Sticks and stones break bones.
Words kill.

They recruited Emily from the streets. They said it was because she's good with words.

They'll live to regret it.

Wil survived something he shouldn't have. But he doesn't remember it.

Now they're after him and he doesn't know why.

There's a word, they say. It shouldn't have got out. But it did.

And they want it back...

Find out why in one of the most mind-bending, page-turning, thrilling novels you'll ever read.


*Winner of the Aurealis Award for science fiction and GoodReads Choice Awards finalist for best science fiction*

Words are weapons, and one man is immune, in this dazzlingly original thriller from the author of Jennifer Government.

About the Author

Max Barry is the author of four previous novels, including New York Times Notable Book Jennifer Government and Syrup, soon to be a major film. He is also the creator of the internet mini-phenomenon NationStates, an online political simulation game. He lives in Melbourne, Australia, with his wife and two daughters. He is a cat person.

Visit Max Barry's website at maxbarry.com, find him at facebook.com/maxbarry or follow him on twitter.com/maxbarry.

Reviews
Brilliantly realised... strikingly relevant... a resounding success * SFX *
Highly entertaining and engrossing... characters that are both complicated and likeable * SciFi Now *
Gripping... a pitch-perfect thriller, a jetpack of a plot that rocketed me from page one to page 400 in a single afternoon -- Cory Doctorow * BoingBoing *
Truly original... a crack-paced thriller... smart and tons of fun * Australian *
Barry's smartest dystopia yet * io9.com *
Sophisticated and laden with subtext... clearly reaffirms Barry's status as a gifted purveyor of suspense * Time Out New York *
Best thing I've read in a long, long time... a masterpiece -- Hugh Howey, bestselling author of Wool
Wonderfully crafted, dark yet humourous, fast-paced and tragic in turn * National *
An extraordinarily fast, funny, cerebral thriller -- Lev Grossman * Time *
Delightfully high-concept...think Noam Chomsky meets Christopher Nolan * Vogue *
Insanely good. Dark and twisted and sweet and humane all at once. -- Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls and Zoo City
Dazzling and spectacularly inventive. A novel that jams itself sideways into your brain and stays there. -- Mike Carey, author of The Devil You Know
A spellbinding, intelligent read...a freewheeling plot intermeshed with linguistic theory and some genuinely creepy horror set-pieces * Guardian *


Awards
Winner of Alex Award 2014 (UK) and Aurealis Award for science fiction 2014 (UK). Short-listed for Aurealis Award for fantasy 2014 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781444764680
Author Max Barry
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Mulholland Books
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 285g
Dimensions(mm) 197mm * 130mm * 26mm