Embassytown in Crazy Challenge Connection

Mar 04, 2019 Almeta rated it it was ok

Shelves: sigh-phan, revue, hear-ye, awards

Avice Benner Cho ~"I don't want to be a simile anymore," I said. "I want to be a metaphor."

Almeta ~ "I am like a discombobulated human." I said. "I am a discombobulated human!" ...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Chaitra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, british-literature, science-fiction, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, language

Reread: 01/28/20: Still awesome. This time I paid attention to the chicken and egg problem, and they explain it as pre-ghost? Or ghost-simile. Something vague that they had in their minds but couldn't really conceive of until a simile was made. So, I've taken it to mean that the Ariekei were always language capable, but made do with Language until they were forced. There's hope for Rooftop yet.

****

An alien race so tied to the language (Language) they speak that while they cannot formulate a sim Reread: 01/28/20: Still awesome. This time I paid attention to the chicken and egg problem, and they explain it as pre-ghost? Or ghost-simile. Something vague that they had in their minds but couldn't really conceive of until a simile was made. So, I've taken it to mean that the Ariekei were always language capable, but made do with Language until they were forced. There's hope for Rooftop yet.

****

An alien race so tied to the language (Language) they speak that while they cannot formulate a simple lie, impossible constructs still makes junkies out of them. That line makes zero sense, but I swear it works. China Miéville makes it work somehow. I don't think I've ever read about junkie aliens before, and for such a truly weird substance. Embassytown gets full points from me for this innovation alone.

So. Embassytown is obviously not earth. It may not even be the same universe as ours, the universe having undergone some deaths and re-births. It is a colony, where the alien race Ariekei has not only given humans space, but also trades with them. They don't have any faculties for understanding the human language, so a select few humans are altered into speaking for the humans. Ambassadors are twins, who are taught (via lots of programming) to think alike and speak together. These are obviously big shots in Embassytown politics. Their governing power, Bremen, doesn't like that the power is so concentrated within Embassytown, and therefore contrive to make and put their own Ambassadors in power. The problem is that Bremen doesn't have any of the Ariekei for testing, and when the new Ambassadors turn up, they're wrong. The unexpected and unlooked for consequence of the whole deal is that the Ariekei are hooked, turned mindless with their need for the new Ambassadors' voice. Avice Benner Cho is our narrator and guide into this world, the one clear head during a mass panic. Avice is a simile. She's the girl who was hurt in the dark and ate whatever was given to her. She knows people, she knows how to use people, and she gets whatever it is that needs to get done with a minimum amount of fuss. This girl wants to take charge, she's no shrinking violet.

I liked this book. It's well written, brilliantly conceived. It's also highly original. The set up is absolutely great. The denouement not so much, but as I'm holding out for a follow-up novel, I don't mind it so much. It's not that I think it absolutely perfect, it's not. It has problems of the chicken and egg. At least, I think it does. Ariekei cannot lie, they cannot speak of anything that is not true, they cannot think of anything that isn't already in the Language. They still conceive of complex biorigged devices (which I think is innovation, not naturally occurring), hell, they conceive of similes that may have a use. But it's still a lot of fun, and with an interesting heroine to boot. I loved both Embassytown politics, and the junkie behavior (more accurately, the Ariekei who beat or try to beat the addiction). I also liked the concept of immer, a sort of a weird hyper-space (?) that gives deceptively easy access to stars and planets galaxies apart. Miéville likens it to an uncharted, vast and treacherous ocean, and I would love to see something set in this space. But most of all, what I like about this book is that it introduced me to Miéville, who I've never read before, but will now surely read more (all) of. ...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Amanda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, favorites, best-of-the-best, sf-weird-fiction

I am like the girl who was hurt in darkness and ate what was given her.

I don't normally read science fiction, I'm more of an epic fantasy kind of girl. I really wanted to read something by China Miéville, though, and Embassytown was at the library just waiting for me.
When I finished this book, my first thought was: "Holy crap, I can't believe I did it!" The first quarter of this book was very difficult for me to get into, mainly because it was so dense. Once the characters, species, language, s ...more

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May 14, 2011 J.P. rated it really liked it

With each new book China Mieville continues to push the envelope of conventional science fiction. Embassytown is another foray into mind-bending territory. I can always count on his books for two things: being incomprehensible at certain times and having words I need to look up in the dictionary. But seriously folks, this is a very good book. The wonderfully unique plot is so way out there that it takes a while to see development, but it's worth the wait. The plot wasn't in 5 star territory, but ...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Rusty rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, tbr-when-i-find-them

Reading a China Mieville novel is like stepping into another world. I love his approach and his creative characters all of which come from his imaginative mind. In this novel we find the heroine is a quite ordinary girl who develops into an unique woman who goes beyond the ordinary to work at saving Embassytown. To say more would give away too much of the plot. The novel starts slowly, building and building as it progresses to keep the reader wondering what will happen. Yup! It's a good one. ...more

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