The Fall of Babel is not just a title; it is a state. A state where the quality of the series ends up. The Tower of Babel is sometimes called the Sink of Humanity. Its immensity, the variety of its ringdoms, its mysterious and luxurious heights are irresistible to all corners. We are drawn to it like water to a drain. Senlin loved nothing more in the world than a warm hearth to set his feet upon and a good book to pour his whole mind into. While an evening storm rattled the shutters and a glass of port wine warmed in his hand, Senlin would read into the wee hours of the night. He especially The problem was the decision to spend the entire first third of this book focused on one POV, that of Adam. Look, I don't dislike Adam's character, but he was maybe my least favorite of all the POVs. With the way the Hod King ended I really wanted to keep reading about the other characters, especially those who had such climatic endings in book 3.

And, finally, we have undoubtedly learned that this whole quadrilogy had really been all about Senlin... NOT. Senlin did not believe in that sort of love: sudden and selfish and insatiable. Love, as the poets so often painted it, was just bald lust wearing a pompous wig. He believed true love was more like an education: it was deep and subtle and never complete.”The Gadfly: As a teen, Marya goes out of her way to annoy and otherwise hog the attention of her teachers. The very last words the old headmaster says to the young Senlin consist of warning him about the troublesome student.

Hill, Nicole (13 March 2018). "Arm of the Sphinx Continues a Surreal Climb Up the Tower of Babel". B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog . Retrieved 28 January 2020. The ending left a lot of loose ends, so if the author wants he can continue with the characters but take them in a different direction. The pleasure in this series came from the author’s wit and wild imagination. I would expect that to continue if more secrets of the Tower are revealed. Fiction Book Review: Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 23 November 2018. My general impression is that your reception of the book is going to be determined by how you’d answer the above questions.Because this is book 4. I know this series is going to be weird. I know the characters are going to be weirdly poetic in situations when they shouldn't. I know there are going to be weird cyborg people. I know there's going to be plot elements that come out of nowhere and that ringdoms are going to be introduced that are too weird to exist. So why did I hate all of it this time? Set in the Biblical land of Ur sits the works famous Tower of Babel, here rather reimagined. Surrounded by a fair or flea market miles deep, it is that treasured goal of every traveler and dreamer the world over, including, that is, Selin, headmaster of a school, and his wife, Marya. They soon become separated in the giant flea market and Selin enters the giant tower in search of her. But this Tower is so broad that it each level hosts a kingdom or ringdom as they are known. Most of these ringdoms and there’s some 64 of them for good measure are ruled by feudal aristocratics. Alexander, Niall (17 January 2018). "Up, Up and Away: Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft". Tor.com . Retrieved 23 November 2018.

Senlin’s Arc ending with him teaching his new students was fitting. However, concerning Marya, I was more mixed about her reaction. I understand Marya needs some time, but man seriously after one kiss, ruining a marriage while he was just out of his drug addiction, lonely, probably thought his quest was in vain and depressed and so much more. The dude went through hell to reunite with her, honestly, I felt this decision by her was very selfish. I still think Bancroft should just give an extra chapter of Senlin and Marya properly reuniting. After spending 4 books of a series wanting them to reunite, keeping it semi-open-ended, I don’t think that should have been the route. However, the optimist in me, viewed the ending with a more hopeful perspective that their marriage isn’t completely screwed, they will be together, slowly but eventually. I do think it's understandable people are annoyed by this semi-ambiguity as it was the reason why many of us took this adventure to the tower.But that’s not all. It actually took me another week to finish the rest of the novel; this makes The Fall of Babel the longest time I ever spent to finish a book. It’s insane, The Fall of Babel consists of 241k words but it felt like 600k words. For comparison, Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson (460k words) took me a week to start and finish, and The Stand Uncut Edition by Stephen King (468k words) took me ten days. I don’t know about you, but often I can measure how invested and enamored I am by a book through how fast—not intentionally, but I always feel like I WANT to continue reading—I can read through it. Yes, the immense pacing issues I had with the beginning of this book could’ve been fixed simply by having all the POV characters appearing interchangeably instead of doing it in a large chunk. It’s also true that this worked in The Hod King, but it didn’t in here, not for me anyway. But The Fall of Babel felt like four novellas combined into one book, and the only sections I loved from the book were the four long chapters titled “From the Belly of the Beast” and some of the chapters in the last part of the novel, at least until the ending happened. Thomas Senlin planned a seemingly perfect honeymoon at the magnificent, and world renowned Tower of Babel. Each level of the tower is a Ringdom - cities with different characteristics and unique aspects. Rumour has it that each stage is more beautiful than the previous. What better way to spend a honeymoon than to ascend the tower with his savings, guidebook and beautiful wife? Unfortunately, Senlin loses his partner amongst the massive crowds at the start of the narrative. He aims to find her by entering the tower and rising through the levels. He soon realises that the tower isn't exactly the same place which he adored from afar and which his trusty Everyman's Guide to the Tower of Babel had led him to believe it would be.

Look, no one is more surprised than me that my most anticipated book of the year (and my life?) was not five stars. I still can’t quite get over the fact that the series is finished. Confused, he turned in circles, searching first the ground and then the crowd of blank, unperturbed faces snaking about him. Marya’s trunk was gone. “I’ve lost my luggage,” he said. It was all so overwhelming, and for a moment Senlin stiffened like a corpse. The bark of vendors, the snap of tarps, the jangle of harnesses, and the dither of ten-thousand alien voices set a baseline of noise which could only be yelled over. Marya took hold of her husband’s belt just at his spine, startling him from his daze and goading him onward. He knew they couldn’t very well just stand there. He gathered a breath and took the first step. We were told again and again that the Tower loathes nothing more than a smug survivor. And here one, Thomas Senlin. I was waiting for the reunion of the two star-crossed lovers and, admittedly, this was one of the most anticipated moments in the book. Thomas Senlin, the mild-mannered headmaster of a small village school, is drawn to the Tower by scientific curiosity and the grandiose promises of a guidebook. The luxurious Baths of the Tower seem an ideal destination for a honeymoon, but soon after arriving, Senlin loses Marya in the crowd. Senlin’s search for Marya carries him through madhouses, ballrooms, and burlesque theaters. He must survive betrayal, assassination, and the long guns of a flying fortress.On December 3, 2021, Orbit Books announced the acquisition of a new three book series from Josiah Bancroft entitled The Hexologists. [11] "The Hexologists introduces us to a new world and the dynamic duo of Hexologists Iz and Warren Wilby: two private investigators who solve magical problems with magical solutions." This book doesn't have a lot of action compared to most fantasy books, but the action it had was kinda boring.(and the ship vs ship stuff is cool) But understanding nothing, or very little of the world, and having no desire to understand more than you already do, well, that invites entitlement. What was a privilege becomes a right. And that, I think, is dangerous.” A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children. and the ending to this is one i think will be surprising to most readers, as it was to me. with a title like ‘the fall of babel,’ it isnt hard to get a certain idea of how things are supposed to play out, but i found JBs ending to be completely unexpected. especially as it leaves rooms for additional books/possible companion series.