Reviews with content warning for Murder - Drunk on All Your Strange New Words

At first this novel reminded me of China Mieville’s Embassytown but it was lighter - funnier - while at the same time serious. After all, it *is* a murder mystery. I loved the focus on language and the quirks of translation, the drunkenness that comes from too much mental strain.

I loved the relationship between Lydia and Fitz. She keeps claiming they weren’t really friends but it’s obvious he became about as close to a friend as anyone. Lydia talks in a fresh, self-deprecating way while at the same time standing up for herself admirably.

Overall I really liked this book a lot. I didn’t give it five stars because I found the plotting of the actual murder and everything related to it somewhat confusing. That said, it was a really enjoyable story and I’ll recommend it to sci-fi and mystery lovers.

I was really sad when Fitz was killed so I was therefore especially happy when Lydia was able to talk to him again. Then, to discover all of that conversation was false and she was being manipulated was very upsetting.

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alsoapples's review

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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mar's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

a very fun scifi murder mystery :)

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nukie19's review

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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mossgoblins's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read- the world and main characters gripped me from the beginning, and the plot had me hooked the rest of the time. Highly recommend.

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twocents's review

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

In a near future version of Earth, we have experienced significant climate change and we've had alien contact. This is set pretty far after the first contact; there are cities whose entire economy revolves around providing services to the aliens.

The main character works as a "human to alien" translator who gets caught up in a locked room murder mystery. I really enjoyed this. I expected to take several days to read it, and ended up giving my entire weekend to just devour it. I thought Lydia was a compelling character. I thought the alien culture was really interesting, and seeing it through the perspective of a human trying to make sense of it in human terms was just really fascinating. I didn't see the twist coming at all, though I am terrible anticipating twists, so that may just be a me thing.

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