

The plot, the characters, the world-building, the prose even the quality of the physical book were all wonderful. In every element of the novel, you can see how much passion the author infused into the narrative. Orbit Books made the right decision to traditionally publish this series. “We shouldn’t have to go around congratulating each other for behaving with basic human dignity.” This means that the self-published edition is about to become a rare edition I strongly suggest you get it now.

Orbit books have picked up this series, and Senlin Ascends will be re-released in January 2018. Senlin Ascends, Josiah Bancroft’s debut and the first book in The Books of Babel series, is one of them the novel is filled with the exact opposite of all the negative points I mentioned. If you know where to look, you can find a LOT of amazing self-published fantasy books. However, these issues exist in traditionally published fantasy books as well. Even to this day, it’s still easy to find a self-published fantasy work that has all the negative aspects I just mentioned. It’s the harsh truth the stigma that existed in self-published fantasy-bad cover art, cliché stories, typos, and grammatical errors-were there for valid reasons. Relatively, not a lot of readers will spend their time reading self-published fantasy books. If you need extra proof that a self-published fantasy can be on par/superior compared to traditionally published fantasy books, Senlin Ascends is it. Published: 18th February 2013 by Josiah Bancroft (Self-published) & 22nd August 2017 Orbit Books Series: The Books of Babel (Book #1 of 4)

This review was written on the 29th of June 2017
