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Lexicon

By: Max Barry
Narrated by: Heather Corrigan, Zach Appelman
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Publisher's Summary

Winner of the Aurealis Awards Best Science Fiction Novel 2013

Two years ago, something terrible was unleashed in an Australian mining town called Broken Hill. Thousands died. Few people know what really happened. Emily Ruff is one of them. She belongs to an elite organisation of 'poets': masters of manipulation who use language to warp others to their will. She was one of their most promising recruits until she made a catastrophic mistake: she fell in love.

Wil Parke knows the truth too, only he doesn't remember it. And he doesn't know why he's immune to the poets' powers. But he knows he needs to run. As their stories converge, the past is revealed, and the race is on for a deadly weapon: a word. Because the poets know that words can kill...

©2013 Max Barry (P)2013 Penguin Audiobooks US

Critic Reviews

"Insanely good. Dark and twisted and sweet and humane all at once" (Lauren Beukes, author of Zoo City and The Shining Girls)
"About as close you can get to the perfect cerebral thriller: searingly smart, ridiculously funny, and fast as hell. Lexicon reads like Elmore Leonard high out of his mind on Snow Crash." (Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians)

What listeners say about Lexicon

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Distracting accents

What disappointed you about Lexicon?

The Australian accents were really bad and seriously distracted from the story, not that it was a great story. The story was hard to follow in parts and there were serious flaws.

Has Lexicon put you off other books in this genre?

No

What three words best describe Heather Corrigan and Zach Appelman ’s voice?

They should have had Australians or not even bothered.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

the concept was interesting but the author didn't explore some of the more interesting concepts of the book,

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great suspensful story

Good story, entertaining and original. The performance is rather good as well and it's great to have two very different narrators. The Australian accent of the narrator lady though is ridiculous...

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A Very Disappointing Book

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I know the book has had some positive reviews - the story might be better enjoyed by people who are under the influence of mind altering substances so that an unsatisfying story won't matter too much. It would also be helpful to have no knowledge of Broken Hill or Australia generally and not to care that this story is seriously unbelievable.

What was most disappointing about Max Barry’s story?

The complete lack of research about Broken Hill in Australia was seriously disappointing. The town in the book bears no semblance to the real thing. Better if he just made up a fictitious town rather than get it all so wrong. The author is reported to be Australian but it is hard to believe he has ever been out of Melbourne or that he even googled Broken Hill and the area before writing the book. Apart from the lack of geographical accuracy, the concept about a conspiracy and secret word could have been good but the whole story missed very badly for me. Quite a let-down. In favour of the book I can state that at least I finished it and didn't abandon it part-way through. Although if I had stopped, I wouldn't have missed anything of value. So so disappointing when it had so much potential. This was my first Max Barry book. And it will be my last.

Would you be willing to try another one of Heather Corrigan and Zach Appelman ’s performances?

Zach Appelman was reasonably good but Heather Corrigan's attempt at an Australian accent was atrocious and she should have just used an ordinary voice rather than her grossly insulting exaggerated intonations - the producers ought to be sacked for allowing this farce to slip past them.

What character would you cut from Lexicon?

I'm too disappointed with the overall book to suggest minor improvements in characters. Better just miss this author in future.

Any additional comments?

Did I say how disappointed I was? I read some positive reviews but those people must have very different tastes or are satisfied with very little. For me, this book and Heather Corrigan's performance were sorry efforts.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.