Giveaway! ‘Embassytown’ (China Mieville)

This has to be one of my most anticipated releases this year and it’s only through a supreme effort that I’ve managed to hold off reading it this far. Don’t expect that to last though (it’s right at the top of the pile)... Check out the blurb,

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.

For those of you who are also having trouble waiting I’ve got a giveaway that will suit you a treat. Thanks to the good people at Del Rey, I have three advance copies of ‘Embassytown’ that three lucky US readers (yep, it’s a ‘US only’ competition I’m afraid) will be able to get stuck into before the book hits the shelves.

Entering this competition is simple. All you need to do is drop me an email (address at the top right hand of the screen) telling me who you are and what your postal address is. The subject header needs to be ‘Embassytown’.

I’ll let this one run until the 24th of April and will aim to announce the winners as soon as possible afterwards.

Good Luck!