Lexicon

A Novel

By: Max Barry

Narrated by: Heather Corrigan, Zach Appelman

Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

At an exclusive school somewhere outside of Arlington, Virginia, students aren't taught history, geography, or mathematics - at least not in the usual ways. Instead, they are taught to persuade. Here the art of coercion has been raised to a science. Students harness the hidden power of language to manipulate the mind and learn to break down individuals by psychographic markers in order to take control of their thoughts. The very best will graduate as "poets": adept wielders of language who belong to a nameless organization that is as influential as it is secretive.

Whip-smart orphan Emily Ruff is making a living running a three-card Monte game on the streets of San Francisco when she attracts the attention of the organization's recruiters. She is flown across the country for the school's strange and rigorous entrance exams, where, once admitted, she will be taught the fundamentals of persuasion by Brontë, Eliot, and Lowell - who have adopted the names of famous poets to conceal their true identities. For in the organization, nothing is more dangerous than revealing who you are: Poets must never expose their feelings lest they be manipulated. Emily becomes the school's most talented prodigy until she makes a catastrophic mistake: She falls in love.

Meanwhile, a seemingly innocent man named Wil Jamieson is brutally ambushed by two strange men in an airport bathroom. Although he has no recollection of anything they claim he's done, it turns out Wil is the key to a secret war between rival factions of poets and is quickly caught in their increasingly deadly crossfire. As the two narratives converge, the shocking work of the poets is fully revealed, the body count rises, and the world crashes toward a Tower of Babel event which would leave all language meaningless.

©2013 Max Barry (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A dark, dystopic grabber in which words are treated as weapons, and the villainous types have literary figures’ names. Plath, Yeats, Eliot and Woolf all figure in this ambitious, linguistics-minded work of futurism." (Janet Maslin, New York Times)

"Imagine, if you will, a secret group of people called Poets who have the power to control others simply by speaking to them. Barry has, and the result is an extraordinarily fast, funny, cerebral thriller." (Time Magazine)

"An extremely slick and readable thriller." (Washington Post)

Quite entertaining, suspenseful

it was very entertaining, suspenseful. I always wanted to know what came next.
the only thing is that I wanted more.

unique

The timeline jumped around, so you really need to pay attention. Overall the storyline is very entertaining, I drive a lot but it only took me three days to listen to the whole story!

Much more excellent than I expected

I was in the mood for a sci-fi themed book but i didn’t want something with the same old trope of “mismatched pair: female (scientist / investigator /whatever) teams up with male ( government agent / cop / whatever) and after mutual dislike and working together to fix whatever the unlikely crisis ... blah blah blah “

Having said all that, I poked around and found this audiobook (it was probably promoted). The reviews were pretty mixed but I chanced and had a really entertaining listen. The underlying so called scientific premise is rather ridiculous, but the book was internally consistent. There was a female protagonist and a competent male AND an evi villain but the characters were entertaining and the ‘thriller’ aspect was enjoyably suspenseful. There are sudden jumps in viewpoint and in time but once you understand that it’s not a problem. So I really recommend this book even if the genre is not your style. You can at least grow to hate on the villain.

Excellent narration, but the story needs some work

The synopsis looked great and I was very happy with both the male and female narrators (though the woman did an Australian accent terribly, it wasn't too distracting). But the storytelling was a letdown. Crazy, gritty chase and destruction scenes played out for far too long. Instead of going on and on about them, the author should have taken more time to develop the story surrounding what these students were learning and why. The sci-fi nerd in me wanted more details about the mechanics of mind control, and fewer high speed chase scenes. This could have been a great novel.

Fun, exciting, and thought provoking

Really enjoyed this. It was a fast paced, exciting story that captivated me. Really clever ideas and well written action. Good characters and great twists. All through was a thread of underlying commentary on society and communication as a whole. The resolution was satisfying and left me feeling that the story was worth the listen.
The narrators voices were pleasant and diverse. Great performance.
If this came recommended to you through some audible filter, just get it. You won't be disappointed.

Not Memorable except for the Bad Australian Accent

A good concept but poorly developed? I didn't feel this book took me anywhere in particular. I didn't find the characters or their situations compelling or convincing. Perhaps, as others have mentioned, the structure was largely responsible for this.

While I hate to quibble, I do think that if you are going to pay actors to read a book requiring foreign accents, then please make sure they are up to the task. Corrigan gave a good performance overall, but when required to use an Australian accent her attempt was so poor that it was horribly distracting and broke the fictional 'dream.'

Watch out for the language

Was Lexicon worth the listening time?

Good story and characters. Very good performance.

Any additional comments?

The book would be 1/3 to 1/2 shorter if the "f" word were removed.

Great story but choppy.

I enjoyed the plot. The premise was very good. The sequencing of the chapters, however, was so bizarre and, at times, seemingly so random. I wasn't sure where I was in the time line. Past, parallel time line, present, future? Also, certain events occurred so quickly and were then dropped just as quickly that I wasn't even sure what happened.
Narration was pretty good, although the accents were a bit rough in places.

More magic than I had hoped.

Would you try another book from Max Barry and/or Heather Corrigan and Zach Appelman ?

Yes.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Don't know.

What three words best describe Heather Corrigan and Zach Appelman ’s voice?

Fine.

Was Lexicon worth the listening time?

It was, but I though it would be more about persuasive speaking than magic words.

The ending?

Great world, fleshed out characters, wonderful plot, meh ending. Maybe it was rushed but 2 major things happened off page, and it was not satisfying.