- Mass Market Paperback: 354 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books; Reprint edition (28 April 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0765359138
- ISBN-13: 978-0765359131
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.4 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 483,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Ignore the title and cover painting. This isn't some sub-Tolkien fantasy nonsense. It's a brilliant satire of life in the modern capitalist society and skewers many of the tired tropes of Swords and Sorcery along the way. The adventures of Will, the angry, confused half-human foundling, as he makes his way to a Manhattan-like Babel are like a fairy tale filtered through the brain of a crystal meth-addled New York Doll. At the same time as Swanwick is having fun playing with the clichés in fantasy, the story also has an emotional centre - in fact it made me cry at the end. This is the real deal - a genuinely great work of speculate fiction by a massively under-valued writer.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Dragons of Babel is full of gorgeous images and the whole novel just heaves with atmosphere. Swanwick's techno faery setting is one of my favourite fantasy worlds and it is populated with some fascinating places and characters that I'm still thinking about even though I finished it last week.
There are no apologies made for the name dropping of modern things (perhaps not anachronisms, since who is to say that this Babel isn't as modern as our age?) and the images of elven princesses in Givenchy dresses and the protagonist riding a Kawasaki next to blind troglodyte horses are so vivid, and well...ace, that I never questioned them.
The pacing and and plotting is what stops this from being perfect - some sections are too long; others too short; characters that I was just getting to know are shunted to the wayside; and again, it could've been longer. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a highlight reel for the most incredible adventure. I've never known an author to be such a tease.
In short, if you like exquisitely written fantasy that differs from the norm - this is your book. I especially recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in folklore or if they read and enjoyed Swanwick's earlier "Iron Dragon's Daughter".
There are no apologies made for the name dropping of modern things (perhaps not anachronisms, since who is to say that this Babel isn't as modern as our age?) and the images of elven princesses in Givenchy dresses and the protagonist riding a Kawasaki next to blind troglodyte horses are so vivid, and well...ace, that I never questioned them.
The pacing and and plotting is what stops this from being perfect - some sections are too long; others too short; characters that I was just getting to know are shunted to the wayside; and again, it could've been longer. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a highlight reel for the most incredible adventure. I've never known an author to be such a tease.
In short, if you like exquisitely written fantasy that differs from the norm - this is your book. I especially recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in folklore or if they read and enjoyed Swanwick's earlier "Iron Dragon's Daughter".
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was amazed to discover that there was actually another book set in the world of The Iron Dragon's Daughter (Fantasy Masterworks) and upon discovering it plunged right into reading it as, given how the other book finished, I couldnt believe a sequel would be possible at all.
So, it isnt a sequel, it is the world depicted in the earlier book and there is plenty of continuity between the books which will satisfy anyone who has read The Iron Dragon's Daughter but it is very possible to read it as a stand alone book, infact it is probably better to do so (apart from one reference to a performer in a bizarre sex show the central story arc of the earlier book is not reproduced, I also felt that there was less of the jarring cruelty and sexualised content of the earlier book). I personally dont think it is as good as the earlier book, which is unarguably a masterpiece, but it remains head and shoulders above any other alternative within the same genre by comparison.
It is hard to establish the genre, Swanwick is a master in his reference of folk lore, a great range of characters, myths, legends and fables make appearences in his book but as other reviewers have indicated they have been in many respects been re-engineered. So truth sayers, sooth sayers and oracles appear alongside and in similar roles to judges, lawyers and legislators, the dragons are occult engines of destruction, sort of sentient stealth bombers.
The style of writing is excellent too, Swanwick has written a number of chapter or couple of chapter length stories which fit within and correspond to the overarching plot. These stories include musings about power, its corrupting effects, betrayal, becoming a pawn in others games, being a stranger in a new place, survival, adventure, the plight of refugees, falling in love or doomed love affairs, musings about revolution, social upheavels and popular expectations and finally destiny and history repeating itself. I think you will agree that's a lot and a less capable writer could have wound up making a complete mess of it.
I can highly, highly recommend this, to fans of fantasy or fans of just excellent imaginative story telling. Its not suitable for children, possibly not suitable for adolescents either. Some of the content could be inappropriate for those age groups but I am also unsure if they would appreciate it in the same way. It is far, far removed from any of the mainstream fantasy novels I can think of, even some of the more praiseworthy steampunk or cyberpunk examples that come to mind, such as Perdido Street Station or Iron Council.
So, it isnt a sequel, it is the world depicted in the earlier book and there is plenty of continuity between the books which will satisfy anyone who has read The Iron Dragon's Daughter but it is very possible to read it as a stand alone book, infact it is probably better to do so (apart from one reference to a performer in a bizarre sex show the central story arc of the earlier book is not reproduced, I also felt that there was less of the jarring cruelty and sexualised content of the earlier book). I personally dont think it is as good as the earlier book, which is unarguably a masterpiece, but it remains head and shoulders above any other alternative within the same genre by comparison.
It is hard to establish the genre, Swanwick is a master in his reference of folk lore, a great range of characters, myths, legends and fables make appearences in his book but as other reviewers have indicated they have been in many respects been re-engineered. So truth sayers, sooth sayers and oracles appear alongside and in similar roles to judges, lawyers and legislators, the dragons are occult engines of destruction, sort of sentient stealth bombers.
The style of writing is excellent too, Swanwick has written a number of chapter or couple of chapter length stories which fit within and correspond to the overarching plot. These stories include musings about power, its corrupting effects, betrayal, becoming a pawn in others games, being a stranger in a new place, survival, adventure, the plight of refugees, falling in love or doomed love affairs, musings about revolution, social upheavels and popular expectations and finally destiny and history repeating itself. I think you will agree that's a lot and a less capable writer could have wound up making a complete mess of it.
I can highly, highly recommend this, to fans of fantasy or fans of just excellent imaginative story telling. Its not suitable for children, possibly not suitable for adolescents either. Some of the content could be inappropriate for those age groups but I am also unsure if they would appreciate it in the same way. It is far, far removed from any of the mainstream fantasy novels I can think of, even some of the more praiseworthy steampunk or cyberpunk examples that come to mind, such as Perdido Street Station or Iron Council.
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