BOOK REVIEW: Speaker of Words by E.G. Stone

Cover of Speaker of Words by E.G. Stone. Review by Markus McDowell

E.G. Stone. Speaker of Words. Indie Owl Press, 2019. 226 pages.

The world is broken…
Inspector Maddox Dawes of Kyper Central has one more month until retirement. One more month, that is, until a group of rebellious dissidents to the Republic start painting a mysterious message across the screens:
Nehrun tai hanen
No one knows what it means, and the computers have been hacked by the rebels, erasing any trace of their doings. Dawes must work with the only language expert in the Republic to determine just what these rebels are saying and why.
The answers lie shrouded behind layers of politics, an influx of the drug Dreamscape, and the leader of the rebels, Ske’toa, who always seems two-steps ahead.
The world is broken. But how do you go about fixing the world if the words to express its wrongs don’t exist?
Amazon

The author sent me this book for review, for which I am grateful. I receive many books for review, and many are tough to get through, but this was an entertaining read. While it follows some formulaic and well-used tropes, the plot is unique enough and contains several surprises. This is every writer’s task—not to invent something totally new, but to find his or her own voice within a genre. Stone has done a fine job. This is a futuristic cyberpunk dystopian crime drama, with full characters and plenty of action.

Inspector Maddox is a veteran detective with all the requisite burnout and cynicism we’d expect. Yet he is serious about his job and is a “company man.” Ready to retire soon, he is given what seems like a simple, throwaway case that turns into anything but that.

It is well-written and enjoyable to read. Stone has a voice of her own, and her love of languages shows through both in the writing and the plot. Being a fellow glossophile, I loved it.

The beginning had a bit too much “tell not show” for me, but it did not last long. Likewise, some of the internal dialogue and descriptions are perhaps longer than they should be, and could have been tightened up. But I am a Hemingway aficionado, and for others this may be perfectly fine.

If you enjoy good writing, and this sub-genre of science fiction, I believe you will enjoy this book. I recommend it with enthusiasm!