I think you’re actually rather marvellous, I mean apart from your personality.” “I still don’t understand why you’d say you were a mistake. Her witty observations and lack of a social filter makes her unpredictable and fun, but with the stakes so high she is a ticking time bomb.

Speaking of Voleta, she continues to be one of the most irreverent and charming young ladies I’ve had the pleasure to read about. They will need Voleta’s wildness and joy as much as Iren’s muscle and determination, especially as the two both reinforce each other simultaneously. One has a feeling going into this book that those relationships are – apart, of course, from Senlin himself – the element that sets them apart from so many others who have fallen foul of the Tower. His fierce devotion to locating his wife and offering her rescue is matched only by the loyalty he inspires in his companions and it has been a pleasure watching this family grow. We all know that Headmaster Thomas Senlin lost his wife Marya in the first three pages of Senlin Ascends, and ever since then it has been a veritable roller coaster ride for him and almost everyone he encounters. Fans of the series can rest easy that the break between volumes two and three has not disrupted the style or inherent beauty of the writing and that once again Josiah has produced something that belongs in the very top echelons of the fantasy genre. T he Hod King is another spectacular instalment of The Books of Babel. Warning: this review may contain spoilers for Senlin Ascends and The Arm of the Sphinx!

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