China Miéville is the author to turn to when you tire of formula fiction. His work is often referred to as "weird fiction" or "fantastic fiction" and each story diverges from traditional genres.
Embassytown, like so many science fiction stories, introduces a human colony on an alien world in the farthest reaches of known space. The colony shares the planet with the native Ariekei, with whom they maintain a generally stable peace. But the Ariekei are famous for the oddity of their Language, one that requires two mouths to speak at once. Among the humans, only the Ambassadors (pairs of clones that speak with one mind) are able to speak Language.
When Avice Benner Cho was young, she was asked to be a simile for the Ariekei. Since the Ariekei cannot lie, they need someone to act out an event before it can be included in Language. Being a part of Language has given Avice some clout off-world, and she spent several years working in space exploration before unexpectedly returning home.
But upon her return, she meets the newest Ambassador to the Ariekei. A pair who has an odd effect on the aliens. And their presence threatens to overturn the peace both in Embassytown and among the Ariekei.
If it's not already obvious, the story and character interactions are all driven by linguistics. Pulling from his anthropology background, Miéville draws the story conflict from the interactions and limitations of the human and Ariekei languages. It's a fascinating basis for a story, and one Miéville pulls off successfully. Language enthusiasts will certainly delight in the complex linguistic and political interactions at play and the average reader might just walk away with a new appreciation for the weirdness of language.
China Miéville's Embassytown is available at the Calcasieu Parish Public Library both as a physical book and an ebook edition.
If you enjoy this one, you may be interested in looking at his other works, all just as weird and wonderful as this one!
Embassytown, like so many science fiction stories, introduces a human colony on an alien world in the farthest reaches of known space. The colony shares the planet with the native Ariekei, with whom they maintain a generally stable peace. But the Ariekei are famous for the oddity of their Language, one that requires two mouths to speak at once. Among the humans, only the Ambassadors (pairs of clones that speak with one mind) are able to speak Language.
When Avice Benner Cho was young, she was asked to be a simile for the Ariekei. Since the Ariekei cannot lie, they need someone to act out an event before it can be included in Language. Being a part of Language has given Avice some clout off-world, and she spent several years working in space exploration before unexpectedly returning home.
But upon her return, she meets the newest Ambassador to the Ariekei. A pair who has an odd effect on the aliens. And their presence threatens to overturn the peace both in Embassytown and among the Ariekei.
If it's not already obvious, the story and character interactions are all driven by linguistics. Pulling from his anthropology background, Miéville draws the story conflict from the interactions and limitations of the human and Ariekei languages. It's a fascinating basis for a story, and one Miéville pulls off successfully. Language enthusiasts will certainly delight in the complex linguistic and political interactions at play and the average reader might just walk away with a new appreciation for the weirdness of language.
China Miéville's Embassytown is available at the Calcasieu Parish Public Library both as a physical book and an ebook edition.
If you enjoy this one, you may be interested in looking at his other works, all just as weird and wonderful as this one!