The Hod King cover art

The Hod King

The Books of Babel, Book 3

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The Hod King

By: Josiah Bancroft
Narrated by: John Banks
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About this listen

 THE THIRD NOVEL IN THE HIGHLY ACCLAIMED BOOKS OF BABEL SERIES, SET IN A LABYRINTHINE WORLD OF MENACE AND WONDER.

'It is not merely a 5* book, it's a masterpiece' Mark Lawrence

'A vibrant, wholly original, and expertly crafted novel that transcends genre fantasy. It is an instant literary classic' Fantasy Book Review

Thomas Senlin and his crew have been separated following the orders of the mysterious Sphinx. Meanwhile, the enslaved hods climb the Black Trail and whisper secrets in the dark. As Senlin and his crew are dragged ever further into the Tower's conspiracies, everything falls to one question: who is the Hod King?

Praise for the series:

'Josiah Bancroft is a magician. His books are that rare alchemy: gracefully written, deliriously imaginative, action-packed, warm, witty and thought-provoking' Madeline Miller, author of Circe

'I'm wildly in love with this book' - Pierce Brown, author of Red Rising

'Brilliant' - Publishers Weekly

'I loved it' - Django Wexler, author of The Thousand Names

'A universe of stars out of five' Superstar Drifter

'These books are absolutely incredible' - The Quill to Live

'Spectacular . . . fabulously gripping' - BookBag

'An impressive display of imagination and humour' - SciFiNow

'An engrossing, intoxicating delight' - Forbidden Planet ©2019 Josiah Bancroft (P)2019 Hachette Audio UK Action & Adventure Fantasy Fiction Historical Science Fiction Steampunk Adventure Royalty

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All stars
Most relevant  
loved it! cant believe I will have to wait another 2 years from the next one !

wonderful!

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I've always loved the feeling of being engrossed in a new book, feeling connected to the characters and really feeling the impact of the story and their struggles. when it comes to fantasy I do feel it's quite more difficult to get that, to a certain extent anyway. but this series, has blown my expectations out of the water. it's so original, and so fantastical that youd think it almost laughable to connect on any real emotional level with the characters or the story, but these books, the tower of Babel series have honestly touched my heart and my imagination, I felt like a child again listening to the narrators amazing performance. I can honestly say this is my favourite book series (sorry George RR Martin) and I can't wait to see what happens next. The fact that the first book in the series (senlin ascends) was Josiah Bancrofts first book is just unbelievable, can't wait to see what else he comes out with in the future! and hats off to the narrator John banks, another splendid performance! five stars, all I can say is READ IT!

amazing

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This is my second listen of this book and the story hasn’t diminished because of it! Books like this deserve multiple listens , picking up on details, plots and characters that were missed in previous listens. Great book and now onto the last! I can honestly say Thomas Senlin will be very much missed! Josiah, do not let this be the last we hear of him!!!

Thomas Senlin!

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The book gets high marks for characters, plot, story, world building and pacing. It’s all set in a world full of steampunk technology where mysterious pseudo scientists manufacturer steam powered airships and chimera / cyborg like automatons integrated with humans and animals. The story and characters are similar to those in The Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve, except rather than the action moving from mobile city to city, it all happens around a tower that is as tall as Mount Everest and divided into 64 county / city sized floors / levels. If you liked The Mortal Engines series or the Abhorsen series by Garth Nyx (Sabriel, Lirael) then you will definitely like the three books of the Tower of Babel series. The narrator was pleasant to listen to but I did set the speed to 1.25x for a more enjoyable listen.

Join the epic adventure ascending the tower!

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Oh my god, how can you love a book so so much and yet can give you so many anxious moments leaving you with feelings of overwhelming anticipation. This series just keeps getting better and better with its amazing plot scenes, the characters development and worldbuilding is just so sublime. After being left in awe after the first two books Senlin Ascends and The Arm Of The Sphinx, this fantastic third installment The Hod King is my absolute favourite so far with its twists, turns and action sequences that leave you virtually hanging from the edge of your seat. With its startling imagery, and a frustratingly fallible cast, The Hod King continues a grudging reveal of the Tower’s secrets. The imagination and scale of storytelling is beautiful, I love the camaraderie and exchanges between characters as much as the arcane technology and engineering. This series also uses the strange, dark and unworldly Ringdoms to distort the hypocrisy of castes and classes, kings and zealots. Thomas Senlin and his crew have been separated following the orders of the mysterious Sphinx. Taking them to the Ringdom of Phelpia where Tom's wife Marya resides and is married to a Duke. Desperate to get his wife back or to find if he has truly lost her after a year of searching. While Tom is investigating and spying on his own under the alias name of Cyril Pinfeild to uncover a plot to take down the tower, Captain Edith, Iren, Voleta, Byron and Reddleman the resurrected Red Hand are giving the State of the Art the Sphinxes personal warship to visit the Ringdoms on special mission to collect the Bricklayers art pieces in exchange for new technologies. With this series you know things just never go smoothly for our characters, if you love intense, action packed and just something different than your typical fantasy, I very highly recommend The Books Of Babel. Come The Hod King.....😁💙💥🔥

A Work Of Art.

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I’m sure they’ll make this into a big budget series. They will have to make the effort to keep the charm and originality.

Not like anything else I’ve listened to.

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It just keeps getting better. The journey continues with more and more intrigue and twists. Can't wait for book 4

Expansive, witty and enthralling

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Fantastic follow up to one of the most well written series I have had the joy to encounter.

Brilliant ☀️👍

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what a cracker, the story really picks up in installment of the the books of babel

best yet

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Absolutely phenomenal, Josiah Bancroft might be one of the best living authors we have, his talent for simile, metaphor, analogy and the like is second to none. Couple that with John Banks superb narration and you have a true treat of a series. Phenomenal, honestly.

Absolutely phenomenal!

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