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Other Worlds

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Afrofurturism, Feminist & Queer World-Building - an invitation to step into other worlds has always been at the center of our brick-and-mortar. Our first scifi/fantasy lists were built by WisCon fans, heavy on Butler and Le Guin and the other founding women of the genre. We’ve maintained our commitment to find, read, shelve, and recommend diverse voices. Browse here and find books for middle-grade and up, as the best speculative fiction crosses ages and genres!

R F Kuang, Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

R F Kuang, Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

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"From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire. Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. 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. Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. 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. For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide ... Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?"--Provided by publisher.

Sarah Perry, Enlightenment, 5/7/24

Sarah Perry, Enlightenment, 5/7/24

$30.24