The Embedding

The highly collectable series of Gollancz classic SF reissues continues, distinctive in their striking yellow jackets, although they may seem a touch unexciting to those who don't recognize their historical pedigree Watson's remarkable debut novel The Embedding has long been recognized as one of the most imaginative books the genre has produced in any country. The novel burst into view with rave reviews on its initial publication; and its invigorating rush of ideas and concepts marked it out as something new a British SF novel ready to engage with politics, anthropology, linguistics, extraerrestrial contact and space travel - and that isn't the half of it. At a British research institute, a young linguist is attempting to teach a new form of language to children living in an artificial environment. But the territory is under threat by flooding when a massive dam built by the Brazilian military government looks set to burst. Suddenly, a giant alien ship appears above the Earth, and the linguist, Chris Sole, is flown to the USA to establish communication with the aliens. Watson's book functions on many levels: as a meditation on language and communication; as a warning about government irresponsibility and (of course) as a powerful entry in the first contact genre of SF: Watson's subsequent career showed a similar readiness to deal with highly unorthodox ideas (such as a planet reflecting the medieval visions of Heironymous Bosch), but this first novel remains his most celebrated, and justifiably so. (Kirkus UK)