The Language of Liars by S. L. Huang (Hardcover)

Fiction - Science Fiction - Space Opera

RELEASE DATE: 4/21/2026  (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER'S WAREHOUSE) 

"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.

AUTHOR BIO: 

S. L. Huang is a Hollywood stunt performer, firearms expert, and Hugo Award winner who has been a finalist for a Nebula, Locus, and BSFA Awards 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.

Review Quotes:

A New Scientist Best of 2026 Pick and a Most Anticipated Pick for Literary Hub Book Riot Shelf Reflection

" Smart, razor sharp, and absolutely devastating."--Rebecca Roanhorse, New York Times Bestselling author of Black Sun

"This fast-paced and sharp novella about alien societies and linguistic assumptions hits all the right notes for readers who enjoy smart science fiction."-- Library Journal, STARRED

"Hugo award winner Huang stuns in this philosophical sci-fi exploration of linguistics and lost civilizations. . . . A fascinating linguistic puzzle that will entice hard sci-fi fans and literary scholars alike. This packs an impressive punch."-- Publishers Weekly, STARRED