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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
“So I go home and burnish it and polish it and weld it to a rhythmic frame, make the dull colors gleam, mute the garish artificiality to pastels, so it doesn’t hurt anymore: that’s my poem. I know what they want to say, and I say it for them.”
I did not know when I started reading this that I had signed up for a kind of linguistic scifi, and I'm so happy that I did. This was incredibly creative, unique, and just the sort of stuff that the brain loves to chew on. A young poet/linguist is handpicked by the Earth Alliance to interpret Babel-17, a new code/language that's been plaguing the military in the intergalactic war against the Invaders. Rydra, our main character and poetess, has to assemble a crew, travel to the site of the next attack, while trying to decipher Babel-17.
That's the basic framework for the story. From there, it both widens in scope, while still remaining relatively simple. One of the delights (for me, at least) of reading older scifi is just seeing what authors of the previous generation thought would be new advancements in technology and society. The tattoos and body modifications were fascinating, as well as the idea of discorporate people, bringing people back from the dead as a matter of course, triad marriages, the way the remnants of different races and cultures are seen in current galactic society... I loved all of it. I got a lot of satisfaction just from the world-building. And the language stuff was SO fascinating. Deeply connected with the plot, so I can't really get into it, but there were a few conversations about language and linguistics and learning that had me absolutely riveted. Especially that pivotal conversation between Rydra and the Butcher. I was giddy. Add in some philosophy and some paradoxes (love a good use of the who shaves the barber problem) and I was just tickled. Even when I didn't understand everything, this was a book that made me constantly THINK, in a way that I delighted in. (Speaking of things I didn't understand, my brain did kinda slide sideways when it came to all the space battles. They're just not super interesting to me, and I always have problems picturing large scale space fights, so they just didn't work for me.) Some really good twists, and I definitely did not predict the solution and the way things would turn out.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Stefan Rudnicki, and it was really good! He has a really deep voice, which wasn't my favourite, especially since most of the book was from a woman's POV. But I enjoyed it, overall! Super glad I finally picked this up, and I want to keep it in mind for a reread in the near future, because this is one of those books that I'll definitely get more out of on the second read.
I ask cold air, “What is the word that frees?”
The wind says, “Change,” and the white sun,
“Remember.”
Die Geschichte war okay. Keineswegs ein Meisterwerk.
"It’s easy to repeat; it’s hard to speak."
This was an intriguing and well-written book, but I just never seemed to connect with it the way I wanted to. Babel-17 was the last book of my classic sci-fi binge in February, and it was also my least favorite of the three I read (the other two were Way Station and The Stars My Destination). Although, in another headspace, and maybe if I hadn't had to do the Kindle version (because free) I might have been able to concentrate more and liked it better. I might actually revisit it in the future on audio.
Also, it was very weird!
Babel-17 takes place some far distance in the future where space travel is normal, and body modification has progressed to the point that humans can make themselves essentially into anything they want. A nebulous alien civilization only called the Invaders have been at war with humanity for years. The poet and ex-codebreaker Rydra Wong (who is just a teensy bit telepathic) is tasked with decoding a strange signal that appears just before attacks from the enemy. She learns that it's a language, Babel-17, and decoding it puts her life in danger, but not in the way you're expecting.
This book is all about how the language we speak shapes the way we view the world. Babel-17–a language that does not have the concept of the individual, and no word for "I"–is dangerous because of the way it shapes Rydra's thinking, not because it's imparting new knowledge or tactics or influencing her thoughts in any direct way. It makes her into more of a strategic thinker, also while making her less empathetic and aware of her fellow humans, but it's ultimately human connection that brings her back.
This book is an interesting thought experiment, but for me I think it discounts the other way around too much. Yes, the words we have at our disposal and the structures of our language do shape our thinking, limit and offer opportunities depending on what we've got to work with, but we humans are also pretty determined, and if we need a word for something and don't have one, oftentimes we change the language to suit our needs. The influence doesn't just go one way. That's why languages constantly evolve, and aren't just static. It's why many people have such a hard time reading Shakespeare, and attempting to read Chaucer is like visiting a foreign country. It's why "social distancing," a term none of us knew four weeks ago, is now in common usage (or whenever it was, I've lost track of time entirely).
The characters were all right, but I had a hard time connecting with them, especially at the beginning of the book. If you can make it a third of the way, you'll be fine, but I did have a hard time getting to that point.
[3.5 stars]
This was an intriguing and well-written book, but I just never seemed to connect with it the way I wanted to. Babel-17 was the last book of my classic sci-fi binge in February, and it was also my least favorite of the three I read (the other two were Way Station and The Stars My Destination). Although, in another headspace, and maybe if I hadn't had to do the Kindle version (because free) I might have been able to concentrate more and liked it better. I might actually revisit it in the future on audio.
Also, it was very weird!
Babel-17 takes place some far distance in the future where space travel is normal, and body modification has progressed to the point that humans can make themselves essentially into anything they want. A nebulous alien civilization only called the Invaders have been at war with humanity for years. The poet and ex-codebreaker Rydra Wong (who is just a teensy bit telepathic) is tasked with decoding a strange signal that appears just before attacks from the enemy. She learns that it's a language, Babel-17, and decoding it puts her life in danger, but not in the way you're expecting.
This book is all about how the language we speak shapes the way we view the world. Babel-17–a language that does not have the concept of the individual, and no word for "I"–is dangerous because of the way it shapes Rydra's thinking, not because it's imparting new knowledge or tactics or influencing her thoughts in any direct way. It makes her into more of a strategic thinker, also while making her less empathetic and aware of her fellow humans, but it's ultimately human connection that brings her back.
This book is an interesting thought experiment, but for me I think it discounts the other way around too much. Yes, the words we have at our disposal and the structures of our language do shape our thinking, limit and offer opportunities depending on what we've got to work with, but we humans are also pretty determined, and if we need a word for something and don't have one, oftentimes we change the language to suit our needs. The influence doesn't just go one way. That's why languages constantly evolve, and aren't just static. It's why many people have such a hard time reading Shakespeare, and attempting to read Chaucer is like visiting a foreign country. It's why "social distancing," a term none of us knew four weeks ago, is now in common usage (or whenever it was, I've lost track of time entirely).
The characters were all right, but I had a hard time connecting with them, especially at the beginning of the book. If you can make it a third of the way, you'll be fine, but I did have a hard time getting to that point.
[3.5 stars]
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Lovely, well-written main character. Fun plot.
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No