Path: ...!weretis.net!feeder6.news.weretis.net!i2pn.org!i2pn2.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: jerry.friedman99@gmail.com (jerryfriedman) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.fandom Subject: Re: Babel Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2024 23:15:22 +0000 Organization: novaBBS Message-ID: <56c939839e19a112fe371033494bc263@www.novabbs.com> References: <157c33f00b3f96e4ca84bfbad3c36e31@www.novabbs.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Info: i2pn2.org; logging-data="1779972"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@i2pn2.org"; posting-account="t+lO0yBNO1zGxasPvGSZV1BRu71QKx+JE37DnW+83jQ"; User-Agent: Rocksolid Light X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 4.0.0 X-Rslight-Posting-User: 3f4f6af5131500dbc63b269e6ae36b2af088a074 X-Rslight-Site: $2y$10$eVQkqV0DYNDfkEoBaatKeO14O1qXdyjbq19zfqCzapj7UhlD3OMJy Bytes: 2189 Lines: 30 Scott Dorsey wrote: > jerryfriedman wrote: >>I thought it was good but not great. The story and characters were engaging, >>and the magic system was original. One problem was that criticizing 19th- >>century colonialism and especially the Opium Wars seemed too easy and >>out of date. And nothing was said about China's conquests or suppression >>of dissent. Or other forms of oppression. > Those problems were EXACTLY why I was surprised it didn't get a nomination. > Because those problems are very much advantages for promoting the book in > China. That's what I found so boggleworthy. Seems strange to me. Maybe there's something that only Chinese people, or people very knowledgeable about Chinese culture, would object to. >>A minor criticism is that, after Kuang makes a big deal about researching >>Oxford slang of the 1830s, she gives her characters a lot of 20th- and >>21st-century dialogue, which I found jarring. > I didn't find it that jarring because I am living in the middle of it, but > I agree that it won't age well. > I disagree with your spoiler, though. Did I miss a counterexample? -- Jerry Friedman