3.5
The Fall of Babel
ByPublisher Description
The incredible final book in the phenomenon fantasy series described as “future classics" follows one man's dangerous journey through a labyrinthine world and the mysteries he uncovers along the way. (Los Angeles Times).
"Josiah Bancroft is a magician. His books are that rare alchemy: gracefully written, deliriously imaginative, action packed, warm, witty, and thought provoking." —Madeline Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Circe
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.
Also by Josiah Bancroft:
The Books of Babel
Senlin Ascends
Arm of the Sphinx
The Hod King
The Fall of Babel
"Josiah Bancroft is a magician. His books are that rare alchemy: gracefully written, deliriously imaginative, action packed, warm, witty, and thought provoking." —Madeline Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Circe
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.
Also by Josiah Bancroft:
The Books of Babel
Senlin Ascends
Arm of the Sphinx
The Hod King
The Fall of Babel
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3.5

Spencer King
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“I’m giving this a 1 star for now because I don’t have a sense for the difference in ratings this low on the scale. Needless to say, I didn’t enjoy this book at all.
I thought the series could have been a trilogy and stopped when Marya was rescued rather than going into the purpose of the tower storyline.
Some of these thoughts are for this book and some are for the series as a whole:
1. Is Senlin the main character of the series? It certainly seems like he is after the first book but then he gets separated from the crew in book 2 and doesn’t really reunite with them until the finale and those interactions are all rushed. Senlin/Edith don’t get any sort of resolution, we get zero Senlin/Adam interaction and the Senlin/Marya reunion is underwhelming. I expected Senlin to have more growth through the series. After book one, it seems like he’s going to but in books 3 and 4, from the moment he’s captured by the Duke, his storyline is only propelled by the plot around him and not by any decisions he makes. I think the lack of change is evidenced by his final interaction with Marya. He still thinks of her as this perfect ideal of a woman and that’s what turns Marya away. I get them not immediately getting back together but that is the driving motivation for Senlin the entire series. It would have been nice to get a better resolution there. If not Senlin getting back with Marya, then at least give him the option of moving on to Edith.
2. Marat showed potential in books 2 to be a nuanced villain but that was all thrown away in this book. He’s just an average tyrant who only wants power.
3. Edith is the best part of the book. Her character actually has grown, unlike Senlin, and has multiple motivations driving her.
4. After the pacing of book 3 where we get 3 different POVs back to back to back recounting the same 3 days, I lost it when the first 150 of this book was catching up with Adam. I didn’t find myself invested in that storyline at all. It had been too long since we’d seen Adam and I needed the start of this book to progress the story to keep the momentum going.
5. The tower didn’t have the same charm in this book. We certainly see more of the tower but we don’t spend long in each ringdom.
6. I felt the writing style was trying too hard and the book was too long. Words just thrown into sentences for the sake of making them complicated.
7. After spending so much time with the Sphinx in book 2 she just dies offscreen in this book. That felt very underwhelming.
Ultimately, I think this series was at its best when it was small in scale. The finale forgoes that in favor of the purpose of the tower storyline which never really connected with me. We end with too many unanswered questions.”

Elizabeth 💜
Created 2 days agoShare
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“I found this book to be very wordy but it wrapped up all the characters nicely. I will forever love Tom Senlin what a gift it would be to be loved by him.”

S.Cole
Created 9 days agoShare
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Dalnoble
Created 11 days agoShare
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Brooke
Created 16 days agoShare
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About Josiah Bancroft
Josiah Bancroft is the author of five novels, a collection of short fiction, and numerous poems. His books have been translated into eight languages. Before settling down to write fantasy full-time, he was a college instructor, rock musician, and aspiring comic book artist. When he’s not writing, he enjoys strumming a variety of stringed instruments, drawing with a growing cache of imperfect pens, and cooking without a recipe. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Sharon, their daughter, Maddie, and their two rabbits, Mabel and Chaplin.
Other books by Josiah Bancroft
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