Babel by R.F. Kuang - A Review from Someone Who Almost Quit at 30%

I’ll be honest with you: I almost abandoned this book. I picked up Babel because I kept hearing great things about R.F. Kuang. Yellowface gets constant praise, Katabasis is generating buzz, and even The Poppy War trilogy has mostly positive reviews (at least for the first two books). Yellowface wasn’t available on my Kindle Unlimited subscription, so I decided to get to know the author through one of her other bestsellers instead.

Babel is historical fantasy set in 1830s Britain - Oxford, specifically. There’s magic, but it’s so naturally woven into the world that you barely notice it at first. More on that later.

The First 40% Problem

Here’s the thing: for about 35-40% of this book, almost nothing happens. The main character Robin studies at Oxford’s Royal Institute of Translation (Babel), makes friends, learns languages, hears whispers about secret societies. But the author mostly tells you about student life rather than showing you anything compelling. “They spent this half-year studying and getting to know each other.” Okay, but… where’s the story?

At 30%, I was ready to drop it. But I thought - let me give it another 10%. Just to be fair.

Man, I’m glad I did.

When It Finally Clicks

After 40% - right around when the characters pass their third-year exams - the story transforms. Suddenly there’s drive, tension, real stakes. The magic that they’d been talking about for hundreds of pages finally appears in meaningful ways.

I spent about six weeks crawling through the first half of this book. The second half? Maybe a week. I couldn’t put it down.

The Magic System

The magic in Babel is based on translation - specifically, the gaps between languages where meaning gets lost or transformed. That’s why the translation institute is so valuable to the British Empire, and why it’s one of the only places where non-white students can study.

It’s clever, and it’s integrated so seamlessly into 1830s Britain that you almost forget it’s fantasy. Don’t expect flashy spells in the first half though - the magic becomes much more prominent during the action-heavy second part.

What It’s Really About

This book wants to be deep, and honestly, it succeeds. It’s about imperialism - how empires exploit colonies for resources while ignoring the humanity of colonized people. The British Empire in Babel doesn’t care about people, only power.

There’s even a “Silver Industrial Revolution” (paralleling the real Industrial Revolution) where workers lose jobs, families starve, and strikes break out - while Parliament prioritizes the Empire over its own citizens. It’s heavy stuff, and it resonates.

The Ending

The pace slows down again toward the end, building to a conclusion that feels… expected, in a way. Not obvious - but the kind of ending these stories tend to have, both in fiction and in real life.

Final Verdict

Do I recommend Babel? Yes. But with a warning: push through that first 35-40%. It’s slow, it’s heavy on exposition, and you might want to quit. Don’t.

The language isn’t simple either - it takes some getting used to. By the halfway point, you’ll be fine.

If you can survive the slow burn, the payoff is worth it.

Rating: 4/5