‘“I’m going to feel very weak, and you’re going to feel very dumb. But that’s how it always is in the beginning. Learning starts with failure.”’

Thomas Senlin, a newly married man, is taking his bride, Marya, on a honeymoon quite like no other. The Tower of Babel stands as the world’s greatest phenomena, with its multiple and mysterious ringdoms which rise beyond the clouds, it is a sight thousands of people flock to see on a daily basis. Each ringdom is fabled to hold unique sights, creatures, and machinery to awe the mind. Yet when Senlin and Marya finally reach the Tower, within the melee of people outside they tragically become separated. As Senlin desperately searches for any signs of Marya’s whereabouts, it dawns upon him that in all the chaos she may have entered the Tower alone. Thomas Senlin is not a man suited for daring heroic actions, however he knows he cannot simply let his new bride disappear never to be seen again. So defying all his doubts and apprehensions he enters the first ringdom where he immediately discovers the Tower is nothing like it seems.

Senlin Ascends is the exceptional debut by Josiah Bancroft. Originally, this was a self published title which was entered into the 2016 SPFBO competition, and then was successfully picked up by Orbit Books in 2018 and became traditionally published. It wasn’t until this buzz surrounding the upcoming Orbit release that my attention fell onto Senlin Ascends. The quirky premise made me immediately want to pick it up and I’m glad because this has to be the most unique fantasy book I’ve read in a long while. The Tower of Babel with its infinite number of bizarre creations found in each ringdom is absolutely mind-blowing, and Bancroft’s poetic prose is nothing short of mesmerising. 

Our main character, Thomas Senlin – a scholar, a head teacher, a sheltered man, is far from our ideal hero. At the beginning of the book, as Senlin and Marya travel by steam train to the Tower, we see Senlin as conservative with an aristocratic air about him, he’s pragmatic yet rigid, not one prone to displays of emotion. Whereas in contrast his wife has such an enthusiastic, chirpy nature about her. That is not to say Senlin is unkind, or ill suited for Marya, he is gentle and relatively quiet, but his whole experiences in life have come from books, and therefore when turmoil strikes he finds himself completely overwhelmed. However, Bancroft crafts Senlin’s personal growth in such fantastic ways. Throughout the book Senlin not only faces the wonders of the Tower but he soon encounters the dangers too. Assassins, betrayals, deadly ballrooms and theatre shows, once Senlin enters the Tower, he realises his only chance of survival is to use his intelligence. 

Yet it is clear this learned man must also be a man who takes action.

”Senlin loved nothing more in the world than a warm hearth to set his feet upon and a good book to pour his whole mind into. While an evening storm rattled the shutters and a glass of port wine warmed in his hand, Senlin would read into the wee hours of the night. He especially

delighted in the old tales, the epics in which heroes set out on some impossible and noble errand, confronting the dangers in their path with fatalistic bravery.”

We also meet an array of eclectic side characters, such as Edith, Adam, Voleta and Iren, who each play their part in aiding Thomas and also shape him into a very different character than he was at the beginning.  Edith is perhaps the character Senlin becomes closest to, and I absolutely loved her quick-wit and her survival instincts. It’s very clear Bancroft has a real love for his characters, he takes care to make every one of them fully realised, with their own quirky habits and their own reasons for being in the Tower. The Tower is a place where you can never be sure who is friend or foe, which makes for some interesting twists along the way, but Senlin grows to realise it’s also a place where you have to hope to trust at least a few, otherwise you become selfish, ruthless, and so very alone. This is the beauty of Bancroft’s prose, he is an author who pays attention to detail, who can effectively bring these characters and this world to life.

My absolute favourite part of the book was the world-building. At the time of reading Senlin Ascends this was my first steampunk fantasy, and I fell in love with how surreal it all was. Within the Tower we experience a myriad of creatures and clockwork mechanisms, culture and art, each varying as Senlin enters each new ringdom. Just as Senlin is bewildered by each scene, so are we. I won’t spoil anything by giving examples but I appreciated the way Bancroft illustrated how the forever evolving Tower altered many of the people too. Societies formed, divides between the rich and the poor develop, and with that comes along prejudices. The poor are willing to do anything to prosper and enter new ringdoms and the rich strive for the same goal. Bancroft oprtrays how the ruthless environment of the Tower brings out the darker, sinister side of those who have spent a substantial amount of time there. A seemingly magical luxurious trip soon turns into a deadly game of survival.

Senlin Ascends is a beautifully compelling debut which dazzled me with its surreal setting and charming characters. I for one am glad we have many more instalments to come because although it’s impossible to predict where the story will lead, I’m excited to see what paths Bancroft will take his readers down next. 

“Senlin could not help but to admire her grace, gruesome as it was. In her warring, he saw all the lessons she’d drummed into him, here com-

bined into a single, fluid reflex. He’d long suspected that she had been overly hard on him when they’d sparred, but now he knew just how

gingerly she had handled him. He’d been a cub in the mouth of a lion. She was a master of violence. She was indomitable, and she was

winning the war.”