Babel
During an interstellar war one side develops a language, Babel-17, that can be used as a weapon. Learning it turns one into an unwilling traitor as it alters perception and thought. This is discovered by the starship captain Rydra Wong. She is recruited to discover how the enemy are infiltrating and sabotaging strategic sites.
Themes & atmosphere
Also by R.F. Kuang
All works by R.F. Kuang →
What you might want to know about Babel
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
In a far-future galactic war, a poet and skilled translator is asked to crack an alien language called Babel-17 that may not be a code at all but a way of thinking that rewires the speaker.
Babel by Samuel R. Delany, properly titled Babel-17, was published in 1966. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel that year. Delany was 24 when he wrote it.
No. Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany (1966) is a science fiction novel about language and warfare. Babel by R.F. Kuang (2022) is a dark academia historical fantasy set in 1830s Oxford. The two are unrelated despite the shared title.
Babel was written by Samuel R. Delany, published in 1966 by Gollancz.
Babel is 193 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Babel takes most readers 3 to 4 hours to finish.
Babel is a standalone novel by Samuel R. Delany, not part of a series.
Babel is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.