THE NAMING SONG

Language is rediscovered—and strictly controlled—in Berry’s post-apocalyptic fantasy.

They call it the Silence—the massive event that wiped out all language from the world. In the aftermath, the dead walked aimlessly as ghosts and monsters came to life from nightmares. Eventually, humans rediscovered the means to “divine” new words and slowly rebuilt civilization. In this strange landscape, where words are precious and the people who produce new ones also create law and order, anything unnamed is extremely dangerous. The civilized, named people put their trust in the committees of maps, ghosts, dreams, and names, to protect them from the horrors of the wild unknown world. That’s why it’s so hard for the courier, who works for the names committee delivering new names to the world, to feel at home anywhere: She doesn’t have a name. Even her sister has abandoned her, refusing to respond to her letters. For some reason, the courier’s father never gave her a name, even though it set her up to be feared, especially when the savage unnamed people started mounting violent attacks against the named. When her boss with the names committee is killed, the courier flees, setting out to find the truth behind the attacks and about her past. The importance of language and communication is a naturally compelling theme for a book, and Berry aptly describes the intangible magic of the courier delivering a new word where none existed before. Sometimes the dreamy tone makes worldbuilding a little muddy. But though she doesn't have a name, the courier is a lively, effective protagonist who finds more lovable misfits along her journey.

An unusual fantasy about reshaping the world with words.