I didn't like Arm of the Sphinx as well as Senlin Ascends, and I'm not sure why. By all means, it should have been better, but I wasn't vibing with it as much. Books of Babel 2 has the same unique and well-thought world, with vivid imagery. It also has great characters and their development in believable ways, with great and well-thought-out twists that genuinely surprised me.

I think it was the pacing that just seemed a little off, or rather unfocused, as around 2/3rds the way through, it seems like momentum was lost. The very final chapter brought it together and stitched up a lot of my frustration while reading.

All of that being said, The Arm of the Sphinx is very enjoyable, and I enjoyed my time with it, I will be reading The Hod King as soon as I can.