[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-40196-en":3,"doc-seo-40196-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},40196,8796095360427,"Lucas Martin","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d",1,"Story & Novel","The Books of Babel: Senlin Ascends (The Hod King)","Senlin’s precarious situation escalates into brutal, chaotic encounters as guards violently destroy an offering and the scene draws the attention of influential nobility. The excerpt highlights Senlin’s inner imagination and resolve after witnessing a duke closely tied to Marya, while emphasizing the gothic, adventure-driven atmosphere of the Books of Babel series. Praise selections underscore vivid prose, character-driven change, and a compelling ascent narrative set within a strange, richly imagined world.","The guard ripped the card and the banknote, turned them, and tore again. He dropped the scraps at Senlin’s feet. Even as Senlin looked down at his destroyed offering, the guard gripped one sleeve of his coat and ripped it half from his shoulder. He repeated the treatment on the other sleeve .  \nBefore he could speak, Senlin was brusquely elbowed aside by the arrival of several men in suits that were as black and sleek as hot tar. The guards saluted, and one said,“Good afternoon, Sir Wilhelm.”Ignoring them, the nobleman continued a cheerful conversation with his companions, all of whom seemed oblivious to the man in a torn gray coat.  \nThis was not Senlin’s first glimpse of the handsome duke, but it was the closest he’d come to the man who’d made off with Marya . Senlin pictured himself stealing the guard’s sidearm. Pictured the shot striking the duke, pictured him crying out in surprise, clutching the mortal wound as he fell at Senlin’s feet in a lifeless knot. Doubtlessly, he would be dead a moment after the duke, leaving Marya twice-widowed and half-rescued. And that assumed she wished to be saved. It was a question only she could answer, and he could not ask.  \nSenlin had the Sphinx to thank for this absurd state of affairs.  \nPraise for  \nThe Books of Babel  \n“Senlin Ascends is one of the best reads I’ve had in ages … I was dragged in and didn’t escape until I’d finished two or three days later”  \nMark Lawrence, author of Prince of Thorns  \n“Senlin Ascends crosses the everyday strangeness and lyrical prose of Borges and Gogol with all the action and adventure of high fantasy. I loved it, and grabbed the next one as soon as I turned the last page”  \nDjango Wexler, author of The Thousand Names  \n“Senlin is a man worth rooting for, and his strengthening resolve and character is as marvelous and sprawling as the tower he climbs”  \nWashington Post on Senlin Ascends  \n“What is remarkable about this novel, quite apart from its rich, allusive prose, is Bancroft’s portrayal of Senlin, a good man in a desperate situation, and the way he changes in response to his experiences in his ascent”  \nGuardian on Senlin Ascends  \n“Senlin Ascends is an adventure rife with character, voice, and beauty—a well-polished knife drawn out slowly”  \nSam Sykes, author of The City Stained Red  \n“Brilliant debut fantasy.… This novel goes off like a firework and suggests even greater things in the author’s future”  \nPublishers Weekly on Senlin Ascends (starred review)  \n“Senlin Ascends is a unique masterpiece. A brilliant debut. Highly recommended!”  \nMichael R. Fletcher, author of Beyond Redemption  \n“With deceptive simplicity, Bancroft brings this gothic place and its denizens to colorful life .   I loved it!”  \nAdrian Selby, author of Snakewood, on Senlin Ascends  \n“An impressive display of imagination and humor”  \nSciFiNow on Senlin Ascends  \nBY JOSIAH BANCROFT  \nThe Books of Babel Senlin Ascends Arm of the Sphinx The Hod King  \nCopyright  \nPublished by Orbit  \nISBN: 978-0-356-51085-9  \nAll characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.  \nCopyright © 2019 by Josiah Bancroft The moral right of the author has been asserted. Excerpt from One of Us by Craig DiLouie Copyright © 2018 by Craig DiLouie  \nMap by Josiah Bancroft  \nAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.  \nThe publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that  \nare not owned by the publisher.  \nOrbit  \nLittle, Brown Book Group  \nCarmelite House  \n50 Victoria Embankment  \nLondon EC4Y 0DZ  \n[www.littlebrown.co.uk](www.littlebrown.co.uk)  \n[www.hachette.co.uk](www.hachette.co.uk)  \nContents  \nPraise for The Books of Babel  \nBy Josiah Bancroft  \nTitle Page  \nCopyright Dedication  \nMap  \nPart I","cbCaiu7zREC5Cm6O","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiu7zREC5Cm6O","pdf",3692462,3,628,"English","en",105,"# Contents\n## Part I: The Mermaid\n## Part II: The Leaping Lady\n## Part III: The Gold Watch\n## Acknowledgments\n## About the Author","[{\"question\":\"Who is Senlin and why is he in a dangerous situation?\",\"answer\":\"Senlin faces a desperate predicament tied to a duke who has taken Marya. His attempts to act are constrained by circumstances and the uncertainty of whether Marya wants saving.\"},{\"question\":\"What causes the confrontation involving Senlin’s offering?\",\"answer\":\"A guard tears up the card and banknote and destroys the offering at Senlin’s feet. The incident escalates further when suited men arrive and the nobleman continues interacting with companions.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the document’s content indicate about the book’s focus and tone?\",\"answer\":\"The provided praise and excerpt point to a gothic, lyrical yet action-filled fantasy emphasizing Senlin’s character development during an ascent through a strange world.\"}]",1783306148,967,{"code":4,"msg":30,"data":31},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":32,"title":13,"keywords":33,"description":14,"schema_data":34,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":27},"the-books-of-babel-senlin-ascends-the-hod-king","",{"@graph":35,"@context":84},[36,52,67],{"@type":37,"itemListElement":38},"BreadcrumbList",[39,43,47,49],{"item":40,"name":41,"@type":42,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":44,"name":45,"@type":42,"position":46},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":48,"name":12,"@type":42,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",{"item":50,"name":13,"@type":42,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-books-of-babel-senlin-ascends-the-hod-king/40196/",4,{"url":50,"name":13,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":13,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":40,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-12","2026-07-06",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"Who is Senlin and why is he in a dangerous situation?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"Senlin faces a desperate predicament tied to a duke who has taken Marya. His attempts to act are constrained by circumstances and the uncertainty of whether Marya wants saving.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"What causes the confrontation involving Senlin’s offering?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"A guard tears up the card and banknote and destroys the offering at Senlin’s feet. The incident escalates further when suited men arrive and the nobleman continues interacting with companions.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"What does the document’s content indicate about the book’s focus and tone?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"The provided praise and excerpt point to a gothic, lyrical yet action-filled fantasy emphasizing Senlin’s character development during an ascent through a strange world.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":50,"og:type":86,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":57,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":50},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":91},[92,95,99,103,108,113,118,123,128,131,135],{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},90,"story-novel",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":51,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":104,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]