Embassytown: A NovelNEW 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. Praise for Embassytown “A breakneck tale of suspense . . . disturbing and beautiful by turns. I cannot emphasize enough how terrific this novel is. It's definitely one of the best books I've read in the past year, perfectly balanced between escapism and otherworldly philosophizing.”—io9 “Embassytown is a fully achieved work of art. . . . Works on every level, providing compulsive narrative, splendid intellectual rigour and risk, moral sophistication, fine verbal fireworks and sideshows, and even the old-fashioned satisfaction of watching a protagonist become more of a person than she gave promise of being.”—Ursula K Le Guin “The Kafkaesque writer journeys to the distant edges of the universe in his latest sci-fi thriller.”—Entertainment Weekly “Utterly astonishing . . . A major intellectual achievement.”—Kirkus Reviews “Brilliant storytelling . . . The result is a world masterfully wrecked and rebuilt.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) |
Contents
Section 23 | 175 |
Section 24 | 184 |
Section 25 | 192 |
Section 26 | 203 |
Section 27 | 211 |
Section 28 | 218 |
Section 29 | 227 |
Section 30 | 238 |
Section 9 | 93 |
Section 10 | 96 |
Section 11 | 101 |
Section 12 | 104 |
Section 13 | 108 |
Section 14 | 114 |
Section 15 | 118 |
Section 16 | 124 |
Section 17 | 131 |
Section 18 | 139 |
Section 19 | 143 |
Section 20 | 154 |
Section 21 | 165 |
Section 22 | 172 |
Section 31 | 243 |
Section 32 | 251 |
Section 33 | 264 |
Section 34 | 272 |
Section 35 | 278 |
Section 36 | 287 |
Section 37 | 299 |
Section 38 | 306 |
Section 39 | 311 |
Section 40 | 315 |
Section 41 | 327 |
Section 42 | 335 |
Section 43 | 338 |
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Common terms and phrases
Absurd addiction aeoli Ambas Ambassadors anymore Ariekei Ariekes asked augmens Avice bassadors bassytown biorigged breath Bremen Bren Bren's CalVin cams Charo CHINA MIÉVILLE colours constables course crowd datchips dead doppel Ehrsul Embassy Embassytown eye-corals eyes Ez's EzCal EzRa EzRa's fanwing friends fucking giftwing girl god-drug going gone happened Hasser head hear heard Hosts human immerser JoaQuin Kedis kilohours knew kora Languageless laughed listened looked MagDa miab moved never noises oratees perhaps realised remember Rooftop sadors saygiss Scile seen shook shouted Shur'asi similes smiled someone sound Spanish Dancer speak Language speakers spoke Staff stared stood stop story streets surl tesh-echer talk tell Terre There's Theuth things thought told took trid tried trying turned understand Valdik vespcams voice waiting walked watched weapons what's whispered who'd words Wyatt YISib YlSib Yohn