Babel
Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution
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Babel
Buy Now for $33.99
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Narrated by:
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Chris Lew Kum Hoi
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Billie Fulford-Brown
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By:
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R. F. Kuang
About this listen
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
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).
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2022 R.F. Kuang (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedCritic Reviews
"Kuang has crafted 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, from the footnotes to the final page." (Samantha Shannon, author of Priory of The Orange Tree)
"Ambitious, sweeping and epic." (Evening Standard)
"An ingenious fantasy about empire’." (Guardian)
What listeners say about Babel
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 20-11-2022
ten hours in waiting for it to get going
She can write. But story is dragged out and out and out and out. We learn all about translation while we wait for a story that doesn't start. Didn't finish.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-02-2023
Brilliant book
I learnt so many more words and their origins fascinating. An intelligent read well worth the time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-03-2023
Best Narration on Audible!
I never write reviews but this audiobook was outstanding!!!!
The book itself was full of word building and language that appeals to the book lover in everyone, but the execution of the narration just took it to the next level!
You won’t be disappointed
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shalleycat
- 15-10-2023
Fabulous Historic Fantasy
Addictive tale of English politics and the horror of the Opium Wars. Remember.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 23-11-2023
Fell a bit flat
Unfortunately Babel didn’t meet the hype for me. The magic system/world was very 2D, and really a poor prop for the message of the book - in fact it hardly felt like a fantasy. It needlessly focused on translation, and less on substantial story. The message is sound, if not a bit basic and while Kuang is not saying anything new here, I respect the attempt but felt it could’ve been executed better with more time. Overall, pre teens may find this book interesting, but lacked a lot of story, character and world depth for such a long book. The narrator is one of the better ones I’ve heard, only the crying scenes were a bit farcical.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Bear Paintain
- 22-04-2024
Wow!
While this story starts off slow and I wondered where it was going, boy does the pace pick up!
A really powerful story about racism and revolution.
An awesome read!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-07-2023
Pretty good, not fantastic.
Some of the audio edits to slide in correct pronunciation of foreign words were a bit jarring. Not enough to be a deal-breaker for me, and I get that it's a tough one with all the languages in this book, but I could've done with a smoother flowing audio experience.
Story itself is also nice, 6/10 I'd say. Very dragged out at the front, the actual plot takes forever to come into place. but that said once it was gone I did miss the leisurely Tea-and-biscuits adventures from the early parts of the book. I imagine the pacing might feel less dragged if one were to read it instead of listen to it.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bella
- 29-04-2025
An Important and Phenomenal Story
I used this audible narration as a companion to reading the physical book so I could continue while doing some long drives. The narration was amazing and the way they incorporated the footnotes was genius. The narrator was able to seamlessly read in a way that sounded natural and fit the style of the story effortlessly. The story itself is such an important comment on imperialism and racism and how, sometimes, you can be a slave while still surrounded by luxury and the appearance of choice. And, oddly fitting for the current political climate, the occasional necessity of violence.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Charlie
- 01-05-2023
brilliant book, really, really clever
I have never consumed a book so profound in its ability to expose the true horror of extractive colonial capture using such a clever blend of fantasy and fact. one of the most intelligent historical fiction books i have listened to. the narrators were terrific
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eli
- 10-05-2023
Great book, incredible performance
Overall, the book was really great! Amazingly written with a lot of skill put in place, particularly around translation and the magic system overall. Story progresses at a good pace, rather chill read in the story regard. The performance really enhanced this book and made it 1000% more gripping. The voice actors really sold it in all aspects - worth getting even if just to listen to them.
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