From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…

Embassytown

China Miéville

Start date: May 1, 2019

Finish date: May 31, 2019

Discussion: 2019 Sci-Fi Mini Tournament

Discussion leader: Christopher

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What Members Thought

Mar 07, 2016 Viv JM rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, read-in-2016, author-male, favourites, science-fiction

This is the first China Mieville book I have ever read & it has totally blown my mind! What an amazing imagination this author has. I think this is the most fascinating depiction of alien life that I have ever come across. What also surprised me was how beautiful the writing was. I can't wait to read more of his work.

I listened to the audiobook version of this, narrated by Susan Duerden, and would definitely recommend it. I think I will probably read the print version in the future too. I don't ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Feb 16, 2012 Christopher rated it really liked it

Shelves: british, 21st-century, science-fiction

When you read a China Miéville book, you can only count on understanding about 75% of it. Invented vocabulary, inscrutable conspiracy theories, futuro-archaic religious sects, and mind-bending conceptual language abound. Embassytown is no different, and from the reviews I've read, many people who've finished the novel are still confused about its basic elements.

Embassytown is a small human-inhabited city on a backwater alien planet whose natives are Ariekei, sentient creatures with two mouths w When you read a China Miéville book, you can only count on understanding about 75% of it. Invented vocabulary, inscrutable conspiracy theories, futuro-archaic religious sects, and mind-bending conceptual language abound. Embassytown is no different, and from the reviews I've read, many people who've finished the novel are still confused about its basic elements.

Embassytown is a small human-inhabited city on a backwater alien planet whose natives are Ariekei, sentient creatures with two mouths with which they speak Language. Language can only be spoken with two mouths in harmony, each professing separate sounds that make single words. The Ariekei can speak only in truths, which means not only that they cannot speak lies, but also that they cannot speak in hypotheticals. Everything they say must be based in reality, such as our human protagonist, Avice Benner Cho, who is herself a simile used by the Ariekei - the girl who was hurt in darkness and ate what was given to her.

In order to speak with the Ariekei (or even be recognized as sentient beings), the humans have bioengineered Ambassadors. Each ambassador is a pair of identical humans with artificial links between their brains which allow them to speak in harmony with each other, creating Language understandable by Ariekei. But as hyper-advanced scientific muddling mixed with poorly understood alien worlds are wont to do, the introduction of a new, different kind of Ambassador turns catastrophic.

With Embassytown, Miéville has crafted an intricate, subtle novel that will give the reader culture shock. He has a gift for creating worlds that feel as if they exist, not as if they were invented, and placing the reader within as if they should have known about it all their lives. He spends little time explaining the various complicated elements of the alien world, letting one divine the meanings of words like "immer", "floaking", and "aeoli" by context and repetition, which is significant, as a similar process of language-learning plays a major role within the plot.

Read this book if you're a science fiction fan in search of complex speculative concepts in the vein of Philip K. Dick. Read it if you're a fan of well-written prose and are frustrated by the lacking quality of most science fiction literature. But don't read it if you're looking for a rollicking space opera full of action; this is heady stuff. ...more

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Apr 29, 2025 Camelia Rose rated it really liked it

Shelves: linguistics, science-fiction

China Mieville has been on my TBR list for a long time. In the past I tried Un Lun Dun and The Scar, but both times I could not get past page 30. I am glad I picked up the audiobook of Embassytown.

It's a sci-fi about language, built upon the idea that language shapes who we are. Ariekei is an alien race who can’t lie. For them, hearing and speaking is by the same organ that is a direct reflection of their mind. To communicate with Ariekeis, humans must speak the alien language with two distinct ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Aug 21, 2011 Meghan rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, horror, new-england, brit-lit, british, sci-fi, kindle, award-winning, bookish, ew_rec

This story socks it to you. Mieville has an excellent grasp on the geopolitical powder keg that is international politics. I know all the experts like to talk about Language vs language. And there is plenty to talk about on that subject. But what I found most intriguing about the story was the scathing review of "Big Government" on colonial life. Everything was started because Bremen made a power play, with consequences so disasterous it might wipe out an entire planet. Looking through man's own This story socks it to you. Mieville has an excellent grasp on the geopolitical powder keg that is international politics. I know all the experts like to talk about Language vs language. And there is plenty to talk about on that subject. But what I found most intriguing about the story was the scathing review of "Big Government" on colonial life. Everything was started because Bremen made a power play, with consequences so disasterous it might wipe out an entire planet. Looking through man's own history, how many times have we encountered similar situations?

Living in an embassytown myself, I can relate to or at least imagine on certain levels what the Terres went through. When you watch your own government sqwak and holler about things, you often wonder if they even have a clue since they so obviously refuse to take the time or effort in understanding the natives and their cultures, their history, who they are. They just see what they want, make assumptions, and deem what should be done based on political correctness or favor. It's scary because they, safe in their homes far, far away do not have to live with the fall out of those not-well-thought-through decisions and proclamations. It's easy to decide what to do when you aren't there to deal with the consequences.

As much as I enjoyed the story, Mieville's writing is tough to slog through. Hence the loss of one star. For the most part, I read this fairly quickly. But the times where there was lag, it slowed way down. I think sometimes Mieville enjoyed a little too much of his wordplay. The smoothness of the story got bogged down by the cleverness in the words, which I found a bit ironic considering the whole premise of the story to begin with.

All-in-all, for my first Mieville book, I enjoyed this thoroughly. While it won't be any time soon, I will definitely be reading his other works. This felt less science fiction-y to me so I don't think you have to be a hard core sci-fi fan to enjoy it. Allthough if you're not into international politics or science fiction, it might be rough going for you. ...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Lauren rated it liked it

I'm always on the lookout for good, new science fiction that isn't written for 12-year olds and doesn't just involve a bunch of people zipping around in spaceships and shooting each other. This book came highly recommended and I had high expectations.

But after finishing it, all I can do is shrug. The story was OK. It started off slow and confusing, as we were immersed (no pun intended) in a strange galaxy on a strange planet with strange aliens. I kept reading and waiting for things to get inter ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 18, 2012 Dawn rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, science-fiction

This book just didn't engage me in any way.

A political science fiction story with a heavy dose of linguistics, it went out of it's way to be unique and complicated. But it missed in giving even one character to feel empathy with or to cheer or to love to hate. So while I loved the idea, it was essentially a boring book for me. ...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Erika rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction-science-fiction

Ok, NO. Just NO. I finished it, though, I plodded through in pain. Which means, I guess, I am like the girl who just ate what was given to her. No, really.

The book had several things going for it, mainly the fascinating new world of Embassytown on Arieka. The Ariekene are interesting, but the world is even more interesting, with all its biorigged architecture, the life forms, the ways of traveling. He did a splendid job of creating something utterly alien, even a universe that is alien -- the cr ...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Julie rated it it was ok

Shelves: sci-fi, group-read-bookish, read-in-2012

Well I give the author an A for imagination. There were a few interesting ideas in this book but the execution just didn't work for me. I spent too much time being confused or bored to rate the book highly. There was a very large section in the middle where I had to force myself to read because I thought the plot was too slow. I was disappointed that I usually had a very fuzzy view of this world due to his half explanations of things and made up words that I had a hard time figuring out. I kept ...more

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Jul 06, 2014 Nadine in California rated it it was ok

I think that China Mieville just isn't for me. I DNF'ed Perdido Street Station a few years ago for being a too grossly gritty and cruel, which is saying something, since I love the Game of Thrones books. At least I finished this one. The creativity of the world building kept me going, but the story itself didn't. Maybe I couldn't grasp all that he was trying to convey about language and meaning, but it felt to me like a lot of semiotic smoke without fire. Given how many award nominations it got, ...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Petra rated it really liked it

A good, solid Sci-Fi story with galactic exploration, new life forms, twists, turns, nuances. Excellent in many ways.
There's enough reviews where Language and language are discussed, so I don't need to add more on that. Suffice to say, know the difference between a simile and a metaphor. It's the subleties that make a difference in this book.
Highly recommended. ...more

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