Babel by R.F. Kuang

In 1828, Robin Swift, a boy orphaned by cholera in Canton, is taken to London by Professor Lovell and trained in languages to study at University of Oxford’s Royal Institute of Translation, known as Babel. Babel is not only the world’s center of translation but also a place of powerful magic, where enchanted silver bars turn the lost meanings of translation into magical power—fueling the expansion of the British Empire. As Robin studies, he realizes that serving Babel may mean betraying his homeland. Caught between loyalty and resistance, he must choose whether to support the empire or stand against it.