In the secret world of
the poets—humans that, through the power of language, have gained the ability
of human compulsion—Max Berry delivers us Emily Ruff and Wil Jamieson. The first narrative arc belongs to that of
Emily, a sixteen year old girl making a living by hustling card games on the
streets of San Francisco, able to analyze her marks to a frightening degree. Frightening
enough that the poets have sought her out.
As her life quickly takes an unexpected turn, she finds herself at a
private, and secret, school where she will learn all she needs in order to sway
anyone to her will. Every human has a
unique ‘code,’ a sequence of four special words that allow the speaker access
to their thoughts and will. Through
studying an individual, the poets are able to categorize them, determining just
what specific order of words will unlock their mind. This new world is a world of specific rules,
rules that must never be broken and Emily, Emily has no small problems with
following rules. The second narrative
arc follows that of Wil, a young man who finds himself thrown into a supposed
poet war. With no clue as to why he’s
been dragged into this fight, the only information the reader is given is that
Wil’s memory has been compromised and that something horrible happened in a
place called Broken Hill, Australia.
In Max Berry’s Lexicon
we are in a world, very much like our own, but within it lies a secret
organization of poets, each member given the name of a famous poet to act as their code name. “The pen is
mightier than the sword.” The adage about
the superiority of language, of words, over any amount of force is expanded
upon within this book. More than mere
wordsmiths, these poets have such vast knowledge over the human psyche that,
with the right words, they can compel any human being to do whatever they wish
them to do.
The two key phrases found throughout the book are “’Tower of
Babel’ event” and “barewords,” with the latter causing the former. Normal coercion requires that a poet analyze
an individual’s personality to determine what precise sequence of four words it
will take to be able to control the individual.
Being aware of this ability, many poets have built up defenses to
protect themselves from other poets.
With the use of these barewords, none of that matters. Merely looking at the word makes an
individual susceptible to coercion and worse.
The best way to think of an uncontained bareword, in this case inscribed
on a small object, is as if a nuclear reactor had melted down. And with the complete release of a bareword is
a Tower of Babel event, resulting in the destruction of all language. Honestly, while it seems daunting, I would
have liked if the book had gone into more detail here.
Emily has been living on the streets, using card games and
her innate ability to analyze and understand people to make enough money to get
by. It was a character introduction that
was neither good nor bad, but it was well constructed. Once we get to her developing her abilities
to become a poet and her use of those abilities, whether likeable or not, I
appreciated Emily’s comparative difference to those that surrounded her, as
well as other young protagonists in their own stories. Since others around her succeeded where she
did not, using abilities and other natural talents that she didn’t possess, she
used the skills that she did possess to their fullest in order to fight against
that imbalance. That use of skills was
excellent to see in place of the luck of many other main characters, characters
who only manage to succeed because of coincidental events rather than their own
planning and abilities.
Wil finds himself at the center of a war between poets, only
knowing that something horrible has happened at Broken Hill. Fresh off a plane he’s both kidnapped and
protected by two strange men, who drag him towards a place he has no
recollection of. I can’t say whether Wil’s
character seemed too whiny, or if it was the right amount of complaint coming
from someone in his particular situation.
While I’d like to, I can’t talk too much about the progression of his
character or I’d risk spoiling something for you. It is through Wil’s character that many of
the mysteries of the story are revealed, so in that I would call him more of a
device than an actual character. So
while the writing behind him was strong, it was hard to shake the impression of
him functioning as a tool rather than a person.
The story itself, the way that the narrative jumped back and
forth between Emily and Wil, was highly enjoyable. On one hand you have Emily who is able to
learn about the world of the poets as she tries to find her place. On the other you have Wil who is dragged in
head first with little to no ability to act on his own. The two stories both involve the unifying
thread of the poets, yet while Emily finds herself in relative peace, Wil’s
perspective of their world is pure chaos.
The world that Emily couldn’t see, yet Wil could, was enjoyable as a
reader. However, as mentioned above, Wil
functioned more as device than person.
Had the two stories been separated, Emily’s story would have succeeded
and made sense while Wil’s would not have.
And yes, that’s an unfair point to examine as this story is not two
individual stories, but one made from intertwined arcs.
This was a story where I caught myself off-guard by my own
enjoyment. As characters, neither Emily
nor Wil excited me in any special way, but the story itself is what pulled me
along. The world that existed within the
pages of Lexicon and the laws that
governed it was one that I could definitely have no problem reading more
into. While the story focused primarily
on Emily and Wil, there were also times went it delved more deeply into the
world of the poets, specifically through the eyes of Yeats. While I can’t give too much away, seeing
things through his eyes would make for an exceptional story and, if you’re
anything like me, you’ll definitely appreciate what Barry made in Yeats.
The story itself is both exciting and fresh, detached from
the typical physical action packed story that make up many fictitious thrillers. It’s a story where the good and bad guys
alike rely on their words as much as their physical actions in order to drive
the story. A story where a word has the
power to change the world. Where words
are the most powerful weapon.
In previous reviews I’ve mentioned events that I haven’t
wanted to spoil. In the case of Max
Berry’s “Lexicon,” the ending is something else entirely. Now, before the end there will definitely be
readers who are able to predict what the ending holds. However, whether you see the ending coming or
not, you’ll definitely get a kick out of it.
If you fall into the first group or the second, the writing and
storytelling that Berry utilizes to make the ending work as beautifully as it
does is something to be admired. That
being said, when looking at the story as a whole, there were parts of Emily and
Wil’s adventure that could have gone differently, even better, had Barry not
been trying to arrive at the ending he did.
So it’s a hard thought on whether or not the end justifies the
means. Although, the way that Emily and
Wil’s arcs are woven together is just breath-taking.
Lexicon is one of
a growing number of conspiracy thrillers, so I would accordingly recommend this
to any reader who takes pleasure in thrillers, mystery, or conspiracy. That isn’t to leave out all those who enjoy
science fiction and paranormal. If you’re
an avid reader, then this book is a must for your reading list!
Rating 4/5
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