Embassytown

by China Mieville

Embassytown: a city of contradictions on the outskirts of the universe.

Avice is an immerser, a traveller on the immer, the sea of space and time below the everyday, now returned to her birth planet. Here on Arieka, humans are not the only intelligent life, and Avice has a rare bond with the natives, the enigmatic Hosts - who cannot lie.

Only a tiny cadre of unique human Ambassadors can speak Language, and connect the two communities. But an unimaginable new arrival has come to Embassytown. And when this Ambassador speaks, everything changes.

Catastrophe looms. Avice knows the only hope is for her to speak directly to the alien Hosts.

And that is impossible.

• ISBN10: 1596064102
• ISBN13: 9781596064102
• Publish Date: 30 September 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 27 April 2017
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Subterranean Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 350
• Language: English

Reviews

[empressbrooke]

This one was awesome. I started it months ago and then set it down because the first few chapters felt indecipherable. I'm glad that I picked it back up though, because once I powered through the beginning with its alien setting and language, the present-day story about Language started, and suddenly I found myself awake far too late at night dying to know what was going to happen next. Fabulous stuff.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Embassytown reminds me a lot of [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg]'s book [b:The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia|13651|The Dispossessed An Ambiguous Utopia|Ursula K. Le Guin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166571463s/13651.jpg|2684122], in the sense that it focuses on some really heavy concepts but the plot doesn't really go anywhere. This book is more like [a:China Miéville|33918|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg] playing with language more than telling a story; so maybe he should be remind me of [a:James Joyce|5144|James Joyce|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1183237775p2/5144.jpg]. The books main focus is the aliens and the communication they have with the people of Embassytown. Genetically-engineered linguists known as Ambassadors have the task of keeping the peace between the people and the aliens (known as hosts). This is a book explores not only political aspects but the role of language in the world; taking insights from theoretical and philosophical like Jacques Derrida or Paul Ricoeur.

I really like [a:China Miéville|33918|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg]'s writing style and I wanted to like this book more, it was a little too heavy on exploring his weird concepts and langague and a little too light on the story line to give this book a higher rating. Miéville is an amazing and weird writing, if you ever get the chance to read his works, do it, don't let my reviews put you off. I will be reading more of his works later, I won't give up on this writer. I loved [b:The City & The City|4703581|The City & The City|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320475957s/4703581.jpg|4767909], so I know what he is capable, its just a matter of him finding the balance between concepts and plots.