Babel or THE Necessity OF Violence

R. F. Kuang

ISBN 10: 0063021420 / ISBN 13: 9780063021426

Published by Harper Voyager, New York, 2022

About this Item

The hardcover binding is intact, with minimal wear visible on the spine and cover. The pages are clean and free from inscriptions or library markings. The dust jacket is not visible in the photos, so its condition is unknown. Overall, the book is in good condition, suitable for collectors and readers alike. unknown (dust jacket not visible in photos).

Seller Inventory # A16-B3-TNP-0326

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Babel or THE Necessity OF Violence
• Publisher: Harper Voyager, New York
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0063021420
• ISBN 13: 9780063021426
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Nicolette Caven (for map and tower illustration)
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

About this title

Synopsis

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War

"Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial history and the Industrial Revolution, turns it over, and shakes it out." ― Shannon Chakraborty, bestselling author of The City of Brass

From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell in this unforgettable work of dark academia that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.

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

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation―also known as Babel.

Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. The unique magic system of silver working―the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars―has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, a secret society dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…

About the Author

Rebecca F. Kuang is the #1 New York Times bestselling and Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award nominated author of Babel, the Poppy War trilogy, and the forthcoming Yellowface. She is a Marshall Scholar, translator, and 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.