Lexicon by Max Barry
Rating: ★★★★★
Wow. I just finished this, and I'm so full of satisfaction that I might purr. This book is not just action-packed and thriller-esque (though it is most definitely IS that), it's full of great humor, misunderstandings and all different kinds of love. Throw in highly intelligent and detailed world building that really draws the reader in, and I was swept away into Lexicon's world.
I'll throw this out there: it's worth a reread
Critiques: I lost a little time in between points of view, and sometimes couldn't find where we were on the timeline, just because of the writing style.
This book was amazing! (I'm keeping it vague so I don't accidentally spoil anything for ya)
I loved the style—it really added to the suspense aspects of the novel. The reader is launched directly into the (quite humorous) action, causing an immediate swarm of questions, but also an instant connection and desire to keep reading. The characters are instantly likable, until, of course, your perceptions of them are pulled out from under you. This is one of the pillars of the novel—not knowing wether or not you have reliable characters.
The book is written at two different points in the storyline, one, near the end and climax of the action, the other, at the very beginning. The author doesn't give you background or motivations or clear facts until he wants to. You think you know what's going on, until you don't. There were definite moments when I sat back and pictured the smiling author in dark room somewhere, rubbing his hands together, laughing manically at my rudely jerked sensibilities.
When I say my opinions of characters flip-flopped I mean constantly falling between very strong, opposing ends of the emotional spectrum: hate and love, trust and suspicion, sympathy and cruelty.
The story's a puzzle to solve, a canvas with isolated, disconnected images that don't make sense until every last piece is in place. The final product is all the more satisfying and beautiful when it finally comes together for it. That's the beauty of getting only snippets.
I can probably group world-building and originality into one category here, because they are very linked. The premise is simple. There's a society of "Poets" who first must prove a natural ability to persuade others/avoid persuasion themselves. After that, they study psychology/brain chemistry, and a slew of words that can give them power over people. When you say specific words in order, people who's personality type goes with those particular words (there are 200+ personality categories if you were wondering) will do whatever you tell them to. Those particular words "bribe" their thinking process, so that they agree with you that "yeah, they should jump on one foot until their toes bleed."
How freaking cool is that?!
A world of poets and words with power, is one that seemed so real to me that I sat down during my free time and researched brain chemistry, language, and persuasion (and of course my "researched" I mean "typed into my Google search engine"). It was the reality-feel to it that made me keep reading. It didn't stray too far from or add too much to our every day world, which might have dissuaded readers who tend to shy away from "magic-isa" or "sci-fi" things. Backed by fake science, everything almost seemed plausible.
Throw in the bright array of character into the fray (a girl who's got killer survival instincts from the street, a confused target who doesn't know what they hell is going on, and a man who's losing everything, but still fights on) and wow. What a story.
Anyways, the world was real enough to impact me, and so brilliantly presented that I felt like I knew exactly what the author's message was, and found myself nodding, like a satisfied child, bloated after Thanksgiving dinner, as I nibbled on the last sentence.
Will definitely be reading again in the future.