Embassytown Book Cover

Embassytown


A Science Fiction Novel


Subgenres & Tropes:

  • First Contact,
  • Linguistic Science Fiction,
  • Alien Invasion
Buy from Amazon

Read Sample

This book is for you if you're into...

  • Alien linguistics that reshape reality and relationships
  • Characters literally woven into the language of another species
  • Political intrigue where communication is the ultimate weapon
Publisher Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. In the far future, humans have colonized a distant planet, home to the enigmatic Ariekei, sentient beings famed for a language unique in the universe, one that only a few altered human ambassadors can speak.

Avice Benner Cho, a human colonist, has returned to Embassytown after years of deep-space adventure. She cannot speak the Ariekei tongue, but she is an indelible part of it, having long ago been made a figure of speech, a living simile in their language.

When distant political machinations deliver a new ambassador to Arieka, the fragile equilibrium between humans and aliens is violently upset. Catastrophe looms, and Avice is torn between competing loyalties: to a husband she no longer loves, to a system she no longer trusts, and to her place in a language she cannot speak—but which speaks through her, whether she likes it or not.

More China Miéville

Follow This Author

Sign up & we'll email you when a new title is available for pre-order or hits the bookshelf

Little Stacks of Science Fiction

Get Free & Discounted eBooks

Curated reads, irresistible prices—subscribe now

Save the books you can't wait to read

Create a free account to build your TBR, follow the authors who inspire you, and never miss a release.

Already a member? Log in

Your fiction library, organized

Create a free account to keep track of every book you've read, follow the authors who inspire you, and never miss their next release.

Already a member? Log in