Home › Action & Adventure › Embassytown
  • Embassytown by Mi book cover
  • Embassytown by Mi book cover
1 2

Embassytown

by Mi

Language and loyalty on a distant world

Bestseller
$18.75 USD
$31.25 USD $18.75 USD
Save 40%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.
Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

Awards & Recognition

  • Bestseller

    New York Times bestseller

AlbakiReads Editorial

Language and loyalty on a distant world

On the colonized planet Arieka, communication is bound up with the relationship between humans and the sentient Ariekei: their language can be spoken by only a few altered human ambassadors. Avice Benner Cho occupies an unusual place in that system. Though she cannot speak the language, she has become part of it as a living simile. Her return to Embassytown coincides with the arrival of a new ambassador and a crisis in the fragile human–Ariekei balance. The premise connects questions of language and representation with political upheaval, while Avice’s divided loyalties make her own place in this shared world central to the conflict.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in science fiction about contact between humans and alien societies.
  • Readers drawn to stories where language and communication are central to the premise.
  • Readers looking for political conflict alongside a protagonist’s divided loyalties.

Themes

Language and communicationHuman–alien relationsPolitical upheavalBelonging and divided loyalty

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

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--but which speaks through her, whether she likes it or not.

Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

M
AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
AlbakiReads
Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

E
AlbakiReads
Ella

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

O
AlbakiReads
Olivia

Smooth.