/lit/ - Literature

>>20750260
Yea.

>>16150770
We follow the optimistic teacher Senlin as he ascends the cloud-surpassing tower of Babel, that seems to be built to grind down the hearts of men. Will he reach his quarry? Will he remain a bright-eyed and good man? Will he ever escape?

>>15390067
They're great.
>>15390190
Not every series has to be a juvenile jizz-stained harem power fantasy, where no-one wrongs the hero character, not without getting away with it for long anyway.
The missing wife is the strong motivation the main character is given in these books, but it is far from simplistic. Because of the society of the Tower, it is no easy feat to retrieve her and the main character must adapt an maneuver treacherous perils to reach her, which he does only in the third book. There are hooks and twists regarding the story of the separated lovers, and she is not the pretty trophy bereft of agency one would expect and has achieved much we wouldn't expect, as is shown when we later get to read about what she did during the time we spent with Senlin.
The main thing is, that this is not some simple perverse self-flagellating fetish fuel for these "cuckolds" you speak of. It is a wonderful exploration of the human bone-grinder that is Josiah Bancrofts' Tower of Babel, and how it maliciously chews through good people, two of them Senlin and his wife. It's just a book and not a high-school romance that inevitably breaks your heart, so we probably can expect a happy ending by the conclusion of the unreleased fourth and final tome.

>>15066802
Waiting for the fourth book.

>>14827247
Yes. Yes.
I even liked the sequels. Worth a read.

>>14414169
It's great! It has good character arcs.

>>14047441
Senlin Ascends

>>13534147
Well it may be that I haven't read many similar books, but I didn't find it generically formulaic. Even though you could describe the series as picaresque, it is the execution where it shines.
The thing is, and you don't know unless you try, that there's a chance that you might actually grow to like the places and people this book has on offer. I found the setting delightfully unique and myself invested the cast of characters, and how they interact and change through the series. I also recommend the audiobook adaptation.

>>13291665
Senlin Ascends

>>12335944
>>What was the best /sffg/ book you read in 2018?
Senlin Ascends (The Books of Babel #1) and the sequel Arm of the Sphinx
This picaresque journey through the terrifyingly wonderful Tower of Babel just felt like a breath of fresh air to me and was a joy to read. I found the setting unique and I liked the main character, the bullshit he has to go through, and how he develops because of it, and develop he does.
>>What is your most anticipated book of 2019?
By extension it might be The Hod King , the third in the trilogy.
>>Are you glad A Scanner Darkly won Monthly Reading? Why or why not?
No opinion.

>>11892016

>>11341920

>>10906839
The arm of the Sphinx audiobook is available from my usual supplier. Sequel to the wonderful Senlin Ascends. Nice. Looking forward to reading it.

>>10872713
>>what are you reading
Red Mars, was kind of boring for a while, but it's pretty interesting now that I'm nearing the end.

>>what you plan to read next
Would like to read Arm of the Sphinx (Book II of the Books of Babel) but the audiobook hasn't turned up on pirate sites yet. I might start The Dragons Path or I'll continue with one of the several series that I've only read the first book of.

>>shill a book that isn't a meme
Uh, Senlin Ascends (Book I of the Books of Babel)

This here is a wholehearted recommendation for the marvelous book Senlin Ascends. Do give it a try.