Embassytown

On the distant frontier planet of Arieka, humans coexist alongside the Ariekei, an indigenous species whose unique language permits no falsehoods or metaphors. Communication is maintained exclusively by paired human clones known as Ambassadors who speak in unison. Avice Benner Cho, an immerser who travels through hyperspace, returns home and becomes vital because her childhood experience made her a living simile in the Ariekei tongue. The arrival of a genetically modified Ambassador disrupts native comprehension, triggering addiction, societal collapse, and war.

by China Miéville

Ballantine Books · First published 2011 · 345 pages