Babel

In 1828, Robin Swift is brought from Canton to London as an orphaned boy by the mysterious Professor Lovell and trained for years in Latin, Ancient Greek and Chinese. His goal is a place at Oxford's Royal Institute of Translation, known as Babel, the center of the world's knowledge and of the silver-working magic that draws power from what is lost when words pass between languages. That magic has made the British Empire rich and strong, and Robin soon finds himself caught between the institution that raised him and the people its power harms, as Britain prepares for a war of conquest in China. R. F. Kuang's novel won the Nebula Award for best novel in 2022.