Senlin Ascends

You can't talk about Senlin Ascends without bringing up the Tower of Babel. This thing dwarfs Barad Dur and Burj Khalifa. Characters in the novel have to guess at how tall it is because you can't see the top. And that's just on the outside.

On the inside, the Tower is made up of many varying ringdoms, each with its own distinct personality. When you walk in, you get to see the Basement. It's kind of the slums of the Tower, but it's invented the marvelous Beer-me-go-Rounds, which allow anyone to hop on and peddle their merry way into inebriation. Hopefully they have craft. Further up, you get floors like the Parlor, one giant theater where anyone can star as an actor, and the Baths, a place full of temptation and relaxation.

Newcomers may expect the ringdoms of the Tower to be like the layers of a cake where each layer is much like the last. But this is not the case. Not at all. Each ringdom is unique and bewildering. The ringdoms of the Tower share only two things in common: the shape of their outermost walls, which are roughly circular, and the price of beef, which is outrageous. The rest is novel.