Science fiction as a genre has often had its stories steeped in allegory and metaphor. From the 1960s Star Trek to James Cameron’s Avatar, sci-fi narratives seeking to impart a greater meaning to their audience have been met with wild success, despite varying degrees of subtlety. In his novel Embassytown, author China Miéville takes this tradition and puts it to the side in lieu of running with it. A self-proclaimed “geek," Miéville has held a lifelong interest in the genres of science fiction and fantasy; an interest reflected in his works, with many of them bearing the genres of “weird fiction” or “New Weird”. While a few of his highly acclaimed novels bear the marks of his politics, in the case of Embassytown I would agree with his statement
…show more content…
They have one mind and two mouths with which to speak, only understanding Language—thought in verbal form—if it is spoken by two living beings in exact mental synchronization. And they cannot lie. Both of these things are known by the characters with utter certainty and, for Embassytowners, no small degree of reverence. Embassytown uses cloned twins to communicate with the Hosts, though it comes at the price of forcing the two people known as Ambassadors to be absolutely alike in mind and body. Things proceed in peace until Bremen sends an Ambassador of their own, EzRa. To the shock of all, EzRa’s halves behave nothing alike, creating a dangerous tonal dissonance when they speak Language. In the background of the Bremen and Embassytowner political machinations, another disruption slowly reveals itself: Hosts have begun to learn how to …show more content…
Miéville’s writing style is grandiose and wordy, bringing scenes to a screeching halt to allow Avice an observation dictated by authorial fiat that couldn’t fit her personality less if she expressed a penchant for show-tunes mid-firefight. Though perhaps well chosen and a sign of Miéville’s depth of knowledge, the diction can lead to a battle between choosing to continue reading and putting the book down to rummage through a dictionary. The saving grace of the latter is that the sentences allow for extrapolation through context. Avice’s vocabulary, however, stretches credibility. Miéville’s skill as a writer shines through and disbelief stills stand a chance of being suspended, but don’t be surprised if your concentration is
They have one mind and two mouths with which to speak, only understanding Language—thought in verbal form—if it is spoken by two living beings in exact mental synchronization. And they cannot lie. Both of these things are known by the characters with utter certainty and, for Embassytowners, no small degree of reverence. Embassytown uses cloned twins to communicate with the Hosts, though it comes at the price of forcing the two people known as Ambassadors to be absolutely alike in mind and body. Things proceed in peace until Bremen sends an Ambassador of their own, EzRa. To the shock of all, EzRa’s halves behave nothing alike, creating a dangerous tonal dissonance when they speak Language. In the background of the Bremen and Embassytowner political machinations, another disruption slowly reveals itself: Hosts have begun to learn how to …show more content…
Miéville’s writing style is grandiose and wordy, bringing scenes to a screeching halt to allow Avice an observation dictated by authorial fiat that couldn’t fit her personality less if she expressed a penchant for show-tunes mid-firefight. Though perhaps well chosen and a sign of Miéville’s depth of knowledge, the diction can lead to a battle between choosing to continue reading and putting the book down to rummage through a dictionary. The saving grace of the latter is that the sentences allow for extrapolation through context. Avice’s vocabulary, however, stretches credibility. Miéville’s skill as a writer shines through and disbelief stills stand a chance of being suspended, but don’t be surprised if your concentration is