As Marat’s siege engine bores through the Tower, erupting inside ringdoms and leaving chaos in its wake, Senlin can do nothing but observe the mayhem from inside the belly of the beast. Caught in a charade, Senlin desperately tries to sabotage the rampaging Hod King, even as Marat’s objective grows increasingly clear. The leader of the zealots is bound for the Sphinx’s lair and the unimaginable power it contains.
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.
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.
And when the Bridge of Babel is finally opened, and the Brick Layer’s true ambition revealed, neither they nor the Tower will ever be the same again.
preamble
Well y’all, we made it. It can be such a bittersweet feeling to end a series. I first came to be aware of The Books of Babel series some years back on Reddit’s r/Fantasy sub. For those who might be unaware, r/Fantasy hosts a year-long book bingo challenge that goes from April 1st–March 31st of the following year. While there are a number of mainstay squares, many of them change every year. I kept seeing people having read Senlin Ascends for, I think, the self-published square that year and absolutely raving about it. It had just recently gotten traction in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off (SPFBO), which is I’m sure how many users on the sub came to be aware of it. So I looked into this book, thought it sounded interesting, and bought myself a copy. I also bought The Arm of the Sphinx, which happened to be out at the time. And oh my wow was I in for a ride! Fast forward to today, and we’ve reached the end.
the world
What I find fascinating about this series is just how expansive it is. The first book is told solely through Tom Senlin’s (3rd person) perspective and follows a rather linear progression of events. We go from point a to point b and so on. There are occasional flashbacks, but for the most part it’s an excellently linear story filled with great, descriptive writing and characters. However, as the series progresses, we start to understand more about the Tower and see it through the perspectives of other characters. And as our understanding of the Tower grows, so too does our bewilderment of it. In The Fall of Babel, the ringdoms and structure are pretty much all known. Yet there’s one question that pops up: “What’s the actual purpose? Is it really just a trap? Is it a vacation spot that went wrong? A place to start over?” All of these things can be true, and none of them can be true. It all depends on the person and how they arrived to the Tower and how they acted under the various circumstances.
We learn little about the world outside of the Tower, but that’s not the point. It’s there. It exists. But the Tower is a world unto itself. As stated just above, by the time we’ve gotten to the final book we know the basics of most everything. And yet somehow there’s still that little bit that we weren’t aware of. Specifically, we finally get to explore the top of the Tower. This is where the book opens, with a large section from Adam’s perspective. It’s pretty fun seeing him explore this ringdom that’s been a mystery even to him. And it’s also rewarding to finally learn why his eye was taken as payment back in one of the lower ringdoms.
characters
We meet a variety of characters throughout the series. Some start as villains but become allies. Some start as villains and remain villains. Two things remain true in the philosophy of the series (okay wow, that sounds deeper than it actually is): 1) Anyone is capable of a change of heart if they put the work into it, while also accepting that people are not obligated to forgive and/or forget. 2) The most unlikely of things or people can cause major changes. These are shown throughout virtually all of the characters. The Senlin of the last book is not the same as the Senlin of the first.
Specifically in The Fall of Babel, we dive into a lot of minds. What I found interesting from this was the underlying implication that no one needs to be an enigma. In the first book, we hear of different, mysterious sounding people: The Red Hand, the Arm of the Sphinx, the Sphinx, and so on. They have this inhuman quality to them that makes them larger than life. Yet in the last book, we’re reading from these characters’ points of view. (Well, not the Sphinx, but the Sphinx is demystified.) And they’re just people. People with pasts who found their way to the Tower. People who are trying to right past wrongs or attempting to navigate feelings for each other. Literally everyone is just faking it. This last book in the series firmly cements the fact that these characters are just people. Incredible, fascinating people. But they are not indestructible forces.
writing & structure
The Fall of Babel—much like its predecessors—is told in a very descriptive style. It really immerses you into the world. It’s one of those books where you feel like you’re actually there. Now, this book is long. However, the writing absolutely helps the pacing flow at a steady rate. It’s descriptive but knows when to move along. I really appreciated that the book didn’t just feel like one 600+ page climax.
The overall structure is a rather nonlinear one. Different perspectives will start at different times. I didn’t find it difficult to follow, but it is something to be aware of when reading.
Oh and of course, the chapter epigraphs are always a delight.
overall
Well, I feel again that I’ve said nothing in many words. This book was a joy to read. Does it answer all of the questions from the series? No. It answers a lot, though. Does it raise more questions that aren’t answered? Yes. And I love that. It’s incredibly open-ended. While this might bug some readers, I thought the book did a great job of making it open-ended while still feeling like…well…an ending. We ascended the Tower, and it was breathtaking.
(I received an ARC from the publisher. Thank you.)
