![]() ![]() Initially he proceeds with optimism and reason, but as he suffers repeated setbacks he becomes more willing to manipulate and deceive people to achieve his ends. He ventures into the miles-wide, miles-tall tower in search of help, only to find most people indifferent to his plight and out to rob or enslave him. Senlin Ascends is the story of a man who visits the Tower of Babel - which may or may not be "our" mythological tower - on honeymoon only to lose his wife. It's quite possibly the most striking debut work of speculative fiction published in the last decade. It's what you'd get if China Mieville and Christopher Priest collaborated on a novel and both brought their A-game, and it was then adapted for film by Studio Ghibli. ![]() It's a black comedy of manners, a dashing adventure, and a devastating deconstruction of people, places and tropes. It's a science fiction novel set inside a Big Dumb Object created by peoples unknown for scientific purposes (.perhaps?). It's a character-focused slice of the New Weird. It's a steampunk romance with airships and sky-pirates. This is fantasy, but not quite as you may know it. ![]() Senlin Ascends is the first novel in a trilogy called The Books of Babel, followed by Arm of the Sphinx (out now) and The Hod King (working title, due next year). ![]()
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