"Pitch-perfect science fiction about linguistics and consequences. This book destroyed me."—Yoon Ha Lee, New York Times bestselling author of Ninefox Gambit



Speak another people's language. Know them. Become them.

And discover you've destroyed them.

In his training as a spy, Ro was warned: you will always be living a lie.

Jumping into a Star Eater's mind in the first place requires a moment of perfect psychic connection, and he has studied all his life to comprehend their species. Admires them, respects them, is reverent at the idea of being one of them—the only species physiologically capable of mining the element needed for lightyear-spanning space travel. The species all others crave to know more of, but who have notoriously shared so very little. The species Ro's own small civilization, with its dwindling resources and withering reach, needs to know more about.

It will feel real, his elders impressed upon him. It will never be real.

But Ro's certainty runs deep: he will be different. Ro will not be an imposter hiding the truth of his past, because his heart will be one of them. He will be one of them.

To understand is to become. It never occurs to him that the mere act of understanding can destroy.

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Praise for this book

“A brilliant little book that packs an emotional punch well above its weight class. Smart, razor sharp, and absolutely devastating.”--Rebecca Roanhorse, New York Times Bestselling author of Black Sun

"Truly ambitious science fiction, melding convincingly alien species with all-too-familiar impulses. Packs an enormous punch in a very small space."—Marie Brennan, author of A Natural History of Dragons

"Pitch-perfect science fiction about linguistics and consequences. This book destroyed me."—Yoon Ha Lee, New York Times bestselling author of Ninefox Gambit

"A powerful story, well-paced, speculatively brilliant, and emotionally raw and insightful. The deft explorations of alien anatomy, society, and language are particularly ingenious and sharp. This is science fiction at its best."—Kate Elliott, New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Roads

“The Language of Liars is, quite simply, a brilliant book. A fast paced and thoughtful linguistic deconstruction of the colonial mindset and enterprise. It’s Get Out meets Embassytown with shades of Dune while being something that is entirely its own. Incredibly clever.... I inhaled it all in one sitting and you probably will too.”—Wole Talabi, World Fantasy finalist and author of Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon

"I felt shattered, betrayed by all my hopes. Everything we believe about linguistics says shared language leads to greater understanding and compassion. This is why I translate. But language is also a technology, and technologies can destroy. S. L. Huang shows how lies using language can create an unthinkable disaster."—Sue Burke, author of Semiosis

"S. L. Huang's The Language of Liars is a story about an earnest, precocious linguist who sacrifices everything for answers only to stumble on far bigger questions. This is my favorite kind of science fiction: a thought-provoking exploration of the hidden costs of civilization with an aching emotional core. The Language of Liars is a beautiful, brilliant, heartbreaking story of culture, history, and the trespasses we commit in pursuit of understanding. If you loved Arrival, A Memory Called Empire, or Translation State, read this."—Yume Kitasei, author of The Deep Sky

"Thoughtful, gripping, and heartbreaking. If you liked R.F. Kuang's Babel, you should read The Language of Liars."—CD Covington, author of Filling Your Worlds with Words: A writer's guide to linguistic worldbuilding




About the AuthorS. L. Huang is a Hollywood stunt performer, firearms expert, and Hugo Award winner who has been a finalist for a Nebula, Locus, and BSFA Award as well as the ALA Carnegie Medal. Huang has a math degree from MIT and credits in productions like Battlestar Galactica and Top Shot. The author of The Water Outlaws, Burning Roses and the Cas Russell novels, Huang’s short fiction has also appeared in Analog, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Nature, Reactor, and more, including numerous best-of anthologies.
Title: The Language of Liars
Author(s): S. L. Huang
ISBN: 9781250405340
Copyright 2026
Release Date: April 21, 2026
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
Countries: United States, Canada | Learn more about available countries
Language: English
Format: None available | Learn More about our supported formats
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