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Embassytown
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
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Publisher's summary
China Miéville doesn’t follow trends, he sets them. Relentlessly pushing his own boundaries as a writer - and in the process expanding the boundaries of the entire field - with Embassytown, Miéville has crafted an extraordinary novel that is not only a moving personal drama but a gripping adventure of alien contact and war.
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 yet speaks through her.
Critic reviews
“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)
“Brilliant storytelling... The result is a world masterfully wrecked and rebuilt.” (Publishers Weekly [starred review])
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There have always been whispers. Legends. The warrior who cannot be killed. Who’s seen a thousand civilizations rise and fall. He has had many names: Unute, Child of Lightning, Death himself. These days, he’s known simply as “B.” And he wants to be able to die.
By: Keanu Reeves, and others
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Luna
- New Moon
- By: Ian McDonald
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren, Soneela Nankani, Thom Rivera
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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As the leader of the moon's newest "dragon", Adriana has wrested control of the moon's helium-3 industry from the Mackenzie Metal Corporation and fought to earn her family's new status. Now, at the twilight of her life, Adriana finds her corporation, Corta Helio, surrounded by the many enemies she made during her meteoric rise. If the Corta family is to survive, Adriana's five children must defend their mother's empire from her many enemies - and each other.
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Disappointed.
- By Eugene R. White on 10-28-15
By: Ian McDonald
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A Spectre, Haunting
- By: China Miéville
- Narrated by: China Miéville
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1848, The Communist Manifesto was published by two émigrés from Germany. Marx and Engels' apocalyptic vision of an insatiable system that penetrates every corner of the world reduces every relationship to that of profit, and burst asunder the old forms of production and of politics. It is still a recognisable picture of our world—the vampiric energy of the system being once again highly contentious. This is a strikingly imaginative take on Marx and what his most haunting book has to say to us today.
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A great follow up to October
- By Amazon Customer on 01-18-23
By: China Miéville
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October
- The Story of the Russian Revolution
- By: China Mieville
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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The renowned fantasy and science fiction writer China Mieville has long been inspired by the ideals of the Russian Revolution, and here, on the centenary of the revolution, he provides his own distinctive take on its history. In February 1917, in the midst of bloody war, Russia was still an autocratic monarchy: nine months later it became the first socialist state in world history. How did this unimaginable transformation take place? How was a ravaged and backward country, swept up in a desperately unpopular war, rocked by not one but two revolutions?
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The 20th Century's New Weird History
- By Darwin8u on 08-12-17
By: China Mieville
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Too Like the Lightning (Dramatized Adaptation)
- Terra Ignota 1
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- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Original Recording
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Mycroft Canner is a convict. For his crimes he is required, as is the custom of the 25th century, to wander the world being as useful as he can to all he meets. Carlyle Foster is a sensayer—a spiritual counselor in a world that has outlawed the public practice of religion, but which also knows that the inner lives of humans cannot be wished away.
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like a radio play
- By Edmund Goppelt on 05-13-23
By: Ada Palmer
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Boneshaker
- By: Cherie Priest
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- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.
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Excommunicate and Banish This Book
- By Darwin8u on 05-10-12
By: Cherie Priest
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The Mountain in the Sea
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- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Rumors begin to spread of a species of hyperintelligent, dangerous octopus that may have developed its own language and culture. Marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen, who has spent her life researching cephalopod intelligence, will do anything for the chance to study them. The transnational tech corporation DIANIMA has sealed the remote Con Dao Archipelago, where the octopuses were discovered, off from the world. Dr. Nguyen joins DIANIMA’s team on the islands: a battle-scarred security agent and the world’s first android.
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Enjoyable and interesting
- By AudioReader on 10-10-22
By: Ray Nayler
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Remnant Population
- A Novel
- By: Elizabeth Moon
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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For 40 years, Colony 3245.12 has been Ofelia’s home. On this planet far away in space and time from the world of her youth, she has lived and loved, weathered the death of her husband, raised her one surviving child, lovingly tended her garden, and grown placidly old. And it is here that she fully expects to finish out her days - until the shifting corporate fortunes of the Sims Bancorp Company dictates that Colony 3245.12 is to be disbanded, its residents shipped off, deep in cryo-sleep, to somewhere new and strange and not of their choosing.
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Grandmother Wisdom Wish Fulfillment
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More Than Human
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- Unabridged
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In this genre-bending novel, among the first to have launched sci fi into literature, a group of remarkable social outcasts band together for survival and discover that their combined powers render them superhuman. Together, they may represent the next step in evolution - or the final chapter in the history of the human race. As they struggle to find whether they are meant to help humanity or destroy it, Sturgeon explores questions of power and morality, individuality and belonging.
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Must listen
- By Dion on 01-16-10
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The Faded Sun Trilogy
- By: C. J. Cherryh
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 30 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Collected in one volume is all three books in C. J. Cherryh's epic The Faded Sun trilogy: Kesrith, Shon'jir, and Kutath.
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always check with the author
- By Anita on 05-24-19
By: C. J. Cherryh
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Among Others
- By: Jo Walton
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Startling, unusual, and yet irresistably readable, Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment.
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Subtle Character Piece
- By Eoin on 09-15-11
By: Jo Walton
What listeners say about Embassytown
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- cordell
- 09-27-18
amazing
this is the first book I've listened to where the narrator not only added to the feeling and tone, but to the functionality of a plot point. amazing. listen to this story.
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- Lynette
- 08-20-12
Excellent, way out there Sci-Fi!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, because it is so unusual...and interesting.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Embassytown?
The war.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
The greatest new sci-fi since "Aliens".
Any additional comments?
Incredibly different story. Very involving. The characters were always surprising. I enjoyed the first person perspective in this story.
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Overall
- Matthew von der Ahe
- 08-17-11
Fantastic novel, perfect narration
In Embassytown, Mieville once again slips your brain into realms it never could have imagined. Stupendous ideas brilliantly developed. Duerden's narration could not be improved upon.
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- Theodore E. Kogod
- 08-20-15
A Linguistic Masterpiece, but Better Seen than Heard
Would you listen to Embassytown again? Why?
No. The book is great. The story is great (when it picks up). And the recording is great. However, the book is meant to offer commentary on language, and I had to look at Wikipedia for reference to understand a lot of the written subtlety of it. Also, one alien species speaks a language with two separate speaking organs making different simultaneous sounds. Narrator Susan Duerden uses sound editing to handle this brilliantly. However, it makes for a very difficult listening experience. I enjoyed the book, but would rather re-read a text copy.
What did you like best about this story?
The examination of language not as communicating merely what is but what could be is a fascinating phenomena. The protagonist is a "simile"--a living extension of Language. She acts "like a girl who ate what she was given." Thus, she is able to introduce new ideas to an alien culture by comparing other existing ideas to her--the girl who ate what she was given. An addict consumes a drug "like the girl who ate what she was given." That whole idea--making people into similes, into extensions of language--is absolutely astounding!
Which scene was your favorite?
This is difficult. A few scenes come to mind. One small scene was when someone's biomechanic prosthetic sprouted an ear to listen to an addictive linguistic drug being spoken. That small detail really intrigued me and served as a great metaphor for addiction and technology.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
"In space, nobody can hear your two speaking organs scream!"China Mieville has many books worthy of movies. This one might be too smart for Hollywood to do.
Any additional comments?
China Mieville is an amazing author. Susan Duerden is a fantastic narrator!The story here is as captivating as the science fiction elements!However, this book is not always easy to listen to because of the complex nature of sometimes hearing two sounds spoken simultaneously for short monosyllabic names, greetings, and other moments.
Still, it was well worth the listen and I'm glad I purchased the book!
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Overall
- Julie W. Capell
- 08-15-11
Incredibly original novel, narration fantastic
With this book, China Mieville proves he has one of the most original voices in modern American literature. Of course, to the casual observer, the weird aliens, strange technology and bizarre geography that form the surface of most science fiction seem original, but the truth is that a lot of scifi is hackneyed and repetitive. There are no new stories, only retreads of a few standard plots that regularly make the rounds. Humanity is always right, the bad guy will get his comeuppance, and the hero will get the girl. And not to nit pick, but the linguist in me often wonders why every alien we encounter magically speaks American English, or has a translator gizmo that has no problem figuring out a new lexicon in a matter of hours (and this is worse on TV or in the movies, where the Magic Translator often figures things out within minutes or even seconds).
Not so in Embassytown. The humans living on this backwater world at the far edge of the galaxy know they are only there at the sufferance of the native beings, but due to a language barrier, they don’t know much more than that. The aliens of the planet Ariekei are so different from humans, think so differently, see life from such a different angle, that communication with them is nearly impossible, even after many generations. Mieville unfolds his story bit by bit, so that the reader has an impartial understanding of what is actually going on, just as do all of the characters in the book. The true depth of the misunderstanding unfolds slowly, but each revelation is fascinating and makes the reader yearn to learn more about the mysterious Hosts.
I don’t want to say more because it might give away too much. I want to acknowledge that I listened to this as an audio book read by Susan Duerden. Her narration was wonderful, and included some excellent sound effects that helped me “hear” what the Ariekei Language *might* sound like.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Lorelei Armstrong
- 06-08-11
Loved This Book!
Complex, original, and as the best speculative fiction does, this book immerses a reader in a world they never imagined. A stunningly creative and original writer. It had me wishing this world were real and at the same time dreading the dangers the characters faced. The answers to those dangers were truly haunting. The narration was a perfect match to the story. This is fiction operating way at the top of the curve and a writer like no other. I'd be happy to see a sequel, another adventure in this world, or anything else Mr. Mieville wants to write. I've read three of his novels and will be reading all of them.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Reid's Reads
- 08-24-11
Definitely a "must listen"!
Not only is this an excellent book with regard to the writing and the story, it is one of the best audiobooks that I have ever heard. Susan Duerden narrates magnificently. And the special treatment given in the narration for "Language" is absolutely spot on. Upon finishing, after I caught my breath, I immediately started a second time through. It is an extraordinary listen!
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1 person found this helpful
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- D. Fyler
- 06-02-21
A good start
The beginning of this novel was excellent; classic China Mievelle in that it was inventive and original. Much of the initial narrative was undergirded but a clear philosophical question-Is language a reflection of species mind or vice versa? The latter part of the novel degenerated into a confusing mess; it seems like the author had a hard time writing a conclusion and just threw anything together. Very disappointing.
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- Kindle Customer
- 09-24-12
A Meditation on Language and the Mind
If you could sum up Embassytown in three words, what would they be?
Challenging, thought-provoking
Any additional comments?
Once again China Mieville has put down a thought-provoking and totally unique story, one that takes on what it means to have a mind and to use language. Susan Duerden's narration was top of the line; as with the best in her profession, she brings something to the story rather than simply reading it.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-10-22
Bizarrely relevant in 2022
I can only imagine how dense and academic Embassytown would have been in 2012, but today it feels like Greg Egan or Neal Stephenson's most prophetic works. The fact that the main character is literally a simile is a great hint that this is literary science fiction, and proves that such a thing can be done.
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