What a ride this story takes you on. There are some things I wish were explained a bit better that may have helped me understand the world, but overall this story had me engaged throughout. However the conclusion left me a bit disappointed. There was all this buildup and the ending just didn't match up with that. Way too many red herrings that conclude in a completely lackluster ending.

This is a unique book, we have a locked room mystery set in a distant future, and we have some fascinating creatures and things in there. It is not a long book, and since we have a really good character development, at least for the main ones, and we have a fascinating plot that would capture your attention, what suffers a bit from it is world-building. Mind me, I was completely satisfied, and I am not complaining, at all, but if you start this one expecting a rich and immersive world-building, with a lot of different species and amazing tech thrown in your face, you’ll be disappointed.

But we have an alien race, and these aliens are interested in the literature of Earth, and in its artistic production. We have aliens who love literature! How cool is that?? And there is more! Because these aliens don’t talk like humans, they need translators, but their language is a sort of mind-communication and has a price for the translators: the more they translate the more they feel inebriated, exactly like they would be if they drank alcohol. And hence explained the title. How cool is that????? I really loved this part, I think that it was my favorite thing in the book, even if it was not the only good thing!

The characters are interesting. I really liked Lydia, our translator, and Fitz, the cultural attachè she works for. And more than the characters per se, I also really enjoyed their relationship, it was refreshing, and it was good to see a good work relationship like that! I would love to see more like this, outside of romance books.

And that’s pretty much all… I am sorry I can’t say more about this book, but I really think that this is unique, a hidden gem and it is also funny and a sort of cozy mystery in a locked room. And we have interesting ideas, that are also well-developed between the pages. It is well worth a try, and I really hope to see more people reading it!!!

I have been looking to expand my list of sci-fi books, and when I came across Drunk On All Your Strange New Words, I was intrigued as to how having a intergalactic ambassador per say would look like on Earth. Well my curiosity was met and exceeded with this book. I am so glad that I pick it up and gave it a try.

I throughly loved this book. It took me until around the 25% mark to full get into the book (I have not read many novel recently which probably does not help either), but once I found the rhythm I was fully absorbed. The characters are all compelling and well written, and what’s more the nature of the communication between the Logi and their translators flowed very well and did not stand out in either a good way or a bad way. The thing that I was most impressed about in this book was that the sci-fi nature of the book was second to the main plot, with the sci-fi ascot only adding to it instead of taking the storyline over. It made the book feel more relatable, since while it was through a humans eyes (and brain), the aliens were just alien and not this big thing that overwhelmed everything. The Logi were just existing here, which I ended up enjoying this style of writing.

If you are interested in reading a mystery thriller with a sci-fi twist, then Drunk On All Your Strange New Words is your book to try.

I loved this fresh and wonderful take on human-alien cultural clashes! This alien race, the Logi, are approximately humanoid in appearance and possess valuable technology. They’re fascinated by human culture, especially the arts and printed books. The catch is that they communicate telepathically through specially trained “Thought Language” translators. One such is our heroine, Lydia, from a poor British background. She loves her work, the only thing she’s ever been really good at, not to mention her generous salary and her sensitive, thoughtful boss, the Logi cultural attaché. All this makes it worth feeling drunk from translating between Thought Language and English. It all goes to hell when her boss is murdered and she’s the prime suspect. Both her freedom and her ability to solve the mystery depend on her remaining at the Embassy, and the Logi is charge has never liked her.

Drunk on All Your Strange New Words combines alien contact science fiction, a sympathetic heroine, weird maybe-supernatural stuff, and a highly complex mystery filled with surprises and reversals. I found Lydia, with all her insecurities, bravura, and gullibility, deeply sympathetic. I fell for the same deceptions and cheered her on as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. This is a smart science fictional mystery and a wonderful take on how even truly weird aliens and humans can find understanding and common ground. Best of all, a deeply flawed character prevails at the end.

Such an interesting premise! I usually read fantasy books, but those can get redundant and predictable. What I love about sci-fi is that it all feels so new and refreshing! I've never read anything quite like this, and it hooked me from the first chapter.

This is a story about intoxicating language.

I love sci fi that explores the more mundane elements of things like future possibilities and other worlds… so a book about alien translation felt really appealing. Conceptually this reminded me a bit of a memory called empire, but it diverted rather quickly, in that it focused on the concept of translation with an element of intoxication… which was definitely unique. The biggest drawback for me was that it was difficult to connect with the protagonist, and I felt fairly distant from the events as a result.

Thank you so much Netgalley & Tordotcom for the eArc!

3.5 ⭐️ rounded to 4!

Being a translator is difficult at the best of times - knowing multiple languages so thoroughly in order to be able to translate in real time - we can only imagine the challenges ahead when we make contact with intelligent life from new worlds and author Eddie Robson has imagined this for us in the entertaining mystery, Drunk on All Your Strange New Words.

Lydia is a translator, somewhat new to the business, but one of the top translators in the business. The Logi are a peaceful race but they do not communicate with spoken words. Instead, they communicate telepathically using symbols and ideas rather than words.

Lydia is assigned to a Logi who has been nicknamed Fitz, a cultural attaché for the alien race. Despite the challenges of translating for the Logi, Lydia enjoys working with Fitz. But when he is murdered, Lydia is the number one suspect and her defense is shaky given that she can't remember anything from that night.

This is a very interesting book - I'm rating moderately well because the bottom line is that I enjoyed the read. The two main characters (Lydia and Fitz) are nicely paired and although there isn't a lot of depth to either of them, we do feel like we get to know them (as much as possible, given one of them dies).

The world-building is a little shallow - we don't really get much information about the Logi or how the relationship between them and humans have developed. This is something that would be nice to know a little better, but we also need to realize - this is a murder mystery first and scifi story second.

(Make no mistake ... there are authors who write fantastic scifi mysteries, where the two genres play equally in the story.)

But what makes this book really stand out is the CTPP (Cool Things Per Page) - and even at that, it's not the number of CTPP, but the quality of it.

"On her first day at the London School of Thought Language (LSTL) they told her that processing the language in your brain didn't make you drunk but it did make you feel drunk, a distinction Lydia found hard to grasp: drunkenness is a feeling, so what's the difference between feeling drunk and being drunk? They explained that from a biological perspective it was very different because your body wasn't dealing with toxins, and the process didn't damage your body in the same way alcohol did. So it was like getting drunk with no downside? Awesome."

So ... translating in this 'thought'-language makes the translator feel drunk the longer they work at the translating - hence Lydia's failing to remember what actually happened.

It's a great concept and the story is written well, if a bit simply. It would be nice to revisit this world, with Lydia, and get a little more history in the course of the story.

Looking for a good book? Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson is a light, fun, scifi mystery based on a really interesting concept.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A murder mystery; a whodunit revolving around a translator in a world of political schemes, aliens, and communication differences; an impressively lighthearted science fiction with traces of comedy. With a flawed yet likeable protagonist, the relationship of humans with the aliens who can only communicate mind-to-mind and make the participator drunk is an intriguing experience. Amidst a climatic disaster, a dystopia and xenophobia are explored —making it an entertaining and extraordinary novel.

I'm gonna keep this short as I unfortunately don't have too many good things to say about this book. I was very intrigued by the premise, but I didn't love the writing. This is very much a personal (dis)preference! To me it was a little too simplistic and more on the side of telling rather than showing, which is something that often takes me out of a book/story. This made it quite hard for me to get through the book. I, however, see that I am in the minority on not liking the book all that much, and I do think many readers enjoy this style of writing much more than I, so I wouldn't discourage anyone who finds the premise interesting from picking up the book!

A solid SF thriller, with a great twist on alien-human interaction. I particularly liked the use of the theater in the context-setting, as a former theater guy -- it made me think even deeper about the particulars of the Logi-human relationship, in one of those "oh I could write a paper about this!" ways. It hit the perfect spot of "great mystery, neatly wrapped up" and what more could you want, sometimes?

What a fun and quirky lil read! I loved the characters and the rules of this new world fascinated me. My interest in this ebbed and flowed throughout the novel, but ultimately, it was fun. It had a lot of heart, and it was definitely a mystery I wanted to unravel. I'd recommend to anyone who likes watching sci-fi shows for the fun of immersing themselves in a new world with familiar longings.

I had to DNF this book, unfortunately. It was well written and seemed to be imaginative and have the beginnings of world-building, but I found the main character so unlikable and unrealistic (and I recognize the idea of 'reality' when it comes to sci-fi books, but hopefully you know what I mean) that I had to stop reading. Something about her just made me queasy.

I think I just may have had wrong expectations from this book because I ended up not enjoying it, and finding it a bit too convoluted and tad bit boring. But if you are interested in a complicated murder mystery in a highly advanced futuristic sci-fi world with aliens, this might just be your cup of tea.

Lydia is the translator to the Logi cultural attaché to Earth. When he’s murdered, she’s immediately a suspect. She can’t remember the night before. She slept through the whole thing, and she can’t find her glasses that would have filmed things from her pov. As she investigates his murder, and hears his voice talking to her, she’ll uncover deeper secrets than a simple murder.

I’m not usually one for whodunnits, but when you throw a twist like aliens in there, it makes it more interesting to me. Also, the murder mystery was only one part of this multi-layered mystery. I enjoyed the characters, the intergalactic politics, and Lydia’s journey deeper into the world of her former employer. Tor always brings the good stuff, and this book is no exception. It’s available now wherever you get your books.

A mind-bending warning about the double-edged power of language to preserve and withhold truth.

In the near future, Earth has established diplomatic relations with aliens known as Logi, sort-of-but-not-quite humanoids who cannot speak in sound and use telepathy instead. To facilitate the daily business of politics, some humans are trained in specialized schools to understand Logi telepathy and translate into human speech. Each Logi visitor is thus paired with a human interpreter who accompanies them at their official appearances and handles their routine communication with Earth governments.

The catch? The Logi language does funny things to the human brain. After a few minutes of hosting alien thoughts in your head, you start feeling drunk. Too much talking in one day, and you might pass out.

So when our protagonist Lydia, the interpreter assigned to the Logi cultural attaché, wakes up from a massive blackout to find her boss murdered on his sofa, she has to quickly decide whom to trust and whom to suspect, because this is a future where impressions are everything, and the wording of a message can have rippling effects on public opinion.

Lydia's quest to solve the murder of her boss requires her to do her own investigation before the police catches up with her, evade an omnipresent surveillance state, learn to compartmentalize multiple telepathic conversations inside her head, and follow a trail of breadcrumbs made of contradictory versions and manufactured narratives. In the world of interplanetary diplomacy, truth is what you make it sound like. On top of that, add algorithmic "truthiness" rankings and a hypertrophied fake news culture, and what you get is a world of illusions, a society built on stories because people's relationship with reality has become impassably mediated by technological filters.

The permanently logged-in characters of this novel have taken to the casual habit of always double-checking each other's statements with private web searches and face recognition and ID tracing and live recordings and curated newsfeeds. Truth is fluid, and trust is conditional. Lydia understands this better than anyone, given that her job is about transforming the presentation of an idea from one medium to another.

Using a translator as a protagonist provides a brilliant opportunity for the novel to satirize internet culture trends. Conspiracy theorists propagate lies that may or may not be grounded on fact, most notably the suspicion that the Logi are altering the official versions of human cultural productions. A mood of collective uncertainty is giving way to mass paranoia because there is never a definitive picture of events, only hyperbolic and partial accounts that confuse more than they inform, and the only people with direct access to the mind of their interlocutors get literally intoxicated by the contact. For most trained interpreters, the experience is an inevitable downside of the job, and they get used to dealing with it. But for some, the high can be addictive.

Drunk on All Your Strange New Words doesn't have galaxy-threatening stakes. It doesn't need to. It's a sharp dissection of the ways online life builds channels that connect us at the same time that they distance us. It's a clever murder mystery with grim revelations. It's an alien contact story that rejects the fear of the other. And it's the rare adventure thriller set mostly inside the mind. It is a truly intoxicating read that may inspire you to build a closer friendship with your inner monologue. You don't have to believe me. Believe the voice in your head that is reading these words.



The Math

Baseline Assessment: 8/10.

Bonuses: +1 for the seamless integration of wearable technology into the characters' daily lives.

Nerd Coefficient: 9/10.

Drunk On All Your Strange New Words is a fantastic cocktail of mystery, humour, and speculation. It tackles heady issues of prejudice and bigotry while never failing to entertain, and makes for a compelling, intoxicating read.

In a future Manhattan, the Logi live among humans. They’re a brilliantly rendered alien race who communicate telepathically in their own language. Certain humans can be trained to translate the Logi’s thoughts into human speech, but translation comes with a side-effect. It gets you drunk. I would’ve been happy just reading about this intriguing future, filled with gorgeous little details that make the world really pop. But when Lydia’s boss is found murdered and she’s the only witness, but she’s so drunk from translating that she can’t remember what happened, the story kicks up a gear, and it rides on the adrenaline of that mystery all the way to the final page.

The thing I loved most about the book is the main character. Lydia is from Yorkshire, and she grew up in a city not far from where I was raised. Reading her story was like going home for me. Her voice and perspective reminded me of so many people, so my fondness for her runs very, very deep. Her phrases and attitude and general ballsy bluster just made me constantly smile from the inside out. It struck a chord, and really elevated the book for me.

The way the plot unfolds is skilfully done. There are enough red herrings to leave you scratching your head. And the final resolution is satisfying and surprising. The whole book is surprising. Beneath the whimsy and imagination that makes up this world and these characters, there’s a dark undercurrent which points a spotlight on racism, privacy, and corruption. But it’s handled so delicately that it never feels heavy or out of place. The narrative doesn’t falter in its tone, and so the questions raised by the book don’t come with the intention of walloping you across the face. If anything, they creep up on you by surprise.

I was so impressed by the balance and the scope that this book achieved. It’s got a charm and a character all of its own, and it’s not like anything else out there. Imagine a Red Dwarf version of a young Miss Marple and you’d probably be on the right track. It could easily be called a murder mystery, a domestic thriller, a comedy, a character study, a social commentary, a cautionary tale, and the list goes on. But it somehow manages to tie all these aspects together without feeling scatty, and what results is a joy to read. It’s pure entertainment, and overall, a lot of fun.

Drunk On All Your Strange New Words is a tipsy delight of a novel that left me giggling and giddy. The protagonist is an absolute legend, and the story is definitely binge-worthy. I lapped it up, and I’ll probably get a hangover now that it’s finished, but it was so worth it! The concepts and future it depicts translates into a funny, sweet, and addictive story, and I’d very much like another round.

The word that comes to mind for this book is clever. I usually don’t get a synopsis, but since I haven’t seen this one around too much, and the description initially pulled me in here you go: Lydia is a translator in near future earth for an alien species, but her boss is murdered and she ends up being the prime suspect. So she ends up trying to solve the crime herself, of course. I liked Lydia herself a lot, but I especially enjoyed the small details about how her translation job works and differences between the species. Part of the reason I love sci fi is because I feel like it gives writes so much room for creativity, and that really shines here. Thanks to the publisher for the print book, and @netgalley for the audio, which was also very enjoyable!

Eddie Robson’s previous novel, Hearts of Oak, was a 5-star read for me, so it’s not too surprising that this new book also gets ALL the stars!

In Drunk on All Your Strange New Words, the action takes place in a version of New York at some point in the future, where rising sea levels have devastated most coastal areas, New York exists as a tourist mecca behind sea barriers, and an alien race known as the Logi have established embassies and commerce with the population of Earth.

Main character Lydia works as a translator. The Logi speak mind to mind, and only those with an aptitude for telepathic communication can work in the field. Lydia is highly trained and very good at what she does, and she enjoys her time with “Fitz”, the human name the Logi cultural ambassador goes by. The only downside is that the work of mind-to-mind communication has a chemical side effect equivalent to intoxication, so the longer work hours or more complicated exchanges Lydia carries out, the drunker she becomes.

Can we just pause here to admire what an amazing set-up for the story this is? I’ve never come across anything like it, and I was immediately fascinated by the entire premise.

That’s just the beginning, though. The morning after a particularly challenging night of translation work, Lydia finds Fitz murdered in his study inside the Logi cultural residence. The doors were all locked for the night, only Lydia and Fitz were inside, and Lydia was so drunk from translating that she doesn’t remember anything at all past the middle of the evening. She’s clearly the prime suspect, and to make matters worse, she can’t even say with certainty that she didn’t do it.

The investigation into the murder is incredibly engrossing, with Lydia, the police, and other Logi diplomats carrying out their own inquiries. Lydia checks out clues and seemingly random connections, all of which seem to point to a larger conspiracy… or does it? It’s complicated, to say the least.

Drunk includes deft, intricate plotting, great character profiles, clever dialogue, and a fabulous new version of our world to think about. Grim and dark in many ways, it also includes a renewed interest in hard-copy books, so that’s something to look forward to if this future comes to pass! The author includes technology and slang that are different from our own, but not so impenetrable that it’s hard to follow. The writing is very accessible, and there’s an underlying sense of lightness and humor, even in dark moments, that make this a very enjoyable read.

Bottom line? I loved this book, and couldn’t put it down. Don’t miss it!

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this sci-fi murder mystery. The story was unique and I didn't see the who-dun-it part coming until the reveal. That doesn't happen very often. This book was such a pleasant surprise. I was expecting more of a science fiction novel, which is how it starts out, but it quickly turns into the main character trying to solve the mystery of her patron's murder to clear her name.

This follows Lydia, a translator for the cultural attache for an alien race call the Logi. She is a bit aloof, and while she isn't the best translator her agency has to offer, she gets along well with Fitz (the attache), and he enjoys her company. The act of translating happens telepathically, and the act of translating makes the human feel drunk. If Lydia overdoes it, she often gets to the point of blacking out and is hungover the next day. With Fitz being invited to many social events in New York City, she is often working while attending official events. She feels herself buring out, but she wants to do a good job as she doesn't really know what else she would do with herself other than translate. After a particularly taxing evening of translating, Lydia wakes to finds Fitz murdered and all clues point to her being the culprit. In order to clear her name, she must launch her own investigation into his mysterious death or find herself in jail. As her investigation proceeds, she finds herself in the middle of a very strange and at time ridiculous plot.

I thought the world building was very well done. The book is set in a futuristic earth, after first contact with the Logi has been established. There are factions that accept there presence and those that do not. There is also a huge reliance on gadets and technology. People wear glasses and are plugged into everything much like people today are attached to their smartphones and have instant access to information. Much of their lives are recorded and streamed for entertainment and tracking purposes. I enjoyed the humor that the author weaved into the book.

This was a fun read, and I very much enjoyed it! If you are looking for something a little different I recommend it. This has light sci-fi elements and doesn't get very technical on the science or technology. The mystery was more on the cozy side with a little humor mixed in. This would be a great beach read or something to take to the pool.

For whatever reason, I love books about alien linguistics. Not necessarily first contact, but more in terms of the pitfalls and cultural quirks of learning an alien language and then interacting with those aliens, so when I saw that this book featured a linguist I jumped on it. The quote on the book calls it “weird” and well, yes, this is definitely a quirky mix of science fiction wrapped up in a murder mystery.

“Now everyone will think she can’t cope with the demands of her job, just because she fell off a balcony.”


In a future New York City wracked by climate change, the alien Logi have made contact and settled in to a life exploring Earth’s cultural peculiarities. Lydia serves as the interpreter to Fitzwilliam, the Logi cultural attaché, which mainly involves accompanying him to various plays, galas, and lectures. Unlike humans, they have only one language, Logisi, and communicate telepathically. Only certain humans, like Lydia, are capable of communicating with them. The problem, though, is that communicating with them results in a state that greatly resembles drunknenness. After one particularly bad night, she wakes to find her boss dead in his study. Suspicion immediately falls on her as the only other person in the house, especially as the effects of translating the previous night mean she can’t remember anything that happened. Determined to clear her name, Lydia begins investigating the murder, with the help of some very unexpected sources.

The book is told from Lydia’s third-person present tense point of view. At the start of the book, after a gaffe due to too much translating, Lydia is demoralized and thinking of quitting her job. She’s an awkward person, generally, and despite living in NYC for almost a year, she hasn’t made any friends. Lydia is, on the surface, one of the worst people you could chose to investigate a murder. After all, the police are certainly better equipped to figure out what happened, and Lydia already feels that she’s not quite filling her predecessor’s footsteps. But when it becomes clear that she’s their prime suspect, she has to do something to figure out who really killed Fitz.

“But if she was at this party on her own, she’d be out of her depth, wouldn’t she? She doesn’t know how to talk to these people, she doesn’t come from their world—even if she used social cribnotes she’d be struggling to keep up. At least with Fitz around all she has to do is say his words and people listen to her and she belongs here, more or less.”


This is one of those books where you can’t talk about most of the plot without running into massive spoilers, so let’s start with the world-building instead. It’s a mildly dystopian future of our world, one that’s still recognizable despite climate change, eroded privacy, and, well, aliens. How it differs is revealed slowly to the reader, along with the steps of Lydia’s investigation. The murder mystery investigation is the main plot, though it’s a slow-paced and somewhat meandering one. A lot of the fun of the book is in the (mostly shady) characters Lydia interacts with, as well as the humor. The humor’s very British, subtle but there throughout the book, which makes sense as Lydia grew up in Halifax, England. Lydia grew up poor, and she’s well aware of the differences between her and the rarefied society she interacts with daily, often to hilarious effect.

To talk about themes very vaguely, the book plays a lot with the concept communication. Obviously, given Lydia’s job, translation is a huge theme, the power translators have in how they chose to translate something – or whether they chose to translate it at all. While Lydia is often completely ignored by people seeking to talk to Fitz, she’s also the only way they can communicate with him. The Logi don’t understand oral speech at all or basically anything digital (their tech is based on organics), so without their human translators they’re basically lost. There’s a particular tangent about how the arrival of the Logi reinvigorated the physical book printing industry, as sometimes human books will be translated into their written language. The Logi are the ones with the power to make a play or a book a hit, though no one knows that it’s actually Lydia reading all the books and then recommending ones to Fitz. The concept of communication and viewpoints are important in how humans communicate with each other, too. It’s Lydia’s inability to use VR environments (how most people socialize) that makes it so hard for her to make friends, but it’s also probably the reason she’s compatible with the Logi’s telepathy. The digital content Lydia sees – and therefore how her worldview is shaped – is assigned a “truthiness” rating by an AI based on various criteria like the author’s field of expertise, and she can disallow articles below a certain threshold.

As far as cons, while I enjoyed the journey, the mystery was almost too circuitous (and at times, too coincidental) for me. And while I was in general satisfied with the way it was wrapped up, the ending felt unfinished. I think I wanted a bit more than what we got about Lydia’s future after the mystery was solved.

Overall, though, this was a very enjoyable light scifi murder mystery, perfect beach reading!

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.