SENLIN ASCENDS and ARM OF THE SPHINX : The only books that matter in 2018

If you missed all my posts until now, this one should be the post you should read from A to Z. Because I’m about to FRKN FANGIRLL ABOUT THIS BOOK OF BABEL SERIES. 

If you want to read some beautiful prose mixing with detailed and thoughtful world building, you give this book a go ASAP. If you expect it to fit in a particular genre, you need to leave all those expectations at the door. This book will not fit any genre. It’s nothing like I’ve read so far. 

The premise is simple enough : Senlin, a headmaster is traveling to the Tower of Babel with his wife Marya for a honeymoon. As great headmasters do, they read about it first in books and they arrive at their destination finding out that the tower is not exactly what’s been described in books.

(C) Bookidote

The main strength of this novel is right there. While Senlin is as confused as why the Tower is so different from literature, we as readers, are even more lost. Because what you will expect for a narrative to happen, you will be swept away and found yourself completely wrong. This is where the magic begins. We never truly know the real purpose of the Tower or why Senlin get swept away in bizarre circumstances but as the book closed in, a lot of things start to reveal itself and you realize that the author has some great surprises for us.

When I finish this book, I had to immediately pick up the sequel ! For this occasion, I had the chance to buddy read with Avalinahs Books, click here to read her post  ❤  !! The concept is similar to our post for All The Light We Cannot See, we ask each others questions and we have to answer them !

 

1.So on the whole, how much did you like, love or tolerate this book? Did you think it was better than the first, equal or did it let you down?

I LOVE THIS BOOK.  I would say I like the sequel even better than the first one. It follows a clearer narrative in my opinion and we get to find out SO MUCH more about the Tower. So for people who might not like the first book, I would STRONGLY suggest that you read the sequel. There are plenty of actions, you get to see the whole crew and discover different aspect of them.

2. Did the story go where you thought it would go, after you finished book one, Senlin Ascends?

I had some ideas where the story might go but the author completely threw us off with all the plot twists here and there haha! Can’t complain about that, it’s what makes me love the book even more 😀

3. Describe the experience of reading Arm of the Sphinx. Was it a slow read, or one that kept you on the edge of your seat?

The pace was alright for me. I like the fact the author tries to switch up the pace a bit from the beginning with a lot of action and all the pirates fight scenes. But, maybe it’s just me, it was kind of hard right after to stay focused on the story some parts were too tragic? I know it sounds weird hahah. But it doesn’t last long. I was completely absorb in the reading right after because some unexpected thing just came up.

4. Your favorite character(s) and why?

I would turn lesbian for Edith. LOL I have no idea what she looks like but I am completely in love with her personality. Her character development is well done. The first character that Senlin meets in the tower and also the one who is going to stay with him in the sequel. She’s fierce and loyal. She always got the crew in mind. She can also be very unexpected.

5. What are your thoughts on the Sphinx? Love, or hate? Impressed or not?

LOVE IT. Super duper impressed too! I don’t want to spoil too much but the Sphinx might be one of the most important characters in this series and I can’t wait to see more of it 😀 The Sphinx is like the backbone of this sequel.

6. On a scale of one to ten, how infuriated or delighted are you about the ending?

I know you were infuriated HAHA But I’m actually satisfied with the ending, I will put my trust on Josiah Bancroft on why he ended the book the way he did 😉

7. [Spoiler Alert] Where do you think the story goes from here on? 

One thing I learned with the two books: to not expect anything HAHA. But I need to add this : I WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON WITH ADAM. What happened to him got me like WTF-ed until the end of the book I was still looking and searching for clues.

AND.. This is probably one of the longest posts I’ve written but oh so worth it ❤ A special shoutout to my girl Evelina too!! We didn’t think we would make it on time publish this post HAHA it was kind of crazy because I was sick and was very behind but we still managed to do it 😀 Yayy us! 

Thank you to Orbit Books for the advanced copies of both Senlin Ascends and Arm of The Sphinx !

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