Man, I really wanted to like this book more. The whole concept of words that kill was one I loved. The first 60 pages were dynamite and then it just lost steam for me. It took forever to get where it was going. The ending was bang up and redeemed it a little for me. All in all it was enjoyable but left me feeling like it could have been more. ( )

I mostly picked this book for the title and the idea that words are powerful. I liked it quite a bit. The plot, characters, and structure were very interesting. I'm still thinking about it. I think it will be one of those books that I like more over time. ( )

Like crack. Tough to put down. ( )

abracadabra ( )

Max Barry has written some excellent satirical novels such as Company and Jennifer Government. In Lexicon, he largely leaves the satire behind and gives us a near-future cautionary tale about the power of language.

Lexicon centres on a shadowy organisation of Poets, people who are highly trained in the use of words to persuade and command ordinary folk, and bend them to their will. The organisation recruits Emily, a street hustler with outstanding innate persuasive skills. Emily proves to be more than a handful for the organisation seeking to train her.

The Poets seem to be mixed up in a mysterious incident that occurred at Broken Hill, where all 3000 of the town's inhabitants died. They kidnap Wil, an Australian carpenter, with a view to forcing him to help them find out what is at the heart of the Broken Hill disaster.

Lexicon is an excellent story with some interesting ideas about personality types and how people can be influenced. Barry's main characters are well-drawn and his descriptions of the Australian desert ring extremely true. This is a great read, marred for me only by some confusion engendered by the time shifting in the plot. ( )