I really loved this book.
There is so much within its pages that shines so brightly that it’s actually a bit hard to know where to begin.
In most books, the intricacy of the setting is what really draws me in. I love being immersed in a new world, and appreciating the time and effort an author has taken to get every little detail just right.
Of course Josiah Bancroft has displayed a phenomenal level of skill in building his ‘Tower of Babel’ but I found that it was not really the part of the book which kept me turning the pages.
What kept me coming back night after night, and what had me checking the clock at the end of each chapter to see if I had time to squeeze in just one more before I absolutely had to go to bed — what has me refreshing my amazon tracker to see how soon the sequel will arrive — is by far Bancroft’s characters.
Everyone in The Tower has an agenda. EVERYONE. Even the most inconsequential throw-away-I-just-need-a-body-here character is up to something, even if the reader doesn’t know what it is, which just makes everything feel more alive. There is a way in which I feel like this could easily sour, with loads of exposition being dumped here an there to set up the most trivial of encounters. Somehow this book avoids that.
I’m sure it will be worth my time as a writer to go back and study this further, but as a reader — and without a quote handy — my impression is that Bancroft is just super economical with his prose, able to paint whole lives in just a sentence or maybe two.
Of course Senlin’s ascension up the ‘Ringdoms’ of The Tower is somewhat episodic, with each new setting revealing an entire new world to explore. However, there are several recurring characters which tie what could be very disparate adventures back together.
What was most impressive to me about the inclusion of these recurring characters was just how much each had changed since their last appearance and what we could learn about them — what we could glean of their essence — from the differences between then an now.
Each of them has lived multitudes since their last appearance. In one way or another, each has lost innocence in some way, and each is holding a hope and a mystery close to their heart. I just wanted to spend a little more time with all of them.
Finally there is Senlin himself. A quote on the back cover of my copy from Fantasy Faction, reads: “The most unlikely yet likeable hero since a certain hobbit rushed out of Bag End leaving his second breakfast half-finished.”
There’s really not much more to say.
Senlin is an amazing protagonist because in most ways, he’s hardly amazing at all. He has no superpower other than and unending supply of hope, determination, and forgiveness. He simply refuses to see the world in the grim light which The Tower tries to cast it, mostly to his detriment, but ultimately to his triumph.
As Bancroft states in an interview published as an extra at the end of the book:
“Senlin is not a hero. He’s a human. Which means he’s a bit of an idiot. And he doesn’t really know himself, which is the cause of so much misfortune. He is slow to let go of his illusions because they’re so essential to him. When he encounters a problem, he proudly learns a lesson, but it’s often the wrong lesson. He rushes when he should linger, and he is patient when he should insist. He does learn, but slowly; he grows, but not in a straight line. Senlin’s strength, ultimately, is his adaptability. His education and his determination make him a capable chameleon. But otherwise, he’s a small man on a big adventure, which means he makes a lot of mistakes.”
Another quote from this interview which I love:
“When I’ve experienced setbacks, I don’t rise from the ashes with all the answers. I flail about. I fall over. I take a step back and fall over again. I think that developing strength and wisdom takes time and practice.”
These could be words to live by even outside the context of this novel, but I think they also really encapsulate what makes Senlin’s character so relatable and so compelling. He’s just a dude looking for his wife . . . and the dude don’t quit.
If there is one complaint I have about the book it’s that we never get any POVs of Marya. Not only do I think a few chapters from her perspective would have added to the complexity and richness of the story, but I think it would have helped steer the book away from its biggest pitfall which is its treatment of women.
Though its presumed that Marya is still alive throughout the story, ultimately, she’s a ‘refrigerator woman’ as much as any superheroes’ girlfriend, or 007 love interest.
We are teased with her memory here and there, but unfortunately she mostly reads like an object. Something for Senlin to chase after. And as the novel progresses, an ideal. Senlin does seem to struggle with this fact at several points in the novel which makes the book somewhat self-aware, but if the book is able to acknowledge this pitfall, why continue with it?
And if you’re not Marya, and are a woman in the tower, it seems that all that is left for you is prostitution. The two main arguments against this are Edith and Iren, who are both simply amazing, but in an action hero kind of way we typically associate with male heroes.
I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of these two characters in Arm of the Sphinx (the cover of which seems particularly symbolic of Edith), so I hope we get a little more nuance in their characters, and in general some female characters who are badass for other reasons then their skill with a weapon.
Give This One A Read
Wholeheartedly yes. Even with the complaints I had above, I still feel there is a great deal here to enjoy.
That’s all I have for this week! Let me know your thoughts? Has anyone read this one yet? Which Ringdom did you enjoy the most? Would you want to visit any?
Let me know in the comments. See you next time!
alligators and aneurysms! 