Embassytown, by China Mieville
China Mieville’s writing has taken a brilliant turn from weird fantasy to science fiction.
In this story, the ambassadors to Arieka live in Embassytown, a colony on the edge of known space. Thanks to the local biotechnology it is the one place on the planet inhabitable by humans. Only occasional ships travel to this outpost.
The Ariekei have a unique language that normal humans cannot speak. They understand it only when two identical humans speak simultaneously. The Ariekei language can only express truth. To add new concepts to the language they must be made real. As a girl, Avice Benner Cho has the strangest experience of her life when she is brought to an abandoned restaurant to become a real basis for a figure of speech.
On her voyages she marries the linguist Scile, who convinces her to return to Embassytown so he can study the unique Ariekei language. As the Ariekei language becomes a weapon that undermines the relationship between the human and alien races, Avice becomes is a participant in a search for peace between the humans and Ariekei.
Mieville skillfully shows how language can be a tool of liberation and control. “Embassytown” reminds a reader of the best of Ursula K. Le Guin in its inventiveness and concern for people and politics.
Nanomagica, by Norman J. LaFave
The new offering from Trapdoor Books of Loveland is a detective novel that takes a turn to apocalyptic thriller.
In 2088 structures dependent on nanotechnology are falling apart. In Chicago that means the 400-story Daley Spire collapses. Police Inspector Robert Nazio enlists the help of his old friend and nanotech expert Greg Gilroy. They suspect the supposedly impossible accident was not an accident. Gilroy sees a pattern with other nano-failures around the country.
These lone wolves are forced to join a national investigation and obey orders from by-the-book FBI agent Derek Palmer. It’s a battle of wills over the direction of the investigation. And as the case grows they must appreciate each other’s talents.
The uneasy teamwork of the task force is an interesting mix of personalities. One of the twists toward the end feels a bit too convenient, but also forgivable in an otherwise enjoyable first novel.
Central Park Knight, by C.J. Henderson
I thought the Brooklyn Museum was a nice place the one time I went there. I didn’t know it was such a hotbed of supernatural activity until I read “Central Park Knight.”
Piers Knight is an expert on ancient people and their magical objects. He is also acquainted with contemporary gods who aren’t all friendly to humanity. This is needed for his sideline of saving the world.
This is the second book about Knight. He gets a new intern every book and this one, George Rainert, is a socially inept teenager who is usually buried in his smartphone. He has depths of brilliance which are hidden from the acerbic professor.
In this tale, dragons can take human form and act civilized when they wish but at heart they hate humanity and think now is the time to eliminate it. They are more interesting characters when they sit down to dinner than when they are fighting.
Conflicts with the old ones lead to a New York City showdown in Central Park. There are some in-group conceits along the way such as the importance of the site of New York Comic Con. It fits the humorous tone that keeps the museum superhero from being unbearable.
