The Hod King
core novel 2019 The Books of Babel
Record
| First published | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.43 (14,108 ratings, collected 2026-08-27) |
| Page count | 608 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780316517980 |
Synopsis
The Hod King is the third novel of The Books of Babel, continuing the story of Thomas Senlin, the schoolteacher separated from his wife, Marya, at the base of the vast and mysterious Tower of Babel. Now well into his climb and bound to the enigmatic, reclusive figure known as the Sphinx, Senlin undertakes a covert mission on the Sphinx's behalf even as he and his companions press on with their search for Marya. The novel splits its attention among Senlin and the wider circle of allies he has gathered on his ascent, each following separate threads within the tower's ringdoms as tensions between the ringdoms' rulers, the hidden hods who labor beneath them, and outside agitators grow more dangerous, complicating Senlin's ability to keep his true purpose, and his friends, safe.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Books of Babel
- Series: The Books of Babel core; position 3 of 4 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Josiah Bancroft
Notes
- From the series record (The Books of Babel): A complete four-novel sequence; Senlin Ascends and Arm of the Sphinx were originally self-published (2013/2014) before a 2018 trade re-release by the same author under an established publisher, per the print-edition-first convention.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Books of Babel: position 3 of 4: previous Arm of the Sphinx (2014) · next The Fall of Babel (2021)
Sources
← The Books of Babel dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.