger on what I didn't like in this book, but it felt too long, the characters didn't feel fleshed out, and the main character doesn't get interesting until about 4/5 through.

Apart from that I liked the setting, this big, enormous tower with a kingdom (or "ringdom") on each storey. Too much is kept from our knowing, which is slightly frustrating but makes me want to keep reading the series. The unreliable guidebook gets tired fast, and I don't miss it. I just hope to see more of the tower, and I hope that the end that's been hinted at during the market scene will happen. I need my Chekhov's unfinished tower summit.