<aside> <img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/ea71ec90-3cf6-40b6-9c90-e2b694d918a8/medal_(1).png" alt="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/ea71ec90-3cf6-40b6-9c90-e2b694d918a8/medal_(1).png" width="40px" /> Speculative Literature Foundation Diverse Writers Grant Winner (2021)
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Title: | Razing Babel |
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Author: | S. Qiouyi Lu |
Genres: | Secondary world sociolinguistic scifantasy solardieselpunk |
Publisher: | Tordotcom Publishing |
Length: | Novella (40,000 words max) |
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Summary: | The empire of Palatine has its eyes set on colonizing the sprawling region of Joret. Its first task: building a telegraph system to enable communication and facilitate trade between the various parts of the region. In the process, the empire intends to establish Palatino as the official language of Joret to unify its people with a common tongue. That’s no easy task, though—the mountains, forests, and seas of Joret have separated communities for generations. Dozens of languages have branched off and flourished; few people speak Palatino. So, in a bid for linguistic dominance, the empire has placed a bounty on unofficial languages and employs a legion of tongueslayers to destroy them. |
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Ahosabai, gifted with the ability to create languages, uses their talent to make decoy tongues that can be collected, allowing speakers to keep their real languages alive. But the empire soon begins to suspect that something is amiss. Empress Iboshi sends the archivist Käntu to investigate and put an end to Ahosabai’s interference. As Ahosabai faces off with Käntu, they realize that there might not be as big of a difference between them as they think. Can Ahosabai strike an unlikely alliance with Käntu and put an end to the empire’s encroachment on Joret? | |
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Set in a queernormative secondary world that draws from Asian cultures and other traditions, Razing Babel is an exploration of language and power, of empire and resistance, informed by the author's background in sociolinguistics. |
Credits:
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© 2021–2022 by S. Qiouyi Lu