Book · 2022
Babel, or the Necessity of Violence
by R. F. Kuang
An Oxford translation student discovers the empire's magic runs on stolen language, and the fallout got the book pulled into a Hugo Awards scandal.
What does Reddit think of Babel, or the Necessity of Violence?
r/Fantasy is where the fight happens: 74 of the book's 251 mentions, and a lot of them unflattering. One top comment (↑191) calls it desperate to make you realize how intelligent and scholarly it is, then says the colonialism critique never gets past the surface. Another (↑138) calls it repetitive and says it explains itself "like the reader is going to be a 5yo kid." A third (↑125) admits agreeing with the politics while still finding the delivery heavy-handed, praise and complaint in the same sentence, which is the pattern here. r/suggestmeabook is gentler, mostly filing it next to Cloud Cuckoo Land and Sea of Tranquility (↑92) on best-of lists. r/printSF's 51 mentions skew toward the 2023 Hugo Awards story — Babel was excluded from the Chengdu Worldcon shortlist, and threads (↑131, ↑101) treat that as the bigger scandal. Total volume: 251 mentions, holding steady since 2022 at roughly 60 a year.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · colonialism critique
- · magic as translation theory
- · dark academia
- · the Hugo Awards controversy
Common praise
- + r/suggestmeabook keeps slotting it next to Cloud Cuckoo Land and Sea of Tranquility on best-of-the-year lists.
- + Even its r/Fantasy critics admit they agreed with the politics; the complaint is about volume, not content.
Common criticism
- − A top r/Fantasy comment (↑191) says the colonialism critique never goes past surface-level preaching.
- − Another commenter (↑138) calls the prose repetitive and says it over-explains 'like the reader is going to be a 5yo kid.'
- − r/Fantasy readers describe the characters themselves as painful to spend time with, not just the plot.
Who it's for
Go in already sympathetic to the argument the book is making; r/Fantasy's critics agreed with the politics and still didn't like the delivery. If you followed the 2023 Hugo Awards story, the Chengdu exclusion controversy discussed on r/printSF (↑131, ↑101) is arguably more interesting than the novel it's about. Dark-academia readers who want a magic system built entirely out of translation theory will find exactly that here. Anyone allergic to being told what to think twice a chapter should look elsewhere first.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Babel, or the Necessity of Violence?
Top-upvoted quotes across the subreddits where this book is mentioned. Click through to read the full thread.
“Babel by R.F Kuang. If there was ever a book that was so desperate to make you realise just how intelligent and scholarly it was, it's this book. Only it really doesn't advance beyond any surface level critique, or rather, preaching about the injustices of colonialism. Characters are painful. Plot …
“For those who're unable to get around the paywall, here's the list: * ***The Violence*** by Delilah S. Dawson * ***In the Serpent's Wake*** by Rachel Hartman * ***All the Horses of Iceland*** by Sarah Tolmie * ***Tell Me an Ending*** by Jo Harkin * ***The Impossible Us*** by Sarah Lotz * ***Her Maj…
“Not the worst of the worst, but just big dissapointment: Babel by R.F. Kuang. Repetitive and overly explaining everything to reader like reader is going to be 5yo kid. Generally felt bland and I wished better character development.
“Well, no one knows what the explanation actually is. It's a mystery. The basics of the situation are that the Hugos are a prestigious SFF award. Books are nominated and awards are voted on by fans, and everything is organized by Worldcon every year. This year, Worldcon was held in Chengdu in Chin…
“i’ll say it: babel by r. f. kuang. it’s not even because i don’t like r. f. kuang or was uncomfortable with the message she was trying to get across — even if i did feel it was a bit heavy handed. it definitely felt like it was screaming in my face, which, again, fine, i agreed with it anyway and …
“Good on you. Blood Over Brighthaven is a powerful book and this is such a great example of that. I wish I could do the same but I'm mostly housebound so the convenience is pretty important for me. I hate supporting them. Other books that might scratch a similar itch for you in terms of having mor…
“Article text: A prestigious literary award for science fiction, which was hosted in China for the first time, has come under fire for excluding several authors from the 2023 awards, raising concerns about interference or censorship in the awards process. The New York Times bestseller Babel by RF …
“1. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr 2. Babel by R. F. Kuang 3. Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro 4. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel 5. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Convinced? Pick up Babel, or the Necessity of Violence
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Babel, or the Necessity of Violence — frequently asked
Is Babel by R.F. Kuang worth reading given the mixed reaction on r/Fantasy?+
Depends on your tolerance for didactic delivery. r/Fantasy generates 74 of the book's 251 mentions and much of it is critical, with one top comment (↑191) saying the colonialism critique 'doesn't advance beyond surface level.' r/suggestmeabook's take is milder, treating it as a solid best-of-year pick.
Why did Babel get pulled into the 2023 Hugo Awards controversy?+
It was excluded from the Chengdu Worldcon shortlist under circumstances later scrutinized as political interference. r/printSF threads (↑131, ↑101) treat the exclusion itself as the bigger story, generating more discussion than the book's actual content.
Is Babel too heavy-handed with its colonialism themes?+
Several r/Fantasy commenters think so. One (↑125) says the message 'felt like it was screaming in my face' while admitting agreement with it; another (↑138) calls the explaining condescending. It's a recurring complaint, not an outlier.
Does r/Fantasy actually like Babel?+
Not uniformly. Of the subreddit's 74 mentions in the sample, the top-upvoted ones (↑191, ↑138, ↑125) all register some version of disappointment, even when the commenter agrees with the book's politics.