China Mieacuteville doesnrsquot follow trends he sets them Relentlessly pushing his own boundaries as a writermdashand in the process expanding the boundaries of the entire fieldmdashwith Embassytown Mieacuteville 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 loyaltiesmdashto 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.
