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    The Dragons of Babel
    The Dragons of Babel
    The Dragons of Babel
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Dragons of Babel

    Written by Michael Swanwick

    Narrated by Dan Butler

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Winner of five Hugo Awards, Michael Swanwick is an icon within the fantasy community. The Dragons of Babel has drawn sterling reviews for its blend of magical elements with post-industrial atmosphere. After breaking his enslavement to a mechanical war dragon, Will le Fey winds up in the extraordinary city of Babel, where fairies of every type make their home. Trying to find his place, Will soon finds himself filling a leadership role. ". a heady literary stew. This is modern fantasy at its finest and should hold great appeal for fans ."-Publishers Weekly, starred review
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateDec 3, 2010
    ISBN9781449838157
    The Dragons of Babel
    Author

    Michael Swanwick

    MICHAEL SWANWICK has received the Nebula, Theodore Sturgeon, World Fantasy and Hugo Awards, and has the pleasant distinction of having been nominated for and lost more of these same awards than any other writer. His novels include Stations of the Tide, Bones of the Earth, two Darger and Surplus novels, and The Iron Dragon's Mother. He has also written over a hundred and fifty short stories - including the Mongolian Wizard series on Tor.com - and countless works of flash fiction. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Marianne Porter.

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    Reviews for The Dragons of Babel

    4/5

    12 ratings8 reviews

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    • 3/5
      When a writer strings together a series of short stories of varying tones and viewpoints, the resulting novel can only be called a picaresque adventure. I do like Michael Swanwick's writing, which is why I have already read 75% of this novel as short stories. Because of this portmanteau quality I found most of the novel boring. It is set in a compelling world of elves, dwarves, trolls, and other less familiar non-humans with a mix of magic and technology which is fascinating, but the main story arc is one of the Lost Boy Who Really Is a King and Who Walks Away. I was even more disappointed in Hyperion by Dan Simmons for much the same reason. I don't fault a writer for getting the most mileage out of his stories by publishing them twice, but don't expect me to ignore the glue between the chapters and to be other than underwhelmed by the familiarity of the narrative.
    • 3/5
      An interesting book with parts that are magnificently written, and others that, although strange, provide detailed, wonderful glimpses of a strange world. Unfortunately, the story lacks a cohesive narrative, and would be better appreciated by reading each section as its own short story.
    • 3/5
      This novel is set in the same darkly-drawn baroque world as Swanwick's The Iron Dragon's Daughter. It is a compelling read, but the character development is not as strongly written as in most of Swanwick's other novel-length work.
    • 4/5
      Set in the same world as [book: The Iron Dragon's Daughter]. Will is a happy-go-lucky fairie peasant boy--until a draconic cyborg machine of death crash lands in his village. The dragon chooses Will to be his mouthpiece and spy, which makes him grow up very fast and very dark. Eventually, Will escapes to the city, where he adventures first as a vigilante in the sewers and then as a conman in high society.

      Unfortunately, this book doesn't hold together quite as well as The Iron Dragon's Daughter. It began as short stories, and the link between each set of adventures is a bit thin. Will himself doesn't really have a set personality. That said, however, Swanwick is not equalled in feypunk. There is no one else with his verve or craft. Even when he's a little off his game, he's still the best in town.
    • 4/5
      I had trouble getting into this, but it dragged me in eventually. Nice complex plot.Perhaps it is just that Swanwick's writing is deeper than a quick reading suggests.
    • 5/5
      I finally finished listening to this book last night; it is amazing!
      The world that Swanwick has created is gritty urban fairytale perfect. His writing style was what first really jumped out at me, and I really found this story very inspiring.

      --

      Just reread this book again, and it's still as much fun as ever.
    • 4/5
      Really, really fun (and a great tonic for those who enjoyed The Iron Dragon's Daughter) but it doesn't have the mind-bending greatness of the previous book. Still, thank god he wrote it.
    • 4/5
      This book is set in the same universe as the "Iron Dragon's Daughter". The story is about Will LeFey and his journey from a peasant child in a small village to an adult in a large city. The writing is fantastic, the story is captivating, and the twist came as a surprise. But, I only liked the book when I should have loved it. Maybe it was that I couldn't connect with the main character, or how everything that happened to Will was so random - or maybe little Esme was just so cute as to be annoying. Parts of me wanted to give up within the first chapters, but the world was so well written and captivating it drew me in and I couldn't stop.