Senlin Ascends

Unpopular opinion time!
It's been a few days since I finished Senlin Ascends and I still don't know how I feel about it. It's one of those books.

Thomas Senlin and his wife Marya are on honeymoon at the famous,  gigantic Tower of Babel. So much to see! On the very first day of their honeymoon, in the chaotic market of the tower, Marya and Senlin lose each other and thus begin Senlin's quest to find his wife.

This book has a huge hype around it. For a long time, I have not come across a book that is so beloved and praised, especially among self-published books. And it is a debut! So when I started the book, I have already fallen into the hype.

And this is the main reason why I gave the book 3 stars in the end.

The Tower of Babel and the life in it are very different from the calm, calculated, and orderly life that Senlin is used to. What he has to do to survive, and find her mate in this world he has fallen into is far from a classic heroic tale. Senlin is a regular guy, a teacher, a bit conservative and happy in his comfort zone. So in the time it took to build Senlin's character and this crazy world, about halfway through the book, not much happens. The story starts to pick up when the story forces Senlin to leave his comfort zone and do things he wouldn't expect from himself.

Josiah Bancroft is very creative and his writing style is great. Vibrant. Flows smoothly. I feel like I could find my way in the tower with his descriptions. Nothing overwhelming, nothing pretentious, no flowers. It's sublime. I was thinking about what to say as a review when I was in the middle of the book, I was sure of this; the writing is wonderful, but I can't immerse myself in the book. That started to change towards the end but I think it was too late for me to engage with the story fully and crave for the next one. While the path Senlin follows in search of Marya and the clues he finds in every step make a great contribution to the world-building, it also takes away from the pacing. So apparently for me, action is worth a thousand words.

While the premise is very straightforward, there are so many characters who jump in and out of the story and I couldn't connect with any of them. Even at the end of the book, when everything came together, all I cared about was Senlin and Marya and I wasn't 100% interested in them either. I think the strongest, the most prominent character in this book was The Tower of Babel. Besides, the main plot is interrupted by side quests often, and just like the side characters, I thought that these quests only disrupt the flow. As someone whose favorite games are RPGs and who prefers side quests to main quest most of the time, it felt very strange to me to think this way.

But you know, this is a debut and I ended up hopeful about the future installments. After all this, I still will continue to read the rest of the Books of Babel series. Although I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping for, I want to see what else will the Tower of Babel and its ringdoms bring to Senlin. But not immediately.

What do you think? Have you read Senlin Ascends? Let's chat!