There were three people in the middle of Holywell Street, all slim youths dressed entirely in black, two men and a woman. Robin crept cautiously around the walled corner. One Chinese phrase, uttered over and over again with increasing urgency. Only after he’d paused to strain his ears did he realize he was listening to Chinese. He should have quickened his pace, but something-the tones, the shape of the words-compelled him to stop. He’d just made it past the quadrangle when he heard whispers. Shivering, he snatched Ramy’s notebook, shoved it into his satchel, and hurried out the door. All the lamps were off Robin could only just see by the moonlight streaming in at the far end of the room. The Reading Room was pitch-black and freezing.

He was, thankfully, one of the staff from before, and he let Robin into the west wing without question.

The Bodleian was locked, but a night clerk noticed him waving at the window and let him in. Oxford took on a sinister air now that he was alone the lights were no longer warm but eerie, stretching and warping his shadow against the cobblestones. Kuang’s new hit? Before you click preorder, don’t miss out on the exclusive excerpt below.Īn Excerpt From Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…Ĭan powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?”Ĭan’t wait to learn more about R.F. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. Silver working-the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars-has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.įor Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation-also known as Babel.īabel is the world’s center for translation and, more importantly, magic.

Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.ġ828. Norrell’ that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire. Kuang comes ‘ Babel,’ a thematic response to ‘ The Secret History’ and a tonal retort to ‘ Jonathan Strange & Mr. If you’re excited to learn more, here’s the official book description from Harper Voyager: “From award-winning author R. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play

Babel book kuang