Babel by R.F. Kuang

Babel by R.F. Kuang
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Robin Swift, born in Canton and orphaned by the Cholera pandemic, is brought to London by Professor Lovell, a professor at Oxford's Royal Institute of Translation (Babel). Robin is ruthlessly trained day and night in the subject of languages and translation to fulfil Professor Lovell's orders of his enrollment at Babel. Years later, Robin is ready for Babel and learns just how the magic of language can change the world - but soon, Robin realizes that there is a cost to the knowledge and power that Babel holds. 

This is one of the most extraordinary books I have ever read. The amount of work, knowledge, research, imagination, organization, and CONFIDENCE that R.F. Kuang had to have had in order to put this together far surpasses my understanding of what humans are capable of. Babel is genuinely incredible. There is so much genre-meshing here - Babel is fantasy, dark academia, historical fiction, and political! This is, by far, one of my favorite coming of age stories I have ever read. 

I really grew to love these characters and the setting absolutely envelops you - I swear I could see everything Kuang described. Some of the criticisms that Babel has received are valid, although I don't agree with all of them. Some have said that this book reads like a textbook. That's true, but it's something I adored about the story. I loved learning about the history of translation as well as the political repercussions that go along with the gathering (and hoarding) of information and resources. 

I rated Babel 5 stars for all of these reasons, although I do have a few personal criticisms. Firstly, I feel like the supporting characters needed/deserved more. Poppy War is a great example of secondary characters having fully fleshed out histories/origins. Secondly, I hated the ending. I just really wasn't happy with it, though, admittedly, it was a good way to end the book.

Babel is a masterpiece. I need a sequel ASAP! I highly recommend this for fantasy lovers and/or history buffs. The political content is beautifully done, which is always expected from R.F Kuang at this point. Wow. Just wow - I adored this book!

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

 

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang
⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Dragon Republic is R.F. Kuang's powerful sequel to The Poppy War! This was one of the best sequels I have ever read! I didn't love it like I loved the first book, but this one came pretty close!

This is a series that is incredibly difficult not to spoil because the beginning and end of each book is like night and day. So much is packed into these pages - it's a nonstop rollercoaster ride, from the very first chapter! 

What I loved the most about The Dragon Republic is the same thing I adored about The Poppy War. Kuang's world building skills are mind-blowing! We learn even more about the mythology in Nikan and, politically speaking, it packs a punch! We meet some new characters, which is great, and we lose some familiar ones - not so great - but the story benefitted from both of these things!

I rated this 4 stars instead of 5 because I felt that Rin's character development was a little slow and Nezha's was a little difficult to justify. Despite those couple of things, this sequel was amazing and I'm so sad (but excited) to be approaching the finale of Rin's story!

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

 *TRIGGER WARNINGS* rape, death, racism, political injustice, abuse, cruelty

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Poppy War's synopsis is pretty convoluted and if I tried to explain exactly what the story is about, we'd be here all day! So instead, here is my paraphrased version - Rin, a war orphan, escapes her abusive foster family by being accepted into Sinegard, a military school made to turn children into cutthroat soldiers. What comes next is war, death, gods, special powers, friendship, fantasy, and devastation. I mean, the world, races, and story that R.F. Kuang built for this story is kind of mind blowing!

Rin's story contains so many important issues that are real in our world - political injustice, civil rights, genocide, war crimes, racism, and so much more. At surface level, this book is an amazing fantasy story, but if you look a little deeper, there is so much written into these pages - friendship, loyalty, love, humanity. There are parts of this book that are lighthearted and funny, and there are parts that are so devastatingly disturbing that they will probably stick with me for a while.

Please be aware - there are many trigger warnings needed for this story - it can be absolutely brutal at certain points. 

The Poppy War is currently in first place for my favorite book so far this year. It is simply brilliant. R.F. Kuang has not only invented her own world, races, society and culture, but she has also created her own unique mythology and history that adds an intricate depth to Rin's world. And the character development! The relationships in this story and how they evolve! This book burned its marks into me, pun totally intended. 

If I could rate this more than 5 stars, I would. Fast paced, haunting, beautiful, and unique - The Poppy War absolutely blew me away!