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 loyalties—to 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.
Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (2012)
Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (2011)
Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2012)
Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award (RT Award) for Best Science Fiction Novel (2011)
John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2012)
Goodreads Choice Nominee for Science Fiction (2011)
The Kitschies Nominee for Red Tentacle (Novel) (2011)