The Tower of Babel is proving to be as difficult to reenter as it was to break out of. Forced into a life of piracy, Senlin and his eclectic crew are struggling to survive aboard their stolen airship as the hunt to rescue Senlin’s lost wife continues.

Hopeless and desolate, they turn to a legend of the Tower, the mysterious Sphinx. But help from the Sphinx never comes cheaply, and as Senlin knows, debts aren’t always what they seem in the Tower of Babel.

Fucking hell, how has is literally been more than a year since I read Senlin Ascends? It feels like it was just a few months ago, which means a couple things:

1.Josiah Bancroft has created a world that’s as vivid & unique as anything I’ve ever read, and the first in his series, The Books of Babel, has really stuck with me.

2. We are in some kinda time warp/alternate universe thingy, and time has no meaning.

So, I’m sure everyone knows the story behind the story for these books (the first two, anyway), but it’s a great story, and just in case you never heard it: Senlin Ascends (as well as The Arm of the Sphinx) was previously a self-published book, and a SPFBO finalist. And although it didn’t win the SPFBO, it did catch the attention of Mark Lawrence, who fell wildly in love with the book. Enter Orbit, who signed Josiah Bancroft for a multi-book deal, putting these thrilling tales in the hands of lots of enthusiastic readers!

BEWARE THE SPOILERS!!! Pretty safe to say if you haven’t read Senlin Ascends & would like to, this is where we say goodbye.

We reconnect with Thomas Senlin & his ragtag crew aboard the stolen airship, the Stone Cloud. They’re living the life of…pirates? I mean…pirates. But not like bloodthirsty, ruthless pirates. More like quirky, fun pirates with (mostly) good moral compasses.

Anyway.

Senlin is still searching for his wife, but at this point, it’s been a year. And the search has taken Senlin & co. on some wild goose chases, it would seem. So they’ve all reached this weird, liminal phase where, yes, they’re still searching for Marya. But also, life goes on.

The Tower of Babel continues to mystify & haunt Senlin, as it just refuses to give up its secrets no matter how many threads he pulls at. Lucky for him, his crew is there to help him stay…balanced. And this is where Arm of the Sphinx really soars…getting to see things from the POV of the rest of the crew brings a whole new dynamic to this series, and it’s wonderful. Edith, in particular, is a favorite of mine. More & more, she seems like the heart & soul of this crew, and she seems to be keenly aware of just about everything that happens, on & off the ship.

Arm of the Sphinx definitely has a bit of a different vibe from Senlin Ascends. I guess it’s not necessarily more character driven, but it really changed things up to get to see this world through the eyes of some characters who’ve had their own experiences in it. And this book just felt fun…there’s quite a lot of humor in it, and some VERY big surprises.

And goddamn, the writing. I mean…Josiah Bancroft can turn a seriously delightful phrase. There’s just a quality to his prose that’s gorgeous & whimsical & very unique, without ever getting in the way of the story.

Arm of the Sphinx is as good a sequel as I’ve ever read, really. It adds so much more to this world, sets further adventures in motion, and really opens a lot of different doors we might get to explore later in the series. The Books of Babel is really shaping up to be an all-time favorite series for me…I think these are books that are going to be finding their way into the hands of fantasy readers for a very long time!

And I PROMISE I won’t wait a year until reading The Hod King!!