The characters of the Tower are its strong suit. It’s just not what you might be expecting. A steampunk adventure set in a world featuring a whole, massive Tower of Babel is certainly a new one. And while the reading may be tamer than something like GoT, or less amazing than Stormlight, it’s not any less fantastical. There are plots, there are chases, there are assassins, betrayals, intrigue, and yes, even some action. A more of a political fantasy than an epic. It’s not that Senlin Ascends is boring, it’s just complex.

Senlin Ascends is a deep fantasy tale, but without the battles, assassinations, or well… action. Honestly, the pacing of this book attests to its subject matter. Bit of a slow start eventually gives way to a slow middle, a slower middle, then a hectic end. I mean, I really, really couldn’t resist that, sorry. But he would do these things ten times over if it means finding Marya, and returning home.īut the Tower is massive, and the task before him immense. But even while Senlin wades through the filth of humanity-the desperate, the lawless, the poor, the infamous, the miscreants, the traitors-he must navigate back alleys and twisting passages, bath houses and ballrooms, warehouses and theaters. But, even if he survives long enough to escape the Tower, he must also find Marya. And so he must use his cunning and his wit to navigate the Tower, made more challenging by the lack of either these two assets. And none of them-not even the guide-relate to his present situation. Fascinated with the marvel for years, Tom has read many books on the subject, even toting an Everyman’s Guide to the Tower that he carried with him to this very point. The Tower is nothing like he imagined it. For Senlin is determined: he will try-no-he WILL find her, and they will be together again.Īnd yet Senlin is also surprised. Whisked away by nothing more than the vast crowds and sweeping foot traffic, she is fated to become yet one more face upon a flyer, another missing loved one among a sea of the damned. For brief moments his life was perfect a beautiful and inquisitive wife on his arm, the most fascinating marvel laid out before him-Senlin was as amazed as he was blissful.īut in those few moments Marya disappeared. For their honeymoon, Senlin took his new wife to visit the Tower of Babel-greatest wonder of the world both old and new.

The headmaster of a small school in a small village, Senlin wed one of his former pupils, a once difficult and inquisitive girl, Marya.

And there was a lot of surprise to go around.

No one is more surprised that Thomas Senlin was married than the man himself. The Orbit republished cover is the same that graced Senlin Ascends when it was first released in 2013.

Senlin ascends by josiah bancroft