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The Naming Song
There's nothing more dangerous than an unnamed thing
When the words went away, the world changed.
All meaning was lost, and every border fell. Monsters slipped from dreams to haunt the waking while ghosts wandered the land in futile reveries. Only with the rise of the committees of the named--Maps, Ghosts, Dreams, and Names--could the people stand against the terrors of the nameless wilds. They built borders around their world and within their minds, shackled ghosts and hunted monsters, and went to war against the unknown.
For one unnamed courier of the Names Committee, the task of delivering new words preserves her place in a world that fears her. But after a series of monstrous attacks on the named, she is forced to flee her committee and seek her long-lost sister. Accompanied by a patchwork ghost, a fretful monster, and a nameless animal who prowls the shadows, her search for the truth of her past opens the door to a revolutionary future--for the words she carries will reshape the world.
The Naming Song is a book of deep secrets and marvelous discoveries, strange adventures and dangerous truths. It's the story of a world locked in a battle over meaning. Most of all, it's the perfect fantasy for anyone who's ever dreamed of a stranger, freer, more magical world.
When the words went away, the world changed.
All meaning was lost, and every border fell. Monsters slipped from dreams to haunt the waking while ghosts wandered the land in futile reveries. Only with the rise of the committees of the named--Maps, Ghosts, Dreams, and Names--could the people stand against the terrors of the nameless wilds. They built borders around their world and within their minds, shackled ghosts and hunted monsters, and went to war against the unknown.
For one unnamed courier of the Names Committee, the task of delivering new words preserves her place in a world that fears her. But after a series of monstrous attacks on the named, she is forced to flee her committee and seek her long-lost sister. Accompanied by a patchwork ghost, a fretful monster, and a nameless animal who prowls the shadows, her search for the truth of her past opens the door to a revolutionary future--for the words she carries will reshape the world.
The Naming Song is a book of deep secrets and marvelous discoveries, strange adventures and dangerous truths. It's the story of a world locked in a battle over meaning. Most of all, it's the perfect fantasy for anyone who's ever dreamed of a stranger, freer, more magical world.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published September 24, 2024
About the author
Jedediah Berry
21 books285 followersJedediah Berry is the author of two novels, The Naming Song (Tor Books, 2024) and The Manual of Detection (Penguin Press), and a story in cards, The Family Arcana. He lives in Western Massachusetts. Together with his partner, writer Emily Houk, he runs Ninepin Press, an independent publisher of fiction, poetry, and games in unusual shapes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
September 25, 2024
My complete review is published at Grimdark Magazine.
The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry is a richly imagined literary fantasy that serves as a meditation on the power of names and naming.
Naming has been an integral part of fantasy literature for decades. The foundation of Ursula K. Le Guin’s magic system in Earthsea is based on the knowledge of so-called true names, which capture the language of creation and the wisdom of the creator. Le Guin’s emphasis on true names had an enormous impact on subsequent fantasy literature, such as The Naming by Alison Croggon and The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. More recently, the magical power of language is the raison d’être of R.F. Kuang’s Babel.
Reverence for language and the power of naming is as old as humanity itself, nearly ubiquitous across world religions and folklore. Creation is inexorably linked to language, as evident in the opening verse of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Moreover, early in the Book of Genesis, God endows Adam with the power of naming, allowing him to bestow names on each living creature.
With The Naming Song, Jedediah Berry constructs an entire world around this power of naming. Berry develops a complete mythology around naming, including diviners who discover or create new words and couriers who deliver those words to the populace. Diviners and couriers have a longstanding rivalry about who has the more important role. While the secretive diviners perform their work behind the locked doors of a train car, couriers must traverse all corners of the world to deliver these new words where they are most needed.
Mystery and danger in the world of The Naming Song come from the presence of unnamed things, since without words there is no meaning. Part of the problem is recognizing when something doesn’t yet have a name:
“How many times each day do we fail to see the unnamed things right in front of us? Or worse…the unnamed things lurking within. But you see them, somehow. You seek them out, take hold of them, bind them with words.”
Although The Naming Song overflows with imagination, the story never quite escapes the arbitrariness of its internal logic. The sense of danger always feels muted because the world is never truly real. Despite the undeniable beauty of Jedediah Berry’s prose, I found it difficult to form an emotional connection with the characters, who feel like actors playing a theatrical role instead of being fully realized individuals.
In summary, The Naming Song is a richly imagined world, and I applaud Jedediah Berry for his unbounded creativity. At the same time, I hoped to discover more emotional depth and complexity in the story’s dramatis personae.
The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry is a richly imagined literary fantasy that serves as a meditation on the power of names and naming.
Naming has been an integral part of fantasy literature for decades. The foundation of Ursula K. Le Guin’s magic system in Earthsea is based on the knowledge of so-called true names, which capture the language of creation and the wisdom of the creator. Le Guin’s emphasis on true names had an enormous impact on subsequent fantasy literature, such as The Naming by Alison Croggon and The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. More recently, the magical power of language is the raison d’être of R.F. Kuang’s Babel.
Reverence for language and the power of naming is as old as humanity itself, nearly ubiquitous across world religions and folklore. Creation is inexorably linked to language, as evident in the opening verse of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Moreover, early in the Book of Genesis, God endows Adam with the power of naming, allowing him to bestow names on each living creature.
With The Naming Song, Jedediah Berry constructs an entire world around this power of naming. Berry develops a complete mythology around naming, including diviners who discover or create new words and couriers who deliver those words to the populace. Diviners and couriers have a longstanding rivalry about who has the more important role. While the secretive diviners perform their work behind the locked doors of a train car, couriers must traverse all corners of the world to deliver these new words where they are most needed.
Mystery and danger in the world of The Naming Song come from the presence of unnamed things, since without words there is no meaning. Part of the problem is recognizing when something doesn’t yet have a name:
“How many times each day do we fail to see the unnamed things right in front of us? Or worse…the unnamed things lurking within. But you see them, somehow. You seek them out, take hold of them, bind them with words.”
Although The Naming Song overflows with imagination, the story never quite escapes the arbitrariness of its internal logic. The sense of danger always feels muted because the world is never truly real. Despite the undeniable beauty of Jedediah Berry’s prose, I found it difficult to form an emotional connection with the characters, who feel like actors playing a theatrical role instead of being fully realized individuals.
In summary, The Naming Song is a richly imagined world, and I applaud Jedediah Berry for his unbounded creativity. At the same time, I hoped to discover more emotional depth and complexity in the story’s dramatis personae.
September 15, 2024
This book is a masterpiece of language and ideas. It's filled to bursting with metaphor and thematic meaning without ever letting its plot buckle under the weight of them. It has so many ideas, so many things to say, and such beautiful prose to say them with. It's got the whimsy of The Night Circus and The Starless Sea but with the post-apocalyptic edge and opinions about the evils of capitalism of The Gone-Away World; it has the weirdness of The City & the City but with actual magic; it makes literal and magical what 1984 suggests about the power of language. It's thoughtful and action-filled and queer. It is wholly original and unique, and I adored it.
It may sound like damning with faint praise to talk first about the mechanistic stuff, the ways the ideas are expressed, but honestly the fact that it does those things so well is so very impressive. It's really hard to imbue a story with clear philosophical point of view without having that smack you in the face, and this does that. It is a difficult thing to seed the plot points you will use in the future without making it obvious you are doing so, and to give a story an ending that is properly satisfying. On a technical level, the prose is lyrical but never leaves me feeling adrift in an unfamiliar world: there's a lot of action and different locations, and they're all clear and fleshed-out. Despite the sheer volume of things that happen, the narrative feels continuous, not episodic.
That structural stuff is important because the ideas this book is conveying are nuanced and beautiful and weird and fun. It's a book about the ways that naming things gives them structure and boxes them in, how it limits as well as defines, and how it allows you to create an "us" and a "them" (and how delightful a send-up of fascist propaganda to have an enemy that is literally unnameable). It explores what Terry Pratchett called Narrative Causality, the ways in which the words we use to describe ourselves shape who we are. It's an extended metaphor for the process of self-exploration and the attempt to understand our thoughts by putting words to them, and it's a warning about the ways that doing so robs us of flexibility.
Lest it sound like this book is all just philosophical waffling, I note that there is so much plot. There's action and intrigue and mysteries and romantic tension, chasing and fighting, magic and whimsy. What's great is that it slides in between all those events a lot of strong ideas. I love a book with strong ideas, especially so when those ideas are anarchist and queer. This is a book that explicitly says that there was no difference between men and women until there were different names. It's hard not to read diviners and couriers arguing about which job is easier as an acknowledgement that self-exploration and coming out are equally difficult tasks. The literal burning of dreams for fuel is poignant, as is the exploitation of ancestral resources by making ghosts work in factories.
This is a book about metaphor, about how the language we use to describe ourselves shapes ourselves. Importantly, the ideas it has about that are all told in metaphor themselves. It tells a story about stories without beating you over the head with it. It is a masterpiece.
It may sound like damning with faint praise to talk first about the mechanistic stuff, the ways the ideas are expressed, but honestly the fact that it does those things so well is so very impressive. It's really hard to imbue a story with clear philosophical point of view without having that smack you in the face, and this does that. It is a difficult thing to seed the plot points you will use in the future without making it obvious you are doing so, and to give a story an ending that is properly satisfying. On a technical level, the prose is lyrical but never leaves me feeling adrift in an unfamiliar world: there's a lot of action and different locations, and they're all clear and fleshed-out. Despite the sheer volume of things that happen, the narrative feels continuous, not episodic.
That structural stuff is important because the ideas this book is conveying are nuanced and beautiful and weird and fun. It's a book about the ways that naming things gives them structure and boxes them in, how it limits as well as defines, and how it allows you to create an "us" and a "them" (and how delightful a send-up of fascist propaganda to have an enemy that is literally unnameable). It explores what Terry Pratchett called Narrative Causality, the ways in which the words we use to describe ourselves shape who we are. It's an extended metaphor for the process of self-exploration and the attempt to understand our thoughts by putting words to them, and it's a warning about the ways that doing so robs us of flexibility.
Lest it sound like this book is all just philosophical waffling, I note that there is so much plot. There's action and intrigue and mysteries and romantic tension, chasing and fighting, magic and whimsy. What's great is that it slides in between all those events a lot of strong ideas. I love a book with strong ideas, especially so when those ideas are anarchist and queer. This is a book that explicitly says that there was no difference between men and women until there were different names. It's hard not to read diviners and couriers arguing about which job is easier as an acknowledgement that self-exploration and coming out are equally difficult tasks. The literal burning of dreams for fuel is poignant, as is the exploitation of ancestral resources by making ghosts work in factories.
This is a book about metaphor, about how the language we use to describe ourselves shapes ourselves. Importantly, the ideas it has about that are all told in metaphor themselves. It tells a story about stories without beating you over the head with it. It is a masterpiece.
Read
September 27, 2024Alexa, play Nobody's Soldier by Hozier
I am constantly looking for something new, that breaks away from expectations and trends, and this book was just that: wholly unique. This theater kid epic, full of intrigue and curiosity, is hard to pin down. Berry spends this one-of-a-kind novel celebrating the ability of story to shape the world we live in, and the power held in carving a story of your own. It had me mystified, pulling me through this narrative not by a need to find answers to its questions but by a joy of traversing the unknowns.
Theater kids, lovers of language, storytellers of all kinds, folks who are fans of the journey rather than the destination, I implore you to check out this dystopian literary fantasy.
Thank you so much to Jedediah and TOR for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I am constantly looking for something new, that breaks away from expectations and trends, and this book was just that: wholly unique. This theater kid epic, full of intrigue and curiosity, is hard to pin down. Berry spends this one-of-a-kind novel celebrating the ability of story to shape the world we live in, and the power held in carving a story of your own. It had me mystified, pulling me through this narrative not by a need to find answers to its questions but by a joy of traversing the unknowns.
Theater kids, lovers of language, storytellers of all kinds, folks who are fans of the journey rather than the destination, I implore you to check out this dystopian literary fantasy.
Thank you so much to Jedediah and TOR for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
September 26, 2024
The Naming Song entices you to enter a world built around the power of language. What has been named and can be controlled? How is that power of control wielded? And what goes nameless, and seeks to haunt the world? These themes swirl around scholars aboard a train dedicated to furthering knowledge, but just out of reach is an understanding of the things that have gone nameless. These scholars (who frequently feel like they might as well be wizards) live side-by-side with ghosts, coexisting almost casually. It's that blatant supernatural element that really teases you to understand how the world works, and to see what relationships the living and dead have in their world.
I received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for my opinion.
I received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for my opinion.
February 10, 2024
Name me “Lookingforwardtothisone Smith”
September 15, 2024
I couldn’t get into this book. It sounded like a really interesting premise but the narrator was not for me. I wasn’t able to focus on the story due to the inflections of the teller. What I did retain wasn’t interesting enough for me to push through. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review.
August 15, 2024
4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
This book disoriented me at first. It's original in the way one's dreams are. It holds a brand new world, it moves with a fresh rhythm. It's so incredibly fresh that it challenged my suspension of disbelief at times. I was resistant to this book's spell, because how many books achieve true fantasy originality anymore? Was this just a try hard?
Thematically, it has elements of Snowpiercer and The Giver. Maybe even Dune.
This story also calls to something completely primal. It had me thinking about the fruit of the tree of knowledge. "Whole lives played out beneath its branches. A few stood apart from the rest, and there was something strange about these few, something hungry and cruel. When the light came to them they caught it in their hands and examined it through a pane of glass." The tree creaked, gears came loose. The glass fruit fell and shattered. Is this about anti-progress following an EMP? There are never, ever any answers, but so many stories. So many possible backstories, and we are never given ANYTHING definite, but there is so, so much to think about anyway.
This story had me thinking about Creation. A named thing has certainty. It can be defined and held in the imagination. An unnamed thing is mysterious and fuzzy around the edges. God divided the heavens from the earth with a word, and before that they were just, what, one thing? We don't know, as it was never described.
In short, Wow. This novel really caught me up. I thought it might be a gimmick for a long time, and its lingering mystery is more frustrating than satisfying, but it's a RARE example of a book that could have been a whole series, but instead of exploiting readers that way provided an evolving tale that twists in ways it's impossible to expect. You've DEFINITELY never read anything quite like this before. Absolutely hypnotic.
This book disoriented me at first. It's original in the way one's dreams are. It holds a brand new world, it moves with a fresh rhythm. It's so incredibly fresh that it challenged my suspension of disbelief at times. I was resistant to this book's spell, because how many books achieve true fantasy originality anymore? Was this just a try hard?
Thematically, it has elements of Snowpiercer and The Giver. Maybe even Dune.
This story also calls to something completely primal. It had me thinking about the fruit of the tree of knowledge. "Whole lives played out beneath its branches. A few stood apart from the rest, and there was something strange about these few, something hungry and cruel. When the light came to them they caught it in their hands and examined it through a pane of glass." The tree creaked, gears came loose. The glass fruit fell and shattered. Is this about anti-progress following an EMP? There are never, ever any answers, but so many stories. So many possible backstories, and we are never given ANYTHING definite, but there is so, so much to think about anyway.
This story had me thinking about Creation. A named thing has certainty. It can be defined and held in the imagination. An unnamed thing is mysterious and fuzzy around the edges. God divided the heavens from the earth with a word, and before that they were just, what, one thing? We don't know, as it was never described.
In short, Wow. This novel really caught me up. I thought it might be a gimmick for a long time, and its lingering mystery is more frustrating than satisfying, but it's a RARE example of a book that could have been a whole series, but instead of exploiting readers that way provided an evolving tale that twists in ways it's impossible to expect. You've DEFINITELY never read anything quite like this before. Absolutely hypnotic.
October 2, 2024
I fully admit I mostly bought this because of that gorgeous cover; I didn't quite know what to expect other than an eco-futuristic dystopia, a bisexual FMC and soft sapphic relationships. It was hard for me to get into this at first because it was a little more bizarro than I usually care for, and since it's a story ultimately about language and how it's formed, the descriptions could feel awkward to me. But I was taken by the story of the unnamed courier and her reluctant rebellion, and drawn in by the rich imagination of a world where people try to remember stories after they've disappeared but civilization still perserveres. A unique, abstract story filled with theater kids, storytellers, magic, ghosts and monsters made from dreams, and finding your way in a world that doesn't want you to exist.
June 5, 2024
"The Naming Song" by Jedediah Berry was not on my radar until BookBrowse (yet again introducing me to authors I was unaware of and adding to my ever expanding TBR list!) offered it as a First Impressions selection. I was hooked after the very first page where the unnamed Courier is introduced. She is delivering new words into this complex world by acting them out-for example, secreting herself away on a freight train boxcar to speak the word stowaway. As the narrative continues we learn that some sort of apocalyptic event occurred that wiped out all the words, and the Diviners are slowly researching the proper replacements and the Couriers are restoring them in live action scenarios. There are humans that are named, there are others that are nameless, there are monsters dreamed into being, and this is simply the most amazing, original, intricate work of fiction I have read in a long time.
This one is a keeper- it has tons of action, and thoughtful conversations that will resonate with the reader for a very long time. The lead protagonist, our Courier, is a well crafted personality faced with so many obstacles and every single one of the supporting characters is just as relevant and interesting. The reader will feel all the feels, so many emotions- sorrow and anger and moments of hope and joy and love- it is hard to put this one down.
I am not going to give any more details, no spoilers here-you need to experience this one yourself, without any preconceived notions. Suffice it to say, I could see this as a well developed, multi seasons, streaming series in the hands of the right director and actors. I will definitely be rereading this book at some point and wish that Berry would continue this saga, either by returning to the narrative of the Courier or any of the other roles his imagination has so eloquently put to the page.
This one is a keeper- it has tons of action, and thoughtful conversations that will resonate with the reader for a very long time. The lead protagonist, our Courier, is a well crafted personality faced with so many obstacles and every single one of the supporting characters is just as relevant and interesting. The reader will feel all the feels, so many emotions- sorrow and anger and moments of hope and joy and love- it is hard to put this one down.
I am not going to give any more details, no spoilers here-you need to experience this one yourself, without any preconceived notions. Suffice it to say, I could see this as a well developed, multi seasons, streaming series in the hands of the right director and actors. I will definitely be rereading this book at some point and wish that Berry would continue this saga, either by returning to the narrative of the Courier or any of the other roles his imagination has so eloquently put to the page.
Read
August 20, 2024this comes out in september and you should read it.
there’s a scene near the end that made me actually tear up, which RARELY happens to me with books. the world of this felt always a little difficult to settle into, but i loved the way it made me think about words and language and the way they shape our perception of the world. i think i was hindered somewhat by the lack of a map in the ARC—nonetheless. shades of the name of the wind and the night circus. and of course i love a story about sisters
there’s a scene near the end that made me actually tear up, which RARELY happens to me with books. the world of this felt always a little difficult to settle into, but i loved the way it made me think about words and language and the way they shape our perception of the world. i think i was hindered somewhat by the lack of a map in the ARC—nonetheless. shades of the name of the wind and the night circus. and of course i love a story about sisters
September 10, 2024
• set in a fantasy world that entirely revolves around the power that names & language give to objects, people, & ideas
• beautiful language & descriptions accompany the adventure the narrator must embark on
• the structure of the book is as important as what the book says
• if you liked ‘the starless sea,’ you’ll enjoy this one
• beautiful language & descriptions accompany the adventure the narrator must embark on
• the structure of the book is as important as what the book says
• if you liked ‘the starless sea,’ you’ll enjoy this one
August 31, 2024
I’d been excited about this book for months. But my listening experience was like opening up a much anticipated toy at Christmas, only to find it broken.
First, the chapters are LONG. My audiobook is broken into only four chapters. The exposition goes on and on… and on. So if you like breaks, you’ll have to make your own somewhere along the way.
Then, the story. Umm… I don’t know what to say. The potential for whimsy is there. And yet. Nothing worked for me. The writing is very much telling, not showing. The characters didn’t come alive.
The narrator does a great job with the audiobook, but none of it was holding my attention.
DNF at 16%
*I received a free audiobook download from Macmillan Audio.*
First, the chapters are LONG. My audiobook is broken into only four chapters. The exposition goes on and on… and on. So if you like breaks, you’ll have to make your own somewhere along the way.
Then, the story. Umm… I don’t know what to say. The potential for whimsy is there. And yet. Nothing worked for me. The writing is very much telling, not showing. The characters didn’t come alive.
The narrator does a great job with the audiobook, but none of it was holding my attention.
DNF at 16%
*I received a free audiobook download from Macmillan Audio.*
November 4, 2024
Wow! Just...wow! Completely different from The Manual of Detection (which I also loved). This book has some of my favorite things: a character who seems to believe in who she is, unwilling to compromise her moral code, full of determination, flawed yet also likable, an interesting premise that you don't see every day, a well-structured system, and the idea of language as something that can literally change the shape of things (or, that the shape of things can make one come up with the right language). I've always been fascinating by the connection between language/names and identity and this book explores this aspect in a unique way that keeps things interesting.
I hope to see more books from Jedediah Berry in the future. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite writers.
I hope to see more books from Jedediah Berry in the future. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite writers.
Read
September 11, 2024The concept for The Naming Song and the promise that it offers a story “in the spirit of Haya Miyazaki and Guillermo del Toro” sucked me in like black hole to this title. My hopes were so high for it, but the inspiration got lost in the execution for me. Berry’s narration style flows with poetic language, but it grasps for mystery with a telling that reveals too little at a time to build suspense without causing lasting confusion. The narrator’s voice is pleasant enough, but the stilted pacing exacerbates the obscurity of the text, and I just couldn’t get through it and had to DNF.
My thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.
My thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.
September 3, 2024
A very inventive & interesting book. I look forward to talking to other people about the world building and whether it actually hangs together. Took me about 30 pages to wrap my head around, but once I did, I enjoyed the ride.
August 29, 2024
Life is too short to continue with a book in hopes that, eventually, it will get much better. I'm sure that there are some who would really get into this, but it was definitely not the book for me. DNF
October 12, 2024
This was a very different kind of read for me. The futuristic story line deals with a collapse of humanity where words were lost and ghosts and monsters become reality. The "courier" is nameless, narrator of the story and trying to help reestablish words for society. The book started slow for me. I was glad for the Principle Characters list to identify who was who and their responsibility. It was very helpful. After a few chapters, the action begins and the pace picks up with the Black Square Show. I liked the idea of travelling on the train, (Number Twelve) it was a great transport for humans and monsters! The concept of language from the naming songs reminded me of sayings learned as a child to remember life's necessities, like the many quotes by Benjamin Franklin or our elders! I also kept waiting for the courier to obtain her "name" throughout the story, catch the ending, it's a surprise only the courier and Beryl know. If you like reading fantasy/fiction one will enjoy this story.
September 16, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and to MacMillan Audio for the audio ARC of The Naming Song by Jedidiah Berry.
First, I'd like to compliment Marisa Calin's narration. Calin gives depth to each of the individual characters, many of whom are characterized by their cadence of speech and their use of words. There is an emphasis to each person - Book, 2, The Courier, Barrel, Seven, Six, O, Ticket, the Sayers ,etc. and it felt like each were given their voice that best lent itself to the reader and to the story itself.
As for the book, I just finished it about 2 hours ago, and I am still processing it. There is a lot happening within the 15 hours, and, after looking at the reviewers from the ebook version vs the audio version, it does feel a bit like we have drastically different opinions. I think another reviewer may have said it best in that this book, which is built upon the building of words, may be best read as opposed to listened to.
For me, the book seemed to be about a young woman, the Courier, as we know her, who lives in a world where words went away centuries before. There is a new society of The Named, built upon the work of ghosts, as when the dead die their ghosts remain physically on the earth to toil in fields and factories. There is some sort of committee-based government to divine and name the things of the world, and by removing (deleting) the name of a thing these committees can remove them from remembrance. Similarly, until a place on a map has been named, people cannot find it. When something is named, people, places, things, then it comes into existence. There is another society, the Nameless, who live in the unnamed spaces, generally avoiding the Named. They have been at war / are in a constant state of distrust of each other.
When we meet the Courier she is someone who delivers the names of things so that they can be brought into public consciousness and understanding. It is odd for a Nameless person to work for the Named, and many treat her with suspicion and apprehension, especially after an attack by the Nameless kills close to 20 people where the Courier is present. When the Courier is delivering another word and finds herself followed by these same Nameless, the story jumps into its first wave of plot.
Unfortunately, this is where the book started to lose me. The book description mentions that the Courier is forced to flee and seek her long-lost sister, but Ticket seems very much like an afterthought through the first 50% of the book, and the way her relationship is characterized is one of ignoring and dismissing the Courier and abandoning her to the dangerous experiments of their father. Instead, the Courier is fleeing, she is growing powers, she is saving her childhood friend, the Patchwork Ghost, she is joining a performing train troupe where she believes her sister may be, etc. etc. etc. There is SO much happening, but for me, the Courier seems to change directions on what she's trying to accomplish so many times that I honestly did not know why what was happening was happening in large chunks of it. I think, for me, the world building didn't make sense, and the society wasn't fleshed out enough to fully understand what the characters were trying to accomplish, and what the limits of the magic system were. An example: the Courier is able to remember people who were deleted - so is it magic? Is it symbolism for authoritarianism and oppression? When I got to the end, it just didn't make sense to me how things were accomplished in the plot. It also almost seemed like the battle lines between the Nameless and the Named were much, much, much more complicated by other factors, and in the end I could not piece them together coherently.
The Courier, though she had relationships with many people, still felt distant in all those relationships in a way that made it hard for me to care about them. She takes great risks for those she cares about, but on the next page she might be off doing something entirely different without them as though they are just passing flickers of emotion.
Part of me is now wondering if there is a metaphor here for colonization, exploitation and authoritarianism, but I can't seem to make it stick. My reflections on the story are a bit lost in the unnamed, very similarly to the world of The Naming Song.
All that being said, I listened to the whole story. The writing style itself is very beautiful and thought out. There were parts of the story that were deeply engaging, when I knew where to place them. It reminded me a lot of Emma Torzs Ink Blood Sister Scribe, which is another book where things seem to really pick up around 50% of the way through the book.
First, I'd like to compliment Marisa Calin's narration. Calin gives depth to each of the individual characters, many of whom are characterized by their cadence of speech and their use of words. There is an emphasis to each person - Book, 2, The Courier, Barrel, Seven, Six, O, Ticket, the Sayers ,etc. and it felt like each were given their voice that best lent itself to the reader and to the story itself.
As for the book, I just finished it about 2 hours ago, and I am still processing it. There is a lot happening within the 15 hours, and, after looking at the reviewers from the ebook version vs the audio version, it does feel a bit like we have drastically different opinions. I think another reviewer may have said it best in that this book, which is built upon the building of words, may be best read as opposed to listened to.
For me, the book seemed to be about a young woman, the Courier, as we know her, who lives in a world where words went away centuries before. There is a new society of The Named, built upon the work of ghosts, as when the dead die their ghosts remain physically on the earth to toil in fields and factories. There is some sort of committee-based government to divine and name the things of the world, and by removing (deleting) the name of a thing these committees can remove them from remembrance. Similarly, until a place on a map has been named, people cannot find it. When something is named, people, places, things, then it comes into existence. There is another society, the Nameless, who live in the unnamed spaces, generally avoiding the Named. They have been at war / are in a constant state of distrust of each other.
When we meet the Courier she is someone who delivers the names of things so that they can be brought into public consciousness and understanding. It is odd for a Nameless person to work for the Named, and many treat her with suspicion and apprehension, especially after an attack by the Nameless kills close to 20 people where the Courier is present. When the Courier is delivering another word and finds herself followed by these same Nameless, the story jumps into its first wave of plot.
Unfortunately, this is where the book started to lose me. The book description mentions that the Courier is forced to flee and seek her long-lost sister, but Ticket seems very much like an afterthought through the first 50% of the book, and the way her relationship is characterized is one of ignoring and dismissing the Courier and abandoning her to the dangerous experiments of their father. Instead, the Courier is fleeing, she is growing powers, she is saving her childhood friend, the Patchwork Ghost, she is joining a performing train troupe where she believes her sister may be, etc. etc. etc. There is SO much happening, but for me, the Courier seems to change directions on what she's trying to accomplish so many times that I honestly did not know why what was happening was happening in large chunks of it. I think, for me, the world building didn't make sense, and the society wasn't fleshed out enough to fully understand what the characters were trying to accomplish, and what the limits of the magic system were. An example: the Courier is able to remember people who were deleted - so is it magic? Is it symbolism for authoritarianism and oppression? When I got to the end, it just didn't make sense to me how things were accomplished in the plot. It also almost seemed like the battle lines between the Nameless and the Named were much, much, much more complicated by other factors, and in the end I could not piece them together coherently.
The Courier, though she had relationships with many people, still felt distant in all those relationships in a way that made it hard for me to care about them. She takes great risks for those she cares about, but on the next page she might be off doing something entirely different without them as though they are just passing flickers of emotion.
Part of me is now wondering if there is a metaphor here for colonization, exploitation and authoritarianism, but I can't seem to make it stick. My reflections on the story are a bit lost in the unnamed, very similarly to the world of The Naming Song.
All that being said, I listened to the whole story. The writing style itself is very beautiful and thought out. There were parts of the story that were deeply engaging, when I knew where to place them. It reminded me a lot of Emma Torzs Ink Blood Sister Scribe, which is another book where things seem to really pick up around 50% of the way through the book.
July 26, 2024
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Tor Publishing Group for an advance copy of this novel about the power of words, the power of love, and how dreams can literally come true in many different ways.
My youngest nephew had two phrases that he mastered quite quickly once he started talking. "I'm ok," was something he said constantly as the boy could fall in an empty hallway with nothing around, a level of clumsiness that even his Uncle a bit of clod still finds astounding. His next was "What you got?". This came up constantly. He loved to know what things were. What was in your hand, what was on your pizza, what was on your shoe.He would ask these questions, and try his best to give them back. This interest, this need to name things is why I think he is so smart and loquacious today. And sarcastic, so sarcastic. Words made up his world, and he wanted to understand his world, hence the questions. The power of words are at the center of this post-apocalyptic fantasy novel The Naming Song, by Jedediah Berry. Set in a time of confusion, where great trains travel the landscape, bringing knowledge, entertainment, hope, and in some cases big trouble.
At some point the words just went away, and life changed for everyone in this new world of chaos and disorder. Ghosts began to walk the Earth, and monsters began to be formed from dreams, some hideous, some small and friendly. Some people began to form groups, committees to name objects, for to name something is to help people understand. These committees expanded, as government does, soon there were groups fighting dream monsters. Some groups began to control the ghosts, finding uses for ghosts as servants, or even as fuel for the machines they needed. Diviners pull the words from the ether, and give them to couriers, who travel to towns and share these new words with others. One courier was unique among the committees as she had no name. And was involved in an attack by forces from beyond the border, the nameless, that left many people dead. The Courier slowly comes to realize that something much bigger is going on. People are lying, and words are being corrupted. And the Courier has a fear that her long lost sister might be involved.
This is a big book with lots of ideas, and one that many probably would have made a 5-part series out of. As such it does take a bit to get into, but give it time, and one will get a very unique story about the power of word, live theater, and love in many ways. And death in many more ways. The world building unfurls like a parchment, slowly, with things becoming clearer as one goes in. This is a rich world, one ripe for exploring, and I hope there are more books planned to take place here. Berry is a very good writer, with great characters designs and little things that really make the story. The use of trains, the importance of Ghosts. I haven't even written about the theater troupe that travels around sharing stories of the past, and what happens there. A lot happens here. There is a strong atmosphere, where things can go wrong quick, and characters can be hurt, even killed. A poetic novel about communication, and the importance of sharing feelings, thoughts and ideas, between, friends, family, lovers, even co-workers.
A really big book perfect for cold night reading, or really anytime reading. Genre fans will love it and role players will get a lot of good ideas from it about using words in their stories. And trains. More role playing games need trains. This is the first book I have read by Jedediah Berry, and I can't wait to read more.
My youngest nephew had two phrases that he mastered quite quickly once he started talking. "I'm ok," was something he said constantly as the boy could fall in an empty hallway with nothing around, a level of clumsiness that even his Uncle a bit of clod still finds astounding. His next was "What you got?". This came up constantly. He loved to know what things were. What was in your hand, what was on your pizza, what was on your shoe.He would ask these questions, and try his best to give them back. This interest, this need to name things is why I think he is so smart and loquacious today. And sarcastic, so sarcastic. Words made up his world, and he wanted to understand his world, hence the questions. The power of words are at the center of this post-apocalyptic fantasy novel The Naming Song, by Jedediah Berry. Set in a time of confusion, where great trains travel the landscape, bringing knowledge, entertainment, hope, and in some cases big trouble.
At some point the words just went away, and life changed for everyone in this new world of chaos and disorder. Ghosts began to walk the Earth, and monsters began to be formed from dreams, some hideous, some small and friendly. Some people began to form groups, committees to name objects, for to name something is to help people understand. These committees expanded, as government does, soon there were groups fighting dream monsters. Some groups began to control the ghosts, finding uses for ghosts as servants, or even as fuel for the machines they needed. Diviners pull the words from the ether, and give them to couriers, who travel to towns and share these new words with others. One courier was unique among the committees as she had no name. And was involved in an attack by forces from beyond the border, the nameless, that left many people dead. The Courier slowly comes to realize that something much bigger is going on. People are lying, and words are being corrupted. And the Courier has a fear that her long lost sister might be involved.
This is a big book with lots of ideas, and one that many probably would have made a 5-part series out of. As such it does take a bit to get into, but give it time, and one will get a very unique story about the power of word, live theater, and love in many ways. And death in many more ways. The world building unfurls like a parchment, slowly, with things becoming clearer as one goes in. This is a rich world, one ripe for exploring, and I hope there are more books planned to take place here. Berry is a very good writer, with great characters designs and little things that really make the story. The use of trains, the importance of Ghosts. I haven't even written about the theater troupe that travels around sharing stories of the past, and what happens there. A lot happens here. There is a strong atmosphere, where things can go wrong quick, and characters can be hurt, even killed. A poetic novel about communication, and the importance of sharing feelings, thoughts and ideas, between, friends, family, lovers, even co-workers.
A really big book perfect for cold night reading, or really anytime reading. Genre fans will love it and role players will get a lot of good ideas from it about using words in their stories. And trains. More role playing games need trains. This is the first book I have read by Jedediah Berry, and I can't wait to read more.
July 14, 2024
I just finished reading “The Naming Song” by Jedediah Berry, a literary dystopian fantasy with very unique world-building, found-family cast of characters, and the power of labels (names). I received an ARC via Book Browse First Impressions. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy Gaiman fantasies and are open to a longer epic-length novel; to those who read Divergent as a kid and want a more mature and literary dystopian caste system; those who enjoy language and the importance of words (it kept bringing Babel to mind for me); and to anyone who enjoys getting lost in interesting new worlds created within books.
Setting: Though set it the future, it feels a lot like early-20th-century America (steam trains, the main character is a courier), but with incredible fantasy aspects (ghosts, monsters). The setting was to me the strongest part of the book. The world-building was interesting and unique. There was no heavy-handed explanation, so you kind of just learn as you go as you would with a high fantasy novel (unless that’s just me?). My favorite parts of the book were just learning new things about the world and the character’s interactions in it, rather than portions that specifically advanced the plot.
Characters: I liked the main character, a young adult queer woman courier living on the border of two worlds (unnamed living with the named) though felt at times frustrated by being bound to her perspective (written in 3rd person but it follows the courier). There was a large cast of supporting characters throughout the book. I think it may have benefited from cutting down slightly. In the middle of the book you meet a lot of new characters with names that, for me, were similar enough I had a hard time distinguishing between the newly-identified characters until almost the end of the book. I also did not understand the motivations of a couple of characters, though that may be attributed to being bound to the courier’s perspective.
Plot: To me, the plot and conflict were the weakest parts of the book. I do love a mystery, but felt like it drug out a bit too long to be interesting.
Prose: The novel had good literary writing, which beautifully conveyed the story and made it easy to imagine as a movie or show.
Theme: Of course in a book about the power of names and naming, language is a primary theme. However, to me, the book was more about the power of defying the name/label, and the beauty of living in between – rejecting a strict binary and being forced into choosing between two worlds, neither of which really suites you. That was the more interesting aspect of the book.
Representation: The main character is, as mentioned above, a queer woman. She has queer relationships, including lesbian and poly (kind of?) relationships. Most of the characters you spend time with are women; however, almost all of the characters in positions of power are men.
Setting: Though set it the future, it feels a lot like early-20th-century America (steam trains, the main character is a courier), but with incredible fantasy aspects (ghosts, monsters). The setting was to me the strongest part of the book. The world-building was interesting and unique. There was no heavy-handed explanation, so you kind of just learn as you go as you would with a high fantasy novel (unless that’s just me?). My favorite parts of the book were just learning new things about the world and the character’s interactions in it, rather than portions that specifically advanced the plot.
Characters: I liked the main character, a young adult queer woman courier living on the border of two worlds (unnamed living with the named) though felt at times frustrated by being bound to her perspective (written in 3rd person but it follows the courier). There was a large cast of supporting characters throughout the book. I think it may have benefited from cutting down slightly. In the middle of the book you meet a lot of new characters with names that, for me, were similar enough I had a hard time distinguishing between the newly-identified characters until almost the end of the book. I also did not understand the motivations of a couple of characters, though that may be attributed to being bound to the courier’s perspective.
Plot: To me, the plot and conflict were the weakest parts of the book. I do love a mystery, but felt like it drug out a bit too long to be interesting.
Prose: The novel had good literary writing, which beautifully conveyed the story and made it easy to imagine as a movie or show.
Theme: Of course in a book about the power of names and naming, language is a primary theme. However, to me, the book was more about the power of defying the name/label, and the beauty of living in between – rejecting a strict binary and being forced into choosing between two worlds, neither of which really suites you. That was the more interesting aspect of the book.
Representation: The main character is, as mentioned above, a queer woman. She has queer relationships, including lesbian and poly (kind of?) relationships. Most of the characters you spend time with are women; however, almost all of the characters in positions of power are men.
September 21, 2024
4.5 / 5 stars
The Naming Song is a beautifully written fantasy set in a unique dystopia where all language was lost and must be found again. The narrative follows an unnamed courier who is tasked with delivering newly divined words out to the world. However, she find herself fleeing the life she knows when she is caught up in a plot of betrayal and monstrous attacks. Accompanied by a ghost, a monster of her own making, and a mysterious stowaway creature, the courier sets out to find her long-lost sister, who may have the answers she is seeking.
Reading this book brought to mind so many other wonderful fantasies, and I suspect that the author has incorporated them intentionally. Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz are specifically called out by the narrative. (But not named, because those names have been lost.) The dreamlike, not fully explained world with its conflicts between ghosts and war machines feels very much like a Studio Ghibli film (Howl's Moving Castle particularly comes to mind). The monster Oh, which is part train, part cat, and part dragon, would be right at home alongside Totoro's famous Catbus. The importance of words and of naming things felt akin to The Wizard of Earthsea. The roving band of performers seeking to restore history to a fallen world with their plays brought to mind Station Eleven. Living one's entire life on a moving train after disaster reminded me of Snowpiercer. The narrative plays with all of our previously conceived notions of a dystopian tale and creates something I found unique and lovely.
Marisa Calin's narration is a perfect fit for the book. Her lilting voice fits the dreamy tone and she kept the pacing of action scenes clear and easy-to-follow. I especially loved her choices for dialogue delivered by the courier's monster. Just perfection.
The story did feel perhaps a bit on the long side, which is why I can't quite give it five stars. The world-building is excellent and I could immerse myself in this version of my world following a horrible disaster. But a bit of trimming on the exposition and setting could have kept things moving a bit more briskly.
This book is an excellent choice for anyone who loves the Studio Ghibli films and has longed for a novel-version of their aesthetic. This is perhaps one of the most beautiful books that I have read this year and I will be thinking about it for a long time.
I am thankful to Tor Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me free review copies of the book and audiobook. These opinions are my own.
The Naming Song is a beautifully written fantasy set in a unique dystopia where all language was lost and must be found again. The narrative follows an unnamed courier who is tasked with delivering newly divined words out to the world. However, she find herself fleeing the life she knows when she is caught up in a plot of betrayal and monstrous attacks. Accompanied by a ghost, a monster of her own making, and a mysterious stowaway creature, the courier sets out to find her long-lost sister, who may have the answers she is seeking.
Reading this book brought to mind so many other wonderful fantasies, and I suspect that the author has incorporated them intentionally. Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz are specifically called out by the narrative. (But not named, because those names have been lost.) The dreamlike, not fully explained world with its conflicts between ghosts and war machines feels very much like a Studio Ghibli film (Howl's Moving Castle particularly comes to mind). The monster Oh, which is part train, part cat, and part dragon, would be right at home alongside Totoro's famous Catbus. The importance of words and of naming things felt akin to The Wizard of Earthsea. The roving band of performers seeking to restore history to a fallen world with their plays brought to mind Station Eleven. Living one's entire life on a moving train after disaster reminded me of Snowpiercer. The narrative plays with all of our previously conceived notions of a dystopian tale and creates something I found unique and lovely.
Marisa Calin's narration is a perfect fit for the book. Her lilting voice fits the dreamy tone and she kept the pacing of action scenes clear and easy-to-follow. I especially loved her choices for dialogue delivered by the courier's monster. Just perfection.
The story did feel perhaps a bit on the long side, which is why I can't quite give it five stars. The world-building is excellent and I could immerse myself in this version of my world following a horrible disaster. But a bit of trimming on the exposition and setting could have kept things moving a bit more briskly.
This book is an excellent choice for anyone who loves the Studio Ghibli films and has longed for a novel-version of their aesthetic. This is perhaps one of the most beautiful books that I have read this year and I will be thinking about it for a long time.
I am thankful to Tor Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me free review copies of the book and audiobook. These opinions are my own.
September 30, 2024
**Disclosure: I won this book through a giveaway from Tor Publishing. This review is not influenced by the fact that I received a free copy of this book.**
When I read the blurb for what this book was about, my immediate thought was that this is an ambitious book, and that I hoped it was able to accomplish the large goals that it seemed to have. Let me tell you, it did. Not only that, but it far exceeded the aims and scope that I expected this book to have and was still a work of art that completed everything that it set out to do.
This has reminisces of a coming-of-age story, though I would describe it more as a coming-to-self story. Our unnamed narrator strives to find her place in a world where she is consistently finding herself in the between spaces, not quite fitting in with any group.
There is so much that I want to say about this book. There's the ongoing discussion of the power that language holds. There's themes of identity, what it means, and how people struggle to find their own or fight against the identity that has been given to them by society or others. The writing style is absolutely beautiful, characters rich and developed, plot complex yet easy to get lost in. Simply put, there is too much to this book to really dive into in this review.
What I can say:
*This book is beautiful and filled with magic, both figuratively and literally. I would recommend it to almost anyone.
*There is LGBT+ representation that is not made into the focus of any part of the plot, which is something that I find especially beautiful.
*The beginning is slow because the world we are coming into is exceptionally complex. Please give it a chance beyond the first few chapters. Rather than throwing us into the deep end as can tend to happen with books that take place in a world that is unfamiliar to our own, Berry takes time to ease us in. He doesn't overload the reader with all of the relevant information all at once in the beginning, creating a dense introduction into the world that could put off potential readers, but nor does he start off with immediate plot and action, leaving readers to sink or swim as they try to figure out what is happening. Berry managed to find the sweet spot, in my opinion, between the two, which was beautiful to read.
*There is action, conspiracy, and betrayal, but there are also so many sweet and tender moments between characters.
I really cannot say enough about the joy and wonder that I found in the pages of this book. One of my favorite books that I've read this year.
When I read the blurb for what this book was about, my immediate thought was that this is an ambitious book, and that I hoped it was able to accomplish the large goals that it seemed to have. Let me tell you, it did. Not only that, but it far exceeded the aims and scope that I expected this book to have and was still a work of art that completed everything that it set out to do.
This has reminisces of a coming-of-age story, though I would describe it more as a coming-to-self story. Our unnamed narrator strives to find her place in a world where she is consistently finding herself in the between spaces, not quite fitting in with any group.
There is so much that I want to say about this book. There's the ongoing discussion of the power that language holds. There's themes of identity, what it means, and how people struggle to find their own or fight against the identity that has been given to them by society or others. The writing style is absolutely beautiful, characters rich and developed, plot complex yet easy to get lost in. Simply put, there is too much to this book to really dive into in this review.
What I can say:
*This book is beautiful and filled with magic, both figuratively and literally. I would recommend it to almost anyone.
*There is LGBT+ representation that is not made into the focus of any part of the plot, which is something that I find especially beautiful.
*The beginning is slow because the world we are coming into is exceptionally complex. Please give it a chance beyond the first few chapters. Rather than throwing us into the deep end as can tend to happen with books that take place in a world that is unfamiliar to our own, Berry takes time to ease us in. He doesn't overload the reader with all of the relevant information all at once in the beginning, creating a dense introduction into the world that could put off potential readers, but nor does he start off with immediate plot and action, leaving readers to sink or swim as they try to figure out what is happening. Berry managed to find the sweet spot, in my opinion, between the two, which was beautiful to read.
*There is action, conspiracy, and betrayal, but there are also so many sweet and tender moments between characters.
I really cannot say enough about the joy and wonder that I found in the pages of this book. One of my favorite books that I've read this year.
November 7, 2024
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this on audiobook for review from NetGalley.
Thoughts: I listened to this on audiobook. I stopped listening to this about 33% of the way in. This is my second time attempt to listen to this and I really struggled to stay interested in it. I gave it a second try because I got it for review and I don't like to DNF review books. I usually don't give DNFs below 3* but the way I struggled with the story (trying to get through it multiple times), combined with the poor audiobook quality on this one put it in 2* territory for me.
The world here is very confusing; there is never a plausible explanation for why the names of everything would have gone away; I struggled to wrap my mind around this. The only information you get is that the names of things were lost "when something fell from the something tree".
I also struggled a lot with the characters; they are hard to picture and relate to. There is a whole culture around naming things and divining the names of things. Given that I just couldn't get over my disbelief of everything losing its name, I really struggled to understand the plot and the motivation for the characters.
Things did get more interesting about 25% of the way through the book, however they also got more confusing. It's revealed that our main character (a nameless courier) can dream nightmares into existence. I thought, "wow that is interesting, maybe this is getting better". Then suddenly, we were in a very long story about the founding of the city of Whisper that didn't seem to have much to do with our main protagonist, and I was like "What the heck am I listening to now?"
I did get this on audiobook and I would not recommend it. The narrator's voice is both raspy and kind of whispering, and I found it grating and unpleasant to listen to. Maybe if I have gotten this book to review in ebook format rather than audiobook I would have gotten farther in? Honestly, I probably would have just skimmed the boring parts, which would be the whole beginning of the book.
Not sure what to say about this one. It is creative and different. However, it leaves any sort of logical thinking or plausibility behind, and I struggle to read a sci-fi where nothing I am reading makes any sense at all.
My Summary (2/5): Overall I did not enjoy this book. It is a creative premise that is never well explained and seems implausible. The story only gets more confusing as it goes along. There were elements of the story I found intriguing, like the never ending train journeys, nameless monsters, and dreaming nightmares into reality. However, I could never quite figure out what was going on and lost interest in this. I did give this a shot a couple of times but couldn't make it through. It didn't help that I found the narrator's voice for the audiobook grating and hard to listen to.
Thoughts: I listened to this on audiobook. I stopped listening to this about 33% of the way in. This is my second time attempt to listen to this and I really struggled to stay interested in it. I gave it a second try because I got it for review and I don't like to DNF review books. I usually don't give DNFs below 3* but the way I struggled with the story (trying to get through it multiple times), combined with the poor audiobook quality on this one put it in 2* territory for me.
The world here is very confusing; there is never a plausible explanation for why the names of everything would have gone away; I struggled to wrap my mind around this. The only information you get is that the names of things were lost "when something fell from the something tree".
I also struggled a lot with the characters; they are hard to picture and relate to. There is a whole culture around naming things and divining the names of things. Given that I just couldn't get over my disbelief of everything losing its name, I really struggled to understand the plot and the motivation for the characters.
Things did get more interesting about 25% of the way through the book, however they also got more confusing. It's revealed that our main character (a nameless courier) can dream nightmares into existence. I thought, "wow that is interesting, maybe this is getting better". Then suddenly, we were in a very long story about the founding of the city of Whisper that didn't seem to have much to do with our main protagonist, and I was like "What the heck am I listening to now?"
I did get this on audiobook and I would not recommend it. The narrator's voice is both raspy and kind of whispering, and I found it grating and unpleasant to listen to. Maybe if I have gotten this book to review in ebook format rather than audiobook I would have gotten farther in? Honestly, I probably would have just skimmed the boring parts, which would be the whole beginning of the book.
Not sure what to say about this one. It is creative and different. However, it leaves any sort of logical thinking or plausibility behind, and I struggle to read a sci-fi where nothing I am reading makes any sense at all.
My Summary (2/5): Overall I did not enjoy this book. It is a creative premise that is never well explained and seems implausible. The story only gets more confusing as it goes along. There were elements of the story I found intriguing, like the never ending train journeys, nameless monsters, and dreaming nightmares into reality. However, I could never quite figure out what was going on and lost interest in this. I did give this a shot a couple of times but couldn't make it through. It didn't help that I found the narrator's voice for the audiobook grating and hard to listen to.
August 30, 2024
The Naming Song enters us into a world that sounds remarkably like our own, but one that's been changed after something fell from the something tree. In this world, it is the named versus the nameless, the named attempt to restore order to the world by convening diviners to come up with names provided by the Sayers, while they chase out the nameless from the world. Except, our narrator is an unnamed who is a Courier, responsible for bringing names of things provided by sayers to the world. The Courier soon finds herself on a mission as she tries to make sense of the world as she knows it.
The Naming Song contains a unique world that I keep thinking back to and is so expertly crafted by Jedediah Berry. I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator is absolutely incredible - she really captured me and held me along this ride. She captured so many different voices and her emotions felt like exactly true to what the characters would be feeling throughout the story. The world took me a minute to get my bearings and she helped anchor me.
While The Naming Song may be billed as a sci-fi/fantasy, it has a dystopian edge to it that I enjoyed. The number 12 train in the story reminded me of Snowpiercer, with hierarchy present and constant movement. The Black Square also had hints of Station Eleven and its Shakespeare troupe that goes around telling stories so that people remember what happened before and have a connection to the culture despite whatever else may be going on. Of course, the book is so much more than just those connections I made.
The importance of words, stories, and their meaning and what it means to name a thing is a theme that I'll continue to digest. Although one of the pieces that will stick with me most is how the world in The Naming Song runs on ghosts, as fuel for war machines, or as slaves, who are sometimes forced to continue the work that they did while they were living through their death.
If you're ready for a world of dystopian adventure with a hint of coming of age and some sci-fi vibes mixed in - this is the book for you and is one of my very favorites of the year. Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy.
The Naming Song contains a unique world that I keep thinking back to and is so expertly crafted by Jedediah Berry. I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator is absolutely incredible - she really captured me and held me along this ride. She captured so many different voices and her emotions felt like exactly true to what the characters would be feeling throughout the story. The world took me a minute to get my bearings and she helped anchor me.
While The Naming Song may be billed as a sci-fi/fantasy, it has a dystopian edge to it that I enjoyed. The number 12 train in the story reminded me of Snowpiercer, with hierarchy present and constant movement. The Black Square also had hints of Station Eleven and its Shakespeare troupe that goes around telling stories so that people remember what happened before and have a connection to the culture despite whatever else may be going on. Of course, the book is so much more than just those connections I made.
The importance of words, stories, and their meaning and what it means to name a thing is a theme that I'll continue to digest. Although one of the pieces that will stick with me most is how the world in The Naming Song runs on ghosts, as fuel for war machines, or as slaves, who are sometimes forced to continue the work that they did while they were living through their death.
If you're ready for a world of dystopian adventure with a hint of coming of age and some sci-fi vibes mixed in - this is the book for you and is one of my very favorites of the year. Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy.
June 20, 2024
It is always risky for someone who uses words as their craft to write a book about words. It can (and often does) become a sort of meta-narrative about the profundity of language or some such thing, a naval-gazing experiment in letting us all know how very erudite the author is. In the opening pages of The Naming Song I thought that this would be yet another example of the genre. Thankfully, Berry adroitly avoids the trap and instead tells a compelling tale of a post-apocalyptic world in which the names of people and things have all disappeared. The named and the nameless are in conflict with one another, and while names are extremely useful things, they also confer a sort of ownership on those who do the naming which, in this universe, rips them from the nameless. It is also so that people who die do not truly die, but are made ghosts and enslaved. Dreams can become monsters, not all of whom are monstrous.
Our hero is unique because she does not have a name but works for the named, is, in fact, a courier delivering names to things. She also has a conscience and curiosity, which both lead her to make choices that are outside the bounds of what is acceptable and get her into deeper and deeper trouble. Along the way, her idea of the parameters of the world and how we each negotiate our way through it expands until she realizes that, while useful, names are also a form of theft, and that the namers (and the sayers, who determine the law of the land) do not always have the best interest of others at heart.
This is truly excellent story-telling and a compelling read from beginning to end. One suggestion: while I understand that names evolve throughout the story, it would be useful if the cast of characters listed at the beginning included all the names these characters have. It can become very confusing to recall what a certain character used to be called; it doesn't seem to me that it would detract much from the revelations within the story if we knew in advance the many names by which they are known.
Our hero is unique because she does not have a name but works for the named, is, in fact, a courier delivering names to things. She also has a conscience and curiosity, which both lead her to make choices that are outside the bounds of what is acceptable and get her into deeper and deeper trouble. Along the way, her idea of the parameters of the world and how we each negotiate our way through it expands until she realizes that, while useful, names are also a form of theft, and that the namers (and the sayers, who determine the law of the land) do not always have the best interest of others at heart.
This is truly excellent story-telling and a compelling read from beginning to end. One suggestion: while I understand that names evolve throughout the story, it would be useful if the cast of characters listed at the beginning included all the names these characters have. It can become very confusing to recall what a certain character used to be called; it doesn't seem to me that it would detract much from the revelations within the story if we knew in advance the many names by which they are known.
August 25, 2024
ARC provided by Tor Publishing Group via NetGalley for an honest review.
This was an interesting book that I neither disliked or liked. I have very mixed feelings about it to be truthful. It has a very interesting premise, an interesting main character, and the main story was complex enough to keep me going to the end. But I often found my mind wandering off as I was reading, and then I would have to reread the last paragraph or so because it just didn’t stick. I think this was mainly due to the pacing which was slow, and the writing style.
The first 50 pages were the hardest, getting into this world was difficult. Language, or at least some of the words for things had been lost, so it would take many words to say something simple. The character names also took a bit of getting used to, as they were often named for common things, like Ticket, Books, and Shadow, and those names didn’t coordinate with who they were or their jobs. So it did take me awhile to get it all sorted. The world building itself was adequate, things were described well enough, but I also felt that things weren’t explained well enough either.
The story is told from the unnamed courier, who was just referred to as ‘the courier’. She was a very interesting character and her growth over the course of the book was tremendous. She starts off as a pawn in the events that evolved around her into a leader that pretty much changes the course of her culture. I really did like her quite a bit and I think it was her more than anything else that kept me interested in the story.
There were many themes throughout the story but the one that intrigued me the most was how language and words evolved. Basically all languages are made up, humans put different sounds together and assigned these sounds to the things around them. The courier’s job in this story was to introduce new words to the world. It is more complicated than this, but it was an interesting look at language development.
I think there will be a lot of people who will love this book. It certainly has a good story behind it and a very complex and interesting world. It just unfortunately never really worked for me. But if you enjoy complex diverse worlds with an interesting main character, than this is one that I think you should give a chance.
https://elnadesbookchat.com
This was an interesting book that I neither disliked or liked. I have very mixed feelings about it to be truthful. It has a very interesting premise, an interesting main character, and the main story was complex enough to keep me going to the end. But I often found my mind wandering off as I was reading, and then I would have to reread the last paragraph or so because it just didn’t stick. I think this was mainly due to the pacing which was slow, and the writing style.
The first 50 pages were the hardest, getting into this world was difficult. Language, or at least some of the words for things had been lost, so it would take many words to say something simple. The character names also took a bit of getting used to, as they were often named for common things, like Ticket, Books, and Shadow, and those names didn’t coordinate with who they were or their jobs. So it did take me awhile to get it all sorted. The world building itself was adequate, things were described well enough, but I also felt that things weren’t explained well enough either.
The story is told from the unnamed courier, who was just referred to as ‘the courier’. She was a very interesting character and her growth over the course of the book was tremendous. She starts off as a pawn in the events that evolved around her into a leader that pretty much changes the course of her culture. I really did like her quite a bit and I think it was her more than anything else that kept me interested in the story.
There were many themes throughout the story but the one that intrigued me the most was how language and words evolved. Basically all languages are made up, humans put different sounds together and assigned these sounds to the things around them. The courier’s job in this story was to introduce new words to the world. It is more complicated than this, but it was an interesting look at language development.
I think there will be a lot of people who will love this book. It certainly has a good story behind it and a very complex and interesting world. It just unfortunately never really worked for me. But if you enjoy complex diverse worlds with an interesting main character, than this is one that I think you should give a chance.
https://elnadesbookchat.com
September 14, 2024
Won an ARC of this from Goodreads 'cause it sounded fascinating. And the concept truly is. After "something fell from the something tree," words vanished. The book begins an indeterminate time later. Our protagonist is an unnamed courier, someone tasked with delivering new words for things (and people). Others divine the words, deciding or realizing what something should be called, and couriers are sent out to deliver them to the right person or people. Without words for something, it's impossible to tell what it's for, or even that it exists at all. (In one memorable scene, the courier's companion shoves her toward a wall to avoid a crowd of people looking for them, but instead of hitting the wall, they find themselves in an unnamed street. Since it's unnamed, no one knows it's there or really sees it. This bit reminded me somewhat of China Mieville's The City and the City.) Oh, ghosts abound - if someone gets killed, for example, they turn into a ghost, though the ghosts, while remaining silent, can and do interact with the living and even do things like run machinery and draw in sketchbooks. There are also Monsters, vaguely described beings that spring from people's dreams, and, like ghosts, interact physically with those around them. Sounds fascinating, right? And the beginning of the book, with the courier dispatched to deliver words, definitely was on tract for a 5-star rating. Unfortunately, the book soon devolves into a pretty generic fantasy with people running from others and lots of fighting. There are lots of characters, most of whom, with the exception of the courier, didn't really make any impression on me as a reader. And the fight and flight scenes felt like they stretched on interminably and bored me. I changed my overall rating to a 3-star. But the ending redeemed the book a bit when the reason behind the ghosts was revealed (and choked me up just a little). No word on the Monsters, though, or the "something" that fell from the "something tree." I might've upped my rating a half star or so, but I think I'll leave it here as a 3.
September 24, 2024
I saw a recent QOTD that asked what was the last book that surprised me, and I now have an answer! Going into The Naming Song I expected something heavily fantasy and magic-based, but what I got was nearly dystopian with magic that wasn’t magic—until it was! I think the best way to describe this book is literary magical realism??? The world of the Naming Song is a post-apocalyptic dystopia in which the apocalypse took away words and language and as words were rediscovered, committees rose to create order from the chaos.
This book is so hard to describe because it has a fantasy feel despite it’s dystopian plot; I’d almost call it a cozy mystery as the MC, the unnamed courier who straddles both the world of the named (as a courier) and the borders of the nameless (having no name herself), begins to unravel a web of connections between the two worlds and find answers to who she is how the world should be vs. how those with the power of naming want it to be.
It was so interesting to me that this world essentially used magic but in a way that made it more like science and technology—there are ghosts and monsters, but their explanations for being seem perfectly scientific and not magical at all. Later in the book there is a way to use words called spelling (and I absolutely adored the wordplay because in a world when words are being rediscovered and there is no name even for the alphabet, spelling might not mean the same thing to them as it does to us, but of course reeks of magic!) that causes reality to bend in the way the user needs it to—for instance, saying “light” but using spell illuminates an area, or spelling “sleep” will knock unconscious the people around the speller! This book straddles science and magic the same way the inhabitants of the book live in between the named and unnamed!
This book was entertaining and thought-provoking—so clearly carefully crafted—down to the very last word and was so pleasantly surprising, it was absolutely five stars!
The Naming Song was a Macmillan Audio pick!
This book is so hard to describe because it has a fantasy feel despite it’s dystopian plot; I’d almost call it a cozy mystery as the MC, the unnamed courier who straddles both the world of the named (as a courier) and the borders of the nameless (having no name herself), begins to unravel a web of connections between the two worlds and find answers to who she is how the world should be vs. how those with the power of naming want it to be.
It was so interesting to me that this world essentially used magic but in a way that made it more like science and technology—there are ghosts and monsters, but their explanations for being seem perfectly scientific and not magical at all. Later in the book there is a way to use words called spelling (and I absolutely adored the wordplay because in a world when words are being rediscovered and there is no name even for the alphabet, spelling might not mean the same thing to them as it does to us, but of course reeks of magic!) that causes reality to bend in the way the user needs it to—for instance, saying “light” but using spell illuminates an area, or spelling “sleep” will knock unconscious the people around the speller! This book straddles science and magic the same way the inhabitants of the book live in between the named and unnamed!
This book was entertaining and thought-provoking—so clearly carefully crafted—down to the very last word and was so pleasantly surprising, it was absolutely five stars!
The Naming Song was a Macmillan Audio pick!
September 27, 2024
*I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*
I tried and tried and tried, but this is mind-numbing.
The premise is amazing, and the beginning was strong; I loved learning about the courier's work, taking words and 'delivering' them by experiencing their definitions. The idea of monsters coming from peoples' dreams was great, and so was using ghosts as both labour force and fuel source.
But for a fantasy about the power of language, Berry's prose isn't powerful, and it's definitely not my flavour of beautiful. I never felt wonder or awe, I never felt the magic. Reading this was like trudging through thick, heavy mud: exhausting. It wasn't long after the opening before every reading session became a struggle to keep my eyes open. If I described the plot to you, it would absolutely sound like Things Were Happening - but somehow it felt like nothing was happening, like a story was being stretched so much longer than it should have been. Naming Song would have made a great short story, maybe a novella; it should never have been the almost 400 pages it is in hardback.
The rule is, if I don't care how a book will end by 20%, I DNF. Well, I broke the rule again; I made it to 60% of Naming Song, and I deeply regret all the time and spoons I wasted getting that far. This was plodding, boring, passionless despite having so many reasons to be burning with emotion; it ignored the various bits and pieces and ideas that had the potential to be genuinely interesting, and instead obsessed itself with a council I was supposed to believe were villains even though I was never shown any actual villainy. (Them chasing the courier does not make them evil: they think she's a murderer! With really good reason, actually! I would also believe she was the murderer if we hadn't had her POV!)
And my gods, the Le Gasp reveal about the origins of the Sayers (the aforementioned council): the first Sayers used to be waste pickers. Um, okay? Why does that matter? Why would I give a fuck? Why is everyone acting like this is some Terrible Scandalous thing??? A) being a waste picker isn't evil, it's not like they were slavers or something, so why would I judge them for that? and B) that was generations ago, why should it affect my opinion of the current Sayers? It was utterly bizarre, and not in a fun way.
The characters all seemed so...muted. The whole book did, actually. As if someone had washed out all the colours. I guess that's what I meant by 'passionless'. It was impossible to care about any of it, because none of it felt real, none of it mattered. Even the things that were definitely supposed to matter.
Honestly I wish we'd just gotten a story about the courier delivering words. I would have been happy with just that. But the attempt at More Important Plot was just embarrassing.
I tried and tried and tried, but this is mind-numbing.
The premise is amazing, and the beginning was strong; I loved learning about the courier's work, taking words and 'delivering' them by experiencing their definitions. The idea of monsters coming from peoples' dreams was great, and so was using ghosts as both labour force and fuel source.
But for a fantasy about the power of language, Berry's prose isn't powerful, and it's definitely not my flavour of beautiful. I never felt wonder or awe, I never felt the magic. Reading this was like trudging through thick, heavy mud: exhausting. It wasn't long after the opening before every reading session became a struggle to keep my eyes open. If I described the plot to you, it would absolutely sound like Things Were Happening - but somehow it felt like nothing was happening, like a story was being stretched so much longer than it should have been. Naming Song would have made a great short story, maybe a novella; it should never have been the almost 400 pages it is in hardback.
The rule is, if I don't care how a book will end by 20%, I DNF. Well, I broke the rule again; I made it to 60% of Naming Song, and I deeply regret all the time and spoons I wasted getting that far. This was plodding, boring, passionless despite having so many reasons to be burning with emotion; it ignored the various bits and pieces and ideas that had the potential to be genuinely interesting, and instead obsessed itself with a council I was supposed to believe were villains even though I was never shown any actual villainy. (Them chasing the courier does not make them evil: they think she's a murderer! With really good reason, actually! I would also believe she was the murderer if we hadn't had her POV!)
And my gods, the Le Gasp reveal about the origins of the Sayers (the aforementioned council): the first Sayers used to be waste pickers. Um, okay? Why does that matter? Why would I give a fuck? Why is everyone acting like this is some Terrible Scandalous thing??? A) being a waste picker isn't evil, it's not like they were slavers or something, so why would I judge them for that? and B) that was generations ago, why should it affect my opinion of the current Sayers? It was utterly bizarre, and not in a fun way.
The characters all seemed so...muted. The whole book did, actually. As if someone had washed out all the colours. I guess that's what I meant by 'passionless'. It was impossible to care about any of it, because none of it felt real, none of it mattered. Even the things that were definitely supposed to matter.
Honestly I wish we'd just gotten a story about the courier delivering words. I would have been happy with just that. But the attempt at More Important Plot was just embarrassing.
July 25, 2024
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a wholly unique and fascinating story. The world is built around names - the power of names, the ability for us to use names to make sense of ourselves and our worlds, and an post-apocalyptic future in which we've lost and need to re-find names / worlds for things.
I was sucked in immediately. The story starts a little slow, but the world is lovely and fascinating! The characters are lovable and you can't help root for them while trying to figure out the adventure and mystery that our narrator, an unnamed woman among the named, unfolds.
However interested I was initially, that started to wane as the book went on. The charm of the world wore off and I started to see more cracks in the story as it unfolded. The pace was odd - at once both fast and slow - and the story started to get both super complicated and super predictable. I felt like the ending was satisfying, but not in a "gosh what a lovely story!" way. More in a "cool cool alright that makes sense" way. The mystery wrapping up felt anticlimactic, but the resolution was interesting, if not totally in keeping with the narrative as a whole.
Overall, and keeping in mind that this is an ARC, I enjoyed this and think it's a solid fit for my library (I'll be buying a copy!) and readers looking for an immersive fantasy adventure with a unique take on an old trope, and who can overlook minor inconsistencies for the betterment of the plot.
This is a wholly unique and fascinating story. The world is built around names - the power of names, the ability for us to use names to make sense of ourselves and our worlds, and an post-apocalyptic future in which we've lost and need to re-find names / worlds for things.
I was sucked in immediately. The story starts a little slow, but the world is lovely and fascinating! The characters are lovable and you can't help root for them while trying to figure out the adventure and mystery that our narrator, an unnamed woman among the named, unfolds.
However interested I was initially, that started to wane as the book went on. The charm of the world wore off and I started to see more cracks in the story as it unfolded. The pace was odd - at once both fast and slow - and the story started to get both super complicated and super predictable. I felt like the ending was satisfying, but not in a "gosh what a lovely story!" way. More in a "cool cool alright that makes sense" way. The mystery wrapping up felt anticlimactic, but the resolution was interesting, if not totally in keeping with the narrative as a whole.
Overall, and keeping in mind that this is an ARC, I enjoyed this and think it's a solid fit for my library (I'll be buying a copy!) and readers looking for an immersive fantasy adventure with a unique take on an old trope, and who can overlook minor inconsistencies for the betterment of the plot.
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