R.F. Kuang’s Babel, one of our favorite fantasy books, is just $2 on eBook

R.F. Kuang’s Nebula and Locus Award-winning fantasy novel Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence is widely adored. Polygon considered one of the best SFF novels of 2022. For instance, my colleague Sadie Gennis loved it enough to buy the hardcover version for herself and as gifts for two of her friends, even though she already owned a Kindle copy. While I’m very late to the party, I’ll finally jump on board thanks to a fantastic deal on the eBook version on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo that knocks the price from $15.99 to just $1.99.

I don’t want to spoil the full plot for myself, though I know just enough about the book to want to dive in, thanks to Polygon’s Nicole Clark, who wrote a juicy snippet about Babel for that 2022 SFF novel ranking:

While studying at Babel, Robin and his cohort are given access to abundant resources they could have never dreamed of. At the same time, they see the ugly agenda of Oxford, and how even their mother tongues become tools of British imperialism. Their professors and classmates see the value in the silver they may produce, with their knowledge of such “exotic” languages, but view those who live in foreign countries as less than human and ultimately expendable. Robin and his friends must choose between two paths set before them: comfort and wealth in the bosom of the crown, or simply burning it all down.

It’s also tough not be intrigued by the drama that this title has endured since it debuted. While it seemed like a leading contender to win the prestigious Hugo Award in 2023, Babel was disqualified during the voting process. There was speculation that it was a result of Chinese state censorship, or the Hugo Awards committee’s self-censorship to appease the Chinese government, since much of Kuang’s work involves Chinese history and culture. Kuang wasn’t provided with a reason for the novel’s disqualification, and Babel was far from the only novel to get a controversial ineligibility ruling for the award that year. Now you can judge the book for yourself for a couple bucks.

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