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From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.fandom
Subject: Re: Babel
Date: 12 Mar 2024 22:43:22 -0000
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jerryfriedman <jerry.friedman99@gmail.com> 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out of date.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.

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.

>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.
--scott
-- 
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."