Books from United Kingdom

What if translation were the most powerful weapon in the world? In 1830s Oxford, Robin Swift, an orphan from Canton, is brought to England to study languages at the prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, known as Babel. There, silver-working transforms the subtle differences between languages into extraordinary magical power, helping the British Empire expand its influence across the globe. But as Robin and his fellow students uncover the violence and exploitation sustaining this system, they face an impossible choice: serve the institution that gave them a future or destroy the machinery of imperial power. Blending dark academia, historical fantasy, and political intrigue, Babel examines the relationship between language and power, asking what is lost when cultures are translated, exploited, and controlled by those who rule.

What if the only way to save your future was to journey into Hell? Alice Law has sacrificed almost everything to become a brilliant scholar of analytic magic at Cambridge University. But when her formidable academic advisor, Professor Jacob Grimes, dies in a magical accident, Alice faces the possibility of losing the career she has worked so hard to build. Determined to retrieve his soul, she descends into the underworld, accompanied by Peter Murdoch, her gifted—and deeply resented—academic rival. Guided by ancient myths and philosophical texts, the pair must navigate a Hell that defies everything they have been taught. As their dangerous journey exposes buried secrets and forces them to confront their complicated relationship with their mentor, Alice begins questioning the ambitions that have defined her life. Blending dark academia, mythology, intellectual rivalry, and biting humour, R. F. Kuang’s fantasy explores the brutal demands of academic ambition and the price of pursuing greatness.