Thanks to NetGalley and Recorded Books for the audio ARC. It hasn’t affected the content of my review.
Firstly, I’m going to apologize in advance because this review might end up being the equivalent of one of those annoying YouTube comments where some genius pops in to be like “FIRST!” and sometimes they’re not even first but they’re so proud of themselves anyway. I hope I don’t descend to that level but I can’t promise anything because I had such a good time with this book I’m afraid my filters for reasonable behavior may currently be affected (appropriate, considering the book’s plot).
I was approved for this book yesterday morning when I was sitting on the couch in my PJ’s and I got so excited I squealed, downloaded it instantly, and immediately started listening. I have now finished it approximately twenty hours later and can safely say this is one you should add to your TBRs if you like mysteries and/or near-future science fiction (with aliens!). There is so much packed into this tiny book. Lydia is our main character, and she’s a translator for the cultural attaché of the Logi, an alien race that made first contact with humans years back, and whose presence has affected human culture greatly (and human culture is of course beginning to affect them back).
The Logi need translators not because they can’t learn to speak human languages, but because their method of speaking is only available physiologically to a small percentage of humans, as they speak telepathically. Hilariously, the people chosen to train for these jobs have to also be trained to overcome the side effects of speaking with a Logi, which is a state very much like drunkenness (hence the title of the book). This state of being drunk is one our narrator, Lydia, very much has to deal with, and instances of it affecting her are significant to the plot, especially as her boss winds up murdered in his study, while she is the only living person remaining in their shared house, and due to being language drunk the night before, she has no memory of anything after about 9 PM.
The plot to uncover who murdered Fitz, her former boss, is a twisty one full of genuine surprises, but more importantly, being with Lydia as she is first blamed for the murder, and then gets caught up in trying to find out what’s really going on, is a genuine great time. There’s an undercurrent of humor to this entire book, even when dark things like murder are happening. The narrator of the audiobook, Amy Scanlon, does a fantastic job voicing the UK-expat Lydia (although some of her American accents are a bit weird) and especially manages to grasp (and enhance) the tone of the book, which another narrator could have easily butchered. The worldbuilding in this is also really fun, and the concepts Robson is able to explore because of it are intriguing (but full of spoilers). This is a sci-fi future I really don’t think I would mind living in, although I wouldn’t go so far as to describe it as cozy. This is still a world in which people are struggling to filter out the bullshit.
For most of the book, this was a solid five-star read for me, but while the denouement of the mystery was great, the end of the book afterwards felt just a tiny bit lackluster, like it was missing something to bring the whole thing together. I could have done with just a bit more of whatever my brain thinks is missing. But I still loved it, and will read it again, and need to buy myself a hard copy when it goes on sale in two weeks. (Note: I did buy a hardcover and it is very beautiful. It has been two months since I read this book.)
[4.5 stars, rounded up]